On the Shortness of Life
Forthcoming The translation of this work is in preparation and will be published in the library.
Introduction
"It is not that we have a short time to live, but that we waste much of it." Seneca's short treatise, written about AD 49 for his friend Paulinus, is one of the most widely read works of ancient philosophy. Paulinus was in charge of Rome's grain supply, a powerful post that left him no time of his own, and Seneca urges him to withdraw while he can and keep the rest of his years for himself.
The theme is simple and sharp. People guard their money but give their time away to anyone who asks; they are busy with banquets, lawsuits, office and fame, and discover only at the end that they have never truly lived. Only those who give their time to philosophy, Seneca argues, and converse with the wise of every age, truly possess their lives, for the past is theirs and the whole experience of humankind. This translation will be made from the Latin text, with an introduction and notes.