Source identified
Read & copy the quotation
“Regard him as loyal, and you will make him loyal.”
- Date
- c. 63–65
- English wording
- Richard M. Gummere — Translator · from Latin
Meaning of “Regard him as loyal, and you will make…”
Seneca suggests that suspicion can become self-reinforcing: treating a chosen friend as trustworthy helps create the conditions for candid, reciprocal friendship rather than teaching defensiveness from the outset.
Where does it come from?
Moral Letters to Lucilius, Letter 3, Richard M. Gummere translation. Seneca immediately contrasts this with people who fear deception so strongly that their suspicions help teach others to deceive them.
