L. Annaeus Seneca on BenefitsSeneca, Lucius Annaeus
Philosophy
L. Annaeus Seneca on Benefits
Seneca, Lucius Annaeus
Benevolence; Classical literature; Conduct of life; Essays
X. To restore what has been entrusted to one is desirable in itself; yet
I shall not always restore it, nor shall I do so in any place or at any
time you please. Sometimes it makes no difference whether I deny that I
have received it, or return it openly. I shall consider the interests
of the person to whom I am to return it, and shall deny that I have
received a deposit, which would injure him if returned. I shall act in
the same manner in bestowing a benefit: I shall consider when to give
it, to whom, in what manner, and on what grounds. Nothing ought to be
done without a reason: a benefit is not truly so, if it be bestowed
without a reason, since reason accompanies all honorable action. How
often do we hear men reproaching themselves for some thoughtless gift,
and saying, "I had rather have thrown it away than have given it to
him!" What is thoughtlessly given away is lost in the most discreditable
manner, and it is much worse to have bestowed a benefit badly than to
have received no return for it; that we receive no return is the fault
of another; that we did not choose upon whom we should bestow it, is our
own. In choosing a fit person, I shall not, as you expect, pay the
least attention to whether I am likely to get any return from him, for
I choose one who will be grateful, not one who will return my goodness,
and it often happens that the man who makes no return is grateful, while
he who returns a benefit is ungrateful for it. I value men by their
hearts alone, and, therefore, I shall pass over a rich man if he be
unworthy, and give to a good man though he be poor; for he will be
grateful however destitute he may be, since whatever he may lose, his
heart will still be left him.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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