We don't have too little time. We waste too much.
Seneca, On the Shortness of Life 1.3
Non exiguum temporis habemus, sed multum perdidimus.
We don't have too little time. We waste too much.
Seneca, On the Shortness of Life 1.3
What it means
Seneca opens with the complaint everyone makes and turns it around. Life is long enough for great things if it is well spent. The question is not how many years but how many are thrown away.
The source
"We don't have too little time. We waste too much." Seneca said it in On the Shortness of Life 1.3. Translated from the original Latin by Spartan Surfers.
"Non exiguum temporis habemus, sed multum perdidimus."Original Latin, On the Shortness of Life 1.3. 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 "We don't have too little time. We waste too much." mean?
- Seneca opens with the complaint everyone makes and turns it around. Life is long enough for great things if it is well spent. The question is not how many years but how many are thrown away.
- Who said "We don't have too little time. We waste too much."?
- Seneca (c. 4 BC–65 AD). Source: On the Shortness of Life 1.3.
- What is the original Latin?
- Non exiguum temporis habemus, sed multum perdidimus. Translated from the original Latin by Spartan Surfers.
- Is "We don't have too little time. We waste too much." 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
"We don't have too little time. We waste too much." (Seneca, On the Shortness of Life 1.3, translated by Spartan Surfers). https://spartansurfers.com/quotes/we-dont-have-too-little-time-we-waste
Filed under Quotes about time and Stoic quotes.
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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