Greetings from Seneca to his friend Lucilius.
+ +1. Continue to act thus, my dear Lucilius – set yourself free for your own + sake; gather and save your time, which till lately has been forced from you, + or filched away, or has merely slipped from your hands. Make yourself + believe the truth of my words, – that certain moments are torn from us, that + some are gently removed, and that others glide beyond our reach. The most + disgraceful kind of loss, however, is that due to carelessness. Furthermore, + if you will pay close heed to the problem, you will find that the largest + portion of our life passes while we are doing ill, a goodly share while we + are doing nothing, and the whole while we are doing that which is not to the + purpose. 2. 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.
+ +Therefore, Lucilius, do as you write me that you are doing: hold every hour + in your grasp. Lay hold of to-day's task, and you will not need to depend so + much upon to-morrow's. While we are postponing, life speeds by. 3. Nothing, + Lucilius, is ours, except time. We were entrusted by nature with the + ownership of this single thing, so fleeting and slippery that anyone who + will can oust us from possession. What fools these mortals be! They allow + the cheapest and most useless things, which can easily be replaced, to be + charged in the reckoning, after they have acquired them; but they never + regard themselves as in debt when they have received some of that precious + commodity, – time! And yet time is the one loan which even a grateful + recipient cannot repay.
+ +4. You may desire to know how I, who preach to you so freely, am practising. + I confess frankly: my expense account balances, as you would expect from one + who is free-handed but careful. I cannot boast that I waste nothing, but I + can at least tell you what I am wasting, and the cause and manner of the + loss; I can give you the reasons why I am a poor man. My situation, however, + is the same as that of many who are reduced to slender means through no + fault of their own: every one forgives them, but no one comes to their + rescue.
+ +5. What is the state of things, then? It is this: I do not regard a man as + poor, if the little 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. Farewell.
+ +Time management. I'm pretty bad at time management. It's interesting + re-reading this letter after having read ahead a few. This one reads much + less personal than his later letters. Perhaps an indication of a developing + relationship.
+ +Much of the letter emphasizes the importance of being present, and aware. One + of the most impactful parts of this letter epitomizes this: "Whatever years + be behind us are in death's hands." The acceptance of death as a necessary + and constant part of life is a Stoic theme, but this sentence reminds us of + this reality without remorse. Replace 'years' with 'time', and the letter's + theme is laid bare: time is an expense account you can only hope to balance, + and never credit. Seneca himself makes this comparison, noting that he only + balances his by being aware of his expenditures. To him, it seems being + aware of the waste is enough to balance the waste itself, which I find + interesting.
+ +Seneca's account of how we spend our time strikes me as a tad cynical: + "...the largest portion of our life passes while we are doing ill, a goodly + share while we are doing nothing, and the whole while we are doing that + which is not to the purpose." Essentially, we spend most of our life not + doing what we intend to do, either because we fail to act, or we "[do] ill". + If I interpret "doing ill" to mean not pursuing Stoic virtue, I can + extrapolate "the purpose" to mean living a virtuous life. I think the + statement seeks more specific examples than the entirety of life's pursuit, + though, and in those cases "doing ill" could mean doing that which does not + benefit the specific pursuit. This could be playing video games instead of + cleaning my house, for example. In this case, it seems apt to define "doing + ill" as procrastination, and "the purpose" being whatever our goal is at + that particular moment. Though an interesting third option is more of a + relativity approach: we feel that life passes us by fastest while "doing + ill" or doing nothing, and in general life seems to pass by faster when we + are not focusing on our task than when we are. The ol' "Time flies while + you're having fun" chestnut. Not to say "doing ill" is having fun, though. + Rather, "doing ill" is like partying until 4am, and wondering how it got so + late.
+ +Live in the moment, be aware of how you spend your time, and always act to + spend it wisely. Just be aware: no matter how carefully you budget, your + account will always be indebted to death.
+ ++ Moral Letters to Lucilius, Letter 1 on Wikisource +
diff --git a/_drafts/ltl-2.html b/_drafts/ltl-2.html new file mode 100644 index 0000000..93e6e73 --- /dev/null +++ b/_drafts/ltl-2.html @@ -0,0 +1,82 @@ +--- + tabtitle: "Seneca's Letter to Lucilius, Letter 2" + title: "Seneca's Letter to Lucilius, Letter 2: On Discursiveness in Reading" + topics: [philosophy] + pub: "2018-01-14" + short_desc: "Seneca's second letter to Lucilius, On Discursiveness in + Reading, covers the importance of focus. There's also a quote by Epicurus, + which is apparently a feature of many of his letters to Lucilius." +--- + +1. Judging by what you write me, and by what I hear, I am forming a good +opinion regarding your future. You do not run hither and thither and distract +yourself by changing your abode; for such restlessness is the sign of a +disordered spirit. The primary indication, to my thinking, of a well-ordered +mind is a man's ability to remain in one place and linger in his own company. +2. Be careful, however, lest this reading of many authors and books of every +sort may tend to make you discursive and unsteady. You must linger among a +limited number of master thinkers, and digest their works, if you would derive +ideas which shall win firm hold in your mind. Everywhere means nowhere. When a +person spends all his time in foreign travel, he ends by having many +acquaintances, but no friends. And the same thing must hold true of men who +seek intimate acquaintance with no single author, but visit them all in a hasty +and hurried manner. 3. Food does no good and is not assimilated into the body +if it leaves the stomach as soon as it is eaten; nothing hinders a cure so much +as frequent change of medicine; no wound will heal when one salve is tried +after another; a plant which is often moved can never grow strong. There is +nothing so efficacious that it can be helpful while it is being shifted about. +And in reading of many books is distraction.
+ +Accordingly, since you cannot read all the books which you may possess, it is +enough to possess only as many books as you can read. 4. "But," you reply, "I +wish to dip first into one book and then into another." I tell you that it is +the sign of an overnice appetite to toy with many dishes; for when they are +manifold and varied, they cloy but do not nourish. So you should always read +standard authors; and when you crave a change, fall back upon those whom you +read before. Each day acquire something that will fortify you against poverty, +against death, indeed against other misfortunes as well; and after you have run +over many thoughts, select one to be thoroughly digested that day. 5. This is +my own custom; from the many things which I have read, I claim some one part +for myself.
+ +The thought for today is one which I discovered in Epicurus; for I am wont +to cross over even into the enemy's camp, – not as a deserter, but as a scout. +6. He says: "Contented poverty is an honourable estate." Indeed, if it be +contented, it is not poverty at all. It is not the man who has too little, but +the man who craves more, that is poor. What does it matter how much a man has +laid up in his safe, or in his warehouse, how large are his flocks and how fat +his dividends, if he covets his neighbour's property, and reckons, not his past +gains, but his hopes of gains to come? Do you ask what is the proper limit to +wealth? It is, first, to have what is necessary, and, second, to have what is +enough. Farewell.
+ +I'm not sure who named the letters, but I think they should always read "On + Whatever I Intend to Write About, oh and this generally unrelated quote + probably from Epicurus." Which isn't to complain, I just find it amusing. + And, to be fair, this letter and quote combination do fit together.
+ +The gist of this letter is the importance of focus. Seneca posits having too + broad a focus with regard to authors or topics will make Lucilius + "discursive and unsteady." A jack-of-all-trades is a master of none. His + comparisons with travel, food, medicine, and agriculture are all apt, though + a tad misleading, as each topic necessitates a differing degree of focus, + not to mention each may pursue different ends; the pursuit of reading or + travel may be ephemeral, whereas the pursuit of medicine or treatment may be + more lasting. Considering the theme of the letter, though, I don't want to + argue these particulars, since I like the metaphors.
+ +The secondary theme of the letter deals with possessions. Both Seneca, and + the surprisingly on-topic quote from Epicurus encourage only owning enough + to cover what is needed, not necessarily what is desired. "It is, first, to + have what is necessary, and, second, to have what is enough." As an aspiring + minimalist, I couldn't agree more.
+ +