Seneca
Lucius Annaeus Seneca (often known simply as Seneca, or Seneca the Younger) (c. 4 BC – AD 65) was a Roman Stoic philosopher, statesman and dramatist. He was tutor and later advisor to emperor Nero. In 65, Seneca was caught up in the aftermath of a plot to kill Nero and ordered by Nero to kill himself. Works attributed to Seneca include a dozen philosophical essays, one hundred twenty-four letters dealing with moral issues, nine tragedies, a satire, and a meteorological essay. Seneca remains one of the few popular Roman philosophers from the period. His works were celebrated by Ralph Waldo Emerson, John of Salisbury, Erasmus and others.
The quote “While we are postponing, life speeds by” is found in Seneca’s first letter on moral philosophy to Lucilius, more commonly collected and bound as "Seneca, Letters from a Stoic". The first letter is a short discussion of the value of one's time. Seneca's thoughts on the matter are summed up in his own words: ‘Therefore, Lucilius, do as you write me that you are doing: hold every hour in your grasp. Lay hold of to-day's task, and you will not need to depend so much upon to-morrow's. While we are postponing, life speeds by. Nothing, Lucilius, is ours, except time.’
ABOUT HERCULES KILLING THE BIRDS OF LAKE STYMPHALISHercules Killing the Birds of Lake Stymphalis is a 1909 sculpture by Bourdelle. Golden patina bronze casts of the sculpture can be seen on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the Musée d'Orsay, Paris. Hercules Killing the Birds of Lake Stymphalis depicts Hercules performing his sixth labor where he was required to rid the countryside of Stymphalian birds, man-eating birds with beaks of bronze and sharp metallic feathers they could launch at their victims. The birds were pets of Ares, the god of war. They had migrated to Lake Stymphalia in Arcadia to escape a pack of wolves, and bred quickly and took over the countryside, destroying local crops and fruit trees.
Hercules is the Roman name for the mythical Greek demigod Heracles, son of Jupiter (the Roman equivalent of Zeus), and the mortal Alcmena. Hercules was a heroic strongman and master archer. He is most famous for successfully completing the twelve labors required to make amends for his past crimes.
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