On the Shortness of Life by SenecaMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Context & Why I read this book
This is my 7th book in 2021 reading challenge with the slogan "A Year of Ratio & Will". My motivation was to get introduced to Seneca, the Stoic philosopher, and some Stoic teachings in general.
What the book is about
This book contains 3 pieces of writing:
1) On The Shortness of Life, a timeless essay about how people waste their time, and therefore, their lives.
2) Consolation to Helvia, a letter to his mother, mainly about grief and perspective in regard to him having been banned into exile.
3) On Tranquillity of Mind, an answer of Seneca to a friend, who posed the question on how to reach "euhtymia", a tranquillity of mind.
One lesson I am taking from it
There are many precious passages to be found here. But I tried to pin down the single most "triggering" and counterintuitive idea, that struck me personally. In his "On Shortness of Life" Seneca blames people who "spend their lives organizing their lives". He write "The greatest obstacle to living is expectancy, which hangs upon tomorrow and loses today." So one life directive I derived for myself is this: don't be preoccupied, consciouslly engage!
Reading Recommendation / Who should read this?
This is a great book, with only a few weaknesses, e.g. regarding the "shortness" of life, Seneca could have shortened his essay by at least 20-30% to be more concise. Since it is still a very short read I will definitely come back to these essays in the future. I currently rate it a 8 out of 10 on my personal rating scale:
1 ⭑ — Abysmal; extremely bad. Couldn't / wouldn't finish. No one should waste his time on this!
2 ⭑— Very bad; skipped part of it; skimmed most of it.
3 ⭑⭑ — Bad, but forced me to finish; close to no nuggets to be found.
4 ⭑⭑ — Rather bad; finished but definitely would not give it a re-read.
5 ⭑⭑⭑ — Modest; a few nuggets; reading recommended in certain circumstances
6 ⭑⭑⭑ — OK; the average read. Tangible weaknesses, but recommended with some reservations
7 ⭑⭑⭑⭑ — Good read, despite minor weaknesses; generally recommended
8 ⭑⭑⭑⭑ — Very good; would recommend nearly without restriction
9 ⭑⭑⭑⭑⭑ — An outstanding work; worthwhile to be read twice or more often; a definitive recommendation
10 ⭑⭑⭑⭑⭑ — A work of genius; should be required for everyone
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