---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The autumn will take everything…"
description: "\"“The autumn will take everything, everything I ever thought or dreamed, everything I did or did not do, spent matches scattered at random on the floor,..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/899/fernando-pessoa-177_autumn_the-autumn-will-take-everything-everythi_1977208.jpg"
---

#  The autumn will take everything, everything I ever thought…

![“The autumn will take everything, everything I ever thought or dreamed, everything I did or did not do, spent matches scattered at random on the floor, discarded scraps of paper, great empires, all the religions and philosophies that the drowsy children of the abyss played at making. The autumn…” quote by Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/899/fernando-pessoa-177_autumn_the-autumn-will-take-everything-everythi_1977208.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/899/fernando-pessoa-177_autumn_the-autumn-will-take-everything-everythi_1977208.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/899/fernando-pessoa-177_autumn_the-autumn-will-take-everything-everythi_1977208.jpg)

> ““The autumn will take everything, everything I ever thought or dreamed, everything I did or did not do, spent matches scattered at random on the floor, discarded scraps of paper, great empires, all the religions and philosophies that the drowsy children of the abyss played at making. The autumn will take everything, everything, that is, that made up my soul, from my noblest aspirations to the ordinary house in which I live, from the gods I once worshipped to my boss Vasques. The autumn will take everything, will sweep everything up with tender indifference. The autumn will take everything.””

[Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/)

## About This Quote

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

The passage reflects the inevitability of loss, as autumn metaphorically consumes all material, spiritual, and personal aspects of life, leaving nothing untouched.

**In simple terms:** Everything is eventually taken away by time.

Key Takeaway

Accept impermanence and cherish the present.

Themes

impermanence loss acceptance reflection

Mood

melancholic contemplative

Type

poetic philosophical

When to use this quote

- grieving
- letting go
- mindfulness
- philosophical contemplation
- artistic expression

Key Concepts

existentialism nihilism transience

Questions to Reflect On

- What can you cherish now knowing it may be fleeting?
- How does acknowledging loss change your priorities?

A Different Perspective

The metaphor may overemphasize fatalism, ignoring human agency.

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> [“The crickets felt it was their duty to warn everybody that summertime cannot last for ever. Even on the most beautiful days in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-crickets-felt-it-was-their-duty-to-warn-everybody-that-summertime/)

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> [The measured blood beats out the year's delay.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-bogan/the-measured-blood-beats-out-the-year-s-delay/)

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> [The trees change their voices in autumn as well as their shapes. No longer do they whisper to one another in muffled tones as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patience-strong/the-trees-change-their-voices-in-autumn-as-well-as-their-shapes-no/)

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> [The American spring is by no means so agreeable as the American autumn; both move with faltering step, and slow; but this lingering pace,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-trollope/the-american-spring-is-by-no-means-so-agreeable-as-the-american/)

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## More by Fernando Pessoa

> [Everything interests me, but nothing holds me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/everything-interests-me-but-nothing-holds-me/)

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> [While cares will drop off like autumn leaves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/while-cares-will-drop-off-like-autumn-leaves/)

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