What was hard to bear is sweet to have borne.
Seneca, Letters to Lucilius 78.14
quod acerbum fuit ferre, tulisse iucundum est
What was hard to bear is sweet to have borne.
Seneca, Letters to Lucilius 78.14
What it means
Getting through something hard leaves a satisfaction you could not have had otherwise. Seneca says it is natural to be glad when a trouble ends. Remember that in the middle of the next one.
The source
"What was hard to bear is sweet to have borne." Seneca said it in Letters to Lucilius 78.14. Translated from the original Latin by Spartan Surfers.
"quod acerbum fuit ferre, tulisse iucundum est"Original Latin, Letters to Lucilius 78.14. Text read at thelatinlibrary.com.
Who said it
Seneca (c. 4 BC–65 AD). Stoic philosopher, playwright and adviser to the emperor Nero. His letters to his friend Lucilius are the most readable handbook of Stoicism ever written.
Questions
- What does "What was hard to bear is sweet to have borne." mean?
- Getting through something hard leaves a satisfaction you could not have had otherwise. Seneca says it is natural to be glad when a trouble ends. Remember that in the middle of the next one.
- Who said "What was hard to bear is sweet to have borne."?
- Seneca (c. 4 BC–65 AD). Source: Letters to Lucilius 78.14.
- What is the original Latin?
- quod acerbum fuit ferre, tulisse iucundum est. Translated from the original Latin by Spartan Surfers.
- Is "What was hard to bear is sweet to have borne." on a shirt?
- Yes. We print it to order on our tees in 7 illustrated looks, from $44, with free US shipping.
Cite this line
"What was hard to bear is sweet to have borne." (Seneca, Letters to Lucilius 78.14, translated by Spartan Surfers). https://spartansurfers.com/quotes/what-was-hard-to-bear-is-sweet-to
Filed under Quotes about discipline and grit and Stoic quotes.
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More from Seneca
- Claim yourself back.Letters to Lucilius 1.1
- Most of life slips away doing nothing, or the wrong thing.Letters to Lucilius 1.1
- While you put life off, it runs past.Letters to Lucilius 1.3
- Nothing is truly yours except your time.Letters to Lucilius 1.3
- Be everywhere and you are nowhere.Letters to Lucilius 2.2
- Poor is not having little. Poor is wanting more.Letters to Lucilius 2.6