Men’s minds ought to have relaxation: they rise up better and more vigorous after rest.
Genuine
Yes. In On Tranquillity of Mind (60), Chapter 17, section 5 (De Tranquillitate Animi 17.5).
Found word for word by program in the Latin original and in Aubrey Stewart’s English translation (1889).
- Work
- On Tranquillity of Mind (De Tranquillitate Animi), 60
- Where
- Chapter 17, section 5 (De Tranquillitate Animi 17.5)
- Found at
- Paragraph 52 of the Latin text, 43 of the English
- Translation
- Aubrey Stewart, 1889
Researched by AI; checked by program against the full text on 31 October 2026. Editorial review: pending. How we check
On the page
[…] All these men discovered how at the cost of a small portion of time they might obtain immortality, and by their deaths gained eternal life.
[…] Miscenda tamen ista et alternanda sunt, solitudo et frequentia. Illa nobis faciet hominum desiderium, haec nostri, et erit altera alterius remedium: odium turbae sanabit solitudo, taedium solitudinis turba.
[…] Men’s minds ought to have relaxation: they rise up better and more vigorous after rest. […]
[…] 5 Danda est animis remissio: meliores acrioresque requieti surgent. Vt fertilibus agris non est imperandum (cito enim illos exhauriet numquam intermissa fecunditas), ita animorum impetus assiduus labor franget; uires recipient paulum resoluti et remissi. Nascitur ex assiduitate laborum animorum hebetatio quaedam et languor.
I have now, my beloved Serenus, given you an account of what things can preserve peace of mind, what things can restore it to us, what can arrest the vices which secretly undermine it: yet be assured, that none of these is strong enough to enable us to retain so fleeting a blessing, unless we watch over our vacillating mind with intense and unremitting care.
6 Nec ad hoc tanta hominum cupiditas tenderet, nisi naturalem quandam uoluptatem haberet lusus iocusque. […]
Et in ambulationibus apertis uagandum, ut caelo libero et multo spiritu augeat attollatque se animus; aliquando uectatio iterque et mutata regio uigorem dabunt, conuictusque et liberalior potio. […]
The scene
Near the end of his advice to Serenus, Seneca recommends alternating company with solitude and work with amusement. He cites Socrates playing with children, Cato relaxing after public business, and Scipio dancing. After this sentence he compares unremitting mental labour with exhausting fertile fields through repeated crops, while also warning against making amusement a permanent habit.
What it means
A mind works more energetically after intervals of rest and recreation.
Often misread
The recommendation is for intervals of relaxation, not unbroken idleness: Seneca also warns that constant amusement undermines mental strength.
Topics
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Cite it
Seneca the Younger, On Tranquillity of Mind (60), Chapter 17, section 5 (De Tranquillitate Animi 17.5), translated by Aubrey Stewart (1889). Checked at Quotogeny, https://quotogeny.com/q/minds-rise-better-and-more-vigorous-after-rest/ (31 October 2026).
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