Reappropriation of time and of the self in Seneca’s first letter

Abstract

Seneca writes his Letters to Lucilius towards the end of his life. In the 124 extant letters, he deals with different subjects, most of which have a substantial connection with every man’s existential dramas, so that we could recognize the human condition as the letters’ main topic. The short opening letter is about saving time. He explains that time is our most valuable commodity and shows the different ways we are deprived from its possession. Using a series of imperatives, as would a physician in a prescription, he urges his pupil to take control of the time he has been deprived of. In this paper, I analyze the first letter and show how Seneca considers time the most essential matter of a philosophical transformation of human life. I argue that in this letter he establishes a plan of Lucilius philosophical healing through the recovery of lost time and that, according to his views, control of time is the first step to the control of the self.