--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Be not as one that hath ten thousand…" description: "\"Be not as one that hath ten thousand years to live; death is nigh at hand: while thou livest, while thou hast time, be good.\" — Marcus Aurelius" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/01d/marcus-aurelius-139_be-good_be-not-as-one-that-hath-ten-thousand-yea_2359901.jpg" --- # Be not as one that hath ten thousand years to live; death… ![“Be not as one that hath ten thousand years to live; death is nigh at hand: while thou livest, while thou hast time, be good.” quote by Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/01d/marcus-aurelius-139_be-good_be-not-as-one-that-hath-ten-thousand-yea_2359901.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/01d/marcus-aurelius-139_be-good_be-not-as-one-that-hath-ten-thousand-yea_2359901.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/01d/marcus-aurelius-139_be-good_be-not-as-one-that-hath-ten-thousand-yea_2359901.jpg) > “Be not as one that hath ten thousand years to live; death is nigh at hand: while thou livest, while thou hast time, be good.” [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Encourages using present time wisely, as life is short, urging goodness and purposeful living. **In simple terms:** Live well now, time is limited. Key Takeaway Act with virtue while you have time. Themes virtue time mortality purpose goodness Mood reflective serious Type philosophical ethical When to use this quote - daily routines - relationships - career decisions - community service Key Concepts stoicism ethical living impermanence Questions to Reflect On - How do you prioritize good deeds daily? - What does “good” mean in your life? A Different Perspective May overlook the need for long‑term planning. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Good times](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-times/) [Thousand years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thousand-years/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [While thou livest keep a good tongue in thy head.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/while-thou-livest-keep-a-good-tongue-in-thy-head/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Be useful where thou livest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-herbert/be-useful-where-thou-livest/) [George Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-herbert/) > [Nor love thy life, nor hate; but what thou livest, Live well; how long, or short, permit to Heaven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-milton/nor-love-thy-life-nor-hate-but-what-thou-livest-live-well-how-long-or/) [John Milton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-milton/) > [“whilst yet thou livest, whilst thou mayest, be good.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/whilst-yet-thou-livest-whilst-thou-mayest-be-good/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [Do not act as if you were going to live ten thousand years. Death hangs over you. While you live, while it is in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/do-not-act-as-if-you-were-going-to-live-ten-thousand-years-death/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [Thou hast evoked in me profounder spells than the evoking one, thou face! For me, thou hast uncovered one infinite, dumb, beseeching countenance of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/thou-hast-evoked-in-me-profounder-spells-than-the-evoking-one-thou/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) > [“Thou - why, thou wilt quarrel with a man that hath a hair more or a hair less in his beard than thou hast.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/thou-why-thou-wilt-quarrel-with-a-man-that-hath-a-hair-more-or-a-hair/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [O thou who art able to write a Book, which once in the two centuries or oftener there is a man gifted to do,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/o-thou-who-art-able-to-write-a-book-which-once-in-the-two-centuries/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [Thou camest out of thy mother's belly without government, thou hast liv'd hitherto without government, and thou mayst be carried to thy long home…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-cervantes/thou-camest-out-of-thy-mother-s-belly-without-government-thou-hast/) [Miguel de Cervantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-cervantes/) > [Thou hast a voice, great Mountain, to repeal. 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But perhaps he has not done wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/if-any-man-has-done-wrong-the-harm-is-his-own-but-perhaps-he-has-not/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [Pray look upon the plants and birds, the ants, spiders, and bees, and you will see them all exerting their nature, and busy in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/pray-look-upon-the-plants-and-birds-the-ants-spiders-and-bees-and-you/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [“We should remark the grace and fascination that there is even in the incidentals of Nature's processes.. When a loaf of bread,. for instance,.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/we-should-remark-the-grace-and-fascination-that-there-is-even-in-the/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [My true Self is free. I cannot be contained.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/my-true-self-is-free-i-cannot-be-contained/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [The best revenge is to be unlike him who performed the injury.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/the-best-revenge-is-to-be-unlike-him-who-performed-the-injury/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [Nothing befalls any man which he is not fitted to endure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/nothing-befalls-any-man-which-he-is-not-fitted-to-endure/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [Adorn thyself with simplicity and with indifference towards the things which lie between virtue and vice. Love mankind. Follow God. The poet says that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/adorn-thyself-with-simplicity-and-with-indifference-towards-the/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [Let it be your constant method to look into the design of people's actions, and see what they would be at, as often as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/let-it-be-your-constant-method-to-look-into-the-design-of-people-s/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [“Our life is a warfare, and a mere pilgrimage.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/our-life-is-a-warfare-and-a-mere-pilgrimage/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [“If therefore it be a thing external that causes thy grief, know, that it is not that properly that doth cause it, but thine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/if-therefore-it-be-a-thing-external-that-causes-thy-grief-know-that/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [Frightened of change? But what can exist without it? What's closer to nature's heart? Can you take a hot bath and leave the firewood…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/frightened-of-change-but-what-can-exist-without-it-what-s-closer-to/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [We are too much accustomed to attribute to a single cause that which is the product of several, and the majority of our controversies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/we-are-too-much-accustomed-to-attribute-to-a-single-cause-that-which/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [“At dawn, when you have trouble getting out of bed, tell yourself, "I have to go to work - as a human being. What…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/at-dawn-when-you-have-trouble-getting-out-of-bed-tell-yourself-i-have/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) [Explore all 1,138 Marcus Aurelius quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) ## More Be good quotes > [Passion is what you need to be good, an unforgiving passion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-easton/passion-is-what-you-need-to-be-good-an-unforgiving-passion/) [David Easton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-easton/) > [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [Peace is the result of love, and if love were easy we'd all be good at it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colman-mccarthy/peace-is-the-result-of-love-and-if-love-were-easy-we-d-all-be-good-at/) [Colman McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colman-mccarthy/) > [Therefore, I see whatever exists as good, death is to me like life, sin like holiness, wisdom like foolishness, everything has to be as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/therefore-i-see-whatever-exists-as-good-death-is-to-me-like-life-sin/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [Most of us want to live in harmony and peace and be good to others. Right now, however, the world is in a very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hany-abu-assad/most-of-us-want-to-live-in-harmony-and-peace-and-be-good-to-others/) [Hany Abu-Assad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hany-abu-assad/) > [I've never had any desire to be good. I don't like goodness particularly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hanif-kureishi/i-ve-never-had-any-desire-to-be-good-i-don-t-like-goodness/) [Hanif Kureishi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hanif-kureishi/) > [To become a classical ballerina, you have to move to New York when you're 12 or 11 and that becomes your life. I just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-garner/to-become-a-classical-ballerina-you-have-to-move-to-new-york-when-you/) [Jennifer Garner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-garner/) > [The producers felt that 24 would be good for the audience, to really get to know who these 12 and 12 are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-abdul/the-producers-felt-that-24-would-be-good-for-the-audience-to-really/) [Paula Abdul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-abdul/) > [All will concede that in order to have good neighbors, we must also be good neighbors. That applies in every field of human endeavor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-s-truman/all-will-concede-that-in-order-to-have-good-neighbors-we-must-also-be/) [Harry S. 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Why do you suppose His world is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-marshall/living-in-the-middle-of-beauty-like-this-we-ve-no-call-to-have-puny/) [Catherine Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-marshall/) Browse all 1,747 Be good quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Be not as one that hath ten thousand years to live; death is nigh at hand: while thou livest, while thou hast time, be good.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Marcus Aurelius" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/be-not-as-one-that-hath-ten-thousand-years-to-live-death-is-nigh-at/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Be good" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/be-not-as-one-that-hath-ten-thousand-years-to-live-death-is-nigh-at/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/01d/marcus-aurelius-139_be-good_be-not-as-one-that-hath-ten-thousand-yea_2359901.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/01d/marcus-aurelius-139_be-good_be-not-as-one-that-hath-ten-thousand-yea_2359901.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/01d/marcus-aurelius-139_be-good_be-not-as-one-that-hath-ten-thousand-yea_2359901.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Be not as one that hath ten thousand years to live; death is nigh at hand: while thou livest, while thou…” — Marcus Aurelius", "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": "Marcus Aurelius", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Be not as one that hath...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/be-not-as-one-that-hath-ten-thousand-years-to-live-death-is-nigh-at/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/be-not-as-one-that-hath-ten-thousand-years-to-live-death-is-nigh-at/#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 } } ] } ```