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

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

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "It was a favourite expression of Theophrastus that time was the most valuable thing that a man could spend." by Diogenes Laërtius?
Diogenes Laërtius photo
Diogenes Laërtius 107
biographer of ancient Greek philosophers 180–240

Related quotes

Theophrastus photo

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

Theophrastus (-371–-287 BC) ancient greek philosopher

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

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.

Lois McMaster Bujold photo

“Interim reports tend to elicit orders. Which you must either then obey, or spend valuable time and energy evading, which you could be using to solve the problem.”

Vorkosigan Saga, Brothers in Arms (1989)
Context: No, no, never send interim reports. Only final ones. Interim reports tend to elicit orders. Which you must either then obey, or spend valuable time and energy evading, which you could be using to solve the problem.

Raymond Chandler photo
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?

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)

“It became very clear to me that there was such a thing as truth and there was such a thing as justice, and that they could be found and, being found, could be taught. It seemed to me that that was the most valuable thing that one could pursue. So I resolved to pursue this when I was twenty-one.”

Leon MacLaren (1910–1994) British philosopher

Brian Hodgkinson, In Search of Truth.
When he was sixteen, sitting by a lake, he had an experience which set the direction for the rest of his life.

Karl Marx photo
Daniel Daly photo

“I can't see how a single man could spend his time to better advantage than in the Marines.”

Daniel Daly (1873–1937) United States Marine Corps Medal of Honor recipient

1919
Who's Who in Marine Corps History: "Daniel Daly"

“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