067Japanese quotation 名言
歳月人を待たず
さいげつひとをまたずSaigetsu hito o matazu
“The years wait for no one.”
The meaning
Time does not pause for our hesitations. What we want to live or mend requires that we begin — now.
At the origin
A line by the Chinese poet Tao Yuanming, become proverbial in Japan.
The characters
In practice
Stop waiting for the right moment: it is waiting for you.
Editorial note
Line by Chinese poet Tao Yuanming (4th-5th century).
Themes
Similar proverbs
- 076 人間万事塞翁が馬 Everything in life is like the old man's horse.
- 078 待てば海路の日和あり Wait, and fair weather will come for the crossing.
- 101 月に叢雲、花に風 Over the moon, gathering clouds; over blossoms, wind.
- 108 月日は百代の過客にして The days and months are travelers of a hundred generations.
- 157 日進月歩 Advance daily, progress monthly.