“It is too late to spare when you reach the dregs of the cask.”

Letter I: On saving time, line 5
This quote is often directly attributed to Seneca, but he is referring to lines 368-369 of Works and Days by the Greek poet Hesiod : Take your fill when the cask is first opened and when it is nearly spent, but midways be sparing: it is poor saving when you come to the lees. (translated by Hugh G. Evelyn-White)
Alternate translation: Thrift comes too late when you find it at the bottom of your purse. (translator unknown)
Alternate translation: It is too late to be thrifty when the bottom has been reached. (translator unknown).
Epistulae Morales ad Lucilium (Moral Letters to Lucilius), Letter I: On Saving Time

Original

Sera parsimonia in fundo est.

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Seneca the Younger 225
Roman Stoic philosopher, statesman, and dramatist -4–65 BC

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