---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A whole lifetime was too short to bring…"
description: "\"“A whole lifetime was too short to bring out, now that one had acquired the power, the full flavour; to extract every ounce of pleasure, every shade of..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a6d/virginia-woolf-49_quote_a-whole-lifetime-was-too-short-to-bring_1667796.jpg"
---

#  A whole lifetime was too short to bring out, now that one…

![“A whole lifetime was too short to bring out, now that one had acquired the power, the full flavour; to extract every ounce of pleasure, every shade of meaning- which both were so much more solid than they used to be.” quote by Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a6d/virginia-woolf-49_quote_a-whole-lifetime-was-too-short-to-bring_1667796.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a6d/virginia-woolf-49_quote_a-whole-lifetime-was-too-short-to-bring_1667796.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a6d/virginia-woolf-49_quote_a-whole-lifetime-was-too-short-to-bring_1667796.jpg)

> ““A whole lifetime was too short to bring out, now that one had acquired the power, the full flavour; to extract every ounce of pleasure, every shade of meaning- which both were so much more solid than they used to be.””

[Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Acquiring power reveals deeper layers of experience, allowing fuller enjoyment and meaning, yet also intensifies the desire for more.

**In simple terms:** Power deepens perception and desire.

Key Takeaway

Seek balance between ambition and contentment.

Themes

power perception desire meaning growth

Mood

thoughtful melancholic philosophical

Type

literary reflective philosophical

When to use this quote

- career advancement
- creative pursuits
- personal development
- spiritual seeking

Key Concepts

existentialism psychology literary introspection

Questions to Reflect On

- What does true fulfillment look like beyond power?
- How can one savor achievements without endless yearning?

A Different Perspective

Power can lead to insatiable cravings and anxiety.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Lifetime](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lifetime/) [Pleasure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pleasure/)

## Related quotes

> [A whole lifetime was too short to bring out, the full flavour; to extract every ounce of pleasure, every shade of meaning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/a-whole-lifetime-was-too-short-to-bring-out-the-full-flavour-to/)

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> [The happy think a lifetime short, but to the unhappy one night can be an eternity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-happy-think-a-lifetime-short-but-to-the-unhappy-one-night-can-be/)

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> [In the last quarter of the 20th century, Britons have been understandably obsessed with the problem of having too little power in the world.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-colley/in-the-last-quarter-of-the-20th-century-britons-have-been/)

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> [Our lifetime is short and limited, but the ideas, actions and thoughts we produce can easily remain unlimited.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rashida-rowe/our-lifetime-is-short-and-limited-but-the-ideas-actions-and-thoughts/)

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> [“What a vast fertility of pleasure books hold for me! I went in and found the table laden with books. I looked in and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/what-a-vast-fertility-of-pleasure-books-hold-for-me-i-went-in-and/)

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> [How are we to account for the strange human craving for the pleasure of feeling afraid which is so much involved in our love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/how-are-we-to-account-for-the-strange-human-craving-for-the-pleasure/)

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> [“Sex doesn't satisfy for a lifetime, the more you have it, the more you want it. And the more you have it, the more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bassey-johnson/sex-doesn-t-satisfy-for-a-lifetime-the-more-you-have-it-the-more-you/)

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> [Real chessplayers think about chess more or less 24 hours a day. It is a passion and a fate that one has to live…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simen-agdestein/real-chessplayers-think-about-chess-more-or-less-24-hours-a-day-it-is/)

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> [With all the technology we're inventing and what they're coming up with scientifically, people are having longer lifetimes. It's scary, but in the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brittany-murphy/with-all-the-technology-we-re-inventing-and-what-they-re-coming-up/)

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> [A man could be a lover and defender of the wilderness without ever in his lifetime leaving the boundaries of asphalt, powerlines, and right-angled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/a-man-could-be-a-lover-and-defender-of-the-wilderness-without-ever-in/)

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> [People are capable of great, great change during the span of one lifetime. And women even more than men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-zevin/people-are-capable-of-great-great-change-during-the-span-of-one/)

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> [The number of ways you can live in one lifetime is limitless. So why limit yourself? The sky is not the limit. Beyond the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzy-kassem/the-number-of-ways-you-can-live-in-one-lifetime-is-limitless-so-why/)

[Suzy Kassem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzy-kassem/)

> [So many things beat upon us in a lifetime that simply enduring may seem almost beyond us… But the test a loving God has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-b-eyring/so-many-things-beat-upon-us-in-a-lifetime-that-simply-enduring-may/)

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[L. Neil Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-neil-smith/)

> [It's sort of the American way to go up and down the ladder, maybe several times in a lifetime.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-stewart/it-s-sort-of-the-american-way-to-go-up-and-down-the-ladder-maybe/)

[Martha Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-stewart/)

## More by Virginia Woolf

> [Fatigue is the safest sleeping draught.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/fatigue-is-the-safest-sleeping-draught/)

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> [“Across the broad continent of a woman's life falls the shadow of a sword. On one side all is correct, definite, orderly; the paths…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/across-the-broad-continent-of-a-woman-s-life-falls-the-shadow-of-a/)

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[Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/)

> [Why does Samuel Butler say, 'Wise men never say what they think of women'? Wise men never say anything else apparently.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/why-does-samuel-butler-say-wise-men-never-say-what-they-think-of/)

[Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/)

> [“Sometimes he woke with a brain like lead; at others it was as if a thousand wax tapers were alight and people were throwing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/sometimes-he-woke-with-a-brain-like-lead-at-others-it-was-as-if-a/)

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> [The extraordinary woman depends on the ordinary woman. It is only when we know what were the conditions of the average woman's life -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/the-extraordinary-woman-depends-on-the-ordinary-woman-it-is-only-when/)

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> [It's sort of the American way to go up and down the ladder, maybe several times in a lifetime.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-stewart/it-s-sort-of-the-american-way-to-go-up-and-down-the-ladder-maybe/)

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> [People are capable of great, great change during the span of one lifetime. And women even more than men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-zevin/people-are-capable-of-great-great-change-during-the-span-of-one/)

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> [“A life is about twenty-five thousand days, and a finding occurs about once every twenty-five thousand days. In other news, once in a lifetime.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-yu/a-life-is-about-twenty-five-thousand-days-and-a-finding-occurs-about/)

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