--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It's all now you see. Yesterday won't be…" description: "\"“It's all now you see. Yesterday won't be over until tomorrow and tomorrow began ten thousand years ago. For every Southern boy fourteen years old, not..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/543/william-faulkner-306_thousand-years_it-s-all-now-you-see-yesterday-won-t-be_220382.jpg" --- # It's all now you see. Yesterday won't be over until… ![“It's all now you see. Yesterday won't be over until tomorrow and tomorrow began ten thousand years ago. For every Southern boy fourteen years old, not once but whenever he wants it, there is the instant when it's still not yet two o'clock on that July afternoon in 1863, the brigades are in…” quote by William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/543/william-faulkner-306_thousand-years_it-s-all-now-you-see-yesterday-won-t-be_220382.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/543/william-faulkner-306_thousand-years_it-s-all-now-you-see-yesterday-won-t-be_220382.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/543/william-faulkner-306_thousand-years_it-s-all-now-you-see-yesterday-won-t-be_220382.jpg) > ““It's all now you see. Yesterday won't be over until tomorrow and tomorrow began ten thousand years ago. For every Southern boy fourteen years old, not once but whenever he wants it, there is the instant when it's still not yet two o'clock on that July afternoon in 1863, the brigades are in position behind the rail fence, the guns are laid and ready in the woods and the furled flags are already loosened to break out and Pickett himself with his long oiled ringlets and his hat in one hand probably and his sword in the other looking up the hill waiting for Longstreet to give the word and it's all in the balance, it hasn't happened yet, it hasn't even begun yet, it not only hasn't begun yet but there is still time for it not to begin against that position and those circumstances which made more men than Garnett and Kemper and Armistead and Wilcox look grave yet it's going to begin, we all know that, we have come too far with too much at stake and that moment doesn't need even a fourteen-year-old boy to think This time. Maybe this time with all this much to lose than all this much to gain: Pennsylvania, Maryland, the world, the golden dome of Washington itself to crown with desperate and unbelievable victory the desperate gamble, the cast made two years ago; or to anyone who ever sailed a skiff under a quilt sail, the moment in 1492 when somebody thought This is it: the absolute edge of no return, to turn back now and make home or sail irrevocably on and either find land or plunge over the world's roaring rim.”” [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The passage reflects on moments of decisive tension before historic events, where time feels both suspended and urgent, urging recognition of the weight of choices. **In simple terms:** Before big events, time feels heavy and choices matter. Key Takeaway Recognize and act on pivotal moments. Themes history choice urgency fate war Mood reflective tense dramatic Type literary historical philosophical When to use this quote - battlefield decisions - personal crossroads - political crises - creative writing - historical analysis Key Concepts determinism temporal perception psychology military strategy Questions to Reflect On - What moment feels like a point of no return for you? - How do you balance fear and duty? A Different Perspective The narrative may romanticize inevitability, overlooking randomness and individual agency. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Thousand years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thousand-years/) [Tomorrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tomorrow/) ## Related quotes > [For every Southern boy fourteen years old, not once but whenever he wants it, there is the instant when it's still not yet two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/for-every-southern-boy-fourteen-years-old-not-once-but-whenever-he/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [It's all now you see: tomorrow began yesterday and yesterday won't be over until tomorrow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/it-s-all-now-you-see-tomorrow-began-yesterday-and-yesterday-won-t-be/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [“I know love is begun by time, And that I see, in passages of proof, Time qualifies the spark and fire of it. There…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/i-know-love-is-begun-by-time-and-that-i-see-in-passages-of-proof-time/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Love is begun by time and time qualifies the spark and fire of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/love-is-begun-by-time-and-time-qualifies-the-spark-and-fire-of-it/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Love is begun by time; and that I see in passages of proof, time qualifies the spark and fire of it. There lives within…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/love-is-begun-by-time-and-that-i-see-in-passages-of-proof-time/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“It is time to awaken!” “You have a mission! It is time to begin!” “Stop wasting time! Time is growing short for you to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dolores-cannon/it-is-time-to-awaken-you-have-a-mission-it-is-time-to-begin-stop/) [Dolores Cannon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dolores-cannon/) > [When there is nothing to fear is the time to begin fearing everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-bergam-n/when-there-is-nothing-to-fear-is-the-time-to-begin-fearing-everything/) [Jose Bergamin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-bergam-n/) > [“Do not be discourage by the height of the mountain, one step at a time will lead you there; and now is the time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anikor-daniel/do-not-be-discourage-by-the-height-of-the-mountain-one-step-at-a-time/) [ANIKOR Daniel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anikor-daniel/) > [No more excuses, no more wasting of precious time, now is as good a time as any, to begin doing what matters most!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/no-more-excuses-no-more-wasting-of-precious-time-now-is-as-good-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [That which we are, we are, and if we are ever to be any better, now is the time to begin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-lord-tennyson/that-which-we-are-we-are-and-if-we-are-ever-to-be-any-better-now-is/) [Alfred Lord Tennyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-lord-tennyson/) > [It's only when we truly know and understand that we have a limited time on Earth - and that we have no way of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elisabeth-kubler-ross/it-s-only-when-we-truly-know-and-understand-that-we-have-a-limited/) [Elisabeth Kubler-Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elisabeth-kubler-ross/) > [“When you think it's finished, that is the time to begin.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-james-west/when-you-think-it-s-finished-that-is-the-time-to-begin/) [Peter James West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-james-west/) > [It's time to begin righting the story of your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-jeremiah/it-s-time-to-begin-righting-the-story-of-your-life/) [David Jeremiah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-jeremiah/) > [“You go to school to get a job, and you get a job to take time off to do nothing. Why not do nothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janne-teller/you-go-to-school-to-get-a-job-and-you-get-a-job-to-take-time-off-to/) [Janne Teller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janne-teller/) > [The time to begin most things is ten years ago.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mignon-mclaughlin/the-time-to-begin-most-things-is-ten-years-ago/) [Mignon McLaughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mignon-mclaughlin/) ## More by William Faulkner > [“The river itself is not a hundred yards across, and pa and Vernon and Vardaman and Dewey Dell are the only things in sight…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/the-river-itself-is-not-a-hundred-yards-across-and-pa-and-vernon-and/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [The quality an artist must have is objectivity in judging his work, plus the honesty and courage not to kid himself about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/the-quality-an-artist-must-have-is-objectivity-in-judging-his-work/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [“Luster returned, wearing a stiff new straw hat with a colored band and carrying a cloth cap. The hat seemed to isolate Luster's skull,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/luster-returned-wearing-a-stiff-new-straw-hat-with-a-colored-band-and/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [It is easy enough to say that man is immortal simply because he will endure: that when the last ding-dong of doom has clanged…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/it-is-easy-enough-to-say-that-man-is-immortal-simply-because-he-will/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [“What matters is at the end of life, when you're about to pass into oblivion, that you've at least scratched 'Kilroy was here,' on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/what-matters-is-at-the-end-of-life-when-you-re-about-to-pass-into/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [I've got to feel the pencil and see the words at the end of the pencil,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/i-ve-got-to-feel-the-pencil-and-see-the-words-at-the-end-of-the-pencil/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [And sure enough, even waiting will end...if you can just wait long enough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/and-sure-enough-even-waiting-will-end-if-you-can-just-wait-long-enough/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [“I believe that man will not merely endure: he will prevail. He is immortal, not because he alone among creatures has an inexhaustible voice,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/i-believe-that-man-will-not-merely-endure-he-will-prevail-he-is/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [Never be afraid to raise your voice for honesty and truth and compassion against injustice and lying and greed. If people all over the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/never-be-afraid-to-raise-your-voice-for-honesty-and-truth-and/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [To understand the world, you must first understand a place like Mississippi.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/to-understand-the-world-you-must-first-understand-a-place-like/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [“What modren ideas?” pap said. “I didn’t know there was but one idea about work—until it is done, it ain’t done, and when it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/what-modren-ideas-pap-said-i-didn-t-know-there-was-but-one-idea-about/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [“It was only as he put his hand on the door that he became aware of complete silence beyond it, a silence which he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/it-was-only-as-he-put-his-hand-on-the-door-that-he-became-aware-of/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [“She has no mother because fatherblood hates with love and pride, but motherblood with hate loves and cohabits.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/she-has-no-mother-because-fatherblood-hates-with-love-and-pride-but/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [“Byron listened quietly, thinking to himself how people everywhere are about the same, but that it did seem that in a small town, where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/byron-listened-quietly-thinking-to-himself-how-people-everywhere-are/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [“It was too late. Maybe yesterday, while I was still a child, but not now. I knew too much, had seen too much, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/it-was-too-late-maybe-yesterday-while-i-was-still-a-child-but-not-now/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) [Explore all 673 William Faulkner quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) ## More Thousand years quotes > [Memory revises me. Even now a letter comes from a place I don’t know, from someone with my name and postmarked years ago, while…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/li-young-lee/memory-revises-me-even-now-a-letter-comes-from-a-place-i-don-t-know/) [Li-Young Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/li-young-lee/) > [A thousand years may scare form a state. An hour may lay it in ruins.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/a-thousand-years-may-scare-form-a-state-an-hour-may-lay-it-in-ruins/) [Lord Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/) > [Ring out false pride in place and blood, The civic slander and the spite; Ring in the love of truth and right, Ring in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-the-great/ring-out-false-pride-in-place-and-blood-the-civic-slander-and-the/) [Alfred the Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-the-great/) > [“days of the earliest Church? I ask you: Do you want things to go on as usual, or do you want to see God…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-t-kendall/days-of-the-earliest-church-i-ask-you-do-you-want-things-to-go-on-as/) [R. T. Kendall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-t-kendall/) > [“He still heard his mother's voice--"Davey"--rise like whisper-dust from unseen corners in the house, but it was no longer the only voice he heard.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-spinelli/he-still-heard-his-mother-s-voice-davey-rise-like-whisper-dust-from/) [Jerry Spinelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-spinelli/) > [“Whenever I think about ancient cultures nostalgia seizes me. Perhaps this is nothing but envy of the sweet slowness of the history of that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/whenever-i-think-about-ancient-cultures-nostalgia-seizes-me-perhaps/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [“Man is not a 'fixed and limited animal whose nature is absolutely constant'. He changed drastically when he developed 'divided consciousness' to cope with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-wilson/man-is-not-a-fixed-and-limited-animal-whose-nature-is-absolutely/) [Colin Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-wilson/) > [“Let us consider humanity a biogram (the basic DNA blueprint of the human organism and its potentials) united with a logogram (this set of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-shea/let-us-consider-humanity-a-biogram-the-basic-dna-blueprint-of-the/) [Robert Shea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-shea/) > [“Finally, someone had seen him. And what had he done? Let her get away. Undermined by his disgusting human anatomy. It had just been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-marie-moning/finally-someone-had-seen-him-and-what-had-he-done-let-her-get-away/) [Karen Marie Moning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-marie-moning/) > [“The sorrow bird: We've gone too far. I'm afraid we can't go back. Hoopoe: Back?... There's a circle, bird. Why, just think of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-s-s/the-sorrow-bird-we-ve-gone-too-far-i-m-afraid-we-can-t-go-back-hoopoe/) [Peter Sís](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-s-s/) > [“Change the fabric of their culture? It hasn’t happened yet, not in two thousand years. And it won’t happen now.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-webb/change-the-fabric-of-their-culture-it-hasn-t-happened-yet-not-in-two/) [James Webb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-webb/) > [“Revelation Chapter 18 details the many goods which are sold through the Daughter of Babylon’s ports. The lengthy list appears in Revelation 18:11-13. Take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-price/revelation-chapter-18-details-the-many-goods-which-are-sold-through/) [John Price](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-price/) > [The germs of existence contained in this spot of earth, with ample food, and ample room to expand in, would fill millions of worlds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-malthus/the-germs-of-existence-contained-in-this-spot-of-earth-with-ample/) [Thomas Malthus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-malthus/) > [To be original is to discover the commonplace of a thousand years--to face at first the sneer that no one would have thought of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-stanley-lee/to-be-original-is-to-discover-the-commonplace-of-a-thousand-years-to/) [Gerald Stanley Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-stanley-lee/) > [“You are a military man and should know better. If there is one science into which man has probed continuously and successfully, it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/you-are-a-military-man-and-should-know-better-if-there-is-one-science/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) [Browse all 1,602 Thousand years quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thousand-years/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“It's all now you see. Yesterday won't be over until tomorrow and tomorrow began ten thousand years ago. For every Southern boy fourteen years old, not once but whenever he wants it, there is the instant when it's still not yet two o'clock on that July afternoon in 1863, the brigades are in position behind the rail fence, the guns are laid and ready in the woods and the furled flags are already loosened to break out and Pickett himself with his long oiled ringlets and his hat in one hand probably and his sword in the other looking up the hill waiting for Longstreet to give the word and it's all in the balance, it hasn't happened yet, it hasn't even begun yet, it not only hasn't begun yet but there is still time for it not to begin against that position and those circumstances which made more men than Garnett and Kemper and Armistead and Wilcox look grave yet it's going to begin, we all know that, we have come too far with too much at stake and that moment doesn't need even a fourteen-year-old boy to think This time. Maybe this time with all this much to lose than all this much to gain: Pennsylvania, Maryland, the world, the golden dome of Washington itself to crown with desperate and unbelievable victory the desperate gamble, the cast made two years ago; or to anyone who ever sailed a skiff under a quilt sail, the moment in 1492 when somebody thought This is it: the absolute edge of no return, to turn back now and make home or sail irrevocably on and either find land or plunge over the world's roaring rim.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "William Faulkner" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/it-s-all-now-you-see-yesterday-won-t-be-over-until-tomorrow-and/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Thousand years" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/it-s-all-now-you-see-yesterday-won-t-be-over-until-tomorrow-and/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/543/william-faulkner-306_thousand-years_it-s-all-now-you-see-yesterday-won-t-be_220382.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/543/william-faulkner-306_thousand-years_it-s-all-now-you-see-yesterday-won-t-be_220382.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/543/william-faulkner-306_thousand-years_it-s-all-now-you-see-yesterday-won-t-be_220382.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It's all now you see. Yesterday won't be over until tomorrow and tomorrow began ten thousand years ago. For…” — William Faulkner", "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": "William Faulkner", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“It's all now you see. Yesterday...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/it-s-all-now-you-see-yesterday-won-t-be-over-until-tomorrow-and/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/it-s-all-now-you-see-yesterday-won-t-be-over-until-tomorrow-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 } } ] } ```