--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Eternity is not much longer than life." description: "\"“Eternity is not much longer than life.”\" — René Char" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8cf/ren-char-15267_eternity_eternity-is-not-much-longer-than-life-19_1944276.png" --- # Eternity is not much longer than life. ![“Eternity is not much longer than life.” quote by René Char](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8cf/ren-char-15267_eternity_eternity-is-not-much-longer-than-life-19_1944276.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8cf/ren-char-15267_eternity_eternity-is-not-much-longer-than-life-19_1944276.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8cf/ren-char-15267_eternity_eternity-is-not-much-longer-than-life-19_1944276.png) > ““Eternity is not much longer than life.”” [René Char](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-char/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Life’s span feels brief compared to the endless concept of eternity, urging us to cherish each moment. **In simple terms:** Life is short, eternity feels endless. Key Takeaway Savor each day. Themes mortality time existence Mood contemplative poetic Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal reflection - creative writing - mindfulness - legacy planning Key Concepts philosophy poetry Questions to Reflect On - How does awareness of eternity shape your daily choices? - What moments feel most fleeting? A Different Perspective Eternity may feel abstract, making daily urgency hard to maintain. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Eternity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eternity/) [Eternity Longer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eternity-longer-1372808/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Longer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/longer/) [Longer life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/longer-life/) ## Related quotes > [As eternity is longer than time, as mind is stronger than matter, as thought is swifter than the wind, as genius is more potent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-miner-gallaudet/as-eternity-is-longer-than-time-as-mind-is-stronger-than-matter-as/) [Edward Miner Gallaudet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-miner-gallaudet/) > [The pursuit of eternity is no longer the prerogative of the gods - it is the business of us all, here and now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-brown/the-pursuit-of-eternity-is-no-longer-the-prerogative-of-the-gods-it/) [Bob Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-brown/) > [Always look on the bright side - it could lead to longer life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/always-look-on-the-bright-side-it-could-lead-to-longer-life/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Words have a longer life than deeds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pindar/words-have-a-longer-life-than-deeds/) [Pindar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pindar/) > [“you were mine and my life was full you are no longer mine and my life is full”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupi-kaur/you-were-mine-and-my-life-was-full-you-are-no-longer-mine-and-my-life/) [Rupi Kaur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupi-kaur/) > [I believe that you can, by taking some simple and inexpensive measures, lead a longer life and extend your years of well-being. My most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linus-pauling/i-believe-that-you-can-by-taking-some-simple-and-inexpensive-measures/) [Linus Pauling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linus-pauling/) > [“Aging seems to be the only available way to live a longer life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/aging-seems-to-be-the-only-available-way-to-live-a-longer-life/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I've been a pro wrestler for longer than anything else in my life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelton-benjamin/i-ve-been-a-pro-wrestler-for-longer-than-anything-else-in-my-life/) [Shelton Benjamin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelton-benjamin/) > [The longer your life goes on, the more death you face.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-swayze/the-longer-your-life-goes-on-the-more-death-you-face/) [Patrick Swayze](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-swayze/) > [Art is longer than life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-strasberg/art-is-longer-than-life/) [Lee Strasberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-strasberg/) > [To finance longer life spans, we must convince individuals to start investing now for the long term. But longevity should be an asset that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-d-fink/to-finance-longer-life-spans-we-must-convince-individuals-to-start/) [Laurence D. Fink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-d-fink/) > [Losing weight is not easy, but it is worth it to be fit and healthy to live a longer life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeline-stuart/losing-weight-is-not-easy-but-it-is-worth-it-to-be-fit-and-healthy-to/) [Madeline Stuart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeline-stuart/) > [“I click on the deaths and read the names carefully, memorising them. Because here’s the simple truth—if I hadn’t taken the ship off Phydus,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-revis/i-click-on-the-deaths-and-read-the-names-carefully-memorising-them/) [Beth Revis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-revis/) > [Someone who lives meaningfully for 30 years has lived a much longer Life than one who drifted through Life for 60 years.-RVM](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rvm/someone-who-lives-meaningfully-for-30-years-has-lived-a-much-longer/) [RVM](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rvm/) > [It is almost impossible to overestimate the value of true humility and its power in the spiritual life. For the beginning of humility is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/it-is-almost-impossible-to-overestimate-the-value-of-true-humility/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) ## More by René Char > [“Midnight is not in everyman's reach.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-char/midnight-is-not-in-everyman-s-reach/) [René Char](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-char/) > [A poet should leave traces of his passage, not proofs. Traces alone engender dreams.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-char/a-poet-should-leave-traces-of-his-passage-not-proofs-traces-alone/) [Rene Char](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-char/) > [How can we live without the unknown before us?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-char/how-can-we-live-without-the-unknown-before-us/) [Rene Char](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-char/) > [“In my land we don't question someone who has been touched deeply. There is no malign shadow over capsized boats.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-char/in-my-land-we-don-t-question-someone-who-has-been-touched-deeply/) [René Char](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-char/) > [Be gful to the man who cares nothing for your remorse. You are his equal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-char/be-gful-to-the-man-who-cares-nothing-for-your-remorse-you-are-his/) [Rene Char](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-char/) > [“Ihminen vailla puutteita on vuori vailla rotkoja.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-char/ihminen-vailla-puutteita-on-vuori-vailla-rotkoja/) [René Char](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-char/) > [Imagination consists in expelling from reality several incomplete persons, and then using the magic and subversive powers of desire to bring them back in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-char/imagination-consists-in-expelling-from-reality-several-incomplete/) [Rene Char](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-char/) > [“A poet should leave traces of his passage, not proof.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-char/a-poet-should-leave-traces-of-his-passage-not-proof/) [René Char](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-char/) > [“The poet advises: 'Read me. Read me again.' He does not always come away unscathed from his page, but like the poor, he knows…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-char/the-poet-advises-read-me-read-me-again-he-does-not-always-come-away/) [René Char](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-char/) > [To be a poet is to have an appetite for a certain anxiety which, when tasted among the swirling sum of things existent or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-char/to-be-a-poet-is-to-have-an-appetite-for-a-certain-anxiety-which-when/) [Rene Char](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-char/) > [A poet must leave traces of his passage, not proof.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-char/a-poet-must-leave-traces-of-his-passage-not-proof/) [Rene Char](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-char/) > [Develop your legitimate strangeness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-char/develop-your-legitimate-strangeness/) [Rene Char](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-char/) > [“Lucidity is the wound closest to the sun.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-char/lucidity-is-the-wound-closest-to-the-sun/) [Rene Char](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-char/) > [“The poem is furious ascension; poetry, the game of arid riverbanks. I am a man of riverbanks – excavation and inflammation – not always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-char/the-poem-is-furious-ascension-poetry-the-game-of-arid-riverbanks-i-am/) [René Char](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-char/) > [Each act is virgin, even the repeated ones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-char/each-act-is-virgin-even-the-repeated-ones/) [Rene Char](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-char/) [Explore all 39 René Char quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-char/) ## More Eternity quotes > [“I believe in forever, and that’s what you and I are. We define eternity. This may sound cheesy, but you make me go there.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-mchugh/i-believe-in-forever-and-that-s-what-you-and-i-are-we-define-eternity/) [Gail McHugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-mchugh/) > [“Please not yet. Those are the three eternal words. Please not yet.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-d-macdonald/please-not-yet-those-are-the-three-eternal-words-please-not-yet/) [John D. MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-macdonald/) > [Peace is the first thing the angels sang. Peace is the mark of the children of God. Peace is the nurse of love. Peace…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-leo-i/peace-is-the-first-thing-the-angels-sang-peace-is-the-mark-of-the/) [Pope Leo I](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-leo-i/) > [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/) > [If I have a system it is limited to a recognition of what Kierkegaard called 'the infinite qualitative distinction' between time and eternity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-barth/if-i-have-a-system-it-is-limited-to-a-recognition-of-what-kierkegaard/) [Karl Barth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-barth/) > [Only alone can you go into eternity. Only alone can you feel the transcendental light. It is not a shared experience because if it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/only-alone-can-you-go-into-eternity-only-alone-can-you-feel-the/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [The religion of art, like the religion of politics, was born from the ruins of Christianity. Art inherited from the old religion the power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/the-religion-of-art-like-the-religion-of-politics-was-born-from-the/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [I think we all have a core that's ecstatic, that knows and that looks up in wonder. We all know that there are marvelous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/coleman-barks/i-think-we-all-have-a-core-that-s-ecstatic-that-knows-and-that-looks/) [Coleman Barks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/coleman-barks/) > [One of our great allies at present is the Church itself. Do not misunderstand me. I do not mean the Church as we see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/one-of-our-great-allies-at-present-is-the-church-itself-do-not/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [Heaven? Floating about with everyone you ever knew for eternity? Me family does me 'ed in after one day at xmas, I'd rather be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-pilkington/heaven-floating-about-with-everyone-you-ever-knew-for-eternity-me/) [Karl Pilkington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-pilkington/) > [What does the future, that half of time, matter to the man who is infatuated with eternity?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-m-cioran/what-does-the-future-that-half-of-time-matter-to-the-man-who-is/) [Emile M. Cioran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-m-cioran/) > [You and I are both life. There's just the experience of every moment. We like to call them moments. There isn't really such a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/you-and-i-are-both-life-there-s-just-the-experience-of-every-moment/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [You've decided to love me for eternity, I'm still deciding who I want to be today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ani-difranco/you-ve-decided-to-love-me-for-eternity-i-m-still-deciding-who-i-want/) [Ani DiFranco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ani-difranco/) > [You may have some friends that come and go, but having a friend like God will last forever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alyssa-tillmon/you-may-have-some-friends-that-come-and-go-but-having-a-friend-like/) [Alyssa Tillmon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alyssa-tillmon/) > [There, in the center of that silence was not eternity but the death of time and a loneliness so profound the word itself had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/there-in-the-center-of-that-silence-was-not-eternity-but-the-death-of/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) [Browse all 3,482 Eternity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eternity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Eternity is not much longer than life.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "René Char" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-char/eternity-is-not-much-longer-than-life/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Eternity" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-char/eternity-is-not-much-longer-than-life/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8cf/ren-char-15267_eternity_eternity-is-not-much-longer-than-life-19_1944276.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8cf/ren-char-15267_eternity_eternity-is-not-much-longer-than-life-19_1944276.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8cf/ren-char-15267_eternity_eternity-is-not-much-longer-than-life-19_1944276.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Eternity is not much longer than life.” — René Char", "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": "René Char", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-char/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Eternity is not much longer than...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-char/eternity-is-not-much-longer-than-life/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-char/eternity-is-not-much-longer-than-life/#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 } } ] } ```