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He who has no vision of eternity has no hold on time.
Thomas Carlyle
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Interpretation

What this quote means

Without a long-term perspective, we fail to appreciate the value of the present moment.

This quote by Thomas Carlyle emphasizes the importance of having a vision or understanding of eternity to truly grasp the significance of time. It suggests that those who lack a greater purpose or insight into the continuum of existence might find themselves lost in the trivialities of daily life, failing to make meaningful choices that enrich their temporal experience.

Themes

VisionEternityTimePhilosophyMeaning

In practice

Example use cases

During a motivational talk about the importance of goals and aspirations.

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.
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.
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