Seneca

Which translation of On the Shortness of Life should you read?

Seneca’s short essay on time is usually published alongside some of his other essays, so choosing a translation is partly choosing which companions you want with it.

The short answer

  • For a first read

    C. D. N. CostaPenguin Great Ideas, 1997Buy on Amazon

  • With more of Seneca’s essays

    John DavieOxford World’s Classics, 2007Buy on Amazon

  • Free, right now

    Aubrey StewartFree on this site, 1889 Read free here

The main translations at a glance

TranslationClosenessEnglishHelpBest for
C. D. N. Costa1997 · Penguin Great IdeasBalancedModernIntroductionA first read
John Davie2007 · Oxford World’s ClassicsLooseModernIntroduction and notesMore of Seneca’s essays
Aubrey Stewart1889 · Free on this siteClose to the LatinVictorianText onlyReading free, right now

The same lines in each translation

  • Most human beings, Paulinus, complain about the meanness of nature, because we are born for a brief span of life, and because this spell of time that has been given to us rushes by so swiftly and rapidly that with very few exceptions life ceases for the rest of us just when we are getting ready for it.

    C. D. N. Costa, 1997

  • The greater part of mankind, Paulinus, complains bitterly about the malice of Nature, in that we are born for a brief span of life, and even this allotted time rushes by so swiftly, so speedily, that with very few exceptions all find themselves abandoned by life just when they are preparing themselves to live.

    John Davie, 2007

  • The greater part of mankind, my Paulinus, complains of the unkindness of Nature, because we are born only for a short space of time, and that this allotted period of life runs away so swiftly, nay so hurriedly, that with but few exceptions men’s life comes to an end just as they are preparing to enjoy it: nor is it only the common herd and the ignorant vulgar who mourn over this universal misfortune, as they consider it to be: this reflection has wrung complaints even from great men.

    Aubrey Stewart, 1889 · Read on

The main translations in detail

  1. C. D. N. Costa

    Penguin Great Ideas, 1997

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    • Balanced
    • Modern English
    • Introduction

    Confident modern English that keeps Seneca’s sarcasm and humour. The usual recommendation for a first read, and short enough for an evening.

    With Consolation to Helvia and On Tranquillity of Mind, in the small Great Ideas edition (2005); a few footnotes on key terms.

    Sources: The Stoic Shelf, Penguin Random House

  2. John Davie

    Dialogues and Essays · Oxford World’s Classics, 2007

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    • Loose
    • Modern English
    • Introduction and notes

    A clear, modern translation that catches Seneca’s punchy, aphoristic style, at some cost to philosophical exactness. A good single-volume sampler of his essays, with an introduction to his life, style and Stoicism.

    Nine works, among them On Providence, On Anger (Book 3), On the Happy Life, On Tranquillity of Mind and On the Shortness of Life, with an introduction by Tobias Reinhardt and notes.

    Sources: Oxford University Press, Andrew Perlot

  3. Aubrey Stewart

    Free on this site, 1889

    Read free here
    • Close to the Latin
    • Victorian English
    • Text only

    A Victorian translation, free here with his versions of Seneca’s other essays. Its long, formal sentences slow down Seneca’s quick, punchy style.

    The full essay, with every passage numbered and linkable, alongside his translations of Seneca’s other essays.

    Sources: Project Gutenberg, The Stoic Shelf

Other translations you may come across

  • John W. Basore

    Loeb Classical Library, 1932

    The scholarly standard, printed opposite the Latin so you can check what Seneca actually wrote. Formal 1930s English.

Sources

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Compare the free translations passage by passage