| Table of Contents | Words: Alphabetical - Frequency - Inverse - Length - Statistics | Help | IntraText Library |
| Lucius Annaeus Seneca On the Shortness of Life IntraText CT - Text |
|
|
|
| II. Why do we complain
of Nature? She has shown herself kindly; life, if you know how to use it, is
long. But one man is possessed by an avarice that is insatiable, another by a
toilsome devotion to tasks that are useless; one man is besotted with wine,
another is paralyzed by sloth; one man is exhausted by an ambition that always
hangs upon the decision of others, another, driven on by the greed of the
trader, is led over all lands and all seas by the hope of gain; some are
tormented by a passion for war and are always either bent upon inflicting
danger upon others or concerned about their own; some there are who are worn
out by voluntary servitude in a thankless attendance upon the great; many are
kept busy either in the pursuit of other men's fortune or in complaining of
their own; many, following no fixed aim, shifting and inconstant and
dissatisfied, are plunged by their fickleness into plans that are ever new;
some have no fixed principle by which to direct their course, but Fate takes
them unawares while they loll and yawn—so surely does it happen that I cannot
doubt the truth of that utterance which the greatest of poets delivered with
all the seeming of an oracle: "The part of life we really live is
small." 5 For all the rest of existence
is not life, but merely time. Vices beset us and surround us on every side, and
they do not permit us to rise anew and lift up our eyes for the discernment of
truth, but they keep us down when once they have overwhelmed us and we are
chained to lust. Their victims are never allowed to return to their true
selves; if ever they chance to find some release, like the waters of the deep
sea which continue to heave even after the storm is past, they are tossed
about, and no rest from their lusts abides. Think you that I am speaking of the
wretches whose evils are admitted? Look at those whose prosperity men flock to
behold; they are smothered by their blessings. To how many are riches a burden!
From how many do eloquence and the daily straining to display their powers draw
forth blood! How many are pale from constant pleasures! To how many does the
throng of clients that crowd about them leave no freedom! In short, run through
the list of all these men from the lowest to the highest—this man desires an
advocate, 6 this one answers the call, that one is on trial, that one
defends him, that one gives sentence; no one asserts his claim to himself,
everyone is wasted for the sake of another. Ask about the men whose names are
known by heart, and you will see that these are the marks that distinguish
them: A cultivates B and B cultivates C; no one is his own master. And then
certain men show the most senseless indignation—they complain of the insolence
of their superiors, because they were too busy to see them when they wished an
audience! But can anyone have the hardihood to complain of the pride of another
when he himself has no time to attend to himself? After all, no matter who you are, the great man does sometimes look toward you
even if his face is insolent, he does sometimes condescend to listen to your
words, he permits you to appear at his side; but you never deign to look upon
yourself, to give ear to yourself. There is no reason, therefore, to count
anyone in debt for such services, seeing that, when you performed them, you had
no wish for another's company, but could not endure your own. |
5 A prose rendering of an unknown poet. Cf. the epitaph quoted by Cassius Dio, lxix. 19: Σίμιλις ἐνταῦθα κεῖται βιοὺς μὲν ἔτη τόσα, ζήσας δὲ ἔτη ἑπτά. 6 Not one who undertook the actual defense, but one who by his presence and advice lent support in court. |
Table of Contents | Words: Alphabetical - Frequency - Inverse - Length - Statistics | Help | IntraText Library |
Best viewed with any browser at 800x600 or 768x1024 on Tablet PC IntraText® (V89) - Some rights reserved by EuloTech SRL - 1996-2007. Content in this page is licensed under a Creative Commons License |