Seneca on Life


Seneca

Seneca had a lot to say about life and in a letter to his friend Paulinus, he goes on to talk of those who are overcome by fear and therefore make their lives appear very short.

“But life is very short and anxious for those who forget the past, neglect the present and fear the future. When they come to the end of it, the poor wretches realize too late that for all this time they have been preoccupied in doing nothing. And the fact that they sometimes invoke death is no proof that their lives seem long. Their own folly afflicts them with restless emotions which hurl themselves upon the very things they fear…They lose the day waiting for the night and the night in fearing the dawn. Even their pleasures are uneasy and made anxious by various fears, and at the very height of their rejoicing the worrying thought steals over them: ‘How long will this last?’ This feeling has caused kings to bewail their power…”

Comments

Anonymous said…
His attitude to life is very sensible. Onr cannot control all of the events surrounding us. It is best to control what we can, and abdicate those things that are outside of our power. People should always realize that they can only influence others superficially, and that most attitudes and desires are embedded from an early age,with scant possibility of change. The key here is working with issues we can influence and being realistic about the limitations on power, And finally, how crucial it is to recognize the destructive power of ego and work to control it accordingly.
Thursday, 08 June, 2006
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