Not a day passes over the earth but men and women of no note do great deeds, speak great words, and suffer noble sorrows. Of these obscure heroes, philosophers, and martyrs the greater part will never be known till that hour when many that were great shall be small, and the small great.
—Charles Reade (1814–84) English Novelist, Playwright
So teach us to number our days that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.
—The Holy Bible Scripture in the Christian Faith
To sensible men, every day is a day of reckoning.
—John W. Gardner (1912–2002) American Activist
The days come and go like muffled and veiled figures sent from a distant friendly party, but they say nothing, and if we do not use the gifts they bring, they carry them as silently away.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–82) American Philosopher
Every possession and every happiness is but lent by chance for an uncertain time, and may therefore be demanded back the next hour.
—Arthur Schopenhauer (1788–1860) German Philosopher
I would rather be ashes than dust! I would rather that my spark should burn out in a brilliant blaze than it should be stifled by dry-rot. I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet. The proper function of man is to live, not to exist. I shall not waste my days in trying to prolong them. I shall use my time.
—Jack London (1876–1916) American Novelist
Live mindful of how brief your life is.
—Horace (Quintus Horatius Flaccus) (65–8 BCE) Roman Poet
The great rule of moral conduct is, next to God, to respect time.
—Johann Kaspar Lavater (1741–1801) Swiss Theologian, Poet
Seize the hour.
—Sophocles (495–405 BCE) Ancient Greek Dramatist
While we live, let us live.
—D. H. Lawrence (1885–1930) English Novelist, Playwright, Poet, Essayist, Literary Critic
Each day, each hour, an entire life.
—Juan Ramon Jimenez (1881–1958) Spanish Lyric Poet
When thought is too weak to be simply expressed, it’s clear proof that it should be rejected.
—Luc de Clapiers, marquis de Vauvenargues (1715–47) French Moralist, Essayist, Writer
He possesses dominion over himself, and is happy, who can every day say, “I have lived.” Tomorrow the heavenly Father may either involve the world in dark clouds, or cheer it with clear sunshine; he will not, however, render ineffectual the things which have already taken place.
—Horace (Quintus Horatius Flaccus) (65–8 BCE) Roman Poet
Everyone once, once only.
Just once and no more.
And we also once.
Never again.
—Rainer Maria Rilke (1875–1926) Austrian Poet
We die daily. Happy those who daily come to life as well.
—George MacDonald (1824–1905) Scottish Novelist, Lecturer, Poet
We are involved in a life that passes understanding: our highest business is our daily life.
—John Cage (1912–92) American Composer
Gladly accept the gifts of the present hour.
—Horace (Quintus Horatius Flaccus) (65–8 BCE) Roman Poet
They deem me mad because I will not sell my days for gold; and I deem them mad because they think my days have a price.
—Kahlil Gibran (1883–1931) Lebanese-born American Philosopher, Poet, Painter, Theologian, Sculptor
Simplicity is the glory of expression.
—Walt Whitman (1819–92) American Poet, Essayist, Journalist, American, Poet, Essayist, Journalist
Lost time is never found again.
—Common Proverb
There is but a step between me and death.
—The Holy Bible Scripture in the Christian Faith
Our costliest expenditure is time.
—Theophrastus (c.372–c.286 BCE) Greek Philosopher
Every minute of life carries with it its miraculous value, and its face of eternal youth.
—Albert Camus (1913–60) Algerian-born French Philosopher, Dramatist, Essayist, Novelist, Author
Simplicity of character is the natural result of profound thought.
—William Hazlitt (1778–1830) English Essayist
Possessions dwindle: I mourn their loss. But I mourn the loss of time much more; for anyone can save his purse, but none can win back lost time.
—Latin Proverb
One of the illusions of life is that the present hour is not the critical, decisive hour. Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year. No man has learned anything rightly, until he knows that every day is Doomsday.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–82) American Philosopher
It is the time you have wasted for your rose that makes your rose so important.
—Antoine de Saint-Exupery (1900–44) French Novelist, Aviator
He who has lived a day has lived an age.
—Jean de La Bruyere (1645–96) French Satiric Moralist, Author
Simple style is like white light. It is complex, but its complexity is not obvious.
—Anatole France (1844–1924) French Novelist
The simplest things give me ideas.
—Joan Miro (1893–1983) Spanish Artist
The laboring man and the artificer knows what every hour of his time is worth, and parts not with it but for the full value: they are only noblemen and gentlemen, who should know best how to use it, that think it only fit to be cast away; and their not knowing how to set a true value upon this, is the true cause of the wrong estimate they make of all other things.
—Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon (1609–74) English Statesman, Historian
Simplicity of character is no hindrance to subtlety of intellect.
—John Morley, 1st Viscount Morley of Blackburn (1838–1923) British Political Leader, Writer, Editor, Journalist
The most important thing in our lives is what we are doing now.
—Unknown
You may ask me for anything you like except time.
—Napoleon I (1769–1821) Emperor of France
A day’s impact is better than a month of dead pull.
—Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. (1841–1935) American Jurist, Author
Time is the coin of your life. It is the only coin you have, and only you can determine how it will be spent. Be careful lest you let other people spend it for you.
—Carl Sandburg (1878–1967) American Biographer, Novelist, Socialist
Life, we learn too late, is in the living, in the tissue of every day and hour.
—Stephen Leacock (1869–1944) Canadian Political Scientist, Humorist
We create our fate every day … most of the ills we suffer from are directly traceable to our own behavior.
—Henry Miller (1891–1980) American Novelist
All my possessions for a moment of time.
—Queen Elizabeth I (1533–1603) British Monarch
A sense of the value of time … is an essential preliminary to efficient work; it is the only method of avoiding hurry.
—Arnold Bennett (1867–1931) British Novelist, Playwright, Critic
Nothing is worth more than this day. You cannot relive yesterday. Tomorrow is still beyond your reach.
—Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749–1832) German Poet
The obvious is that which is never seen until someone expresses it simply.
—Kahlil Gibran (1883–1931) Lebanese-born American Philosopher, Poet, Painter, Theologian, Sculptor
Your daily life is your temple and your religion.
—Kahlil Gibran (1883–1931) Lebanese-born American Philosopher, Poet, Painter, Theologian, Sculptor
A day, an hour, of virtuous liberty is worth a whole eternity in bondage.
—Joseph Addison (1672–1719) English Essayist, Poet, Playwright, Politician
Simple truths are a relief from grand speculations.
—Luc de Clapiers, marquis de Vauvenargues (1715–47) French Moralist, Essayist, Writer
No one can confidently say that he will still be living tomorrow.
—Euripides (480–406 BCE) Ancient Greek Dramatist
Many people take no care of their money till they come nearly to the end of it, and others do just the same with their time.
—Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749–1832) German Poet
Know the true value of time; snatch, seize, and enjoy every moment of it. No idleness; no laziness; no procrastination; never put off till to-morrow what you can do to-day.
—Earl of Chesterfield (1694–1773) English Statesman, Man of Letters
One hour of life, crowded to the full with glorious action, and filled with noble risks, is worth whole years of those mean observances of paltry decorum, in which men steal through existence, like sluggish waters through a marsh, without either honor or observation.
—Walter Scott (1771–1832) Scottish Novelist, Poet, Playwright, Lawyer
Riches are chiefly good because they give us time.
—Charles Lamb (1775–1834) British Essayist, Poet