Seneca (to Paulinus) · Complete work
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1. Quod proposui si in partes uelim et argumenta diducere, multa mihi occurrent per quae probem breuissimam esse occupatorum uitam. Solebat dicere Fabianus, non ex his cathedrariis philosophis, sed ex ueris et antiquis, "contra affectus impetu, non subtilitate pugnandum, nec minutis uulneribus sed incursu auertendam aciem". Non probabat cauillationes: "enim contundi debere, non uellicari." Tamen, ut illis error exprobretur suus, docendi non tantum deplorandi sunt.
2. In tria tempora uita diuiditur: quod fuit, quod est, quod futurum est. Ex his quod agimus breue est, quod acturi sumus dubium, quod egimus certum. Hoc est enim in quod fortuna ius perdidit, quod in nullius arbitrium reduci potest.
3. Hoc amittunt occupati; nec enim illis uacat praeterita respicere, et si uacet iniucunda est paenitendae rei recordatio. Inuiti itaque ad tempora male exacta animum reuocant nec audent ea retemptare quorum uitia, etiam quae aliquo praesentis uoluptatis lenocinio surripiebantur, retractando patescunt. Nemo, nisi quoi omnia acta sunt sub censura sua, quae numquam fallitur, libenter se in praeteritum retorquet:
4. ille qui multa ambitiose concupiit superbe contempsit, impotenter uicit insidiose decepit, auare rapuit prodige effudit, necesse est memoriam suam timeat. Atqui haec est pars temporis nostri sacra ac dedicata, omnis humanos casus supergressa, extra regnum fortunae subducta, quam non inopia, non metus, non morborum incursus exagitet; haec nec turbari nec eripi potest; perpetua eius et intrepida possessio est. Singuli tantum dies, et hi per momenta, praesentes sunt; at praeteriti temporis omnes, cum jusseritis, aderunt, ad arbitrium tuum inspici se ac detineri patientur, quod facere occupatis non uacat.
5. Securae et quietae mentis est in omnes uitae suae partes discurrere; occupatorum animi, uelut sub iugo sint, flectere se ac respicere non possunt. Abit igitur uita eorum in profundum; et ut nihil prodest, licet quantumlibet ingeras, si non subest quod excipiat ac seruet, sic nihil refert quantum temporis detur, si non est ubi subsidat: per quassos foratosque animos transmittitur.
6. Praesens tempus breuissimum est, adeo quidem ut quibusdam nullum uideatur; in cursu enim semper est, fluit et praecipitatur; ante desinit esse quam uenit, nec magis moram patitur quam mundus aut sidera, quorum irrequieta semper agitatio numquam in eodem uestigio manet. Solum igitur ad occupatos praesens pertinet tempus, quod tam breue est ut arripi non possit, et id ipsum illis districtis in multa subducitur.
Mouseia
Mouseia’s complete machine-assisted Musean translation, made directly from all 20 chapters and 106 sections of the Latin for fidelity, Senecan compression, modern clarity, and cadence.
1. What I proposed, if I wished to draw out into parts and spread the arguments, many things would meet me by which I might prove the life of the busy to be shortest. Fabianus used to say — not of those lectern philosophers, but of the true and ancient kind — "against the passions we must fight with assault, not with subtlety, and the battle-line must be turned not by small wounds but by a full onset." He did not approve of cavils: "what is needed is to crush, not to pluck." Still, since their own error must be made plain to them, they must be taught, not only bewailed.
2. Life is divided into three times: what WAS, what IS, what WILL BE. Of these, what we do is brief; what we shall do, doubtful; what we have done, certain. For this is that over which fortune has lost her rights, which cannot be brought back into anyone's power.
3. This the busy lose; for they have no leisure to look back on the past; and if they had, the recollection of a thing to be repented is unwelcome. Unwillingly, then, they call the mind back to times spent ill, nor do they dare to try again those things whose vices — even such as were stolen in under some present pleasure's bait — open out on review. No one willingly turns himself to the past unless all his acts are under his own judgment, which is never deceived —
4. he who coveted much ambitiously, despised proudly, conquered immoderately, deceived treacherously, seized greedily, poured out lavishly, must needs fear his own memory. And yet this is the sacred and dedicated part of our time, passed beyond all human chances, taken out of fortune's kingdom, which neither want, nor fear, nor the assault of diseases can harass: this can neither be troubled nor taken away; its possession is everlasting and unafraid. Only single days, and those by moments, are present; but all the time that is past, when you bid it, is at hand, and will let itself be called to view and held.
5. It is the part of a mind secure and at rest to run through all the parts of its life; the minds of the busy, as if under the yoke, cannot turn and look back. Therefore their life goes away into the deep; and as nothing profits, though you pour in never so much, if there is nothing beneath to receive and keep it, so it matters nothing how much time is given, if there is nowhere for it to settle: it is poured through riven and broken minds.
6. The present time is shortest — so short that to some it seems none; for it is always in course, it flows and hurries headlong; it ceases to be before it comes, and suffers no delay any more than the world or the stars, whose ever-restless motion never stays in one track. Therefore the present alone touches the busy — and that so brief it cannot be seized — and even this their stretched minds lose among many things.
Mouseia
Mouseia’s complete Plain English edition, made independently and directly from all 20 chapters and 106 sections of the Latin.
1. If I wanted to break this into parts and lay out every argument, there's plenty to prove the lives of the busy are the shortest. Fabianus used to say — not one of your lecture-hall philosophers, but a true one of the old school — that you fight the passions by charging at them, not by picking at them; turn their line with a full assault, not little scratches. They must be crushed, not plucked. Still, their mistake has to be shown to them plainly: teach them, don't just mourn them.
2. Life splits into three times: what WAS, what IS, what WILL BE. What we're doing is brief; what we will do, uncertain; what we've done, certain — the one place fortune has lost her rights, which no power can bring back into anyone's control.
3. The busy lose this. They have no time to look back; and if they did, remembering something regrettable is painful. They drag their minds back to wasted years unwillingly, and don't dare revisit the things whose sins — even the ones smuggled in under pleasure — open up on review. Nobody willingly turns to the past unless every act stands under his own judgment, which never deceives itself.
4. The man who coveted ambitiously, looked down proudly, conquered immoderately, deceived treacherously, grabbed greedily, spent lavishly — that man dreads his own memory. Yet this is the sacred, protected portion of our time, beyond all human chance, out of fortune's reach, which neither poverty, nor fear, nor disease can touch: it can't be troubled or taken away. Its possession is forever and fearless. Single days come to us one moment at a time; but all the time that is past, when you call for it, is there — ready to be seen and held.
5. Only a calm, settled mind can run through every part of its life. Busy minds, like oxen under the yoke, can't turn around and look back. So their life sinks into the deep. Pour in as much as you like — if there's nothing underneath to catch and hold it, it's wasted. It doesn't matter how much time you're given if it has nowhere to settle: it pours straight through cracked and broken minds.
6. The present is the shortest — so short some say it doesn't exist, because it's always moving; it flows and hurries forward, ceasing to be before it arrives, as unstoppable as the world and the stars, whose motion never pauses on its course. So only the present touches the busy — too brief to grab — and even that their stretched-out minds lose among a thousand things.