001. Seneca: On Saving Time

"What man can you show me who places any value on his time, who reckons the worth of each day, who understands that he is dying daily?" 

"For we are mistaken when we look forward to death; the major portion of death has already passed. Whatever years be behind us are in death’s hands."

Seneca writes of time as it was a valuable resource that should be spent with care, that should never be thoughtlessly given away, and that should never be stole from us. There will always be people who will take/steal our time; however, those who offer nothing in return for the time they take are the types to be mindful of. 

The length of time we have has been allocated by the fates and as it passes away it that time can never be re-lived again; in this way our past is already a death. It has passed away.

"While we are postponing, life speeds by."

"Nothing, Lucilius, is ours, except time. We were entrusted by nature with the ownership of this single thing, so fleeting and slippery that anyone can oust us from possession."

Protect your time. Spend it wisely. Do not necessarily spend it only on yourself; however, take care to account for the value it provides you. 

"I can give you the reasons why I am a poor man [how I have spent my time]." 

"I do not regard a man as poor, if the little [time] which remains is enough for him."

 

"I advise you, however, to keep what is really yours; and you cannot begin too early. For, as our ancestors believed, it is too late to spare when you reach the dregs of the cask. Of that which remains at the bottom, the amount is slight, and the quality is vile."

The metaphor shifts from time as a precious resource to age (the passing of time) as the consumption of wine stored in a casket. The dregs of the casket mean our old age; living our short remaining time, will be poor due to the natural decay of our health, so make the most of your time while you are able. 

Seneca is essentially saying Carpe Diem; cease the day, but cease it wisely.

 

Live your own life. Do not let others take that life away. 

Do not scroll mindlessly. 

 

 Seneca, Lucius  Annaeus. Seneca's Letters from a Stoic (Dover Thrift Editions: Philosophy) (p. 2). Dover Publications. Kindle Edition.