Lucius Annaeus Seneca: Part 2, On the Shortness of Life

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Ah, fill the cup: What boots it to repeat how time is slipping underneath our feet: Unborn tomorrow and dead yesterday, why fret about them if today be sweet - Omar Khayyam

In this third of our four episodes on the Stoics, we continue our discussion of Seneca. We speak on excerpts from various chapters on one of his most well-known essays, "On the Shortness of Life." In it, we see Seneca continue emphasizing the importance of friendship, of living in the present moment, and not placing importance on material things. He reminds us of the importance of philosophy, and how it is almost like unlimited access to an unlimited library, traversing all ages and concerning nearly every topic one may need counsel and guidance on. He also writes on controlling the emotions and the importance that we not let worry or anxiety overcome us - they detract us from the present and prevent us from fully building the best future we can. This short essay is well-written and covers a lot of points that echoes central key ideas of Roman Stoicism.

We began our transition to discussing Marcus Aurelius by picking back up where we left off regarding the Roman Empire. We go over each emperor between Nero, at the time of Seneca, and Marcus Aurelius. This background is important to understanding the background that Marcus Aurelius was brought into and how he was affected by the time he lived. It is also a quick reminder of the chaos, controversy, and expansionism that was, to some degree, the Roman Empire. It also provides a general understanding of the early Roman Empire, for those interested in the historical aspect of the podcast. Our next episode will discuss Marcus Aurelius' most significant work, The Meditations.

Always feel free to let us know what you think, or if you have any episode requests. We would love to hear from you in the comments or on Twitter! Thank you for listening and as always we’ll see you next time as we search for truth on the road that never ends!