"Ón The Shortness Of Life" By Seneca
Good Morning
Book on my table : "On The Shortness Of Life" By Seneca
Last week while reading Seneca's book "Letters from a Stoic", I found a mention about this book in the introduction, with equal emphasis. Curious, I tried to know more and I was surprised to find that the book that has survived hundreds of years and covering a subject like "shortness of life" has only 56 pages and is priced just hundred rupees. Ordered a copy.
Amazon description about the book reads :
"De Brevitate Vitae (English: On the Shortness of Life) is a moral essay written by Seneca the Younger, a Roman Stoic philosopher, sometime around the year 49 AD, to Paulinus. Seneca's biting words still pack a powerful punch two thousand years later. According to the essay, nature gives people enough time to do what is really important and the individual must allot it properly. In general, time is best used by living in the present moment in pursuit of the intentional, purposeful life.
This is a rare treat for students of Stoicism and for anyone interested in seeking an answer to the eternal question, "How should I best use my time?""
https://amzn.in/d/0fq8WSTs
It's an interesting experience going through the 2000 years old writings by Seneca on the basic concepts of life. Sometimes you will even feel that what Seneca says is nothing new.
But if you read his thoughts carefully, you will be amazed about the clarity of ideas for planning your life, auditing the past for course correction now and focusing on the present.
Though titled "On The Shortness Of Life", Seneca, at the outset, announces that "Life is long enough, and it has been given in sufficiently generous measure to allow the accomplishment of the very greatest things if the whole of it is well invested."
Any time is auspicious to make a good beginning.
Today is good day.
M G Warrier
Bonus :
https://x.com/NobelPrize/status/2071536679760888251?s=20
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