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Product Details
Series: Penguin Great Ideas
Paperback: 105 pages
Publisher: Penguin Books; Penguin Great Ideas edition (September 6, 2005)
The great Roman philosopher, statesman, dramatist Seneca ( BC 4 - AD 64) wrote many letters encouraging friends to apply themselves to the task of living a free, wise, tranquil and joyful life. `On the Shortness of Life' is one of my personal favorites since Seneca, ever the true eclectic, brilliantly draws from the various streams of ancient wisdom: Stoic, Epicurean, Platonic, Skeptic, and Cynic, as he addresses some of the most important questions we face as humans. Below are several quotes along with my comments.
"It is not that we have a short space of time, but that we waste much of it. 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. But when it is squandered in luxury and carelessness, when it is devoted to no good end, forced at last by the ultimate necessity we perceive that it has passed away before we were aware that it was passing. So it is - the life we receive is not short, but we make it so, nor do we have any lack of it, but as wasteful of it." ---------- One thing I personally find highly distasteful: television sets in hospital rooms. I wonder how many men and women have spent their last hours watching Daffy Duck cartoons or a weather report. When in the hospital several years ago, I insisted on a room where the television would not be on. As an adult I've always recognized every single moment of life is precious, not to be wasted on silliness or surrendered to commercialized mind-control.Read more ›
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I just started getting into reading philosophy and self help books. It's quite amazing how these people were so ahead of their time in terms of thinking. Seneca makes some great points. I like how he brings up the preoccupied people who are only concerned with the present, who don't realize how long they have until it's too late because they never realize how much time has passed and the uncertainty of the future. It's like pouring water in a cup with no bottom. How can you know how much water was poured when it isn't filling up but instead going right through the cup? At the same time, how do you know when the water will cease to flow? That's why it's so important to keep perspective of time. Don't just live in the moment. Understand the context of the moment. He stresses the importance of examining your past because it is solidified and unchangeable. There, you are able to observe those things you did well and those you didn't do well, so that you can make changes in the present to live a more productive and efficient life. He sums it up very astutely and simplistically with the little poem, "Life's finest day for wretched mortals here Is always first to flee." I also liked the quote from page 27 when he says "we lose the day in waiting for the night and the night in fearing for the dawn." He is saying we are waiting for the perfect moment, or the moment of joy and pleasure. But in waiting we lose all the time preceding that moment. And as soon as the moment comes we fear it's end. It's a constant vicious cycle and we can never win. Another great quote is on page 5 when he says "the greatest obstacle to living is expectancy, which hangs upon tomorrow and loses today. Very powerful insight.Read more ›
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An amazing book. Came fast and in perfect condition. I must say though, while this book is amazing, the first half taught me a lot more than the second.
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I've long valued the thinking of Seneca (along with Epictetus), but the additionally wonderful thing about this book is the form it comes in. Beautifully done little paperback edition by Penguin with an inlaid-print cover.
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Seneca shows how much we still have in common with the ancients. The challenges of living in a tumultuous world are addressed with common sense advice worthy of our consideration even today.
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Seneca has become pivotal in my personal study of philosophy. His amazingly accurate descriptions of human motivation are as true as they ever were when written. Yes, he may speak of people and places of which you have no knowledge, but that is to be expected. It is his practical insight into human behavior that makes Seneca essential. It is important how men live and die, but most only want to think of living on the wave of self-gratification and pleasure. They never consider the fact that life is short, and that it better be used for something more lasting than self-interest. Get this book and read it. Mark it up and do your best to retain the lessons that it teaches. You will not be disappointed.
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This item: On the Shortness of Life (Penguin Great Ideas)
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