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On the Shortness of Life (De Brevitate Vitae)

Written by Seneca · 49 · grounds Lucius Annaeus Seneca

Overview

A short essay addressed to Seneca's friend Paulinus on the use of time. The core argument: life is long enough if well invested; we make it short by selling it cheaply, hour by hour, to projects we have not chosen.

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Skills drawn from this book

Installable Claude Code skills grounded in this text. Each one teaches a framework the book actually argues for.

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