6.
If you will give ear to my advice, ponder and practise this,—how to welcome death, or even, if circumstances commend that course, to invite it.
There is no difference whether death comes to us, or whether we go to death.
Make yourself believe that all ignorant men are wrong when they say: “It is a beautiful thing to die one’s own death.” But there is no man who does not die his own death.
What is more, you may reflect on this thought: No one dies except on his own day.
You are throwing away none of your own time; for what you leave behind does not belong to you.
Farewell.
Book: Moral Letters Vol II
Subtitle: Seneca's timeless letters of advice and wisdom.
Author: Seneca
Chapter: On rest and restlessness
Location: Chapter 69, Section 6
Content:
6.
If you will give ear to my advice, ponder and practise this,—how to welcome death, or even, if circumstances commend that course, to invite it.
There is no difference whether death comes to us, or whether we go to death.
Make yourself believe that all ignorant men are wrong when they say: “It is a beautiful thing to die one’s own death.” But there is no man who does not die his own death.
What is more, you may reflect on this thought: No one dies except on his own day.
You are throwing away none of your own time; for what you leave behind does not belong to you.
Farewell.