Lucius Annaeus Seneca

“Philosophy is not tricks before an audience, nor is it a thing set up for display. It consists not in words but in actions. One does not take it up just to have an amusing pastime, a remedy for boredom. It molds and shapes the mind, gives order to life and discipline to action, shows what to do and what not to do. It sits at the helm and steers a course for us who are tossed in waves of uncertainty. Without it, there is no life that is not full of care and anxiety. For countless things happen every hour that need to advice philosophy alone can give.”
― Lucius Annaeus Seneca

“…No one can live a truly happy life, or even a bearable life, without philosophy … while it is complete wisdom that renders a life happy, even to begin that study makes life bearable.”
― Lucius Annaeus Seneca, Seneca - Letters from a Stoic: The Complete Collection of 124 Letters, also known as Moral Letters to Lucilius. Translated by Richard M. Gummere