The work an unknown good man has done is like a vein of water flowing hidden underground, secretly making the ground green.
Thomas CarlyleRead
One life; a little gleam of Time between two Eternities; no second chance to us for evermore!
Interpretation
What this quote means
Life is fleeting and unique, with no opportunities for repetition.
This quote by Thomas Carlyle reflects on the transient nature of life, emphasizing that our time is limited and precious. It reminds us that we exist for a brief moment between two vast eternities, urging us to make the most of our one chance at life and to appreciate the time we have.
Themes
LifeTimeEternityUniquenessOpportunity
In practice
Example use cases
During a graduation speech to emphasize the importance of seizing opportunities.
More from Thomas Carlyle
All quotes βThirty millions, mostly fools.
Thomas CarlyleRead
There is a great discovery still to be made in literature, that of paying literary men by the quantity they do not write.
Thomas CarlyleRead
For the superior morality, of which we hear so much, we too would desire to be thankful: at the same time, it were but blindness to deny that this superior morality is properly rather an inferior criminality, produced not by greater love of Virtue, but by greater perfection of Police; and of that far subtler and stronger Police, called Public Opinion.
Thomas CarlyleRead
Enjoying things which are pleasant; that is not the evil; it is the reducing of our moral self to slavery by them that is.
Thomas CarlyleRead
Clean undeniable right, clear undeniable might: either of these once ascertained puts an end to battle. All battle is a confused experiment to ascertain one and both of these.
Thomas CarlyleRead
Similar quotes
Prayer does change things, all kinds of things. But the most important thing it changes is us. As we engage in this communion with God more deeply and come to know the One with whom we are speaking more intimately, that growing knowledge of God reveals to us all the more brilliantly who we are and our need to change in conformity to Him. Prayer changes us profoundly.
R. C. SproulRead
And don't forget: time is meant to be wasted, love fails and death is useless.
Charles BukowskiRead
They are more human and more brotherly towards one another, it seems to me, than we are. But perhaps that is merely because they feel themselves to be more unfortunate than us.
Erich Maria RemarqueRead
Compassion refers to the arising in the heart of the desire to relieve the suffering of all beings.
Ram DassRead
Compassion doesn't, of course, mean feeling sorry for people, or pity, which is how the word has become emasculated in a way.
Karen ArmstrongRead
I never make a distinction between private life and politics - that's a petit bourgeois thing. How can you make a stand against Nazi Germany, or in Rwanda, when you live life by making that distinction?
Marcel OphulsRead