On the Shortness of Life
- it is not that we have short lifetimes, but that we waste much of it
- life is amply long for him who orders it properly
- we are surrounded by vices which prevent us from seeing clearly
- no one is willing to give away their money, yet many give away their time
- we live as if we were destined to live forever
- we squander time as if we had unlimited supply of it and could replace it
- how late it is to begin to live just when we must cease to live
- it’s foolish to postpone wholesome plans for old age
- there is nothing the busy man is less busy with than living
- it takes the entire lifetime to learn how to live and to learn how to die
- nothing is worth exchanging for time
- existence is different from living
- we don’t set a value on time and waste it as if it cost nothing
- procrastination is the greatest waste of life
- the greatest hindrance to living is expectancy, which depends upon tomorrow and wastes today
- old age surprises those who are distracted and unprepared
- no one willingly turns his thought back to the past, unless all his acts have been submitted to the censorship of his conscience, which is never deceived
- those who are distracted are concerned with only the present, which is too brief that it can not be grasped
- idle occupation is different from leisure
- don’t waste time studying meaningless, empty subjects
- only those who take time for philosophy really live because they are concerned with more than their own lives
- there is nothing that the lapse of time does not tear down and remove, except for the works of philosophy
- those who forget the past, neglect the present, and fear for the future, have a life that is very brief and troubled
- everything that comes to us from chance is unstable, and the higher it rises, the more liable it is to fall
- what is doomed to perish brings pleasure to no one
- constant distractions are a reason for anxiety, leaving us seeking leisure, but never enjoying it
- it is better to have knowledge of the ledger of one’s own life than of the corn-market
- the worst condition is to be occupied by others’ distractions
- don’t envy those who bought their fame at the price of life
- their life is without profit, without pleasure, without any improvements of the mind