--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Time is a kind of river, an irresistible…" description: "\"Time is a kind of river, an irresistible flood sweeping up men and events and carrying them headlong, one after the other, to the great sea of being.\" ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b1/marcus-aurelius-139_events_time-is-a-kind-of-river-an-irresistible_1494988.jpg" --- # Time is a kind of river, an irresistible flood sweeping up… ![“Time is a kind of river, an irresistible flood sweeping up men and events and carrying them headlong, one after the other, to the great sea of being.” quote by Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b1/marcus-aurelius-139_events_time-is-a-kind-of-river-an-irresistible_1494988.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b1/marcus-aurelius-139_events_time-is-a-kind-of-river-an-irresistible_1494988.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b1/marcus-aurelius-139_events_time-is-a-kind-of-river-an-irresistible_1494988.jpg) > “Time is a kind of river, an irresistible flood sweeping up men and events and carrying them headlong, one after the other, to the great sea of being.” [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. Life flows like a river, carrying events and people inexorably toward existence, urging acceptance of its unstoppable current. **In simple terms:** Life is a relentless flow that we must accept. Key Takeaway Embrace life's unstoppable flow. Themes philosophy stoicism acceptance Mood contemplative calm Type stoic reflective When to use this quote - grieving loss - career changes - personal growth - stress management Key Concepts impermanence fate flow Questions to Reflect On - How can you navigate life's currents? - When is resistance appropriate? A Different Perspective The metaphor may oversimplify personal agency. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Events](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/events/) [Flood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flood/) [Flood Sweeping](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flood-sweeping-5467577/) [Irresistible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/irresistible/) [Irresistible Flood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/irresistible-flood-4477815/) [Kind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kind/) [Kind River](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kind-river-5467576/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [River](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/river/) [Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rivers/) [Sea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sea/) [Sweeping](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sweeping/) ## Related quotes > [“The stream of Time, irresistible, ever moving, carries off and bears away all things that come to birth and plunges them into utter darkness,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-comnena/the-stream-of-time-irresistible-ever-moving-carries-off-and-bears/) [Anna Comnena](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-comnena/) > [Time in its irresistible and ceaseless flow carries along on its flood all created things and drowns them in the depths of obscurity. .…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-komnene/time-in-its-irresistible-and-ceaseless-flow-carries-along-on-its-2/) [Anna Komnene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-komnene/) > [Time in its irresistible and ceaseless flow carries along on its flood all created things and drowns them in the depths of obscurity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/time-in-its-irresistible-and-ceaseless-flow-carries-along-on-its/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [And loneliness. I should say something of loneliness. The panic, the sweeping hysteria that comes not when you are without others, but when you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-thayer-hamann/and-loneliness-i-should-say-something-of-loneliness-the-panic-the/) [Hilary Thayer Hamann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-thayer-hamann/) > [Not since before Roe v. Wade has a law or court decision had the potential to devastate access to reproductive health care on such…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-northup/not-since-before-roe-v-wade-has-a-law-or-court-decision-had-the/) [Nancy Northup](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-northup/) > [It is said that the Christian mystic Theresa of Avila found difficulty at first in reconciling the vastness of the life of the spirit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-naomi-remen/it-is-said-that-the-christian-mystic-theresa-of-avila-found/) [Rachel Naomi Remen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-naomi-remen/) > [The present assault upon capital is but the beginning. It will be but a stepping-stone to others, larger and more sweeping, till our political…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-present-assault-upon-capital-is-but-the-beginning-it-will-be-but/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Study the history of revival. God has always sent revival in the darkest days. Oh, for a mighty, sweeping revival today!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrian-rogers/study-the-history-of-revival-god-has-always-sent-revival-in-the/) [Adrian Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrian-rogers/) > [To a large extent, the American church has become merged with the world. It has adopted so many of the world's ideals and standards…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/to-a-large-extent-the-american-church-has-become-merged-with-the/) [Billy Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-graham/) > [The Warmth of Other Suns is a sweeping and yet deeply personal tale of America's hidden 20th century history - the long and difficult…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-brokaw/the-warmth-of-other-suns-is-a-sweeping-and-yet-deeply-personal-tale/) [Tom Brokaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-brokaw/) > [“That’s a bit sweeping. Sometimes it takes a while to find out how good or bad something has been.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-page/that-s-a-bit-sweeping-sometimes-it-takes-a-while-to-find-out-how-good/) [Sophie Page](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-page/) > [“for a split second before sweeping”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-james-krebs/for-a-split-second-before-sweeping/) [Harry James Krebs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-james-krebs/) > [What business needs now is exactly what women are able to provide, and at the very time when women are surging into the work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sally-helgesen/what-business-needs-now-is-exactly-what-women-are-able-to-provide-and/) [Sally Helgesen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sally-helgesen/) > [The clatter of a changing world is not pleasant, and those who have enjoyed the comforts and protection of the old order may be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-keller/the-clatter-of-a-changing-world-is-not-pleasant-and-those-who-have/) [Helen Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-keller/) > [My mind shrank from the menace sweeping down on us, as children's do from belief in death and misfortune, vainly clinging to the fancy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-pankhurst/my-mind-shrank-from-the-menace-sweeping-down-on-us-as-children-s-do/) [Sylvia Pankhurst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-pankhurst/) ## More by Marcus Aurelius > [A man should be upright, not kept upright.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/a-man-should-be-upright-not-kept-upright/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [Everything is mere opinion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/everything-is-mere-opinion/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [If any man has done wrong, the harm is his own. 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 Events quotes > [History is, in its essentials, the science of change. It knows and it teaches that it is impossible to find two events that are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-bloch/history-is-in-its-essentials-the-science-of-change-it-knows-and-it/) [Marc Bloch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-bloch/) > [My political views have never made me insensitive to the pain and suffering caused to the innocent victims of events such as the Warrington…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-fox/my-political-views-have-never-made-me-insensitive-to-the-pain-and/) [Claire Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-fox/) > [Teaching children about the natural world should be seen as one of the most important events in their lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-berry/teaching-children-about-the-natural-world-should-be-seen-as-one-of/) [Thomas Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-berry/) > [In any event, it is one thing to assert, then or now, that the Iraq war was ill-advised. It is quite another to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-silberman/in-any-event-it-is-one-thing-to-assert-then-or-now-that-the-iraq-war/) [Laurence Silberman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-silberman/) > [I wasn’t like, boo hoo, Bin Laden’s dead, but I wasn’t jumping. America’s a very nationalistic country, and in episodes like that of his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-scahill/i-wasn-t-like-boo-hoo-bin-laden-s-dead-but-i-wasn-t-jumping-america-s/) [Jeremy Scahill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-scahill/) > [Sometimes I am a collector of data, and only a collector, and am likely to be gross and miserly, piling up notes, pleased with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-fort/sometimes-i-am-a-collector-of-data-and-only-a-collector-and-am-likely/) [Charles Fort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-fort/) > [Things happen too quickly, crisis follows crisis, the soil of our minds is perpetually disturbed. Each of us, to relieve his feelings, broadcasts his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-struther/things-happen-too-quickly-crisis-follows-crisis-the-soil-of-our-minds/) [Jan Struther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-struther/) > [Do we make ourselves into what we become or is it built into our genes, into the fate spun for us by whatever shapes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-bruchac/do-we-make-ourselves-into-what-we-become-or-is-it-built-into-our/) [Joseph Bruchac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-bruchac/) > [First impressions are often the truest, as we find (not infrequently) to our cost, when we have been wheedled out of them by plausible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/first-impressions-are-often-the-truest-as-we-find-not-infrequently-to/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [The future and the past are equally meaningless because they are nebulous entities, times that do not exist, containing events which have no echo…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-lebbon/the-future-and-the-past-are-equally-meaningless-because-they-are/) [Tim Lebbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-lebbon/) > [History employs evolution to structure biological events in time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/history-employs-evolution-to-structure-biological-events-in-time/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [Sporting events like the Olympics have developed and maintained a clear message of promoting gender equality as an essential criterion in the success of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-attias/sporting-events-like-the-olympics-have-developed-and-maintained-a/) [Richard Attias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-attias/) > [There remains an experience of incomparable value . . . to see the great events of world history from below; from the perspective of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/there-remains-an-experience-of-incomparable-value-to-see-the-great/) [Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/) > [It's really a pity that there are observers who view political events like comic strips. There has to be a Zorro, there has to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sankara/it-s-really-a-pity-that-there-are-observers-who-view-political-events/) [Thomas Sankara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sankara/) > [Everything is not black-and-white . I'm really interested in the gray area - not justifying it, not glorifying it, not condoning it, but at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaiah-washington/everything-is-not-black-and-white-i-m-really-interested-in-the-gray/) [Isaiah Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaiah-washington/) [Browse all 5,384 Events quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/events/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Time is a kind of river, an irresistible flood sweeping up men and events and carrying them headlong, one after the other, to the great sea of being.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Marcus Aurelius" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/time-is-a-kind-of-river-an-irresistible-flood-sweeping-up-men-and/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Events" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/time-is-a-kind-of-river-an-irresistible-flood-sweeping-up-men-and/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b1/marcus-aurelius-139_events_time-is-a-kind-of-river-an-irresistible_1494988.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b1/marcus-aurelius-139_events_time-is-a-kind-of-river-an-irresistible_1494988.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b1/marcus-aurelius-139_events_time-is-a-kind-of-river-an-irresistible_1494988.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Time is a kind of river, an irresistible flood sweeping up men and events and carrying them headlong, one…” — 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": "Time is a kind of river,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/time-is-a-kind-of-river-an-irresistible-flood-sweeping-up-men-and/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/time-is-a-kind-of-river-an-irresistible-flood-sweeping-up-men-and/#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 } } ] } ```