"The Sound of the Trees" (1920)
1920s
“I shall not waste my days in trying to prolong them. I shall use my time.”
Ian Fleming book You Only Live Twice
Source: You Only Live Twice (1964), Ch. 21 : Orbit. Fleming is quoting Jack London directly.
Theodore Parker (1810–1860) abolitionist
Two Sermons (1853), Sermon II : Of the Position and Duty of a Minister.
Context: You and I may perish. Temptation which has been too strong for thousands of stronger men, may be too great for me; I may prove false to my own idea of religion and of duty; the gold of commerce may buy me, as it has bought richer men; the love of the praise of men may seduce me; or the fear of men may deter my coward voice, and I may be swept off in the earthquake, in the storm, or in the fire, and prove false to that still small voice. If it shall ever be so, still the great ideas which I have set forth, of man, of God, of religion, — they will endure, and one day will be "a flame in the heart of all mankind." To-day! why, my friends, eternity is all around to-day, and we can step but towards that. A truth of the mind, of the conscience, of the heart, of the soul, — it is the will of God; and the omnipotence of God is pledged for the achievement of that will. Eternity is the life-time of Truth.
William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham (1708–1778) British politician
Speech in the House of Commons (10 December 1766), quoted in Basil Williams, The Life of William Pitt, Earl of Chatham. Volume II (London: Longmans, 1914), pp. 228-229
1760s
Muhammad (570–632) Arabian religious leader and the founder of Islam
Biharul Anwar, Volume 2, Page 18
Shi'ite Hadith
William Harcourt (1827–1904) British politician
Speech in Oxford town hall (30 December 1872), quoted in The Times (31 December 1872), p. 5
“I shall act always so as to increase the total number of choices”
Heinz von Foerster (1911–2002) Austrian American scientist and cybernetician
Heinz von Foerster (1984) " Disorder/Order: Discovery or Invention? http://ada.evergreen.edu/~arunc/texts/cybernetics/heinz/disorder.pdf. p.6 <br class="br">1980s
Jack London (1876–1916) American author, journalist, and social activist
Variant: "I shall not waste my days in trying to prolong them. I shall use my time." also mentioned as Jack London quote in Ian Fleming book You Only Live Twice (1964), Ch. 21 : Orbit
Source: San Francisco Bulletin in 1916. Also included as an introduction to a compilation of Jack London short stories in 1956.
Richard Maurice Bucke (1837–1902) prominent Canadian psychiatrist in the late 19th century
Dedication
Cosmic Consciousness (1901)
“I detest life-insurance agents: they always argue that I shall some day die, which is not so.”
Stephen Leacock Literary Lapses
Insurance up to Date
Literary Lapses (1910)
