Series II · Card 1 of 21 · THE PAINTED PORCH
Nothing, Lucilius, is ours, except time. We were entrusted by nature with the ownership of this single thing, so fleeting and slippery that anyone who will can oust us from possession.
SENECA · EPISTULAE MORALES 1.3
Original (Latin)
Omnia, Lucili, aliena sunt, tempus tantum nostrum est; in huius rei unius fugacis ac lubricae possessionem natura nos misit, ex qua expellit quicumque vult.Translation: Benedikt Stafflinger
Turn it over, answer, sign – free, no account.
Source
Letters to Lucilius 1.3, after the English translation by R. M. Gummere (1917), slightly abridged
About the author
Roman Stoic philosopher, statesman, and dramatist (c. 4 BC – 65 AD). His letters on ethics, time, and the good life remain among the most widely read Stoic writings.
About the source
Letters to Lucilius: Seneca’s letters to a friend, written in his final years, AD 62–65.
The question on the back
Who took your time today without asking?