QuoteProject
True and false fears let us refrain, Let us love nobly, and live, and add again Years and years unto years, till we attain To write threescore ; this is the second of our reign.
John Donne
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

The quote encourages embracing love and life while overcoming fears, suggesting that true fulfillment comes from living nobly over time.

In this quote, John Donne reflects on the nature of fear and love, proposing that by letting go of false fears, we can live our lives fully and nobly. He suggests that as we love and live courageously, we can extend our life experiences meaningfully, symbolized by the idea of 'writing threescore', which signifies reaching a significant point in life with wisdom and purpose.

Themes

FearLoveLifeNobilityExperienceWisdom

In practice

Example use cases

In a motivational speech about overcoming challenges.

More from John Donne

Love built on beauty, soon as beauty, dies.
John DonneRead
Reason is our soul's left hand, Faith her right, By these we reach divinity
John DonneRead
All occasions invite His mercies, and all times are His seasons.
John DonneRead
If poisonous minerals, and if that tree, Whose fruit threw death on else immortal us, If lecherous goats, if serpents envious Cannot be damned; alas; why should I be?
John DonneRead
Any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in Mankind; And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.
John DonneRead
I call not that virginity a virtue, which resideth onely in the bodies integrity; much less if it be with a purpose of perpetually keeping it: for then it is a most inhumane vice. - But I call that Virginity a virtue which is willing and desirous to yield it self upon honest and lawfull terms, when just reason requireth; and until then, is kept with a modest chastity of body and mind.
John DonneRead

Similar quotes

There was something about the island that made the girls forget who they had been. All those rules and shalt nots. They were no longer waiting for some arbitrary grade. They were no longer performing. Waiting. Hoping. They were becoming. They were.
Libba BrayRead
You ain't got but one life. You ought to live it the way you want.
Samuel L. JacksonRead
I wish I hadn't cried so much!” said Alice, as she swam about, trying to find her way out. I shall be punished for it now, I suppose, by being drowned in my own tears !
Lewis CarrollRead
Real value isn’t in what you own, drive, wear or live. The greater value is found in love and life, health and strength, friends and family!
T. D. JakesRead
This is what youth must figure out: Girls, love, and living. The having, the not having, The spending and giving, And the meloncholy time of not knowing. This is what age must learn about: The ABC of dying. The going, yet not going, The loving and leaving, And the unbearable knowing and knowing
E. B. WhiteRead
We don't want to be afraid to make a choice because we're afraid to make a mistake because most decisions aren't final. Feelings change all the time. You can always change your mind and taking risks and making choices is what makes life so exciting because we never know what's going to happen. Every day something new comes our way.
Amy PoehlerRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.