It does not suit one’s interest to see everything, or to hear everything. Many offences may slip past us, and most fail to strike home when a man is unaware of them. Do you want to avoid losing your temper? Resist the impulse to be curious. The man who tries to find out what has been said against him, who seeks to unearth spiteful gossip, even when engaged in privately, is destroying his own peace of mind. Certain words can be construed in such a way that they appear insulting; some, therefore, should be abandoned, others scorned, still others condoned. Anger should be circumvented in many ways; let most affronts be turned into amusement and jest. When Socrates once received a box in the ear, the story goes, he merely said it was a nuisance that men could not tell when to wear a helmet when going for a walk.

From Seneca’s “On the Tranquility of the Mind” in Dialogues and Essays, translated by John Davie, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007, pp. 114-115.

Addendum (February 14, 2012)

At first I thought this bit of ancient wisdom should be dedicated to the mayor of Motovun, but then I thought it should better be dedicated to all the Croatian politicians who have taken their adversaries to court for insult, and there are plenty of those. Insult is apparently rife in this godforsaken country. I thought better of my innocent jest in the end. The mayor and the rest are well past redemption, anyway. Wisdom is of no use to them whatsoever. Perhaps I should dedicate this quote to myself, instead? Indeed, I should resist the impulse to be curious, let alone the propensity of losing my temper. Socrates’ helmet is the ruse to keep in mind. As to when and where to wear it, the answer is obvious enough: always and everywhere. And no kidding. Thank you so much, Seneca!