"Do not ask for what you will wish you had not got"
About this Quote
Desire, in Seneca's hands, is less a romance than a legal contract you will be forced to honor. "Do not ask for what you will wish you had not got" sounds like commonsense caution, but its bite comes from the implied prosecution: you are responsible not only for what you do, but for what you invite into your life. The warning isn't "be careful what you wish for" in a fairy-tale sense; it's "stop petitioning Fortune as if she were a benevolent clerk."
As a Roman statesman navigating patronage, power, and sudden reversals, Seneca knew that getting what you want can be the fastest route to losing what you need. In imperial politics, promotions arrived braided with obligations, enemies, and proximity to a volatile ruler; success didn't just elevate you, it exposed you. The subtext is that many requests are really bargains with hidden clauses: more status means less freedom; more wealth means more fear; more influence means more compromise. Stoicism sharpens that into a moral point: the untrained mind confuses appetite with advantage.
The line also functions as an anti-entitlement doctrine. "Ask" is doing a lot of work: it names the social machinery of favor, dependency, and performative ambition. Seneca is telling you to interrogate your own motives before you outsource your hopes to external goods. If you can foresee regretting the prize, you already know the prize isn't worth the price.
As a Roman statesman navigating patronage, power, and sudden reversals, Seneca knew that getting what you want can be the fastest route to losing what you need. In imperial politics, promotions arrived braided with obligations, enemies, and proximity to a volatile ruler; success didn't just elevate you, it exposed you. The subtext is that many requests are really bargains with hidden clauses: more status means less freedom; more wealth means more fear; more influence means more compromise. Stoicism sharpens that into a moral point: the untrained mind confuses appetite with advantage.
The line also functions as an anti-entitlement doctrine. "Ask" is doing a lot of work: it names the social machinery of favor, dependency, and performative ambition. Seneca is telling you to interrogate your own motives before you outsource your hopes to external goods. If you can foresee regretting the prize, you already know the prize isn't worth the price.
Quote Details
| Topic | Wisdom |
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