Life is long if you know how to use it.
Seneca, On the Shortness of Life 2.1
uita, si uti scias, longa est
Life is long if you know how to use it.
Seneca, On the Shortness of Life 2.1
What it means
Nature was generous, Seneca says, and we are the ones who squander it. Greed, busywork and drink eat the hours. Use your time well and your life stops feeling short.
The source
"Life is long if you know how to use it." Seneca said it in On the Shortness of Life 2.1. Translated from the original Latin by Spartan Surfers.
"uita, si uti scias, longa est"Original Latin, On the Shortness of Life 2.1. Text read at thelatinlibrary.com.
Who said it
Seneca (c. 4 BC–65 AD). Stoic philosopher, playwright and adviser to the emperor Nero. His letters to his friend Lucilius are the most readable handbook of Stoicism ever written.
Questions
- What does "Life is long if you know how to use it." mean?
- Nature was generous, Seneca says, and we are the ones who squander it. Greed, busywork and drink eat the hours. Use your time well and your life stops feeling short.
- Who said "Life is long if you know how to use it."?
- Seneca (c. 4 BC–65 AD). Source: On the Shortness of Life 2.1.
- What is the original Latin?
- uita, si uti scias, longa est. Translated from the original Latin by Spartan Surfers.
- Is "Life is long if you know how to use it." on a shirt?
- Yes. We print it to order on our tees in 7 illustrated looks, from $44, with free US shipping.
Cite this line
"Life is long if you know how to use it." (Seneca, On the Shortness of Life 2.1, translated by Spartan Surfers). https://spartansurfers.com/quotes/life-is-long-if-you-know-how-to
Filed under Quotes about time and Stoic quotes.
Wear it your way
The same line in every look it fits. Each one is printed to order on heavy cotton, same price.
More from Seneca
- Claim yourself back.Letters to Lucilius 1.1
- Most of life slips away doing nothing, or the wrong thing.Letters to Lucilius 1.1
- While you put life off, it runs past.Letters to Lucilius 1.3
- Nothing is truly yours except your time.Letters to Lucilius 1.3
- Be everywhere and you are nowhere.Letters to Lucilius 2.2
- Poor is not having little. Poor is wanting more.Letters to Lucilius 2.6