“While we are postponing, life speeds by.”
Dum differtur vita transcurrit.
Documented Source
| Source | Seneca, Letters to Lucilius, Letter I |
| Latin | Dum differtur vita transcurrit. |
| English | “While we are postponing, life speeds by.” (Gummere 1917) |
| Date | 1st century AD |
| Note | Letter I, not De Brevitate Vitae — a common misattribution. Gummere’s 1917 Loeb translation is public domain. |
Every quote here is traced to a documented source. How we verify →
About This Line
Seneca opened his very first letter to Lucilius with this — not as an introduction, as an alarm. He’d watched people defer what mattered in favor of what was merely urgent. Time spent waiting was time spent, and it didn’t come back.
The Latin is exact: dum differtur — “while it is being put off.” Not hesitation, not thought, not rest. The postponement. The thing being delayed. He wasn’t writing a productivity slogan. He was writing to a friend who was already running out of time.
Why We Carry This Line
Not a productivity slogan — an alarm. Living mostly in the waiting room. Literally waiting. I’ve felt that. I don’t want anyone to miss the thing while they’re busy chasing or postponing it.
