Letter 99 — On Consolation to the Bereaved (§13)

“Note the youths of the noblest lineage whose extravagance has flung them into the arena; note those men who cater to the passions of themselves and others in mutual lust, whose days never pass without drunkenness or some signal act of shame; it will thus be clear to you that there was more to fear than to hope for. “For this reason you ought not to invite excuses for grief or aggravate slight burdens by getting indignant.”