Ponder for a long time whether you shall admit a given person to your friendship; but when you have decided to admit him, welcome him with all your heart and soul.
Seneca Moral Letters to Lucilius, Letter 3, On True and False Friendship (65 CE) Translated by Richard Mott Gummere
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When and why it was written
- When
- From Seneca's third letter to Lucilius, around 64 CE.
- Why
- Lucilius had called someone a friend while keeping secrets from him, and Seneca objects to the half measure.
What it means
Seneca asks for care at the door and openness once someone is inside. Slow to trust, then wholehearted.
The mistake he names is the opposite: easy friendship that is never quite trusted.
Our reading of the passage cited above, not a quotation from a commentary.
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Moral Letters to Lucilius, 65 CE
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