Lost Time is never found again; and what we call Time enough, always proves little enough.
Benjamin Franklin Autobiography, Chapter XIX (1791)
Source checked by an editor
When and why it was written
- When
- From Father Abraham's speech, The Way to Wealth, included in editions of Franklin's Autobiography; first published in Poor Richard's Almanack in 1758.
- Why
- Franklin collected his almanac's sayings on thrift and diligence into one speech.
What it means
Franklin's point is that we always overestimate how much time we have. Enough, when we finally look, is never enough.
The practical answer is to begin now, even with a few lines.
Our reading of the passage cited above, not a quotation from a commentary.
Read the source
Autobiography, 1791
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