“Time is the most valuable thing a man can spend.”

—  Theophrastus

Diogenes Laërtius, Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers, Book 5.

Original

Συνεχές τε … πολυτελὲς ἀνάλωμα εἶναι τὸν χρόνον.

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update Nov. 2, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "Time is the most valuable thing a man can spend." by Theophrastus?
Theophrastus photo
Theophrastus 5
ancient greek philosopher -371–-287 BC

Related quotes

Diogenes Laërtius photo

“It was a favourite expression of Theophrastus that time was the most valuable thing that a man could spend.”

Diogenes Laërtius (180–240) biographer of ancient Greek philosophers

Theophrastus, 10.
The Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers (c. 200 A.D.), Book 5: The Peripatetics

Raymond Chandler photo

“The most durable thing in writing is style, and style is the single most valuable investment a writer can make with his time.”

Raymond Chandler (1888–1959) Novelist, screenwriter
Dietrich Bonhoeffer photo

“time is the most valuable thing that we have, because it is the most irrevocable.”

Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906–1945) German Lutheran pastor, theologian, dissident anti-Nazi

Variant: Time is the most precious gift in our possession, for it is the most irrevocable.
Source: As quoted in LIFE magazine (22 April 1957), p. 152; also in Letters and Papers from Prison (1967), p. 47.
Context: Time is the most precious gift in our possession, for it is the most irrevocable. This is what makes it so disturbing to look back upon the time which we have lost. Time lost is time when we have not lived a full human life, time unenriched by experience, creative endeavor, enjoyment, and suffering. Time lost is time not filled, time left empty.

Marlon Brando photo

“Do you spend time with your family? Good. Because a man that doesn't spend time with his family can never be a real man.”

Marlon Brando (1924–2004) American screen and stage actor
Haruki Murakami photo

“Spend your money on the things money can buy. Spend your time on the things money can’t buy.”

Haruki Murakami book The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle

Source: The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle

Rick Warren photo

“Your value is not determined by your valuables, and God says the most valuable things in life are not things!”

Rick Warren (1954) Christian religious leader

Source: The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here for?

“When you have an idea, hang on to it. It's the most valuable thing in the world. Nurture it. Test it. And remember: you can grow a toadstool overnight, but it takes time to grow an oak.”

William A. Patterson (1899–1980) President of United Airlines from 1934 until 1966

Unsourced

K. Sri Dhammananda Maha Thera photo

“Intellectuals tend to spend too much of their valuable time in study, critical analysis and debate. They usually have little or no time for practice.”

K. Sri Dhammananda Maha Thera (1919–2006) Sri Lankan Buddhist monk

"Is Buddhism a Theory of a Philosophy?"
What Buddhists Believe (1993)

Mario Puzo photo

“A man who doesn't spend time with his family can never be a real man.”

Mario Puzo The Godfather

Variant: A man who is not a father to his children can never be a real man
Source: The Godfather

“It’s not until they tell you you’re going to die soon that you realize how short life is. Time is the most valuable thing in life because it never comes back. And whether you spend it in the arms of a loved one or alone in a prison-cell, life is what you make of it. Dream big.”

Stefán Karl Stefánsson (1975–2018) Icelandic actor

Twitter post (10 March 2018), as quoted in "LazyTown’s Stefan Karl Stefansson confirms ‘inoperable’ cancer has returned" https://metro.co.uk/2018/03/16/lazytowns-stefan-karl-stefansson-confirms-inoperable-cancer-returned-7392066/ (16 March 2018), by Emma Kelly, Metro

Related topics