---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: One must wait until the evening to see…"
description: "\"One must wait until the evening to see how splendid the day was; one cannot judge life until death.\" — Charles de Gaulle"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/59c/charles-de-gaulle-2714_death_one-must-wait-until-the-evening-to-see-h_1818104.jpg"
---

#  One must wait until the evening to see how splendid the…

![“One must wait until the evening to see how splendid the day was; one cannot judge life until death.” quote by Charles de Gaulle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/59c/charles-de-gaulle-2714_death_one-must-wait-until-the-evening-to-see-h_1818104.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/59c/charles-de-gaulle-2714_death_one-must-wait-until-the-evening-to-see-h_1818104.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/59c/charles-de-gaulle-2714_death_one-must-wait-until-the-evening-to-see-h_1818104.jpg)

> “One must wait until the evening to see how splendid the day was; one cannot judge life until death.”

[Charles de Gaulle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-de-gaulle/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

One can only truly appreciate life after it ends; the full picture emerges at death.

**In simple terms:** Life’s value is clear after death.

Key Takeaway

Reflect on your legacy now.

Themes

mortality reflection appreciation

Mood

thoughtful somber

Type

philosophical motivational

When to use this quote

- career planning
- personal relationships
- health decisions
- artistic creation

Key Concepts

philosophy existentialism legacy

Questions to Reflect On

- How would you live if you knew your days were numbered?
- What moments would you cherish more?

A Different Perspective

Not everyone can foresee the end, making judgment premature.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Evening](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evening/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Splendid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/splendid/)

## Related quotes

> [We must wait until the evening to see how splendid the day had been.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/we-must-wait-until-the-evening-to-see-how-splendid-the-day-had-been/)

[Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/)

> [“One must wait until the evening to see how splendid the day has been.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/one-must-wait-until-the-evening-to-see-how-splendid-the-day-has-been/)

[Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/)

> [Day full-blown and splendid-day of the immense sun, action, ambition, laughter, The Night follows close with millions of suns, and sleep and restoring darkness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/day-full-blown-and-splendid-day-of-the-immense-sun-action-ambition/)

[Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/)

> [1. If you become not wait for the evening 2 .. only day I live FIA go past finished strangest Khmsk the, you will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abdi/1-if-you-become-not-wait-for-the-evening-2-only-day-i-live-fia-go/)

[Abdi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abdi/)

> [“What a splendid day! Isn't it good just to be alive on a day like this? I pity the people who aren't born yet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-m-montgomery/what-a-splendid-day-isn-t-it-good-just-to-be-alive-on-a-day-like-this/)

[L.M. Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-m-montgomery/)

> [Before you judge my life, check my past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hussein-nishah/before-you-judge-my-life-check-my-past/)

[Hussein Nishah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hussein-nishah/)

> [“Life is not about fairness or unfairness. It is often unjust, claiming the good and the innocent as its victims. Life is about making…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-mayne/life-is-not-about-fairness-or-unfairness-it-is-often-unjust-claiming/)

[Michael Mayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-mayne/)

> [People will always judge you. That's life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/people-will-always-judge-you-that-s-life/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Before you judge my life, my past or my character. Walk in my shoes, walk the path I have traveled, live my sorrow, my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sushan-r-sharma/before-you-judge-my-life-my-past-or-my-character-walk-in-my-shoes-3/)

[Sushan R Sharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sushan-r-sharma/)

> [Who are you to judge the life I live? I am not perfect and I don't have to be! Before you start pointing fingers,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-marley/who-are-you-to-judge-the-life-i-live-i-am-not-perfect-and-i-don-t/)

[Bob Marley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-marley/)

> [Who are you to judge the life I live? I am not perfect and I don't have to be! Before you start pointing fingers,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/who-are-you-to-judge-the-life-i-live-i-am-not-perfect-and-i-don-t-2/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Before You Judge My Life, My Past Or My Character, Walk In My Shoes, Walk The Path I Have Travelled, Live My Sorrow, My…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pacifiersucker/before-you-judge-my-life-my-past-or-my-character-walk-in-my-shoes-2/)

Pacifiersucker

> [Before you judge my life, my past, or my character, walk in my shoes, walk the path I've traveled, Live my sorrows, my doubt,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ali/before-you-judge-my-life-my-past-or-my-character-walk-in-my-shoes/)

[Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ali/)

> [When we judge one another! We destroy each other's love, kindness and peace. Everyone may not be good or good enough in your eyes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/london-mond/when-we-judge-one-another-we-destroy-each-other-s-love-kindness-and/)

[London Mond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/london-mond/)

> [“You must have learned by now, Agnes, that it's not possible to judge a life from the outside," she said. Her voice had an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-holden-rothman/you-must-have-learned-by-now-agnes-that-it-s-not-possible-to-judge-a/)

[Claire Holden Rothman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-holden-rothman/)

## More by Charles de Gaulle

> [Don't ask who's influenced me. A lion is made up of the lambs he's digested, and I've been reading all my life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-de-gaulle/don-t-ask-who-s-influenced-me-a-lion-is-made-up-of-the-lambs-he-s/)

[Charles de Gaulle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-de-gaulle/)

> [“Have you ever seen a dictator on a run-off ballot? \[Responding to the charges of a dictatorial bent, after being forced into a run-off…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-de-gaulle/have-you-ever-seen-a-dictator-on-a-run-off-ballot-responding-to-the/)

[Charles de Gaulle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-de-gaulle/)

> [The future does not belong to men...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-de-gaulle/the-future-does-not-belong-to-men/)

[Charles de Gaulle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-de-gaulle/)

> [We are not here to laugh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-de-gaulle/we-are-not-here-to-laugh/)

[Charles de Gaulle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-de-gaulle/)

> [France cannot be France without greatness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-de-gaulle/france-cannot-be-france-without-greatness/)

[Charles de Gaulle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-de-gaulle/)

> [I have come to the conclusion that politics are too serious a matter to be left to the politicians.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-de-gaulle/i-have-come-to-the-conclusion-that-politics-are-too-serious-a-matter/)

[Charles de Gaulle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-de-gaulle/)

> [Authority doesn't work without prestige, or prestige without distance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-de-gaulle/authority-doesn-t-work-without-prestige-or-prestige-without-distance/)

[Charles de Gaulle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-de-gaulle/)

> [Today we are crushed by the sheer weight of the mechanized forces hurled against us, but we can still look to the future in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-de-gaulle/today-we-are-crushed-by-the-sheer-weight-of-the-mechanized-forces/)

[Charles de Gaulle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-de-gaulle/)

> [Difficulty attracts the man of character because it is in embracing it that he realizes himself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-de-gaulle/difficulty-attracts-the-man-of-character-because-it-is-in-embracing/)

[Charles de Gaulle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-de-gaulle/)

> [Only by coming to grips with difficulty can you realize your full potential.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-de-gaulle/only-by-coming-to-grips-with-difficulty-can-you-realize-your-full/)

[Charles de Gaulle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-de-gaulle/)

> [How can you govern a country which has 246 varieties of cheese?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-de-gaulle/how-can-you-govern-a-country-which-has-246-varieties-of-cheese/)

[Charles de Gaulle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-de-gaulle/)

> [How can anyone govern a nation that has two hundred and forty-six different kinds of cheese?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-de-gaulle/how-can-anyone-govern-a-nation-that-has-two-hundred-and-forty-six/)

[Charles de Gaulle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-de-gaulle/)

> [Silence is the ultimate weapon of power.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-de-gaulle/silence-is-the-ultimate-weapon-of-power/)

[Charles de Gaulle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-de-gaulle/)

> [Nothing builds authority up like silence, splendor of the strong and shelter of the weak.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-de-gaulle/nothing-builds-authority-up-like-silence-splendor-of-the-strong-and/)

[Charles de Gaulle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-de-gaulle/)

> [As an adolescent I was convinced that France would have to go through gigantic trials, that the interest of life consisted in one day…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-de-gaulle/as-an-adolescent-i-was-convinced-that-france-would-have-to-go-through/)

[Charles de Gaulle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-de-gaulle/)

[Explore all 153 Charles de Gaulle quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-de-gaulle/)

## More Death quotes

> [“He wondered how it was fair that your dying should depend so much on when you were born.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/he-wondered-how-it-was-fair-that-your-dying-should-depend-so-much-on/)

[Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/)

> [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. By suppressing differences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/what-sets-worlds-in-motion-is-the-interplay-of-differences-their/)

[Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/)

> [Most of us are convinced that we are our egos, which is who we think we are. The ego is part of our incarnation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-dass/most-of-us-are-convinced-that-we-are-our-egos-which-is-who-we-think/)

[Ram Dass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-dass/)

> [I do not want to live at the cost of the life even of a snake. I should let him bite me to death…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/i-do-not-want-to-live-at-the-cost-of-the-life-even-of-a-snake-i/)

[Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/)

> [“It was beautiful. He thought he had never seen anything so beautiful in all his life; that, having seen it, he could die content,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mira-grant/it-was-beautiful-he-thought-he-had-never-seen-anything-so-beautiful/)

[Mira Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mira-grant/)

> [Retirement? You're talking about death, right?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-altman/retirement-you-re-talking-about-death-right/)

[Robert Altman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-altman/)

> [With multiplayer, permanent death, and an ever-changing world to explore and conquer, 'A Valley Without Wind' might be the place you're looking for if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-manuel/with-multiplayer-permanent-death-and-an-ever-changing-world-to/)

[Rob Manuel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-manuel/)

> [“What did you see?” she asked gently. His brow furrowed, as if he could not understand the question. Then his eyes turned to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-anthony-torino/what-did-you-see-she-asked-gently-his-brow-furrowed-as-if-he-could/)

J. Anthony Torino

> [Those whose life is long still strive for gain, and for all mortals all things take second place to money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/those-whose-life-is-long-still-strive-for-gain-and-for-all-mortals/)

[Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/)

> [“I practice Dying--every night-- But have not learned to, still-- Though Talented--by Mortal bones-- For such a common Skill.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-w-powers/i-practice-dying-every-night-but-have-not-learned-to-still-though/)

Alan W. Powers

> [“You must understand the pain and grief of losing someone is nothing more than a function of survival.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-cooper/you-must-understand-the-pain-and-grief-of-losing-someone-is-nothing/)

[Steven Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-cooper/)

> [I am not a depressive person at all, but I reflect a lot on my life, and life in general, from the perspective of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/i-am-not-a-depressive-person-at-all-but-i-reflect-a-lot-on-my-life/)

[Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/)

> [“Death is a reality that calls the rest of life and all of our assorted strivings into sharp relief.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/death-is-a-reality-that-calls-the-rest-of-life-and-all-of-our/)

[Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/)

> [I love life. I love life to death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emmanuelle-riva/i-love-life-i-love-life-to-death/)

[Emmanuelle Riva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emmanuelle-riva/)

> [I think when you’re dying you start looking for important things in the corners. You can’t let anything that seems even semi-important pass, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-crutcher/i-think-when-you-re-dying-you-start-looking-for-important-things-in/)

[Chris Crutcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-crutcher/)

[Browse all 39,127 Death quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "One must wait until the evening to see how splendid the day was; one cannot judge life until death.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Charles de Gaulle"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-de-gaulle/one-must-wait-until-the-evening-to-see-how-splendid-the-day-was-one/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Death"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-de-gaulle/one-must-wait-until-the-evening-to-see-how-splendid-the-day-was-one/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/59c/charles-de-gaulle-2714_death_one-must-wait-until-the-evening-to-see-h_1818104.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/59c/charles-de-gaulle-2714_death_one-must-wait-until-the-evening-to-see-h_1818104.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/59c/charles-de-gaulle-2714_death_one-must-wait-until-the-evening-to-see-h_1818104.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“One must wait until the evening to see how splendid the day was; one cannot judge life until death.” — Charles de Gaulle",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Charles de Gaulle",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-de-gaulle/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "One must wait until the evening...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-de-gaulle/one-must-wait-until-the-evening-to-see-how-splendid-the-day-was-one/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-de-gaulle/one-must-wait-until-the-evening-to-see-how-splendid-the-day-was-one/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
