Seneca · c. 4 BCE – 65 CE
On Benefits 6.40 — Seneca
Translation by Aubrey Stewart (1887)
Seneca, On Benefits 6.40
See, how just you are; you would never have wished any of these misfortunes to befall him, if he had not bestowed a benefit upon you. Not to speak of the graver guilt which you incur by returning evil for good, you distinctly do wrong in not waiting for the fitting time for each action, for it is as wrong to anticipate this as it is not to take it when it comes. A benefit ought not always to be accepted, and ought not in all cases to be returned. If you were to return it to me against my will, you would be ungrateful, how much more ungrateful are you, if you force me to wish for it? Wait patiently; why are you unwilling to let my bounty abide with you? Why do you chafe at being laid under an obligation? why, as though you were dealing with a harsh usurer, are you in such a hurry to sign and seal an equivalent bond? Why do you wish me to get into trouble? Why do you call upon the gods to ruin me? If this is your way of returning a kindness, what would you do if you were exacting repayment of a debt?
Cite this passage
Seneca, On Benefits 6.40, tr. Aubrey Stewart (1887)
https://whatwouldstoicsdo.com/passage/on-benefits/6.40
Seneca, Dialogues, tr. Aubrey Stewart (1887–1889). Text: Standard Ebooks (CC0). Sources and licences
In plain English
AI-written notesDo not rush to settle a debt of kindness, because repaying at the wrong time is as bad as not repaying when the time comes. If you chafe at being obliged and hurry to sign and seal a matching bond like a borrower from a hard moneylender, you are treating a gift as a burden and a friend as a creditor.
Older wording
- “usurer”
- — a moneylender who charges interest
- “chafe”
- — feel irritated or restless
- “bounty”
- — generous giving
Themes and situations
- Gratitude
- Pride and humility
- Kindness and forgiveness
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