Life is half spent before we know what it is.
Meaning: We waste years discovering our genuine desires and values, leaving limited time to pursue them meaningfully.
Origin: Recorded in A Dictionary of English Proverbs and Proverbial Phrases, an undated collection published in London by Whittaker & Co. around 1880 and credited to Thomas Preston. Its earlier history hasn't been traced.
Equivalents in French, Spanish, and German
- French: La vie est moitié usée avant qu’on ne sache ce qu’est la vie (literally: Life is half spent before one knows what life is)
- Spanish: Si la juventud supiera, si la vejez pudiera (literally: If youth only knew, if old age only could)
- German: Wenn die Jugend wüsste, wenn das Alter könnte (literally: If youth only knew, if old age only could)
More proverbs about Wisdom
- He stands in his own light. — Blocking one's own path to success through poor positioning, stubbornness, or self-defeat…
- Every light is not the sun. — Not all sources of guidance or authority deserve equal trust or reverence.
- Light gains make a heavy purse. — Small, consistent profits accumulate into substantial wealth over time through steady, di…
- Lips however rosy must be fed. — Beautiful appearances require material sustenance to survive; aesthetic appeal alone cann…
- Little birds may peck a dead lion. — Even the weakest creatures gain power when facing something already defeated or in declin…
- One may see day at a little hole. — Even minimal openings to truth or knowledge suffice; darkness yields to the smallest ligh…
From our untranslatable words
- Meriggiare — To take a quiet midday rest in a cool, shaded spot, escaping the fierce afternoon sun.
- Backpfeifengesicht — A face that is just begging to be slapped — someone so smug you can't help the urge.
- Tartle — That panicky pause when you go to introduce someone and realize you've forgotten their na…