Non vitae sed scholae discimus
Non vitae sed scholae discimus (“ We learn not for life, but for school ”) is a quote from a letter from Lucius Annaeus Seneca to his “student” Lucilius ( epistulae morales ad Lucilium 106, 11-12, approx. 62 AD), in which he expresses criticism of the Roman philosophy schools of his time.
Non scholae, sed vitae discimus
The better known reverse version Non scholae, sed vitae discimus (“We do not learn for school, but for life”) is used to express that what one learns in school is important for life.
Connection at Seneca
In the said letter to Lucilius , Seneca writes among other things:
“Latrunculis ludimus. In supervacuis subtilitas teritur: non faciunt bonos ista sed doctos. Apertior res est sapere, immo simplicior: paucis <satis> est ad mentem bonam uti litteris, sed nos ut cetera in supervacuum diffundimus, ita philosophiam ipsam. Quemadmodum omnium rerum, sic litterarum quoque intemperantia laboramus: non vitae sed scholae discimus. ”
“It's children's games that we play there. The sharpness and delicacy of thinking become blunted with superfluous problems; Such discussions do not help us to live properly, but at most to help us speak taught. Wisdom of life is more open than school wisdom; yes, let's just say it straight out: it would be better if we could learn common sense from our learned schooling. But like all our other goods, we waste it on superfluous luxury, our greatest good, philosophy, on superfluous questions. As with the excessive addiction to everything else, we also suffer from an excessive addiction to learning: we learn not for life, but for school. "
Seneca's letter, which deals with whether virtue is something physical, ends with the paragraph quoted above. Seneca imagines what his discussion partner Lucilius might reply to his remarks on this philosophical question. The statement Not for life, but for school we learn is intended to complain about the grievances of an orientation of philosophy that is too little oriented towards practical life or to provoke a corresponding reply from Lucilius.
Individual evidence
- ↑ L. ANNAEI. SENECAE EPISTULARUM MORALIUM AD LUCILIUM LIBER SEPTIMVS DECIMVS ET OCTAVVS DECIMVS. In: THE LATIN LIBRARY. Retrieved June 10, 2012 (Latin).
- ^ Translation from: Klaus Bartels : Veni, vidi, vici . von Zabern, Mainz am Rhein 2006, ISBN 978-3-8053-3553-9 , p. 110 .
- ↑ An English translation can be found in: Richard Mott Gummere: On the corporeality of virtue. In: Moral Letters to Lucilius. Retrieved August 18, 2014 .