"While his lifetime was incomplete, his life itself was perfect. Another man might seem to live for eighty years but only be around for eighty years - unless by 'live' you mean that way in which trees are said to live. I beg you, Lucilius: Let's carry on in this way, so our lives are measured like the most precious objects - not by their size, but by their worth. Let's measure our lives by their performance, not by their duration." - Seneca, Letters 93.4
Seneca wrote this letter in response to the death of a friend (Metronax) who died young, but had lived admirably.
Via Breakfast with Seneca: A Stoic Guide to the Art of Living by David Fideler
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