--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In a minute, in an hour, it will be too…" description: "\"“In a minute, in an hour, it will be too late; whatever is happening to her will be set in stone, will belong to the past. But now is not too late. Now..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b88/j-m-coetzee-2457_late_in-a-minute-in-an-hour-it-will-be-too-la_812904.png" --- # In a minute, in an hour, it will be too late; whatever is… ![“In a minute, in an hour, it will be too late; whatever is happening to her will be set in stone, will belong to the past. But now is not too late. Now he must do something” quote by J.M. Coetzee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b88/j-m-coetzee-2457_late_in-a-minute-in-an-hour-it-will-be-too-la_812904.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b88/j-m-coetzee-2457_late_in-a-minute-in-an-hour-it-will-be-too-la_812904.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b88/j-m-coetzee-2457_late_in-a-minute-in-an-hour-it-will-be-too-la_812904.png) > ““In a minute, in an hour, it will be too late; whatever is happening to her will be set in stone, will belong to the past. But now is not too late. Now he must do something”” [J.M. Coetzee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-m-coetzee/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Urgency demands action before irreversible consequences settle in **In simple terms:** Act now before it’s too late Key Takeaway Take decisive action immediately Themes urgency consequences agency Mood anxious determined Type advice dramatic When to use this quote - personal crisis - ethical decision - relationship conflict Key Concepts Moral responsibility time pressure Questions to Reflect On - What can you do now to influence the future? - Are there moments when waiting is wiser? A Different Perspective Even timely action may not change outcomes ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Too late](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/too-late/) ## Related quotes > [“I am counting on nothing but the facts about me. So come on, Future. I've my back against the past. Anyway, as you see,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mildred-aldrich/i-am-counting-on-nothing-but-the-facts-about-me-so-come-on-future-i/) Mildred Aldrich > [Do not belong to the past dawns,but to the noons of future](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-aurobindo/do-not-belong-to-the-past-dawns-but-to-the-noons-of-future/) [Sri Aurobindo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-aurobindo/) > [Some past mistakes don't deserve a rebuke when they show up in our memory lane. They just need a handshake and a kind reminder…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-mark/some-past-mistakes-don-t-deserve-a-rebuke-when-they-show-up-in-our/) [Terry Mark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-mark/) > [“Watch out for people who belong in your past. Don’t let ’em back in your life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harlan-coben/watch-out-for-people-who-belong-in-your-past-don-t-let-em-back-in/) [Harlan Coben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harlan-coben/) > [Some things you can never leave behind. They don't belong to the past. They belong to you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-yancey/some-things-you-can-never-leave-behind-they-don-t-belong-to-the-past/) [Rick Yancey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-yancey/) > [We are not just visitors on this planet, it belongs to us just as we belong to her, its past is ours, so is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amin-maalouf/we-are-not-just-visitors-on-this-planet-it-belongs-to-us-just-as-we/) [Amin Maalouf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amin-maalouf/) > [Let no one say the best hurlers belong to the past, they're with us now and better yet to come.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christy-ring/let-no-one-say-the-best-hurlers-belong-to-the-past-they-re-with-us/) Christy Ring > [Creeds and castes, and all forms of intellectual and emotional grouping, belong to the past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-read/creeds-and-castes-and-all-forms-of-intellectual-and-emotional/) [Herbert Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-read/) > [“Reading literature is a way of reaching back to something bigger and older and different. It can give you the feeling that you belong…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-lesser/reading-literature-is-a-way-of-reaching-back-to-something-bigger-and/) [Wendy Lesser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-lesser/) > [It is not that I belong to the past, but the past that belongs to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-antin/it-is-not-that-i-belong-to-the-past-but-the-past-that-belongs-to-me/) [Mary Antin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-antin/) > [My call is not to those who believe they belong to the past. My call is to those who believe in the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kennedy/my-call-is-not-to-those-who-believe-they-belong-to-the-past-my-call/) [John F. Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kennedy/) > [“I have made so many mistakes in my life, Aly . . . Won’t make you one of them. Not ever again.” His eyes softened while his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-l-jackson/i-have-made-so-many-mistakes-in-my-life-aly-won-t-make-you-one-of/) [A.L. Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-l-jackson/) > [“Some things belong to the past.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-frame/some-things-belong-to-the-past/) [Ronald Frame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-frame/) > [“People from the past belong to the past not to the place which you're heading”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/people-from-the-past-belong-to-the-past-not-to-the-place-which-you-re/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The mental and physical space we create by letting go of things that belong in our past gives us the option to fill the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/the-mental-and-physical-space-we-create-by-letting-go-of-things-that/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) ## More by J.M. Coetzee > [“I urge you: don't cut short these thought-trains of yours. Follow them through to their end. Your thoughts and your feelings. Follow them through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-m-coetzee/i-urge-you-don-t-cut-short-these-thought-trains-of-yours-follow-them/) [J.M. Coetzee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-m-coetzee/) > [“I truly believe I am not afraid of death. What I shrink from, I believe, is the shame of dying as stupid and befuddled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-m-coetzee/i-truly-believe-i-am-not-afraid-of-death-what-i-shrink-from-i-believe/) [J.M. Coetzee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-m-coetzee/) > [“Technically he is old enough to be her father; but then, technically one can be a father at twelve.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-m-coetzee/technically-he-is-old-enough-to-be-her-father-but-then-technically/) [J.M. Coetzee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-m-coetzee/) > [“I remember asking John, after Dusklands, what new project he had on the go. His answer was vague. 'There is always something or the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-m-coetzee/i-remember-asking-john-after-dusklands-what-new-project-he-had-on-the/) [J.M. Coetzee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-m-coetzee/) > [“The truth is, he tired of criticism, tired of prose measured by the yard." --Disgrace”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-m-coetzee/the-truth-is-he-tired-of-criticism-tired-of-prose-measured-by-the/) [J.M. Coetzee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-m-coetzee/) > [“Since I was in flight from religion, I assumed that my classmates had to be in flight from religion too, albeit in a quieter,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-m-coetzee/since-i-was-in-flight-from-religion-i-assumed-that-my-classmates-had/) [J.M. Coetzee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-m-coetzee/) > [“Lucy was frightened, frightened near to death. Her voice choked, she could not breath, her limbs went numb. "This is not happening", she said…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-m-coetzee/lucy-was-frightened-frightened-near-to-death-her-voice-choked-she/) [J.M. Coetzee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-m-coetzee/) > [“It occurs to me that we crush insects beneath our feet, miracles of creation too, beetles, worms, cockroaches, ants, in their various ways.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-m-coetzee/it-occurs-to-me-that-we-crush-insects-beneath-our-feet-miracles-of/) [J.M. Coetzee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-m-coetzee/) > [“He sits with the pen in his hand, holding himself back from a descent into representations that have no place in the world, on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-m-coetzee/he-sits-with-the-pen-in-his-hand-holding-himself-back-from-a-descent/) [J.M. Coetzee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-m-coetzee/) > [“Do you remember Vlek, who was such a good sheepdog that she and Jakob alone could drive a whole flock past you at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-m-coetzee/do-you-remember-vlek-who-was-such-a-good-sheepdog-that-she-and-jakob/) [J.M. Coetzee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-m-coetzee/) > [“We are accustomed to believe that our world was created by God speaking the Word; but I ask, may it not rather be that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-m-coetzee/we-are-accustomed-to-believe-that-our-world-was-created-by-god/) [J.M. Coetzee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-m-coetzee/) > [“...from the oppression of such freedom who would not welcome the liberation of confinement?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-m-coetzee/from-the-oppression-of-such-freedom-who-would-not-welcome-the/) [J.M. Coetzee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-m-coetzee/) > [“If he has a last thought, if there is time for a last thought, it will simply be, So this is what a last…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-m-coetzee/if-he-has-a-last-thought-if-there-is-time-for-a-last-thought-it-will/) [J.M. Coetzee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-m-coetzee/) > [“At what age , he wonders, did Origen castrate himself? Not the most graceful solution, but then ageing is not a graceful bussines.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-m-coetzee/at-what-age-he-wonders-did-origen-castrate-himself-not-the-most/) [J.M. Coetzee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-m-coetzee/) > [“...he seems to be on the brink of one of his bad spells again, one of the fits of lugubrious self-pity that turn into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-m-coetzee/he-seems-to-be-on-the-brink-of-one-of-his-bad-spells-again-one-of-the/) [J.M. Coetzee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-m-coetzee/) [Explore all 122 J.M. Coetzee quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-m-coetzee/) ## More Late quotes > [You smile upon your friend to-day, To-day his ills are over; You hearken to the lover's say, And happy is the lover. 'Tis late…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-smile-upon-your-friend-to-day-to-day-his-ills-are-over-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I am on sabbatical as of right now, been too busy to think of about my OWN needs as of late.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-diamond/i-am-on-sabbatical-as-of-right-now-been-too-busy-to-think-of-about-my/) [Jim Diamond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-diamond/) > [The Beat Generation, that was a vision that we had, John Clellon Holmes and I, and Allen Ginsberg in an even wilder way, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/the-beat-generation-that-was-a-vision-that-we-had-john-clellon-holmes/) [Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/) > [The late 1990s were really a moment of still tremendous hope and optimism about the relationship between Russia and the United States.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antony-blinken/the-late-1990s-were-really-a-moment-of-still-tremendous-hope-and/) [Antony Blinken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antony-blinken/) > [There was a product on late night TV that you could attach to your garden hose - "You can water your hard-to-reach plants with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-hedberg/there-was-a-product-on-late-night-tv-that-you-could-attach-to-your/) [Mitch Hedberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-hedberg/) > [God is never late, we're just impatient.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lecrae/god-is-never-late-we-re-just-impatient/) [LeCrae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lecrae/) > [The right decision is the wrong decision if it's made too late.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-iacocca/the-right-decision-is-the-wrong-decision-if-it-s-made-too-late/) [Lee Iacocca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-iacocca/) > [Love is all a matter of timing. It's no good meeting the right person too soon or too late.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wong-kar-wai/love-is-all-a-matter-of-timing-it-s-no-good-meeting-the-right-person/) [Wong Kar-wai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wong-kar-wai/) > [And my experience is the best titles, for me, emerge in the process of writing. They don't usually come at the very beginning and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-hirsch/and-my-experience-is-the-best-titles-for-me-emerge-in-the-process-of/) [Edward Hirsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-hirsch/) > [For me, the melancholy of the late XXth Century is walking late at night by the Mont Blanc pen store and seeing these things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/for-me-the-melancholy-of-the-late-xxth-century-is-walking-late-at/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) > [“To all the secret writers, late-night painters, would-be singers, lapsed and scared artists of every stripe, dig out your paintbrush, or your flute, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shauna-niequist/to-all-the-secret-writers-late-night-painters-would-be-singers-lapsed/) [Shauna Niequist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shauna-niequist/) > [I relish the time I have when there are no interruptions. Most often the best time for writing is late at night.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franny-armstrong/i-relish-the-time-i-have-when-there-are-no-interruptions-most-often/) [Franny Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franny-armstrong/) > [I've always been a late bloomer in some ways, and extremely precocious in other ways. When I was twenty I was living in New…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meghan-daum/i-ve-always-been-a-late-bloomer-in-some-ways-and-extremely-precocious/) [Meghan Daum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meghan-daum/) > [I swam with my first shark in the 1980s. I was 20 miles off the coast of Rhode Island, working with a group of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-skerry/i-swam-with-my-first-shark-in-the-1980s-i-was-20-miles-off-the-coast/) [Brian Skerry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-skerry/) > [God alone knows how great it is. All I hope is that it is not too late. I am very much afraid that it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/god-alone-knows-how-great-it-is-all-i-hope-is-that-it-is-not-too-late/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) Browse all 5,113 Late quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“In a minute, in an hour, it will be too late; whatever is happening to her will be set in stone, will belong to the past. But now is not too late. Now he must do something”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "J.M. 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