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As is a tale, so is life: not how long it is, but how good it is, that matters.

Seneca, Letters to Lucilius, 77

Philosophy

The story behind the card

The line closes Letter 77 of Seneca's Letters to Lucilius, a letter about facing death calmly. His Latin word fabula means a story or a stage play, and he treats life like one: what counts is not how long it runs but how well it is performed. It does not matter where you stop, he adds; stop wherever you like, as long as the ending is good. Within about a year, in AD 65, Nero accused him of joining a plot and ordered him to take his own life.

Türkçe oku
Hayat da bir hikâye gibidir: Önemli olan ne kadar uzun olduğu değil, ne kadar iyi olduğudur.
Seneca, Lucilius'a Mektuplar, 77

Söz, Seneca'nın Lucilius'a Mektuplar'ındaki 77. mektubun son satırlarındadır; mektup, ölüme sakin bakmak üzerinedir. Seneca'nın kullandığı Latince fabula sözcüğü hem hikâye hem tiyatro oyunu demektir ve hayatı böyle bir oyuna benzetir: Önemli olan ne kadar sürdüğü değil, ne kadar iyi oynandığıdır. Hemen ardından, nerede bittiğinin önemi olmadığını, yeter ki sonun iyi bağlanmasını söyler. Aradan yaklaşık bir yıl geçmeden, MS 65'te, Neron onu bir komploya katılmakla suçladı ve canına kıymasını emretti.

Sources and further reading

Background reading: Seneca the Younger
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