---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Try now, try now, it isn't too late'…"
description: "\"“Try now, try now, it isn't too late' ... Excitement, like hysteria, bubbled up in me from a hundred unsealed springs. If it isn't too late, I thought ..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c4/l-p-hartley-22537_late_try-now-try-now-it-isn-t-too-late-excite_2178775.png"
---

#  Try now, try now, it isn't too late' ... Excitement, like…

![“Try now, try now, it isn't too late' ... Excitement, like hysteria, bubbled up in me from a hundred unsealed springs. If it isn't too late, I thought confusedly, neither it is too early: I haven't much time left to spoil. It was the last flicker of instinct of self-preservation which had failed me…” quote by L.P. Hartley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c4/l-p-hartley-22537_late_try-now-try-now-it-isn-t-too-late-excite_2178775.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c4/l-p-hartley-22537_late_try-now-try-now-it-isn-t-too-late-excite_2178775.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c4/l-p-hartley-22537_late_try-now-try-now-it-isn-t-too-late-excite_2178775.png)

> ““Try now, try now, it isn't too late' ... Excitement, like hysteria, bubbled up in me from a hundred unsealed springs. If it isn't too late, I thought confusedly, neither it is too early: I haven't much time left to spoil. It was the last flicker of instinct of self-preservation which had failed me so signally at Brandham Hall.””

[L.P. Hartley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-p-hartley/)

## About This Quote

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

A fleeting surge of excitement mixes with urgency, recognizing a narrow window before self‑preservation fails.

**In simple terms:** Excitement and urgency before a deadline.

Key Takeaway

Act before the moment passes.

Themes

urgency self‑preservation excitement

Mood

tense hopeful

Type

motivational dramatic

When to use this quote

- personal crisis
- creative inspiration
- decision making

Key Concepts

existential anxiety timeliness

Questions to Reflect On

- What will you do with the last moments you have?
- How does urgency affect your choices?

A Different Perspective

The feeling may be fleeting and clouded by panic.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Taking chances](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/taking-chances/) [Time left](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time-left/) [Too late](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/too-late/)

## Related quotes

> [My parents always knew I was hopeless at everything else, I was fortunate in that I was backed all the way. I came to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-eccleston/my-parents-always-knew-i-was-hopeless-at-everything-else-i-was/)

[Christopher Eccleston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-eccleston/)

> [We live, understandably enough, with the sense of urgency; our clock, like Baudelaire's, has had the hands removed and bears the legend, "It is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-trilling/we-live-understandably-enough-with-the-sense-of-urgency-our-clock/)

[Lionel Trilling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-trilling/)

> [“Agatha told me she was late, and I thought, I haven’t slept with her in years—she really must be late. I’m going to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/agatha-told-me-she-was-late-and-i-thought-i-haven-t-slept-with-her-in/)

[Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/)

> [“It was always too late, she thought. At the point when you actually realized something important, the moment to do anything about it had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-grayson/it-was-always-too-late-she-thought-at-the-point-when-you-actually/)

Emily Grayson

> [“Time is only a state of mind, so being late is only a thought one can posess.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave/time-is-only-a-state-of-mind-so-being-late-is-only-a-thought-one-can/)

[Dave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave/)

> [Some people say to me, Isn't it too bad that people discovered you so late? I never thought that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/imogen-cunningham/some-people-say-to-me-isn-t-it-too-bad-that-people-discovered-you-so/)

[Imogen Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/imogen-cunningham/)

> [I've seen so many young filmmakers - even professional filmmakers who get a Hollywood deal - they don't quite know where to begin, where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-a-romero/i-ve-seen-so-many-young-filmmakers-even-professional-filmmakers-who/)

[George A. Romero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-a-romero/)

> [They meet in the girls' bathroom. The last time they were forced to meet in a place like this, they took separate, isolated stalls.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-shusterman/they-meet-in-the-girls-bathroom-the-last-time-they-were-forced-to/)

[Neal Shusterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-shusterman/)

> [“Do I wither up and disappear, or do I make the best of my time left?.. He would not wither. He would not be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/do-i-wither-up-and-disappear-or-do-i-make-the-best-of-my-time-left-he/)

[Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/)

> [Today we live in a world that judges its achievements by speed and busyness. Â… We are so busy making things happen that we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-d-chittister/today-we-live-in-a-world-that-judges-its-achievements-by-speed-and/)

[Joan D. Chittister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-d-chittister/)

> [We live in a society that is powered by fossil fuels, but for the meantime, we're in it. Maybe there's, like, five people living…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-klein/we-live-in-a-society-that-is-powered-by-fossil-fuels-but-for-the/)

[Naomi Klein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-klein/)

> [“When he was creating this picture, Leonardo da Vinci encountered a serious problem: he had to depict Good - in the person of Jesus…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/when-he-was-creating-this-picture-leonardo-da-vinci-encountered-a/)

[Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/)

> [Time lost is time not filled, time left empty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/time-lost-is-time-not-filled-time-left-empty/)

[Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/)

> [Why has time disappeared in our culture? How is it that after decades of inventions and new technologies devoted to saving time and labor,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-needleman/why-has-time-disappeared-in-our-culture-how-is-it-that-after-decades/)

[Jacob Needleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-needleman/)

> [“Knowing you don’t have much time left changes things. You get kind of philosophical. And you figure things out—more like, they figure themselves out—and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kami-garcia/knowing-you-don-t-have-much-time-left-changes-things-you-get-kind-of/)

[Kami Garcia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kami-garcia/)

## More by L.P. Hartley

> [“But I was not so much interested in facts themselves as in the importance they had for my imagination. I was passionately interested in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-p-hartley/but-i-was-not-so-much-interested-in-facts-themselves-as-in-the/)

[L.P. Hartley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-p-hartley/)

> [“I had never met a lord before, nor had I ever expected to meet one. It didn't matter what he looked like: he was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-p-hartley/i-had-never-met-a-lord-before-nor-had-i-ever-expected-to-meet-one-it/)

[L.P. Hartley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-p-hartley/)

> [“How terrifyingly efficient she sounds," said Stephen. "I think I should faint in her presence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-p-hartley/how-terrifyingly-efficient-she-sounds-said-stephen-i-think-i-should/)

[L.P. Hartley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-p-hartley/)

> [You insisted on thinking of them as angels, even if they were fallen angels.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-p-hartley/you-insisted-on-thinking-of-them-as-angels-even-if-they-were-fallen/)

[L.P. Hartley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-p-hartley/)

> [My dream had become my reality: my old life was a discarded husk.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-p-hartley/my-dream-had-become-my-reality-my-old-life-was-a-discarded-husk/)

[L.P. Hartley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-p-hartley/)

> [“...for the first time I couldn't feel really interested in my mother's letter. The small concerns of home, instead of coming close to me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-p-hartley/for-the-first-time-i-couldn-t-feel-really-interested-in-my-mother-s/)

[L.P. Hartley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-p-hartley/)

> [“I should not have cared to see it as an act of self-sacrifice even if it had been one; for there is nothing clever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-p-hartley/i-should-not-have-cared-to-see-it-as-an-act-of-self-sacrifice-even-if/)

[L.P. Hartley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-p-hartley/)

> [“Not Adam and Eve, after eating the apple, could have been more upset than I was.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-p-hartley/not-adam-and-eve-after-eating-the-apple-could-have-been-more-upset/)

[L.P. Hartley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-p-hartley/)

> [“Even the most impassioned devotee of the ghost story would admit that the taste for it is slightly abnormal, a survival, perhaps, from adolescence,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-p-hartley/even-the-most-impassioned-devotee-of-the-ghost-story-would-admit-that/)

[L.P. Hartley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-p-hartley/)

> [“If my twelve-year-old self, of whom I had grown rather fond, thinking about him, were to reproach me: 'Why have you grown up such…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-p-hartley/if-my-twelve-year-old-self-of-whom-i-had-grown-rather-fond-thinking/)

[L.P. Hartley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-p-hartley/)

> [Grown-ups didn't seem to realize that for me, as for most other schoolboys, it was easier to keep silent than to speak. I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-p-hartley/grown-ups-didn-t-seem-to-realize-that-for-me-as-for-most-other/)

[L.P. Hartley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-p-hartley/)

> [It's better to write about things you feel than about things you know about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-p-hartley/it-s-better-to-write-about-things-you-feel-than-about-things-you-know/)

[L.P. Hartley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-p-hartley/)

> [“To my mind's eye, my buried memories of Brandham Hall are like effects of chiaroscuro, patches of light and dark: it is only with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-p-hartley/to-my-mind-s-eye-my-buried-memories-of-brandham-hall-are-like-effects/)

[L.P. Hartley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-p-hartley/)

> [“You flew too near the sun and you were scorched.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-p-hartley/you-flew-too-near-the-sun-and-you-were-scorched/)

[L.P. Hartley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-p-hartley/)

> [“No, I thought, growing more rebellious, life has its own laws and it is for me to defend myself against whatever comes along, without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-p-hartley/no-i-thought-growing-more-rebellious-life-has-its-own-laws-and-it-is/)

[L.P. Hartley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-p-hartley/)

[Explore all 26 L.P. Hartley quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-p-hartley/)

## 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": "“Try now, try now, it isn't too late' ... Excitement, like hysteria, bubbled up in me from a hundred unsealed springs. If it isn't too late, I thought confusedly, neither it is too early: I haven't much time left to spoil. It was the last flicker of instinct of self-preservation which had failed me so signally at Brandham Hall.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "L.P. Hartley"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-p-hartley/try-now-try-now-it-isn-t-too-late-excitement-like-hysteria-bubbled-up/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Late"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-p-hartley/try-now-try-now-it-isn-t-too-late-excitement-like-hysteria-bubbled-up/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c4/l-p-hartley-22537_late_try-now-try-now-it-isn-t-too-late-excite_2178775.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c4/l-p-hartley-22537_late_try-now-try-now-it-isn-t-too-late-excite_2178775.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c4/l-p-hartley-22537_late_try-now-try-now-it-isn-t-too-late-excite_2178775.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Try now, try now, it isn't too late' ... Excitement, like hysteria, bubbled up in me from a hundred unsealed…” — L.P. Hartley",
                "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": "L.P. Hartley",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-p-hartley/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“Try now, try now, it isn't...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-p-hartley/try-now-try-now-it-isn-t-too-late-excitement-like-hysteria-bubbled-up/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-p-hartley/try-now-try-now-it-isn-t-too-late-excitement-like-hysteria-bubbled-up/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
