Do not shorten the morning by getting up late, or waste it in unworthy occupations or in talk; look upon it as the quintessence of life, as to a certain extent sacred. Evening is like old age: we are languid, talkative, silly. Each day is a little life: every waking and rising a little birth, every fresh morning a little youth, every going to rest and sleep a little death.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Treat each day as a precious, almost sacred portion of life, with morning representing youth and evening old age, and each waking moment a small birth and each sleep a small death.
- In plain terms
- See each day as a tiny life, with morning as youth and evening as old age.
- What can you take from it?
- Value each day and use it wisely.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- How do you honor each day’s value?
- What activities feel unworthy to you?
Another view
The analogy may oversimplify the complexity of daily experiences.
More from Arthur Schopenhauer
The fundament upon which all our knowledge and learning rests is the inexplicable.
Permalink to quote #37 All the cruelty and torment of which the world is full is in fact merely the necessary result of the totality of the forms under which the will to live is obje…
Permalink to quote #39 Was nun andrerseits die Menschen gesellig macht, ist ihre Unfahigkeit, die Einsamkeit und in dieser sich selbst zu ertragen.
Permalink to quote #36
Related quotes
I remember my youth and the feeling that will never come back any more - the feeling that I could last for ever, outlast the sea, the earth, and all men; the d…
Joseph ConradJoseph Conrad quote #33 The way I see it, you're either a year older or you're dead.
Gloria EstefanGloria Estefan quote #207 I am. I was. I am not. I never am.
Jack LondonJack London quote #2