'Memento Mori" is the latin phrase for "remember you must die". Often rendered as gory or pessimistic, Memento Mori is a reminder that the endpoint of our life is not known to us and that death can happen anytime. Even before Marcus Aurelius and other Stoic philosophers wrote about Memento Mori, Socrates posited this idea of mortality and how we must be aware of the limited time we have on Earth. Mortality has various impacts on humans- some fear mortality, some forget mortality. Today, we look at Seneca's views on mortality; in his dialogue in Epistles, he mentions about honour and death:
"A journey will be incomplete if you stop halfway, or anywhere on this side of your destination; but a life is not incomplete if it is honourable. Wherever you leave off, provided you leave off nobly, your life is a whole. Often, it is true, one must leave off bravely, and not necessarily for momentous reasons; for neither are the reasons momentous that hold us there"'
-Seneca, Epistles 77.4
Seneca harps on the dichotomy of control here as well. The fact remains that we did not control who, how or when we were born. Nor can we control how and when we die. The start point and end point are beyond our control. If you are asked, what life would you want to lead or what is your bucket list before your calling arrives, you will be forced to ponder on the true purpose of your existence. You will end up concurring with Seneca by the end of a deep thought. No matter when your life ends you want to leave a legacy behind, a legacy that has your character and honour preserved. Seneca also says that momentous reasons will add an element to how you depart from Earth, however, your honour determines the completenesses of your life.
It is not the duration of your life. It is the virtue and character that build your honour; the people you help, the people you care for, the people who are grateful to you for the impact you left on them. That determines the wholeness of your life. And as the Stoic would say
"Memento Mori": why wait till tomorrow to be a good man, when you can be one today, because tomorrow may not be there.
Comments