--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I would have preferred to have been born…" description: "\"I would have preferred to have been born in any other time than our own.\" — Petrarch" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f2e/petrarch-6716_birth_i-would-have-preferred-to-have-been-born_116147.png" --- # I would have preferred to have been born in any other time… ![“I would have preferred to have been born in any other time than our own.” quote by Petrarch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f2e/petrarch-6716_birth_i-would-have-preferred-to-have-been-born_116147.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f2e/petrarch-6716_birth_i-would-have-preferred-to-have-been-born_116147.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f2e/petrarch-6716_birth_i-would-have-preferred-to-have-been-born_116147.png) > “I would have preferred to have been born in any other time than our own.” [Petrarch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/petrarch/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker feels that the present era is uniquely troubling, preferring any other historical period despite its own challenges. **In simple terms:** I’d rather live in any other time than now. Key Takeaway Discontent with contemporary society. Themes nostalgia cultural critique historical perspective Mood melancholic reflective Type philosophical lament When to use this quote - Online forums discussing modern anxieties - Literary works expressing era dissatisfaction Key Concepts temporal bias Practical Applications - Reflect on personal values to mitigate present‑day distress Questions to Reflect On - What specific aspects of today feel intolerable? - How can we improve the present rather than idealize the past? A Different Perspective Romanticizes past eras without acknowledging their own hardships. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Birth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/birth/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [Oh why was I born for this time? Before one is thirty to know more dead than living people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-asquith/oh-why-was-i-born-for-this-time-before-one-is-thirty-to-know-more/) Cynthia Asquith > [There is a time for everything - a time for being born and a time for coming of age. There is a time for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-bel-geddes/there-is-a-time-for-everything-a-time-for-being-born-and-a-time-for/) Barbara Bel Geddes > [Man is truly born the time he dies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kedar-joshi/man-is-truly-born-the-time-he-dies/) [Kedar Joshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kedar-joshi/) > [I have been born again and again and each time, I have found something to love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-parks/i-have-been-born-again-and-again-and-each-time-i-have-found-something/) [Gordon Parks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-parks/) > [I think I was born out of my time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-pullman/i-think-i-was-born-out-of-my-time/) [Bill Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-pullman/) > [I sat next to a young woman on a plane once who bombarded me for five hours with how she had decided to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-alda/i-sat-next-to-a-young-woman-on-a-plane-once-who-bombarded-me-for-five/) [Alan Alda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-alda/) > [I've always felt like if I was going to be born any other time that it would be during the '60s or definitely during…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-fogler/i-ve-always-felt-like-if-i-was-going-to-be-born-any-other-time-that/) [Dan Fogler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-fogler/) > [I think I was born at a time when an American male had so many advantages and opportunities that weren't available to men before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-malkovich/i-think-i-was-born-at-a-time-when-an-american-male-had-so-many/) [John Malkovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-malkovich/) > [...for hope is always born at the same time as love...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/for-hope-is-always-born-at-the-same-time-as-love/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Don't limit a child to your own learning, for he was born in another time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/don-t-limit-a-child-to-your-own-learning-for-he-was-born-in-another/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [“Don't limit a child to your own learning, for she was born in another time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/don-t-limit-a-child-to-your-own-learning-for-she-was-born-in-another/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [...,we wasn't born to be all the time scared, we was born happy,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/we-wasn-t-born-to-be-all-the-time-scared-we-was-born-happy/) [Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/) > [Do not confine your children to your own learning, for they were born in another time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinese-proverb/do-not-confine-your-children-to-your-own-learning-for-they-were-born/) Chinese Proverb > [Why do born-again people so often make you wish they'd never been born the first time?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-whitehorn/why-do-born-again-people-so-often-make-you-wish-they-d-never-been/) [Katharine Whitehorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-whitehorn/) > [Yes, it’s embarrassing to be born again, but imagine how embarrassing it must have been to be born the first time. At least this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rich-mullins/yes-it-s-embarrassing-to-be-born-again-but-imagine-how-embarrassing/) [Rich Mullins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rich-mullins/) ## More by Petrarch > [Five enemies of peace inhabit with us - avarice, ambition, envy, anger, and pride; if these were to be banished, we should infallibly enjoy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/petrarch/five-enemies-of-peace-inhabit-with-us-avarice-ambition-envy-anger-and/) [Petrarch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/petrarch/) > [The time will come when every change shall cease, This quick revolving wheel shall rest in peace: No summer then shall glow, not winter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/petrarch/the-time-will-come-when-every-change-shall-cease-this-quick-revolving/) [Petrarch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/petrarch/) > [Wanting is not enough, long and you attain it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/petrarch/wanting-is-not-enough-long-and-you-attain-it/) [Petrarch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/petrarch/) > [The aged love what is practical while impetuous youth longs only for what is dazzling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/petrarch/the-aged-love-what-is-practical-while-impetuous-youth-longs-only-for/) [Petrarch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/petrarch/) > [Oh, may she deign to stand atmy bedside When I come to die; and may she call to me And draw me to her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/petrarch/oh-may-she-deign-to-stand-atmy-bedside-when-i-come-to-die-and-may-she/) [Petrarch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/petrarch/) > [How difficult it is to save the bark of reputation from the rocks of ignorance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/petrarch/how-difficult-it-is-to-save-the-bark-of-reputation-from-the-rocks-of/) [Petrarch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/petrarch/) > [Do you suppose there is any living man so unreasonable that if he found himself stricken with a dangerous ailment he would not anxiously…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/petrarch/do-you-suppose-there-is-any-living-man-so-unreasonable-that-if-he/) [Petrarch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/petrarch/) > [Sameness is the mother of disgust, variety the cure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/petrarch/sameness-is-the-mother-of-disgust-variety-the-cure/) [Petrarch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/petrarch/) > [He loves but lightly who his love can tell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/petrarch/he-loves-but-lightly-who-his-love-can-tell/) [Petrarch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/petrarch/) > [Rarely do great beauty and great virtue dwell together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/petrarch/rarely-do-great-beauty-and-great-virtue-dwell-together/) [Petrarch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/petrarch/) > [It is better to will the good than to know the truth,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/petrarch/it-is-better-to-will-the-good-than-to-know-the-truth/) [Petrarch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/petrarch/) > [For death betimes is comfort, not dismay, and who can rightly die needs no delay.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/petrarch/for-death-betimes-is-comfort-not-dismay-and-who-can-rightly-die-needs/) [Petrarch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/petrarch/) > [“I feed my heart with sighs, that's all it asks, I live on tears, I think I'm born to weep; I don't complain of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/petrarch/i-feed-my-heart-with-sighs-that-s-all-it-asks-i-live-on-tears-i-think/) [Petrarch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/petrarch/) > [Often have I wondered with much curiosity as to our coming into this world and what will follow our departure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/petrarch/often-have-i-wondered-with-much-curiosity-as-to-our-coming-into-this/) [Petrarch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/petrarch/) > [“I ate in the morning what I would digest in the evening; I swallowed as a boy what I would ruminate upon as an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/petrarch/i-ate-in-the-morning-what-i-would-digest-in-the-evening-i-swallowed/) [Petrarch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/petrarch/) [Explore all 98 Petrarch quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/petrarch/) ## More Birth quotes > [“Conception is the beginning of human life. From the time that an ovum is fertilized a new life begins that is neither that of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/declaration-on-procured-abortion-congregation-for-the-doctrine-of-the-faith-1974/conception-is-the-beginning-of-human-life-from-the-time-that-an-ovum/) Declaration on Procured Abortion Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith 1974 > [In the entire history of the universe, let alone in your own history, there has never been another day just like today, and there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-buechner/in-the-entire-history-of-the-universe-let-alone-in-your-own-history/) [Frederick Buechner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-buechner/) > [The greatest mystery in life is not life itself, but death. Death is the culmination of life, the ultimate blossoming of life. In death…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/the-greatest-mystery-in-life-is-not-life-itself-but-death-death-is/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [Guns have little or nothing to do with juvenile violence. The causes of youth violence are working parents who put their kids into daycare,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-delay/guns-have-little-or-nothing-to-do-with-juvenile-violence-the-causes/) [Tom DeLay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-delay/) > [“Every child is born as angel.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/every-child-is-born-as-angel/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [Nirvana is a word that means enlightenment, being beyond the illusion of birth and death, the illusion of pain, the illusion of love, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/nirvana-is-a-word-that-means-enlightenment-being-beyond-the-illusion/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [It was no accident, no coincidence, that the seasons came round and round year after year. It was the Lord speaking to us all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francine-rivers/it-was-no-accident-no-coincidence-that-the-seasons-came-round-and/) [Francine Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francine-rivers/) > [We do not want to be reminded that it is we, the indigenous people, who are poor and exploited in the land of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-biko/we-do-not-want-to-be-reminded-that-it-is-we-the-indigenous-people-who/) [Steven Biko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-biko/) > [There are two kinds of beauty; there is a beauty which God gives at birth, and which withers as a flower. And there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-kuyper/there-are-two-kinds-of-beauty-there-is-a-beauty-which-god-gives-at/) [Abraham Kuyper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-kuyper/) > [Always keep the smile, because the smile is the beginning of love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-imad/always-keep-the-smile-because-the-smile-is-the-beginning-of-love/) Adam Imad > [The wailing of the newborn infant is mingled with the dirge for the dead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucretius/the-wailing-of-the-newborn-infant-is-mingled-with-the-dirge-for-the/) [Lucretius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucretius/) > [I gave birth to most of them MC's... So when it comes around to the month of May, Send me your royalty check for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxanne-shante/i-gave-birth-to-most-of-them-mc-s-so-when-it-comes-around-to-the/) Roxanne Shante > [“A Beautiful verse takes birth when "U"n"I" VERSE.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajesh-walecha/a-beautiful-verse-takes-birth-when-u-n-i-verse/) [Rajesh Walecha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajesh-walecha/) > [“There is no born evil, only a corruptible canvas darkened by a formidable perpetrator.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yefon-isabelle/there-is-no-born-evil-only-a-corruptible-canvas-darkened-by-a/) [Yefon Isabelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yefon-isabelle/) > [I've always thought that the most extraordinary special effect you could do is to buy a child at the moment of its birth, sit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-barker/i-ve-always-thought-that-the-most-extraordinary-special-effect-you/) [Clive Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-barker/) [Browse all 6,183 Birth quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/birth/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I would have preferred to have been born in any other time than our own.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Petrarch" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/petrarch/i-would-have-preferred-to-have-been-born-in-any-other-time-than-our/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Birth" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/petrarch/i-would-have-preferred-to-have-been-born-in-any-other-time-than-our/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f2e/petrarch-6716_birth_i-would-have-preferred-to-have-been-born_116147.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f2e/petrarch-6716_birth_i-would-have-preferred-to-have-been-born_116147.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f2e/petrarch-6716_birth_i-would-have-preferred-to-have-been-born_116147.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I would have preferred to have been born in any other time than our own.” — Petrarch", "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": "Petrarch", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/petrarch/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I would have preferred to have...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/petrarch/i-would-have-preferred-to-have-been-born-in-any-other-time-than-our/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/petrarch/i-would-have-preferred-to-have-been-born-in-any-other-time-than-our/#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 } } ] } ```