Nothing is pleasant to possess, without someone to share.
Many lacked not a friend, but a friendship.
The living voice & the intimacy of a common life will help you more than the written word.
First, because people put more faith in their eyes than in their ears, &
Second, because the way is long if one follows precepts,
– but short & helpful, if one follows patterns.
On Sharing Knowledge
I feel, my dear Lucilius, that I am being not only reformed, but transformed.
I do not yet, however, assure myself, or indulge the hope, that there are no elements left in me which need to be changed.
Of course there are many that should be made more compact, or made thinner, or be brought into greater prominence.
And indeed this very fact is proof that my spirit is altered into something better, – that it can see its own faults, of which it was previously ignorant.
I therefore wish to impart to you this sudden change in myself; I should then begin to place a surer trust in our friendship,
– the true friendship which hope & fear & self-interest cannot sever, the friendship in which & for the sake of which people meet death.
I can show you many who have lacked, not a friend, but a friendship;
this, however, cannot possibly happen when souls are drawn together by identical inclinations into an alliance of honourable desires.
And why can it not happen?
Because in such cases people know that they have all things in common, especially their troubles.
You cannot conceive what distinct progress I notice that each day brings to me.
And when you say: “Give me also a share in these gifts which you have found so helpful,”
I reply that I am anxious to heap all these privileges upon you, & that I am glad to learn in order that I may teach.
Nothing will ever please me, no matter how excellent or beneficial, if I must retain the knowledge of it to myself.
And if wisdom were given me under the express condition that it must be kept hidden & not uttered, I should refuse it.
No good thing is pleasant to possess, without friends to share it.
I shall therefore send to you the actual books; & in order that you may not waste time in searching here & there for profitable topics, I shall mark certain passages, so that you can turn at once to those which I approve and admire.
Of course, however, the living voice & the intimacy of a common life will help you more than the written word.
You must go to the scene of action,
first, because people put more faith in their eyes than in their ears, &
second, because the way is long if one follows precepts, but short & helpful, if one follows patterns.
Cleanthes could not have been the express image of Zeno, if One had merely heard his lectures;
he shared in his life, saw into his hidden purposes, & watched him to see whether he lived according to his own rules.
Plato, Aristotle, & the whole throng of sages who were destined to go each their different way, derived more benefit from the character than from the words of Socrates.
It was not the class-room of Epicurus, but living together under the same roof, that made great sages of Metrodorus, Hermarchus, & Polyaenus.
Therefore I summon you, not merely that you may derive benefit, but that you may confer benefit; for we can assist each other greatly.
Meanwhile, I owe you my little daily contribution; you shall be told what pleased me to-day in the writings of Hecato;
That was indeed a great benefit; such a person can never be alone.
it is these words:
I have begun to be a friend to myself.
…
Farewell。
Stoic, Seneca, StoicTaoist。
如何分享？
如没有人分享，没有什么是值得拥有的。
许多人缺少的不是朋友，而是友谊。
生活知音和普通生活的亲密感比文字对你的帮助更大。
首先，因为人们对眼睛比对耳朵更信任
第二，因为遵守戒律的路是漫长的，
-但是，如果一个人遵循模式的话，简短而有用。
论知识共享
亲爱的卢西利乌斯，我觉得我不仅在改造，而且在被改造。
然而，我还不能向自己保证，也不能放纵自己的希望，我的内心没有任何需要改变的因素。
当然，也有许多需要做得更紧凑、更薄或更突出。
事实上，正是这一事实证明了我的精神被改变成了更好的东西——它可以看到自己的错误，而它以前对此一无所知。
因此，我希望告诉你们我自己的这种突然变化；然后我应该开始更加信任我们的友谊，
——希望、恐惧和私利无法割断的真正友谊，人们在其中为之死亡的友谊。
我可以向你们展示许多人所缺少的，不是朋友，而是友谊；
然而，这不可能发生，当灵魂被相同的倾向拉到一起，成为一个高尚欲望的联盟。
为什么不能发生呢？
因为在这种情况下，人们知道他们有所有的共同点，特别是他们的烦恼。
你无法想象我注意到的每一天给我带来的显著进步。
当你说：“也给我一份你觉得非常有用的礼物吧，”
我回答说，我急于把所有这些特权都加在你们身上，我很高兴学习，以便我可以教学。
如果我必须把它的知识留给自己，无论它多么优秀或有益，都不会让我高兴。
如果智慧是在明确的条件下给予我的，而它必须隐藏起来&不能说出来，我会拒绝它。
没有朋友分享的东西，是不会令人愉快的。
因此，我将向您送实际的书籍；&为了不让你们浪费时间到处寻找有利可图的话题，我将标记某些段落，以便你们可以立即转向我赞同和钦佩的段落。
当然，生活的知音&普通生活中的亲密感对你的帮助远大于文字。
你必须行动，
首先，因为人们对眼睛比对耳朵更信任
第二，因为如果一个人遵循戒律，道路是漫长的，但是如果一个人遵循生活式，道路是短暂而有益的。
如果一个人仅仅听了芝诺的演讲，那么克朗提斯就不可能成为芝诺的形象；
他分享自己的生活，了解自己隐藏的目的，观察自己是否按照自己的规则生活。
柏拉图、亚里士多德和所有注定要各奔前程的圣人，都从这个人物身上得到了比苏格拉底的话更多的好处。
这不是伊壁鸠鲁的教室，而是住在同一个屋檐下，造就了Metrodorus、Hermarchus和Polyaenus的伟大圣人。
所以我召你来，不仅是要你得益，也是因为我们可以互相帮助而得益。
同时，我还欠你我每天的一点贡献；今天，我会用赫卡托的著作告诉你我喜欢的东西；
这确实是一大好处；这样的人永远不会孤单。
是这样的话：
我已经开始成为自己的朋友。
…
再会。
斯多葛，塞内卡，坚道学。
Always Be Confident 