--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Life is short. Art long. Opportunity is…" description: "\"“Life is short. Art long. Opportunity is fleeting. Expierience treacherous. Judgement difficult.”\" — Geoffrey Chaucer" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/84f/geoffrey-chaucer-1677_art_life-is-short-art-long-opportunity-is-fl_487312.jpg" --- # Life is short. Art long. Opportunity is fleeting… ![“Life is short. Art long. Opportunity is fleeting. Expierience treacherous. Judgement difficult.” quote by Geoffrey Chaucer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/84f/geoffrey-chaucer-1677_art_life-is-short-art-long-opportunity-is-fl_487312.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/84f/geoffrey-chaucer-1677_art_life-is-short-art-long-opportunity-is-fl_487312.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/84f/geoffrey-chaucer-1677_art_life-is-short-art-long-opportunity-is-fl_487312.jpg) > ““Life is short. Art long. Opportunity is fleeting. Expierience treacherous. Judgement difficult.”” [Geoffrey Chaucer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-chaucer/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Life is brief, art endures, opportunities are rare, experience can mislead, and judgment is hard. **In simple terms:** Time is short, art lasts, decisions are tough. Key Takeaway Prioritize lasting values over fleeting chances. Themes mortality art opportunity experience judgment Mood reflective philosophical Type advice wisdom When to use this quote - career choices - creative projects - risk assessment - personal growth Key Concepts ephemerality legacy wisdom Questions to Reflect On - What lasting impact do you seek? - How do you balance risk and reward? A Different Perspective Opportunities may not align with personal values. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life is short](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-is-short/) ## Related quotes > [Occasio praeceps, experimentum periculosum, iudicium difficile."..' Opportunity is fleeting, experiment dangerous, and judgement difficult.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-harkness/occasio-praeceps-experimentum-periculosum-iudicium-difficile/) [Deborah Harkness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-harkness/) > [Life is short, art long, opportunity fleeting, experiment uncertain, and judgment difficult.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hippocrates/life-is-short-art-long-opportunity-fleeting-experiment-uncertain-and/) [Hippocrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hippocrates/) > [Life is short, science is long; opportunity is elusive, experiment is dangerous, judgement is difficult.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hippocrates/life-is-short-science-is-long-opportunity-is-elusive-experiment-is/) [Hippocrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hippocrates/) > [The bottom line for me is that life is short and art is long.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/the-bottom-line-for-me-is-that-life-is-short-and-art-is-long/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [“Life is short, art is infinite.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/life-is-short-art-is-infinite/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Life is short and the art long.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hippocrates/life-is-short-and-the-art-long/) [Hippocrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hippocrates/) > [“Life is short, art long, opportunity fleeting, experience treacherous, judgment difficult.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hippocrates/life-is-short-art-long-opportunity-fleeting-experience-treacherous/) [Hippocrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hippocrates/) > [Art is long, life is short; judgement difficult, opportunity transient.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/art-is-long-life-is-short-judgement-difficult-opportunity-transient/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [ “Ars longa, vita brevis, occasio praeceps, experimentum periculosum, iudicium difficile. Life is short, \[the\] art long, opportunity fleeting, experiment dangerous, judgment difficult.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hippocrates/ars-longa-vita-brevis-occasio-praeceps-experimentum-periculosum/) [Hippocrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hippocrates/) > [Life is short, the art is long, the problems pressing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rene-dubos/life-is-short-the-art-is-long-the-problems-pressing/) [Rene Dubos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rene-dubos/) > [Life is short, the art long.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hippocrates/life-is-short-the-art-long/) [Hippocrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hippocrates/) > [Life is short and art is long.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/life-is-short-and-art-is-long/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [Life is short, but art lives forever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/life-is-short-but-art-lives-forever/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) > [Life is short, so go for things you enjoy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darcey-bussell/life-is-short-so-go-for-things-you-enjoy/) [Darcey Bussell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darcey-bussell/) > [Life is short, death is forever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/life-is-short-death-is-forever/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) ## More by Geoffrey Chaucer > [Drunkenness is the very sepulcher Of man's wit and his discretion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-chaucer/drunkenness-is-the-very-sepulcher-of-man-s-wit-and-his-discretion/) [Geoffrey Chaucer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-chaucer/) > [Whoso will pray, he must fast and be clean, And fat his soul, and make his body lean.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-chaucer/whoso-will-pray-he-must-fast-and-be-clean-and-fat-his-soul-and-make/) [Geoffrey Chaucer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-chaucer/) > [“The man who has no wife is no cuckold.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-chaucer/the-man-who-has-no-wife-is-no-cuckold/) [Geoffrey Chaucer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-chaucer/) > [One eare it heard, at the other out it went.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-chaucer/one-eare-it-heard-at-the-other-out-it-went/) [Geoffrey Chaucer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-chaucer/) > [The handsome gifts that fate and nature lend us Most often are the very ones that end us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-chaucer/the-handsome-gifts-that-fate-and-nature-lend-us-most-often-are-the/) [Geoffrey Chaucer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-chaucer/) > [Patience is a conquering virtue. The learned say that, if it not desert you, It vanquishes what force can never reach; Why answer back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-chaucer/patience-is-a-conquering-virtue-the-learned-say-that-if-it-not-desert/) [Geoffrey Chaucer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-chaucer/) > [“This Nicholas anon leet fle a fart As greet as it had been a thonder-dent, That with the strook he was almoost yblent; And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-chaucer/this-nicholas-anon-leet-fle-a-fart-as-greet-as-it-had-been-a-thonder/) [Geoffrey Chaucer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-chaucer/) > [A whetstone is no carving instrument, And yet it maketh sharp the carving tool; And if you see my efforts wrongly spent, Eschew that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-chaucer/a-whetstone-is-no-carving-instrument-and-yet-it-maketh-sharp-the/) [Geoffrey Chaucer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-chaucer/) > [“In general, my liege lady,’ he began, ‘Women desire to have dominion Over their husbands, and their lovers too; They want to have mastery…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-chaucer/in-general-my-liege-lady-he-began-women-desire-to-have-dominion-over/) [Geoffrey Chaucer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-chaucer/) > [“Till we be roten, kan we not be rypen?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-chaucer/till-we-be-roten-kan-we-not-be-rypen/) [Geoffrey Chaucer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-chaucer/) > [Venus me yaf my lust, my like rousnesse, And Mars yaf me my sturdy hardinesse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-chaucer/venus-me-yaf-my-lust-my-like-rousnesse-and-mars-yaf-me-my-sturdy/) [Geoffrey Chaucer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-chaucer/) > [“For sondry scoles maken sotile clerkis; Womman of manye scoles half a clerk is.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-chaucer/for-sondry-scoles-maken-sotile-clerkis-womman-of-manye-scoles-half-a/) [Geoffrey Chaucer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-chaucer/) > [For God's love, take things patiently, have sense, Think! We are prisoners and shall always be. Fortune has given us this adversity, Some wicked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-chaucer/for-god-s-love-take-things-patiently-have-sense-think-we-are/) [Geoffrey Chaucer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-chaucer/) > [Whan that Aprill with his shoures soote The droghte of March hath perced to the roote.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-chaucer/whan-that-aprill-with-his-shoures-soote-the-droghte-of-march-hath/) [Geoffrey Chaucer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-chaucer/) > [Forbid us something, and that thing we desire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-chaucer/forbid-us-something-and-that-thing-we-desire/) [Geoffrey Chaucer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-chaucer/) [Explore all 217 Geoffrey Chaucer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-chaucer/) ## More Art quotes > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“Hear the sum of the whole matter in the compass of one brief word — every art possessed by man comes from Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hear-the-sum-of-the-whole-matter-in-the-compass-of-one-brief-word/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) Taf Teh > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [“The only thing--I tell you this straight from the heart--that disgusts me in Salzburg is that one can't have any proper social intercourse with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/the-only-thing-i-tell-you-this-straight-from-the-heart-that-disgusts/) [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/) > [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) [Browse all 48,643 Art quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Life is short. 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