Stoic Quote 3: Suffer More Often in Imagination than in Reality

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Welcome to the Via Stoica Podcast, the podcast on Stoicism.

In the Stoic quotes series, we take a look at what the Stoics said and uncover the wisdom they left behind. We explore the famous writings of Epictetus, Seneca, Marcus Aurelius, and others.

In this episode, we turn to a powerful insight from Seneca, found in Moral Letters to Lucilius, Book 2, Letter 13.4:

“There are more things, Lucilius, likely to frighten us than there are to crush us; we suffer more often in imagination than in reality.”

Seneca reminds us that our minds often magnify fear beyond what reality ever delivers. We explore how this Stoic insight can help us face challenges with clarity and reduce the anxiety that comes from imagined catastrophes. If you struggle with overthinking or fear of the unknown, this quote is a grounding reminder of the difference between thought and fact.

If you’re looking for more quotes like this one, visit viastoica.com, where we’ve collected hundreds of Stoic sayings—each one carefully referenced so you can explore them in your own study or writing.

https://viastoica.com/stoic-quotes/
https://viastoica.com/seneca-quotes/
https://viastoica.com/epictetus-quotes/
https://viastoica.com/marcus-aurelius-quotes/

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Read some more about this quote and its practices here:

https://viastoica.com/a-stoic-practice-for-overthinking/

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