#20: On Anger (De Ira)
Quotes that resonate, from ‘How to Keep Your Cool: An Ancient Guide to Anger Management’ by Seneca, selected, translated and introduced by James Romm.
[55]
Anger flares up on both sides and there’s a clash: the better party is the one that steps back first; it’s the “winner” who’s defeated.
[56]
Someone hits you: retreat. By getting violent in return, you’ll only give an opening and a pretext for more frequent violence, and you
won’t be able to get free of it later when you want to.
[57]
Surely no one would choose to hit a foe so hard as to have his hand stuck in the would and be unable to withdraw from the blow. But anger is a weapon of just this type; it’s hard to draw it back.