Seneca Moral essays
Seneca: Men set the greatest store upon presents or…
Men set the greatest store upon presents or pensions, and hire out their work, their services, or their care in order to gain them: no one values time: they give it much more freely, as though it cost nothing.
The passage follows a public-domain translation of Seneca’s moral essays. The reading beside it is ours.
We instinctively charge for labor, expertise, and possessions. But time—the ingredient behind every one of those things—is routinely given away for free. We stay on calls that should have ended, respond instantly to requests that can wait, and offer our best mental hours to other people’s emergencies. Sometimes this is generosity. Often it is simply a failure to value ourselves. Seneca is asking us to see time as a real possession, perhaps the most serious one we have. That does not mean turning every relationship into a transaction. It means being conscious of the gift. If you give an evening to your child, a friend, or a difficult project, give it willingly and fully. If a request is not worthy, decline it cleanly. Resentful availability helps no one. Today, look at your calendar and ask a blunt question: where am I giving away life because it feels easier than choosing? Reclaim one block of time and use it on purpose.
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