How to Have a Life, Seneca
How to Have a Life, Seneca
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How to Have a Life
An Ancient Guide to Using Our Time Wisely

Author: Seneca, James S. Romm

Narrator: Esther Wane

Unabridged: 1 hr 26 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 10/18/2022


Synopsis

A vibrant new translation of Seneca's "On the Shortness of Life," a pointed reminder to make the most of our time

Who doesn't worry sometimes that smart phones, the Internet, and TV are robbing us of time and preventing us from having a life? How can we make the most of our time on earth? In the first century AD, the Stoic philosopher Seneca the Younger offered one of the most famous answers to that question in his essay "On the Shortness of Life"—a work that has more to teach us today than ever before. In How to Have a Life, James Romm presents a vibrant new translation of Seneca's brilliant essay, plus two Senecan letters on the same theme, complete with an inviting introduction.

With devastating satiric wit, skillfully captured in this translation, Seneca lampoons the ways we squander our time and fail to realize how precious it is. We don't allow people to steal our money, yet we allow them to plunder our time, or else we give it away ourselves in useless, idle pursuits. Seneca also describes how we can make better use of our brief days and years. In the process, he argues, we can make our lives longer, or even everlasting, because to live a real life is to attain a kind of immortality.

About Seneca

Seneca (c. 4 BC-65 AD) was a Roman Stoic philosopher, statesman, and dramatist. As a writer Seneca is known for his philosophical works, and for his plays, which are all tragedies.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Cooper

I need to read more Seneca, and more of the great ancient philosophers. Lessons from this short read: Time is the most valuable asset we posses, yet it is often the asset we squander the easiest (more easily than money and other worldly resources). Not only is time the most valuable asset, it is als......more

This inspired me to be more intentional with my time! Not a mind blowing book but a good read that I will read again. “Time didn’t used to seem so fleeting to me. Now, its pace seems beyond belief, either because I sense the approach of the finish line or because I’ve started to recognize and count......more

Goodreads review by Ben

Will be re reading. Definitely puts day to day life in perspective.......more

Goodreads review by Chris

Pretty mid. But enjoyed it. One long rant on memento mori, while saying prestige is not worth wasting your life on - Even while Seneca himself was in the elite.......more

Goodreads review by Waiis

Quotes I'd like to remember: Anticipation is the greatest obstacle to living; it depends on tomorrow while squandering today. They squander the day in awaiting the night and the night in fearing the day. Teach me that the goodness of life does not lie in its length but in the use made of it and that it......more