Riches are slaves in the house of a wise man, but masters in that of a fool.
Genuine
Yes. In On the Happy Life (58), Chapter 26, section 1 (De Vita Beata 26.1).
Found word for word by program in the Latin original and in Aubrey Stewart’s English translation (1889).
- Work
- On the Happy Life (De Vita Beata), 58
- Where
- Chapter 26, section 1 (De Vita Beata 26.1)
- Found at
- Paragraph 69 of the Latin text, 62 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
[…] “Wherefore,” says the sage, “I do not talk one way and live another: but you do not rightly understand what I say: the sound of my words alone reaches your ears, you do not try to find out their meaning.”
[…] Ergo non ego aliter’ inquit sapiens ‘uiuo quam loquor, sed uos aliter auditis; sonus tantummodo uerborum ad aures uestras peruenit: quid significet non quaeritis.’
“What difference, then, is there between me, who am a fool, and you, who are a wise man?” “All the difference in the world: for riches are slaves in the house of a wise man, but masters in that of a fool. You accustom yourself to them and cling to them as if somebody had promised that they should be yours forever, but a wise man never thinks so much about poverty as when he is surrounded by riches. […]
1. ‘Quid ergo inter me stultum et te sapientem interest, si uterque habere uolumus?’ Plurimum: diuitiae enim apud sapientem uirum in seruitute sunt, apud stultum in imperio; sapiens diuitiis nihil permittit, uobis diuitiae omnia; uos, tamquam aliquis uobis aeternam possessionem earum promiserit, adsuescitis illis et cohaeretis, sapiens tunc maxime paupertatem meditatur cum in mediis diuitiis constitit. 2. […]
4. ‘Nihil magis’ inquit ille Socrates aut aliquis alius cui idem <adfectus> aduersus humana atque eadem potestas est ‘persuasi mihi quam ne ad opiniones uestras actum uitae meae flecterem. […]
The scene
In his defence of a philosopher’s possession of wealth, Seneca stages an objection: if both the fool and the wise person want riches, what distinguishes them? The reply is that the wise person controls wealth instead of depending on it. Seneca contrasts attachment to apparently permanent possessions with readiness to lose them, comparing the latter with a general’s preparation for war during peace.
What it means
Wisdom makes wealth an instrument one can use and relinquish; folly turns wealth into something that governs its possessor.
Often misread
Seneca is not demanding that every wise person be poor. He is defending the possibility of possessing riches without making happiness depend on them; the exchange is an illustrative dialogue, not a recorded conversation.
Topics
Related quotes
- It is impossible to live a pleasant life without living wisely and well and justly, and it is impossible to live wisely and well and justly without living pleasantly. Epicurus
- or, if we trust Aristotle, no great genius has ever been without a touch of insanity.
- men covetously guard their property from waste, but when it comes to waste of time, they are most prodigal of that of which it would become them to be sparing.
- The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy. Martin Luther King Jr.
- one’s whole life must be spent in learning how to live, and, which may perhaps surprise you more, one’s whole life must be spent in learning how to die.
Cite it
Seneca the Younger, On the Happy Life (58), Chapter 26, section 1 (De Vita Beata 26.1), translated by Aubrey Stewart (1889). Checked at Quotogeny, https://quotogeny.com/q/riches-are-slaves-of-the-wise-and-masters-of-fools/ (31 October 2026).
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