--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You ask what is the proper limit to a…" description: "\"“You ask what is the proper limit to a person's wealth? First, having what is essential, and second, having what is enough.”\" — Lucius Annaeus Seneca" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d8b/lucius-annaeus-seneca-3079_money_you-ask-what-is-the-proper-limit-to-a-pe_2458410.jpg" --- # You ask what is the proper limit to a person's wealth?… ![“You ask what is the proper limit to a person's wealth? First, having what is essential, and second, having what is enough.” quote by Lucius Annaeus Seneca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d8b/lucius-annaeus-seneca-3079_money_you-ask-what-is-the-proper-limit-to-a-pe_2458410.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d8b/lucius-annaeus-seneca-3079_money_you-ask-what-is-the-proper-limit-to-a-pe_2458410.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d8b/lucius-annaeus-seneca-3079_money_you-ask-what-is-the-proper-limit-to-a-pe_2458410.jpg) > ““You ask what is the proper limit to a person's wealth? First, having what is essential, and second, having what is enough.”” [Lucius Annaeus Seneca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucius-annaeus-seneca/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He defines wealth limits by essential needs first, then enough to be content, discouraging excess. **In simple terms:** Wealth should meet needs and then be sufficient, not excessive. Key Takeaway Prioritize needs, then contentment over accumulation. Themes philosophy wealth contentment Mood reflective calm Type philosophical ethical When to use this quote - personal finance planning - minimalist lifestyle - ethical investing - budgeting education Key Concepts Stoicism moderation ethical living Questions to Reflect On - What constitutes “essential” for you? - How can societies promote contentment over consumption? A Different Perspective Cultural values may redefine “enough”. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Having Essential](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/having-essential-629724/) [Money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/money/) [Person Wealth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/person-wealth-629721/) [Proper Limit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/proper-limit-629722/) [Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rich/) [Wealth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wealth/) [Wealth Having](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wealth-having-629718/) ## Related quotes > [What difference does it make how much there is laid away in a man's safe or in his barns, how many head of stock…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/what-difference-does-it-make-how-much-there-is-laid-away-in-a-man-s/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“It is not the man who has too little who is poor, but the one who hankers after more. What difference does it make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca/it-is-not-the-man-who-has-too-little-who-is-poor-but-the-one-who/) [Seneca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca/) > [What is the proper limit for wealth? It is, first, to have what is necessary; and, second, to have what is enough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-elder/what-is-the-proper-limit-for-wealth-it-is-first-to-have-what-is/) [Seneca the Elder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-elder/) > [The person who does not know how to live while they are making a living is a poorer person after their wealth is won…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-person-who-does-not-know-how-to-live-while-they-are-making-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The best way to judge the worth of a person’s wealth is to count the number of genuine people he has got in his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anuj/the-best-way-to-judge-the-worth-of-a-person-s-wealth-is-to-count-the/) [Anuj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anuj/) > [Whatsoever has exceeded its proper limit is in an unstable position.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/whatsoever-has-exceeded-its-proper-limit-is-in-an-unstable-position/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [True wealth is having your health, and knowledge of self.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immortal-technique/true-wealth-is-having-your-health-and-knowledge-of-self/) [Immortal Technique](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immortal-technique/) > [None in this age will amass wealth except those having five traits ofcharacter. High hopes; abnormal greediness; excessive miserliness, lack of fearing Allaah; and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sufyan-al-thawri/none-in-this-age-will-amass-wealth-except-those-having-five-traits/) [Sufyan al-Thawri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sufyan-al-thawri/) > [Your economic security does not lie in your job; it lies in your own power to produce - to think, to learn, to create,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-covey/your-economic-security-does-not-lie-in-your-job-it-lies-in-your-own/) [Stephen Covey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-covey/) > [Time is an ever-fleeting presence, to capture even a slice of it yields a wealth to having lived.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/time-is-an-ever-fleeting-presence-to-capture-even-a-slice-of-it/) [David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) > [Thank you for touching my life in ways you may never know. My riches do not lie in material wealth but in having friends…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/thank-you-for-touching-my-life-in-ways-you-may-never-know-my-riches/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Wealth is not about having a lot of money; it's about having a lot of options.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-rock/wealth-is-not-about-having-a-lot-of-money-it-s-about-having-a-lot-of/) [Chris Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-rock/) > [One pillar to wealth is having residual income.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nipsey-hussle/one-pillar-to-wealth-is-having-residual-income/) [Nipsey Hussle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nipsey-hussle/) > [Our family's fortune is growing faster than ever. We're a part of a small number of American families that own most of the country's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-johnson/our-family-s-fortune-is-growing-faster-than-ever-we-re-a-part-of-a/) [Jamie Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-johnson/) > [True wealth is having a healthy mind, body, and spirit. True wealth is having the knowledge to maneuver and navigate the mental obstacles that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupaul/true-wealth-is-having-a-healthy-mind-body-and-spirit-true-wealth-is/) [RuPaul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupaul/) ## More by Lucius Annaeus Seneca > [It's not because things are difficult that we dare not venture. It's because we dare not venture that they are difficult.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucius-annaeus-seneca/it-s-not-because-things-are-difficult-that-we-dare-not-venture-it-s/) [Lucius Annaeus Seneca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucius-annaeus-seneca/) > [“Often a very old man has no other proof of his long life than his age.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucius-annaeus-seneca/often-a-very-old-man-has-no-other-proof-of-his-long-life-than-his-age/) [Lucius Annaeus Seneca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucius-annaeus-seneca/) > [“But nothing will help quite so much as just keeping quiet, talking with other people as little as possible, with yourself as much as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucius-annaeus-seneca/but-nothing-will-help-quite-so-much-as-just-keeping-quiet-talking/) [Lucius Annaeus Seneca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucius-annaeus-seneca/) > [“Qui mori didicit servire dedidicit.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucius-annaeus-seneca/qui-mori-didicit-servire-dedidicit/) [Lucius Annaeus Seneca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucius-annaeus-seneca/) > [“You should … live in such a way that there is nothing which you could not as easily tell your enemy as keep to yourself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucius-annaeus-seneca/you-should-live-in-such-a-way-that-there-is-nothing-which-you-could/) [Lucius Annaeus Seneca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucius-annaeus-seneca/) > [A physician is not angry at the intemperance of a mad patient, nor does he take it ill to be railed at by a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucius-annaeus-seneca/a-physician-is-not-angry-at-the-intemperance-of-a-mad-patient-nor/) [Lucius Annaeus Seneca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucius-annaeus-seneca/) > [It even helps stupid people to try hard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucius-annaeus-seneca/it-even-helps-stupid-people-to-try-hard/) [Lucius Annaeus Seneca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucius-annaeus-seneca/) > [The mind that is anxious about the future is miserable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucius-annaeus-seneca/the-mind-that-is-anxious-about-the-future-is-miserable/) [Lucius Annaeus Seneca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucius-annaeus-seneca/) > [“It is a great man that can treat his earthenware as if it was silver, and a man who treats his silver as if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucius-annaeus-seneca/it-is-a-great-man-that-can-treat-his-earthenware-as-if-it-was-silver/) [Lucius Annaeus Seneca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucius-annaeus-seneca/) > [“Conversation has a kind of charm about it, an insinuating and insidious something that elicits secrets just like love or liquor.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucius-annaeus-seneca/conversation-has-a-kind-of-charm-about-it-an-insinuating-and/) [Lucius Annaeus Seneca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucius-annaeus-seneca/) > [“I am not born for one corner; the whole world is my native land.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucius-annaeus-seneca/i-am-not-born-for-one-corner-the-whole-world-is-my-native-land/) [Lucius Annaeus Seneca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucius-annaeus-seneca/) > [“As often as I have been amongst men, I have returned less a man.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucius-annaeus-seneca/as-often-as-i-have-been-amongst-men-i-have-returned-less-a-man/) [Lucius Annaeus Seneca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucius-annaeus-seneca/) > [A punishment to some, to some a gift, and to many a favor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucius-annaeus-seneca/a-punishment-to-some-to-some-a-gift-and-to-many-a-favor/) [Lucius Annaeus Seneca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucius-annaeus-seneca/) > [“Once you have rid yourself of the affliction there, though, every change of scene will become a pleasure. You may be banished to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucius-annaeus-seneca/once-you-have-rid-yourself-of-the-affliction-there-though-every/) [Lucius Annaeus Seneca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucius-annaeus-seneca/) > [“When a person spends all his time in foreign travel, he ends by having many acquaintances, but no friends.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucius-annaeus-seneca/when-a-person-spends-all-his-time-in-foreign-travel-he-ends-by-having/) [Lucius Annaeus Seneca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucius-annaeus-seneca/) [Explore all 133 Lucius Annaeus Seneca quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucius-annaeus-seneca/) ## More Money quotes > [You've got to tell your money what to do or it will leave.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-ramsey/you-ve-got-to-tell-your-money-what-to-do-or-it-will-leave/) [Dave Ramsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-ramsey/) > [Don't let's lose sight of what creates wealth. It is open markets, it is capitalism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupert-murdoch/don-t-let-s-lose-sight-of-what-creates-wealth-it-is-open-markets-it/) [Rupert Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupert-murdoch/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [Money is the kind of instrument which is very speedily produced.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anatoly-chubais/money-is-the-kind-of-instrument-which-is-very-speedily-produced/) [Anatoly Chubais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anatoly-chubais/) > [I would borrow money all day long, if the cost of borrowing is less than the expected return.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-schneider/i-would-borrow-money-all-day-long-if-the-cost-of-borrowing-is-less/) [Brad Schneider](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-schneider/) > [If you restore a car, and you're making money, then you're doing it wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-leno/if-you-restore-a-car-and-you-re-making-money-then-you-re-doing-it/) [Jay Leno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-leno/) > [Maybe you can,t buy a big house.. A new car.. A huge diamond ring.. But if you have just one true friend who loves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cathy/maybe-you-can-t-buy-a-big-house-a-new-car-a-huge-diamond-ring-but-if/) [Cathy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cathy/) > [“Don't allow money to become the yardstick by which you measure the worth of the world around you!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-james-pritchard/don-t-allow-money-to-become-the-yardstick-by-which-you-measure-the/) [Andrew James Pritchard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-james-pritchard/) > [Academically, I was never that interested. I skipped classes. My biggest dream was to have a coffee shop, but I had no idea how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-espinosa/academically-i-was-never-that-interested-i-skipped-classes-my-biggest/) [Daniel Espinosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-espinosa/) > [Amongst the financial Twitterati, the term 'muppets' has come to describe any client used and abused by some financial predator. I've adopted the term…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-ritholtz/amongst-the-financial-twitterati-the-term-muppets-has-come-to/) [Barry Ritholtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-ritholtz/) > [I doubt that we Americans can come to terms with our money neuroses without understanding the more florid pathology of the very rich for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-slater/i-doubt-that-we-americans-can-come-to-terms-with-our-money-neuroses/) [Philip Slater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-slater/) > [“The writer must earn money in order to be able to live and to write, but he must by no means live and write…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-goins/the-writer-must-earn-money-in-order-to-be-able-to-live-and-to-write/) [Jeff Goins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-goins/) > [Jobs and money are never the primary cause of stress. Thinking, negative thinking causes stress. The real cause of all problems lie in our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-proctor/jobs-and-money-are-never-the-primary-cause-of-stress-thinking/) [Bob Proctor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-proctor/) > [Most paper money initially existed as a substitute for gold. That's what gave it value. But right now what gives a currency value is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-schiff/most-paper-money-initially-existed-as-a-substitute-for-gold-that-s/) [Peter Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-schiff/) > [The man who works for the gold in the job rather than for the money in the pay envelope, is the fellow who gets…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-french-johnson/the-man-who-works-for-the-gold-in-the-job-rather-than-for-the-money/) [Joseph French Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-french-johnson/) [Browse all 45,172 Money quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/money/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“You ask what is the proper limit to a person's wealth? First, having what is essential, and second, having what is enough.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Lucius Annaeus Seneca" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucius-annaeus-seneca/you-ask-what-is-the-proper-limit-to-a-person-s-wealth-first-having/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Money" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucius-annaeus-seneca/you-ask-what-is-the-proper-limit-to-a-person-s-wealth-first-having/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d8b/lucius-annaeus-seneca-3079_money_you-ask-what-is-the-proper-limit-to-a-pe_2458410.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d8b/lucius-annaeus-seneca-3079_money_you-ask-what-is-the-proper-limit-to-a-pe_2458410.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d8b/lucius-annaeus-seneca-3079_money_you-ask-what-is-the-proper-limit-to-a-pe_2458410.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“You ask what is the proper limit to a person's wealth? First, having what is essential, and second, having…” — Lucius Annaeus Seneca", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Lucius Annaeus Seneca", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucius-annaeus-seneca/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“You ask what is the proper...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucius-annaeus-seneca/you-ask-what-is-the-proper-limit-to-a-person-s-wealth-first-having/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucius-annaeus-seneca/you-ask-what-is-the-proper-limit-to-a-person-s-wealth-first-having/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```