The Philosopher As An Artisan Of Life And Death
What will you do with the time you have left?
“Son, the only hope you have to survive this war is to accept the fact that you’re already dead. The sooner you accept that, the sooner you’ll be able to function as a soldier.”
This is one of my favorite lines from the epic mini-series “Band of Brothers.” It came from a scene where a bad-ass lieutenant confronts a private who is too scared to advance with his platoon to engage the enemy. In the scene, the lieutenant crouches down next to the blurry-eyed private behind a crumbling wall to deliver this line.
Soldier, accountant, doctor, teacher; we all face the same challenge. Accepting that death is certain, and that life is a gift.
It changes things, doesn’t it? Knowing every morning as you enjoy a freshly brewed cup of coffee, you are one step closer to the pearly gates. The Stoics spent a great deal of time thinking and writing about this very thing. Most likely it was because, in their time of war, disease, and assassinations, they knew their time could be cut short at any moment.
The Stoic philosophers Seneca, Epictetus, Marcus Aurelius, and many others wrote extensively on the shortness of life. In fact, Seneca wrote a book with that same title. The opening of the book is as…
