--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The future comes slowly, the present…" description: "\"The future comes slowly, the present flies and the past stands still forever.\" — Friedrich Schiller" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/460/friedrich-schiller-832_forever_the-future-comes-slowly-the-present-flie_1932884.png" --- # The future comes slowly, the present flies and the past… ![“The future comes slowly, the present flies and the past stands still forever.” quote by Friedrich Schiller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/460/friedrich-schiller-832_forever_the-future-comes-slowly-the-present-flie_1932884.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/460/friedrich-schiller-832_forever_the-future-comes-slowly-the-present-flie_1932884.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/460/friedrich-schiller-832_forever_the-future-comes-slowly-the-present-flie_1932884.png) > “The future comes slowly, the present flies and the past stands still forever.” [Friedrich Schiller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-schiller/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Time moves at different paces: the future is gradual, the present fleeting, and the past unchanging **In simple terms:** Future is slow, present fast, past fixed Key Takeaway Recognize each temporal layer’s influence Themes philosophy time existence reflection Mood contemplative melancholic Type poetic philosophical When to use this quote - Planning - mindfulness - historical analysis - personal growth Key Concepts Temporal perception historical continuity impermanence Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance present urgency with future patience? - What can the past teach us today? A Different Perspective Focusing only on present may ignore future consequences ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [“Knowledge comes slowly, and when it comes, it is often at great personal expense.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/knowledge-comes-slowly-and-when-it-comes-it-is-often-at-great/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) > ['Tis a month before the month of May, And the spring comes slowly up this way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-taylor-coleridge/tis-a-month-before-the-month-of-may-and-the-spring-comes-slowly-up/) [Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-taylor-coleridge/) > [Inspiration does not come like a blot, nor is it kinetic energy striving, but it comes to us slowly and quietly all the time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brenda-ueland/inspiration-does-not-come-like-a-blot-nor-is-it-kinetic-energy/) [Brenda Ueland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brenda-ueland/) > [I know that change is difficult, and comes slowly, and that it is the work of many days strung together in a long line…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/i-know-that-change-is-difficult-and-comes-slowly-and-that-it-is-the-2/) [Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/) > [Dawn comes slowly but dusk is rapid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-b-toklas/dawn-comes-slowly-but-dusk-is-rapid/) [Alice B. Toklas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-b-toklas/) > [When immigration proceeds at a steady but modest clip, deep change comes slowly, and there's time for assimilation to do its work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-douthat/when-immigration-proceeds-at-a-steady-but-modest-clip-deep-change/) [Ross Douthat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-douthat/) > [“Here's the good thing about the future. It comes one day at a time. Follow your heart each day. You'll get where you're suppose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-naigle/here-s-the-good-thing-about-the-future-it-comes-one-day-at-a-time/) [Nancy Naigle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-naigle/) > [I don^t think about the future - it comes soon enough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/i-don-t-think-about-the-future-it-comes-soon-enough/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [If your always living in the future, when the future comes, you won't be there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-copeland/if-your-always-living-in-the-future-when-the-future-comes-you-won-t/) [Rachel Copeland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-copeland/) > [The future comes like an unwelcome guest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-gosse/the-future-comes-like-an-unwelcome-guest/) [Edmund Gosse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-gosse/) > [The one thing we know about the future is that it comes only one day at a time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-rich/the-one-thing-we-know-about-the-future-is-that-it-comes-only-one-day/) [Jeff Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-rich/) > [The past has happened, the future is yet to come, the present is where your living, breathing, hurting, smiling, laughing, so enjoy it because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-past-has-happened-the-future-is-yet-to-come-the-present-is-where/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I never think of the future. It comes soon enough. When visiting the U.S. from Germany for a winter academic stay.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/i-never-think-of-the-future-it-comes-soon-enough-when-visiting-the-u/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [The best thing about the future is that it only comes one day at a time. so let yesterday go, enjoy today, and stop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-best-thing-about-the-future-is-that-it-only-comes-one-day-at-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I never think of the future - it comes soon enough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/i-never-think-of-the-future-it-comes-soon-enough/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) ## More by Friedrich Schiller > [An axe at home saves hiring a carpenter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-schiller/an-axe-at-home-saves-hiring-a-carpenter/) [Friedrich Schiller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-schiller/) > [It is well for a man when he has learned to endure what he cannot change, and to give up with dignity what he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-schiller/it-is-well-for-a-man-when-he-has-learned-to-endure-what-he-cannot/) [Friedrich Schiller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-schiller/) > [I have enjoyed the happiness of the world; I have loved.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-schiller/i-have-enjoyed-the-happiness-of-the-world-i-have-loved/) [Friedrich Schiller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-schiller/) > [It is easy to give advice from a port of safety.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-schiller/it-is-easy-to-give-advice-from-a-port-of-safety/) [Friedrich Schiller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-schiller/) > [Why should I deem myself to be a chisel, when I could be the artist?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-schiller/why-should-i-deem-myself-to-be-a-chisel-when-i-could-be-the-artist/) [Friedrich Schiller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-schiller/) > [It is through beauty that we arrive at freedom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-schiller/it-is-through-beauty-that-we-arrive-at-freedom/) [Friedrich Schiller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-schiller/) > [The first great law is to obey.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-schiller/the-first-great-law-is-to-obey/) [Friedrich Schiller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-schiller/) > [To gain a crown by fighting is great, to reject it divine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-schiller/to-gain-a-crown-by-fighting-is-great-to-reject-it-divine/) [Friedrich Schiller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-schiller/) > [Even the weak become strong when they are united.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-schiller/even-the-weak-become-strong-when-they-are-united/) [Friedrich Schiller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-schiller/) > [Man only plays when in the full meaning of the word he is a man, and he is only completely a man when he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-schiller/man-only-plays-when-in-the-full-meaning-of-the-word-he-is-a-man-and/) [Friedrich Schiller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-schiller/) > [Ah, to that far distant strand Bridge there was not to convey, Not a bark was near at hand, Yet true love soon found…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-schiller/ah-to-that-far-distant-strand-bridge-there-was-not-to-convey-not-a/) [Friedrich Schiller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-schiller/) > [A gloomy guest fits not a wedding feast.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-schiller/a-gloomy-guest-fits-not-a-wedding-feast/) [Friedrich Schiller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-schiller/) > [If you have never seen beauty in a moment of suffering, you have never seen beauty at all. 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We define eternity. This may sound cheesy, but you make me go there.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-mchugh/i-believe-in-forever-and-that-s-what-you-and-i-are-we-define-eternity/) [Gail McHugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-mchugh/) > [Contradictory precepts that have guided me for as long as I can remember: 1: I will live forever. 2: I will die tomorrow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-gardner/contradictory-precepts-that-have-guided-me-for-as-long-as-i-can/) [Howard Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-gardner/) > [People don't always realize that a record is forever. It'll always be there under your name. You've got to be certain that it's right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-iero/people-don-t-always-realize-that-a-record-is-forever-it-ll-always-be/) [Frank Iero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-iero/) > [When you find someone you want to spend forever with you, you don't let them go, whether forever turns out to be a day…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-williams/when-you-find-someone-you-want-to-spend-forever-with-you-you-don-t/) [Nicole Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-williams/) > [What does forever mean to you? When you couldnt even keep it true You said were youd forever be there But were those just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fad-ibra/what-does-forever-mean-to-you-when-you-couldnt-even-keep-it-true-you/) [Fad Ibra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fad-ibra/) > [Forever is a really long time, you know? What do you do with forever?" "The same thing you do when you don't have forever."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-hocking/forever-is-a-really-long-time-you-know-what-do-you-do-with-forever/) [Amanda Hocking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-hocking/) > [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/) > [Whole scenes of your life slip away forever if you don't put them down in ink.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/silas-house/whole-scenes-of-your-life-slip-away-forever-if-you-don-t-put-them/) [Silas House](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/silas-house/) > [Tonight I feel like a prisoner on fire, waiting desperately... denied, sentenced forever more. Only your love can set me free.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bolton/tonight-i-feel-like-a-prisoner-on-fire-waiting-desperately-denied/) [Michael Bolton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bolton/) > [It all depends on you. You can go on sleeping forever, you can wake up right this moment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/it-all-depends-on-you-you-can-go-on-sleeping-forever-you-can-wake-up/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [I do conscientiously and sincerely believe that the Order of Freemasonry, if not the greatest, is one of the greatest moral and political evils…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-quincy-adams/i-do-conscientiously-and-sincerely-believe-that-the-order-of/) [John Quincy Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-quincy-adams/) > [There is nothing more I ask of this life than this moment, exactly so. And suddenly forever seems like too short a time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-andreas/there-is-nothing-more-i-ask-of-this-life-than-this-moment-exactly-so/) [Brian Andreas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-andreas/) > [I want to do - I want to be putting out classic stuff that's gonna stick and last forever, you feel me?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yg/i-want-to-do-i-want-to-be-putting-out-classic-stuff-that-s-gonna/) YG > [“I will run every mile, i will save every line, i will say i reached the top and i will fall back down standing.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mennah-al-refaey/i-will-run-every-mile-i-will-save-every-line-i-will-say-i-reached-the/) Mennah al refaey Browse all 10,689 Forever quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The future comes slowly, the present flies and the past stands still forever.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Friedrich Schiller" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-schiller/the-future-comes-slowly-the-present-flies-and-the-past-stands-still/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Forever" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-schiller/the-future-comes-slowly-the-present-flies-and-the-past-stands-still/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/460/friedrich-schiller-832_forever_the-future-comes-slowly-the-present-flie_1932884.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/460/friedrich-schiller-832_forever_the-future-comes-slowly-the-present-flie_1932884.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/460/friedrich-schiller-832_forever_the-future-comes-slowly-the-present-flie_1932884.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The future comes slowly, the present flies and the past stands still forever.” — Friedrich Schiller", "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": "Friedrich Schiller", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-schiller/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The future comes slowly, the present...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-schiller/the-future-comes-slowly-the-present-flies-and-the-past-stands-still/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-schiller/the-future-comes-slowly-the-present-flies-and-the-past-stands-still/#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 } } ] } ```