20.
There is no life that is not short.
Compared with the world of nature, even Nestor’s life was a short one, or Sattia’s, the woman who bade carve on her tombstone that she had lived ninety and nine years.
Some persons, you see, boast of their long lives; but who could have endured the old lady if she had had the luck to complete her hundredth year?
It is with life as it is with a play,—it matters not how long the action is spun out, but how good the acting is.
It makes no difference at what point you stop.
Stop whenever you choose; only see to it that the closing period is well turned.
Farewell.
Book: Moral Letters Vol II
Subtitle: Seneca's timeless letters of advice and wisdom.
Author: Seneca
Chapter: On taking one's own life
Location: Chapter 77, Section 20
Content:
20.
There is no life that is not short.
Compared with the world of nature, even Nestor’s life was a short one, or Sattia’s, the woman who bade carve on her tombstone that she had lived ninety and nine years.
Some persons, you see, boast of their long lives; but who could have endured the old lady if she had had the luck to complete her hundredth year?
It is with life as it is with a play,—it matters not how long the action is spun out, but how good the acting is.
It makes no difference at what point you stop.
Stop whenever you choose; only see to it that the closing period is well turned.
Farewell.