--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Art is long, life short, judgment…" description: "\"Art is long, life short, judgment difficult, opportunity transient. To act is easy, to think is hard; to act according to our thought is troublesome. E..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c5/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe-36_art_art-is-long-life-short-judgment-difficul_1304197.jpg" --- # Art is long, life short, judgment difficult, opportunity… ![“Art is long, life short, judgment difficult, opportunity transient. To act is easy, to think is hard; to act according to our thought is troublesome. Every beginning is cheerful: the threshold is the place of expectation.” quote by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c5/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe-36_art_art-is-long-life-short-judgment-difficul_1304197.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c5/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe-36_art_art-is-long-life-short-judgment-difficul_1304197.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c5/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe-36_art_art-is-long-life-short-judgment-difficul_1304197.jpg) > “Art is long, life short, judgment difficult, opportunity transient. To act is easy, to think is hard; to act according to our thought is troublesome. Every beginning is cheerful: the threshold is the place of expectation.” [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) ## 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; judgment is hard, opportunities fleeting; action is easy, thoughtful action is difficult. **In simple terms:** Life short, art long; think hard. Key Takeaway Value thoughtful action. Themes philosophy art time Mood contemplative inspirational Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - career planning - creative projects - personal growth Key Concepts impermanence human condition Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance action and reflection? - What fleeting opportunities do you cherish? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on ease may neglect depth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Act Easy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/act-easy-888615/) [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Art is](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art-is/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Cheerful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cheerful/) [Difficult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/difficult/) [Easy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/easy/) [Expectations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expectations/) [Hard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hard/) [Hard Act](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hard-act-273378/) [Judgment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/judgment/) [Judgment Difficult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/judgment-difficult-3220428/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life Short](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-short/) [Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long/) [Long life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long-life/) [Opportunity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opportunity/) [Our thoughts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/our-thoughts/) [Short life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/short-life/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Thought Troublesome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thought-troublesome-1098813/) [Threshold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/threshold/) [Transient](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/transient/) [Troublesome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/troublesome/) ## Related quotes > [To act is easy, to think is hard; to act according to our thought is troublesome.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/to-act-is-easy-to-think-is-hard-to-act-according-to-our-thought-is/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Thought is always troublesome to him who lives without his own approbation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/thought-is-always-troublesome-to-him-who-lives-without-his-own/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [To act is easy; to think is hard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/to-act-is-easy-to-think-is-hard/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Life is short, and the Art long; the occasion fleeting; experience fallacious, and judgment difficult. The physician must not only be prepared to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hippocrates/life-is-short-and-the-art-long-the-occasion-fleeting-experience/) [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/) > [ “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, 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/) > [George Carlin put it best. He said, "My old act was so easy to do because there was so little of me in it."](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-mohr/george-carlin-put-it-best-he-said-my-old-act-was-so-easy-to-do/) [Jay Mohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-mohr/) > [To understand is difficult; to act is easy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-yat-sen/to-understand-is-difficult-to-act-is-easy/) [Sun Yat-sen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-yat-sen/) > [“It seems to me that one of the great hazards is quick love, which is actually charm. We get used to smiling, hugging, bantering,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shauna-niequist/it-seems-to-me-that-one-of-the-great-hazards-is-quick-love-which-is/) [Shauna Niequist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shauna-niequist/) > [It's just poetry, beauty and love. How hard can that be to act?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-wright/it-s-just-poetry-beauty-and-love-how-hard-can-that-be-to-act/) [Robin Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-wright/) > [You ain't as hard as you act. When I GPS 'pussy,' I end up at your welcome mat...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vakill/you-ain-t-as-hard-as-you-act-when-i-gps-pussy-i-end-up-at-your/) [Vakill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vakill/) > [“Once a boy shows you the stars, they’re a hard act to follow.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-davis/once-a-boy-shows-you-the-stars-they-re-a-hard-act-to-follow/) [Claire Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-davis/) > ['Mad Men' is a hard act to follow. Unless you're called Elisabeth Moss, stuff like this only comes along once in your career.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jared-harris/mad-men-is-a-hard-act-to-follow-unless-you-re-called-elisabeth-moss/) [Jared Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jared-harris/) > [It's hard to act with just your jaw.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-kinnaman/it-s-hard-to-act-with-just-your-jaw/) [Joel Kinnaman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-kinnaman/) ## More by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe > [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/) > [I never believed in trying to do anything. Whatever I set out to do I found I had already accomplished.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/i-never-believed-in-trying-to-do-anything-whatever-i-set-out-to-do-i/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [All lyrical work must, as a whole, be perfectly intelligible, but in some particulars a little unintelligible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/all-lyrical-work-must-as-a-whole-be-perfectly-intelligible-but-in/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [We know accurately only when we know little, with knowledge doubt increases.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/we-know-accurately-only-when-we-know-little-with-knowledge-doubt/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [It is easier to perceive error than to find truth, for the former lies on the surface and is easily seen, while the latter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/it-is-easier-to-perceive-error-than-to-find-truth-for-the-former-lies/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [There is no patriotic art and no patriotic science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/there-is-no-patriotic-art-and-no-patriotic-science/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [The connoisseur of art must be able to appreciate what is simply beautiful, but the common run of people is satisfied with ornament](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/the-connoisseur-of-art-must-be-able-to-appreciate-what-is-simply/) [Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Nothing is worse than active ignorance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/nothing-is-worse-than-active-ignorance/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Let us not dream that reason can ever be popular. Passions, emotions, may be made popular; but reason remains ever the property of an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/let-us-not-dream-that-reason-can-ever-be-popular-passions-emotions/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Our foibles are really what make us lovable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/our-foibles-are-really-what-make-us-lovable/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Instruction does much, but encouragement everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/instruction-does-much-but-encouragement-everything/) [Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Giving is the business of the rich.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/giving-is-the-business-of-the-rich/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Just begin and the mind grows heated; continue, and the task will be completed!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/just-begin-and-the-mind-grows-heated-continue-and-the-task-will-be/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [I look upon all four Gospels as thoroughly genuine, for there shines forth from them the reflected splendor of a sublimity proceeding from Jesus…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/i-look-upon-all-four-gospels-as-thoroughly-genuine-for-there-shines/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Whatever we may say against collections, which present authors in a disjointed form, they nevertheless bring about many excellent results. We are not always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/whatever-we-may-say-against-collections-which-present-authors-in-a/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) [Explore all 2,052 Johann Wolfgang von Goethe quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) ## 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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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": "Art is long, life short, judgment difficult, opportunity transient. To act is easy, to think is hard; to act according to our thought is troublesome. Every beginning is cheerful: the threshold is the place of expectation.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Johann Wolfgang von Goethe" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/art-is-long-life-short-judgment-difficult-opportunity-transient-to/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/art-is-long-life-short-judgment-difficult-opportunity-transient-to/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c5/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe-36_art_art-is-long-life-short-judgment-difficul_1304197.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c5/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe-36_art_art-is-long-life-short-judgment-difficul_1304197.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c5/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe-36_art_art-is-long-life-short-judgment-difficul_1304197.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Art is long, life short, judgment difficult, opportunity transient. To act is easy, to think is hard; to act…” — Johann Wolfgang von Goethe", "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": "Johann Wolfgang von Goethe", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Art is long, life short, judgment...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/art-is-long-life-short-judgment-difficult-opportunity-transient-to/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/art-is-long-life-short-judgment-difficult-opportunity-transient-to/#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 } } ] } ```