Meaning & Analysis
Life is as short as a span—a handbreadth or brief measure—emphasizing the brevity and ephemerality of human existence.
Insights
Ephemeral Existence
The proverb expresses how fleeting life is, likening it to the short physical measurement of a span. It serves as a reminder that life passes quickly and should not be taken for granted.
Mortality Awareness
It brings attention to human mortality and the limited duration of one’s time on earth, encouraging reflection on the finite nature of all things human.
Moral Urgency
Suggests that since life is short, one must live purposefully and ethically, making the most of each moment rather than squandering it on trivialities.
Biblical Foundation
The image originates from Psalm 39:5, where life is described as a 'handbreadth'—a small and finite measure. This biblical allusion underscores a spiritual humility before the divine and temporal nature of human life.
Elizabethan Reflections on Mortality
Writers like Lyly, Davies, and Herbert use the proverb to reinforce classical and Christian meditations on mortality. In early modern literature, the span metaphor often served to caution against vanity and procrastination.
Shakespearean Variation
Shakespeare returns repeatedly to the 'span' of life, employing it as a poignant visual of human limitation. In *As You Like It* and *Othello*, it emphasizes the absurdity or urgency of life’s briefness, while in *Timon of Athens*, the 'outstretching' of one’s span signals exhaustion or defiance.
Philosophical Minimalism
Philosophically, the proverb invites a minimalist view of human grandeur, reminding us that all of life—from pride to power—fits within a narrow span, and thus, humility and focus are essential.
Rhetorical Devices
Metaphor
The use of 'span' as a metaphor encapsulates the brevity of life in a single, vivid image tied to the human body—concrete, measurable, and finite.
Biblical Allusion
Draws directly from Psalm 39:5, lending the proverb spiritual weight and connecting it to centuries of religious meditation on time and death.
Alliteration and Assonance
Phrases like 'life’s but a span' have a rhythmic and phonetic harmony that enhances memorability and poetic force, especially in Shakespearean and poetic usage.
Transcription
Quotations
Our lyfe is . . of such shortnesse that Dauid sayth it is but a spanne long.
I know my life's a paine and but a span.
Lifes poore span Make not an ell, by trifling in thy wo.
Bible Citations
Behold, thou hast made my days as a handbreadth.
Shakespeare Citations
How brief the life of man Runs his erring pilgrimage, That the stretching of a span Buckles in his sum of age.
A soldier's a man; O, man's life's but a span, Why then, let a soldier drink.
Timon is dead, who hath outstretch'd his span.
You have scarce time To steal from spiritual leisure a brief span To keep your earthly audit.
Related Proverbs
Original Scan
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