--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We live, understandably enough, with the…" description: "\"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 later t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/22d/lionel-trilling-12210_baudelaire_we-live-understandably-enough-with-the-s_2391388.png" --- # We live, understandably enough, with the sense of urgency… ![“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 later than you think." But with us it is always a little too late for mind, yet never too late for honest stupidity; always a little too late for…” quote by Lionel Trilling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/22d/lionel-trilling-12210_baudelaire_we-live-understandably-enough-with-the-s_2391388.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/22d/lionel-trilling-12210_baudelaire_we-live-understandably-enough-with-the-s_2391388.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/22d/lionel-trilling-12210_baudelaire_we-live-understandably-enough-with-the-s_2391388.png) > “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 later than you think." But with us it is always a little too late for mind, yet never too late for honest stupidity; always a little too late for understanding, never too late for righteous, bewildered wrath; always too late for thought, never too late for naïve moralizing. We seem to like to condemn our finest but not our worst qualities by pitting them against the exigency of time.” [Lionel Trilling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-trilling/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human urgency leads to perpetual lateness, yet moral failings persist regardless of timing. **In simple terms:** We’re always late, but moral errors never stop. Key Takeaway Recognize urgency but act wisely. Themes time urgency morality Mood reflective critical Type philosophical advice When to use this quote - personal deadlines - political decisions - ethical debates Key Concepts philosophical fatalism human error Questions to Reflect On - How does perceived time pressure affect ethical choices? - Can urgency be a justification for moral lapses? A Different Perspective Urgency can excuse delay but not moral responsibility. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bears](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bears/) [Clock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clock/) [Honest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/honest/) [Learning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learning/) [Legends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/legends/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Quality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quality/) [Righteous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/righteous/) [Sense of urgency](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sense-of-urgency/) [Stupidity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stupidity/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Too late](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/too-late/) [Understanding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understanding/) [Urgency](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/urgency/) [Wrath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wrath/) ## Related quotes > [“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/) > [I go to bed late. My mind starts going at night - that's when those creative juices begin flowing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donny-osmond/i-go-to-bed-late-my-mind-starts-going-at-night-that-s-when-those/) [Donny Osmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donny-osmond/) > [“I know it's to hang out, talking into the wee hours, being "just friends," but ladies, ladies; we just don't work that way. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-e-spiegel/i-know-it-s-to-hang-out-talking-into-the-wee-hours-being-just-friends/) [Amy E. Spiegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-e-spiegel/) > [We'll sneak out while they sleep and sail off in the night. We'll clean and start over the rest of our lives. When we're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-ll-sneak-out-while-they-sleep-and-sail-off-in-the-night-we-ll/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [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/) > [“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/) > [“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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-p-hartley/try-now-try-now-it-isn-t-too-late-excitement-like-hysteria-bubbled-up/) [L.P. Hartley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-p-hartley/) > [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/) > [“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 > [A thought Of that late death took all my heart for speech.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/a-thought-of-that-late-death-took-all-my-heart-for-speech/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [“There is no end to learning, which leads us to the next thought; that is, it is never too late to acquire new knowledge…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-taskinsoy/there-is-no-end-to-learning-which-leads-us-to-the-next-thought-that/) [John Taskinsoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-taskinsoy/) > [Listen to your second thought, or the third might be too late.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-hale/listen-to-your-second-thought-or-the-third-might-be-too-late/) [Shannon Hale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-hale/) > [“Too late, buddy boy. I barked. a weird thought- something about me being too late as well- almost took shape in my mind and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spencer-quinn/too-late-buddy-boy-i-barked-a-weird-thought-something-about-me-being/) [Spencer Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spencer-quinn/) > [I thought, I'm in my late 50s now, am I ever gonna get the chance to do another album again?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-almond/i-thought-i-m-in-my-late-50s-now-am-i-ever-gonna-get-the-chance-to-do/) [Marc Almond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-almond/) > [Everything has been said, and we are more than seven thousand years of human thought too late.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-de-la-bruyere/everything-has-been-said-and-we-are-more-than-seven-thousand-years-of/) [Jean de la Bruyere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-de-la-bruyere/) ## More by Lionel Trilling > [Our culture peculiarly honors the act of blaming, which it takes as the sign of virtue and intellect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-trilling/our-culture-peculiarly-honors-the-act-of-blaming-which-it-takes-as/) [Lionel Trilling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-trilling/) > [The definitions of humanism are many, but let us here take it to be the attitude of those men who think it an advantage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-trilling/the-definitions-of-humanism-are-many-but-let-us-here-take-it-to-be/) [Lionel Trilling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-trilling/) > [Literature is the human activity that make the fullest and most precise account of variousness, possibility, complexity, and difficulty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-trilling/literature-is-the-human-activity-that-make-the-fullest-and-most/) [Lionel Trilling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-trilling/) > [A primary function of art andthought is to liberate the individual from the tyranny of his culture in the environmental sense and to permit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-trilling/a-primary-function-of-art-andthought-is-to-liberate-the-individual/) [Lionel Trilling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-trilling/) > [Being a Jew is like walking in the wind or swimming: you are touched at all points and conscious everywhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-trilling/being-a-jew-is-like-walking-in-the-wind-or-swimming-you-are-touched/) [Lionel Trilling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-trilling/) > [It is possible that the contemplation of cruelty will not make us humane but cruel; that the reiteration of the badness of our spiritual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-trilling/it-is-possible-that-the-contemplation-of-cruelty-will-not-make-us/) [Lionel Trilling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-trilling/) > [Every neurosis is a primitive form of legal proceeding in which the accused carries on the prosecution, imposes judgment and executes the sentence: all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-trilling/every-neurosis-is-a-primitive-form-of-legal-proceeding-in-which-the/) [Lionel Trilling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-trilling/) > [Some paradox of our natures leads us, when once we have made our fellow men the objects of our enlightened interest, to go on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-trilling/some-paradox-of-our-natures-leads-us-when-once-we-have-made-our/) [Lionel Trilling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-trilling/) > [In the American Metaphysical, reality is always material reality, hard, resistant, unformed, impenetrable, and unpleasant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-trilling/in-the-american-metaphysical-reality-is-always-material-reality-hard/) [Lionel Trilling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-trilling/) > [“...perhaps we have never been more than vocal and perhaps soon we can hope to be no more than thoughtful...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-trilling/perhaps-we-have-never-been-more-than-vocal-and-perhaps-soon-we-can/) [Lionel Trilling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-trilling/) > [It is now life and not art that requires the willing suspension of disbelief.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-trilling/it-is-now-life-and-not-art-that-requires-the-willing-suspension-of/) [Lionel Trilling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-trilling/) > [Ideology is not the product of thought; it is the habit or the ritual of showing respect for certain formulas to which, for various…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-trilling/ideology-is-not-the-product-of-thought-it-is-the-habit-or-the-ritual/) [Lionel Trilling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-trilling/) > [There is no connection between the political ideas of our educated class and the deep places of the imagination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-trilling/there-is-no-connection-between-the-political-ideas-of-our-educated/) [Lionel Trilling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-trilling/) > [The function of literature, through all its mutations, has been to make us aware of the particularity of selves, and the high authority of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-trilling/the-function-of-literature-through-all-its-mutations-has-been-to-make/) [Lionel Trilling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-trilling/) > [Unless we insist that politics is imagination and mind, we will learn that imagination and mind are politics, and of a kind we will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-trilling/unless-we-insist-that-politics-is-imagination-and-mind-we-will-learn/) [Lionel Trilling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-trilling/) [Explore all 56 Lionel Trilling quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-trilling/) ## More Baudelaire quotes > [“I think I would be happy in that place I happen not to be, and this question of moving house is the subject of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-chatwin/i-think-i-would-be-happy-in-that-place-i-happen-not-to-be-and-this/) [Bruce Chatwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-chatwin/) > [Artists are people who are subject to irrational convictions of the sacred. Baudelaire said that an artist is a child who has acquired adult…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-schjeldahl/artists-are-people-who-are-subject-to-irrational-convictions-of-the/) [Peter Schjeldahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-schjeldahl/) > [“Baudelaire children had a slightly different”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lemony-snicket/baudelaire-children-had-a-slightly-different/) [Lemony Snicket](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lemony-snicket/) > [“The heart contains passion but the imagination alone contains poetry,’ says Charles Baudelaire. This too was the lesson that Theophile Gautier, most subtle of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/the-heart-contains-passion-but-the-imagination-alone-contains-poetry/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“They tried picturing leaving Uncle Monty and living by themselves, trying to find jobs and take care of each other. It was a very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lemony-snicket/they-tried-picturing-leaving-uncle-monty-and-living-by-themselves/) [Lemony Snicket](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lemony-snicket/) > [Even the best critical writing on Emily Dickinson underestimates her. She is frightening. To come to her directly from Dante, Spenser, Blake, and Baudelaire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-paglia/even-the-best-critical-writing-on-emily-dickinson-underestimates-her/) [Camille Paglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-paglia/) > [Life isn't fair," he said, in his undisguised voice, and for once the Baudelaire orphans agreed with every word the man said.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-isn-t-fair-he-said-in-his-undisguised-voice-and-for-once-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The neo-conservative critics of leftist critics of mass culture ridicule the protest against Bach as background music in the kitchen, against Plato and Hegel,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-marcuse/the-neo-conservative-critics-of-leftist-critics-of-mass-culture/) [Herbert Marcuse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-marcuse/) > [In the time since the Baudelaire parents' death, most of the Baudelaire orphans' friends had fallen by the wayside, an expression wich here means…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/in-the-time-since-the-baudelaire-parents-death-most-of-the-baudelaire/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The story of the Baudelaires takes place in a very real world, where some people are laughed at just because they have something wrong…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-story-of-the-baudelaires-takes-place-in-a-very-real-world-where/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [He was prepared to die for it, as one of Baudelaire's dandies might have been prepared to kill himself in order to preserve himself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-carter/he-was-prepared-to-die-for-it-as-one-of-baudelaire-s-dandies-might/) [Angela Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-carter/) > [(Baudelaire) had descended to the bottom of the inexhaustible mine, had picked his way along abandoned or unexplored galleries, and had finally reached those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joris-karl-huysmans/baudelaire-had-descended-to-the-bottom-of-the-inexhaustible-mine-had/) [Joris-Karl Huysmans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joris-karl-huysmans/) > [And hence the poet must seek to be essentially anonymous, He must die a little death each morning, He must swallow his toad and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/delmore-schwartz/and-hence-the-poet-must-seek-to-be-essentially-anonymous-he-must-die/) [Delmore Schwartz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/delmore-schwartz/) > [I think it's basically quite different from dreams. If only cinema was that easy. Because dreams, all you have to do is fall asleep,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-anger/i-think-it-s-basically-quite-different-from-dreams-if-only-cinema-was/) [Kenneth Anger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-anger/) > [Johnny Depp is like a brother to me. We have matching tattoos on our backs - Charles Baudelaire, the flowers of evil, this giant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-manson/johnny-depp-is-like-a-brother-to-me-we-have-matching-tattoos-on-our/) [Marilyn Manson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-manson/) Browse all 57 Baudelaire quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "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 later than you think.\" But with us it is always a little too late for mind, yet never too late for honest stupidity; always a little too late for understanding, never too late for righteous, bewildered wrath; always too late for thought, never too late for naïve moralizing. 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