"There are some things which cannot...." Hemingway

[StrikeX2]

"There are some things which cannot be learned quickly, and time, which is all we have, must be paid heavily for their acquiring. They are the very simplest things and because it takes a man's life to know them the little new that each man gets from life is very costly and the only heritage he has to leave."
- Hemingway

could someone please tell me where this came from? I couldn't find anything. Was this quotted from one of his books or not? and could someone please explain this quote? wat is the significance of it?

thnaks a bunch.

[Truth_Told]

"There are some things which cannot be learned quickly, and time, which is all we have, must be paid heavily for their acquiring. They are the very simplest things and because it takes a man's life to know them the little new that each man gets from life is very costly and the only heritage he has to leave."
- Hemingway

could someone please tell me where this came from? I couldn't find anything. Was this quotted from one of his books or not? and could someone please explain this quote? wat is the significance of it?

thnaks a bunch.

In a sense i think it is self-explanitory. the beginning speaks of knowledge and mans ability to access it. Im not sure that i agree with it entirely, cause i dont believe we have time. To have something is to be able to control it and have ownership over it, niether one of these is possible with time. the part about the "simplest things" i believe means that man will spend eternity searching for what is right in their face. the "thing" that a man seeks thats forever and man does not realize that "it" is and has always been right in front of them. By the time man sees the truth it is too late, but he is able to give a little of his knowledge of how to achieve this "thing" and the cycle just continues. Or atleast thats what i got from it. anyone else got an opinion...

[StrikeX2]

i think thats a great explanation but how would you explain "the little new"? im still a bit confused over that part. thanks

[Truth_Told]

i think thats a great explanation but how would you explain "the little new"? im still a bit confused over that part. thanks

the little bit of knowledge that a man takes forever to learn. just simply a little something new that he can pass on, which in turn those he passes to will take that little new and add a little more new in their lifetime.

[antiquary]

I agree with Truth Told as to the interpretation. You'll find the passage in question in chapter 16 of Hemingway's Death in the Afternoon (1932). It was used as the epigraph in A. E. Hotchner's Papa Hemingway (1966).