---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In a few days I'll have lived one score…"
description: "\"In a few days I'll have lived one score and three days in this vale of tears. On I plod-always bored, often drunk, doing no penance for my faults-rathe..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7cf/f-scott-fitzgerald-72_age_in-a-few-days-i-ll-have-lived-one-score_2990732.jpg"
---

#  In a few days I'll have lived one score and three days in…

![“In a few days I'll have lived one score and three days in this vale of tears. On I plod-always bored, often drunk, doing no penance for my faults-rather do I become more tolerant of myself from day to day, hardening my crystal heart with blasphemous humor and shunning only toothpicks, pathos, and…” quote by F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7cf/f-scott-fitzgerald-72_age_in-a-few-days-i-ll-have-lived-one-score_2990732.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7cf/f-scott-fitzgerald-72_age_in-a-few-days-i-ll-have-lived-one-score_2990732.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7cf/f-scott-fitzgerald-72_age_in-a-few-days-i-ll-have-lived-one-score_2990732.jpg)

> “In a few days I'll have lived one score and three days in this vale of tears. On I plod-always bored, often drunk, doing no penance for my faults-rather do I become more tolerant of myself from day to day, hardening my crystal heart with blasphemous humor and shunning only toothpicks, pathos, and poverty as being the three unforgivable things in life.”

[F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/)

## About This Quote

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

The narrator reflects on personal tolerance, humor, and rejection of certain hardships while enduring life's sorrows.

**In simple terms:** Self‑tolerance grows through humor amid suffering.

Key Takeaway

Use humor to cope with hardship.

Themes

self‑reflection humor hardship personal growth tolerance

Mood

melancholic wry

Type

literary philosophical

When to use this quote

- daily journaling
- seeking supportive communities
- creative writing
- mindful acceptance

Key Concepts

existentialism psychological resilience literary introspection

Questions to Reflect On

- What hardships do you downplay with humor?
- How can you confront pain without avoidance?

A Different Perspective

Humor may mask deeper unresolved issues.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Age](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/) [Bored](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bored/) [Crystals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crystals/) [Day to day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/day-to-day/) [Days Ll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/days-ll-347159/) [Drunk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drunk/) [Faults](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faults/) [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Pathos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pathos/) [Penance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/penance/) [Poverty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poverty/) [Score](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/score/) [Shunning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shunning/) [Tears](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tears/) [Tears Plod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tears-plod-4699474/) [Things in life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/things-in-life/) [Three](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/three/) [Tolerant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tolerant/) [Tolerant Day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tolerant-day-4699473/) [Toothpicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/toothpicks/) [Toothpicks Pathos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/toothpicks-pathos-4699475/) [Unforgivable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unforgivable/)

## Related quotes

> [I love what I do. But I want to go home, just for four days, then I'll get back on the road again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-v-brown/i-love-what-i-do-but-i-want-to-go-home-just-for-four-days-then-i-ll/)

[V V Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-v-brown/)

> [“One of these days, you'll be begging for me to touch you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-mcadams/one-of-these-days-you-ll-be-begging-for-me-to-touch-you/)

[Molly McAdams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-mcadams/)

> [One of these days you'll realize what you mean to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/one-of-these-days-you-ll-realize-what-you-mean-to-me/)

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

> [“one day I'll weep for this. One of these days I'll start to cry.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-baldwin/one-day-i-ll-weep-for-this-one-of-these-days-i-ll-start-to-cry/)

[James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/)

> [I don't have too many bad days because I just don't let them happen. When I'm having one of those days, I'll just be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-dallas/i-don-t-have-too-many-bad-days-because-i-just-don-t-let-them-happen/)

[Matt Dallas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-dallas/)

> [Some days, I'll be very down and out, but you won't be able to tell, really, because I don't express that side of myself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lil-peep/some-days-i-ll-be-very-down-and-out-but-you-won-t-be-able-to-tell/)

[Lil Peep](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lil-peep/)

> [Appreciate what you have around you because if you don't one of those days, you'll wake up and it's won't be found.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noxolo-zulu/appreciate-what-you-have-around-you-because-if-you-don-t-one-of-those/)

[Noxolo Zulu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noxolo-zulu/)

> [“Maybe at the end of these seven days, you'll still say no. That doesn't mean it's over. Im in this for the long haul.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-l-armentrout/maybe-at-the-end-of-these-seven-days-you-ll-still-say-no-that-doesn-t/)

[Jennifer L. Armentrout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-l-armentrout/)

> [You choke my days, I'll choke yours.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/you-choke-my-days-i-ll-choke-yours/)

[Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/)

> [“Shouldn't you have today off? Isn't it Sunday?" "I've a half day off ever' three days. I'll be out temorra afte'noon." I snort. "A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mandy-hubbard/shouldn-t-you-have-today-off-isn-t-it-sunday-i-ve-a-half-day-off-ever/)

[Mandy Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mandy-hubbard/)

> [Shunning the upstart shower, / The cold and cursory scrub, / I celebrate the power / That lies within the Tub.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-mcginley/shunning-the-upstart-shower-the-cold-and-cursory-scrub-i-celebrate/)

[Phyllis McGinley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-mcginley/)

> [“And as for people shunning us because of our known association with homosexuals”—here she wiggled her eyebrows, because she sounded ridiculously like Joseph McCarthy—“I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-spencer-fleming/and-as-for-people-shunning-us-because-of-our-known-association-with/)

[Julia Spencer-Fleming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-spencer-fleming/)

> [You can't prove Rembrandt is better than Norman Rockwell - although if you actually do prefer Rockwell, I'd say you were shunning complexity, were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-saltz/you-can-t-prove-rembrandt-is-better-than-norman-rockwell-although-if/)

[Jerry Saltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-saltz/)

> [“I encourage anyone who has gone through hardships to look back through their life’s chapters and see what can be turned into a book.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jolina-petersheim/i-encourage-anyone-who-has-gone-through-hardships-to-look-back/)

[Jolina Petersheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jolina-petersheim/)

> [The perfect mystic is not an ecstatic devotee lost in contemplation of Oneness, nor a saintly recluse shunning all commerce with mankind, but "the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abu-sa-id-abul-khayr/the-perfect-mystic-is-not-an-ecstatic-devotee-lost-in-contemplation/)

[Abu-Sa'id Abul-Khayr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abu-sa-id-abul-khayr/)

## More by F. Scott Fitzgerald

> [“His dream must have seemed so close that he could hardly fail to grasp it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/his-dream-must-have-seemed-so-close-that-he-could-hardly-fail-to/)

[F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/)

> [“There was a ripe mystery about it, a hint of bedrooms upstairs more beautiful and cool than other bedrooms, of gay and radiant activities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/there-was-a-ripe-mystery-about-it-a-hint-of-bedrooms-upstairs-more/)

[F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/)

> [I want you to take a red-hot bath as hot as you can bear it, and just relax your nerves. You can read in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/i-want-you-to-take-a-red-hot-bath-as-hot-as-you-can-bear-it-and-just/)

[F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/)

> [Tireless passion, fierce jealousy, longing to possess and crush-these alone were left of all his love for Rosalind; these remained to him as payment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/tireless-passion-fierce-jealousy-longing-to-possess-and-crush-these/)

[F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/)

> [I found something! Courage--just that; courage as a rule of life and something to cling to always.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/i-found-something-courage-just-that-courage-as-a-rule-of-life-and/)

[F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/)

> [“Life is a series of successful gestures...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/life-is-a-series-of-successful-gestures/)

[F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/)

> [“Another dawn flung itself across the river; a belated taxi hurried along the street, its lamps still shining like burning eyes in a face…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/another-dawn-flung-itself-across-the-river-a-belated-taxi-hurried/)

[F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/)

> [“She plucked a twig and broke it, but she found no spring in it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/she-plucked-a-twig-and-broke-it-but-she-found-no-spring-in-it/)

[F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/)

> [“I'm one of those people who go through the world giving other people thrills but getting few myself except those I read into men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/i-m-one-of-those-people-who-go-through-the-world-giving-other-people/)

[F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/)

> [The Montana sunset lay between the mountains like a giant bruise from which darkened arteries spread across a poisoned sky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/the-montana-sunset-lay-between-the-mountains-like-a-giant-bruise-from/)

[F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/)

> [“You loved me too?" he repeated.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/you-loved-me-too-he-repeated/)

[F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/)

> [“He was good looking, "sort of distinguished when he wants to be", had a line, and was properly inconstant. In fact, he summed up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/he-was-good-looking-sort-of-distinguished-when-he-wants-to-be-had-a/)

[F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/)

> [What are you going to do? "Can't say - run for president, write -" "Greenwich Village?" "Good heavens, no - I said write -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/what-are-you-going-to-do-can-t-say-run-for-president-write-greenwich/)

[F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/)

> [“The latter was considered a good fellow and a fine leader, until a year later, when he disappeared with a mess fund of eleven…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/the-latter-was-considered-a-good-fellow-and-a-fine-leader-until-a/)

[F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/)

> [“It eluded us then, but that’s no matter—tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther. . . . And then one fine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/it-eluded-us-then-but-that-s-no-matter-tomorrow-we-will-run-faster/)

[F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/)

[Explore all 1,568 F. Scott Fitzgerald quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/)

## More Age quotes

> [I need a bath." He chuckled. "You smell of smoke, as do I." The duke turned, leaning heavily on his cane. "Jameson, open the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-hawkins/i-need-a-bath-he-chuckled-you-smell-of-smoke-as-do-i-the-duke-turned/)

[Karen Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-hawkins/)

> [While we've youth in our hearts, we can never grow old.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/while-we-ve-youth-in-our-hearts-we-can-never-grow-old/)

[Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/)

> [It's easier to change a law than an age-old mentality. Deep down, many prejudices, many hostilities, many fears persist. But if we take a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dacia-maraini/it-s-easier-to-change-a-law-than-an-age-old-mentality-deep-down-many/)

[Dacia Maraini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dacia-maraini/)

> [When I first started writing, when I was 15, I would go to work with people and they would tell me my lyrics were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sabrina-claudio/when-i-first-started-writing-when-i-was-15-i-would-go-to-work-with/)

[Sabrina Claudio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sabrina-claudio/)

> [Real people speak in my books about the main events of the age, such as the war, the Chernobyl disaster, and the downfall of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/svetlana-alexievich/real-people-speak-in-my-books-about-the-main-events-of-the-age-such/)

[Svetlana Alexievich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/svetlana-alexievich/)

> [As a child I was very involved with sports and I knew at age 9 that I wanted to be an Olympic champion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-jones/as-a-child-i-was-very-involved-with-sports-and-i-knew-at-age-9-that-i/)

[Marion Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-jones/)

> [If there is any period one would desire to be born in, is it not the age of Revolution; when the old and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-there-is-any-period-one-would-desire-to-be-born-in-is-it-not-the/)

[Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/)

> [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/)

[Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/)

> [I am just enjoying the dream of being Milan coach at the age of 40.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gennaro-gattuso/i-am-just-enjoying-the-dream-of-being-milan-coach-at-the-age-of-40/)

[Gennaro Gattuso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gennaro-gattuso/)

> [Age is an accumulation of life and loss. Adulthood is a series of lines crossed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-goodman/age-is-an-accumulation-of-life-and-loss-adulthood-is-a-series-of/)

[Ellen Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-goodman/)

> [I calculated that if I live up to the age of 80, then I end up using 450 toothbrushes in my life. All that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dia-mirza/i-calculated-that-if-i-live-up-to-the-age-of-80-then-i-end-up-using/)

[Dia Mirza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dia-mirza/)

> [Why is wisdom so fair? Why is beauty so wise? Because all else is temporary, while beauty and wisdom are the only real and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vera-nazarian/why-is-wisdom-so-fair-why-is-beauty-so-wise-because-all-else-is/)

[Vera Nazarian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vera-nazarian/)

> [It was only when I went to acting school that I was like, "You are absolutely such a pigheaded freak show that you thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giles-matthey/it-was-only-when-i-went-to-acting-school-that-i-was-like-you-are/)

[Giles Matthey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giles-matthey/)

> [That old man dies prematurely whose memory records no benefits conferred. They only have lived long who have lived virtuously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-brinsley-sheridan/that-old-man-dies-prematurely-whose-memory-records-no-benefits/)

[Richard Brinsley Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-brinsley-sheridan/)

> [We have started to make music at age seven. That was a hard work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-kaulitz/we-have-started-to-make-music-at-age-seven-that-was-a-hard-work/)

[Bill Kaulitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-kaulitz/)

[Browse all 18,948 Age quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "In a few days I'll have lived one score and three days in this vale of tears. On I plod-always bored, often drunk, doing no penance for my faults-rather do I become more tolerant of myself from day to day, hardening my crystal heart with blasphemous humor and shunning only toothpicks, pathos, and poverty as being the three unforgivable things in life.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "F. Scott Fitzgerald"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/in-a-few-days-i-ll-have-lived-one-score-and-three-days-in-this-vale/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Age"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/in-a-few-days-i-ll-have-lived-one-score-and-three-days-in-this-vale/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7cf/f-scott-fitzgerald-72_age_in-a-few-days-i-ll-have-lived-one-score_2990732.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7cf/f-scott-fitzgerald-72_age_in-a-few-days-i-ll-have-lived-one-score_2990732.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7cf/f-scott-fitzgerald-72_age_in-a-few-days-i-ll-have-lived-one-score_2990732.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“In a few days I'll have lived one score and three days in this vale of tears. On I plod-always bored, often…” — F. Scott Fitzgerald",
                "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": "F. Scott Fitzgerald",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "In a few days I'll have...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/in-a-few-days-i-ll-have-lived-one-score-and-three-days-in-this-vale/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/in-a-few-days-i-ll-have-lived-one-score-and-three-days-in-this-vale/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
