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One life; a little gleam of Time between two Eternities; no second chance to us for evermore!
Thomas Carlyle
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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

The work an unknown good man has done is like a vein of water flowing hidden underground, secretly making the ground green.
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Thirty millions, mostly fools.
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There is a great discovery still to be made in literature, that of paying literary men by the quantity they do not write.
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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.
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Enjoying things which are pleasant; that is not the evil; it is the reducing of our moral self to slavery by them that is.
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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.
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