--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Things last either too long or not long…" description: "\"“Things last either too long or not long enough.”\" — Oscar Wilde" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c6/oscar-wilde-16_life_things-last-either-too-long-or-not-long_1712118.jpg" --- # Things last either too long or not long enough. ![“Things last either too long or not long enough.” quote by Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c6/oscar-wilde-16_life_things-last-either-too-long-or-not-long_1712118.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c6/oscar-wilde-16_life_things-last-either-too-long-or-not-long_1712118.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c6/oscar-wilde-16_life_things-last-either-too-long-or-not-long_1712118.jpg) > ““Things last either too long or not long enough.”” [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Things either endure excessively or end too soon, highlighting the difficulty of finding the right duration. **In simple terms:** Life's events are often too long or too short. Key Takeaway Seek balance in timing. Themes time balance impermanence Mood wry reflective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - project planning - relationship milestones - creative processes - event scheduling - personal goals Key Concepts philosophy of existence human expectations temporal perception Questions to Reflect On - What experiences felt too brief or too prolonged? - How can you adjust expectations about duration? A Different Perspective Ideal timing is often impossible to achieve. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long/) [Long Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long-long/) [Things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/things/) [Things Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/things-long-413186/) [Too long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/too-long/) ## Related quotes > [Good things take time. Great things take a long time. And the best things take the longest time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/good-things-take-time-great-things-take-a-long-time-and-the-best/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Too long, much too long.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-verday/too-long-much-too-long/) [Jessica Verday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-verday/) > [It soared, a bird, it held its flight, a swift pure cry, soar silver orb it leaped serene, speeding, sustained, to come, don't spin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/it-soared-a-bird-it-held-its-flight-a-swift-pure-cry-soar-silver-orb/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) > [There's a lot of things you can put up with, as long as you're not related to them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mahy/there-s-a-lot-of-things-you-can-put-up-with-as-long-as-you-re-not/) [Margaret Mahy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mahy/) > [The things that matter most are the things that have long-term impact on what the world will look like.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-bankman-fried/the-things-that-matter-most-are-the-things-that-have-long-term-impact/) [Sam Bankman-Fried](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-bankman-fried/) > [Some things just have a short, beautiful life, and some things have a longer one. One hopes that the things that go a long…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brigid-brannagh/some-things-just-have-a-short-beautiful-life-and-some-things-have-a/) [Brigid Brannagh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brigid-brannagh/) > [Men who know the same things are not long the best company for each other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/men-who-know-the-same-things-are-not-long-the-best-company-for-each/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [“One may do many things in a long life. I also played a great deal of tennis and brought up three children. There's time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audrey-niffenegger/one-may-do-many-things-in-a-long-life-i-also-played-a-great-deal-of/) [Audrey Niffenegger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audrey-niffenegger/) > [I would say I'm too guilty of dwelling on things too long.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kyle-busch/i-would-say-i-m-too-guilty-of-dwelling-on-things-too-long/) [Kyle Busch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kyle-busch/) > [“Things are long gone. We are are living in era of plenitude of meanings – the abundance of bygone!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mrityunjay/things-are-long-gone-we-are-are-living-in-era-of-plenitude-of/) [Mrityunjay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mrityunjay/) > [There are few things that you can't do as long as you are willing to apply yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-lemond/there-are-few-things-that-you-can-t-do-as-long-as-you-are-willing-to/) [Greg LeMond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-lemond/) > [“How long should one accumulate material things? As long as they do not become a burden.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/how-long-should-one-accumulate-material-things-as-long-as-they-do-not/) [Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/) > [If you will lie about the little things, before long you’ll lie about bigger things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-osteen/if-you-will-lie-about-the-little-things-before-long-you-ll-lie-about/) [Joel Osteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-osteen/) > [“so many things I long for have so often been denied”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-denver/so-many-things-i-long-for-have-so-often-been-denied/) [John Denver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-denver/) > [The reason we have such a reform budget is because we've been thinking about these things for a long time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kasich/the-reason-we-have-such-a-reform-budget-is-because-we-ve-been/) [John Kasich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kasich/) ## More by Oscar Wilde > [How else but through a broken heart may Lord Christ enter in?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/how-else-but-through-a-broken-heart-may-lord-christ-enter-in/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [The books that the world calls immoral are the books that show the world its own shame.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/the-books-that-the-world-calls-immoral-are-the-books-that-show-the/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Bachelors should be heavily taxed. It is not fair that some men should be happier than others](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/bachelors-should-be-heavily-taxed-it-is-not-fair-that-some-men-should/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Who, being loved, is poor?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/who-being-loved-is-poor/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“Basil my dear boy puts everything that is charming in him into his work. The consequence is that he has nothing left for life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/basil-my-dear-boy-puts-everything-that-is-charming-in-him-into-his/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Anybody can be good in the country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/anybody-can-be-good-in-the-country/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [I don't at all like knowing what people say of me behind my back. It makes me far too conceited.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/i-don-t-at-all-like-knowing-what-people-say-of-me-behind-my-back-it/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“Alles Populäre ist falsch.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/alles-popul-re-ist-falsch/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“If these elements of beauty are real, the whole thing simply appeals to our sense of dramatic effect. Suddenly we find that we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/if-these-elements-of-beauty-are-real-the-whole-thing-simply-appeals/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [To love one's self is the beginning of a life-long romance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/to-love-one-s-self-is-the-beginning-of-a-life-long-romance/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“Those who find beautiful meanings in beautiful things are the cultivated. For these there is hope.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/those-who-find-beautiful-meanings-in-beautiful-things-are-the/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Men always want to be a womans first love. Women have a more subtle instinct: What they like is to be a mans last…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/men-always-want-to-be-a-womans-first-love-women-have-a-more-subtle/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Why is it that at a bachelor's establishment the servants invariably drink the champagne.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/why-is-it-that-at-a-bachelor-s-establishment-the-servants-invariably/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Moderation is a fatal thing. Enough is as bad as a meal. More than enough is as good as a feast.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/moderation-is-a-fatal-thing-enough-is-as-bad-as-a-meal-more-than/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Beauty is the only thing that time cannot harm. Philosophies fall away like sand, creeds follow one another, but what is beautiful is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/beauty-is-the-only-thing-that-time-cannot-harm-philosophies-fall-away/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) [Explore all 3,343 Oscar Wilde quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) ## More Life quotes > [Of all the people who have affected my life and influenced the choices I've made, none has been more important than my father. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teddy-atlas/of-all-the-people-who-have-affected-my-life-and-influenced-the/) [Teddy Atlas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teddy-atlas/) > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. By suppressing differences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/what-sets-worlds-in-motion-is-the-interplay-of-differences-their/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Life works most perfectly when a reciprocal love relationship is in place between man and God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-moore/life-works-most-perfectly-when-a-reciprocal-love-relationship-is-in/) [Beth Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-moore/) > [I value the experiences that come with life too much to sit by and not put my full effort into them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-miller/i-value-the-experiences-that-come-with-life-too-much-to-sit-by-and/) [Jim Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-miller/) > [Entertainment is a sacred pursuit when done well. When done well, it raises the quality of human life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/entertainment-is-a-sacred-pursuit-when-done-well-when-done-well-it/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) > [“There's more to life than you can see. Your sight is limited.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tammy-kling/there-s-more-to-life-than-you-can-see-your-sight-is-limited/) [Tammy Kling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tammy-kling/) > [“I've spent much of my life calling my intuition "something wrong with me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deanna-l-lawlis/i-ve-spent-much-of-my-life-calling-my-intuition-something-wrong-with/) [Deanna L. Lawlis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deanna-l-lawlis/) > [When you do things they're absolutely right at that time for you and it can always teach you something about yourself. You can take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kym-marsh/when-you-do-things-they-re-absolutely-right-at-that-time-for-you-and/) [Kym Marsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kym-marsh/) > [The only people who think the Internet is a calamity are people whose lives have been hurt by it; the only people who insist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-klosterman/the-only-people-who-think-the-internet-is-a-calamity-are-people-whose/) [Chuck Klosterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-klosterman/) > [The one thing that I keep learning over and over again is that I don't know nothing. I mean, that's my life lesson.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwayne-johnson/the-one-thing-that-i-keep-learning-over-and-over-again-is-that-i-don/) [Dwayne Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwayne-johnson/) > [“THIS tale of my sore-troubled life I write,    To thank the God of nature, who conveyed    My soul to me, and with such care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-tale-of-my-sore-troubled-life-i-write-to-thank-the-god-of-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The future is only an indifferent void no one cares about, but the past is filled with life, and its countenance is irritating, repellent,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/the-future-is-only-an-indifferent-void-no-one-cares-about-but-the/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [Two things revolutionised life: moving to the countryside and falling in love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-love/two-things-revolutionised-life-moving-to-the-countryside-and-falling/) [Nick Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-love/) > [But just remember, life without me would be even more unbearable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/but-just-remember-life-without-me-would-be-even-more-unbearable/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) [Browse all 265,290 Life quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Things last either too long or not long enough.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Oscar Wilde" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/things-last-either-too-long-or-not-long-enough/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Life" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/things-last-either-too-long-or-not-long-enough/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c6/oscar-wilde-16_life_things-last-either-too-long-or-not-long_1712118.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c6/oscar-wilde-16_life_things-last-either-too-long-or-not-long_1712118.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c6/oscar-wilde-16_life_things-last-either-too-long-or-not-long_1712118.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Things last either too long or not long enough.” — Oscar Wilde", "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": "Oscar Wilde", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Things last either too long or...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/things-last-either-too-long-or-not-long-enough/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/things-last-either-too-long-or-not-long-enough/#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 } } ] } ```