"In his play The Coast of Utopia, [[Tom Stoppard]] puts an intensified version of this sentiment into the mouth of the nineteenth-century [[Russian]] philosopher [[Alexander Herzen]], **as he struggles to come to terms with the death of his son**, who has drowned in a shipwreck—and whose life, Herzen insists, was no less valuable for never coming to fruition in adult accomplishments. “**Because children grow up, we think a child’s purpose is to grow up**,” Herzen says. “**But a child’s purpose is to be a child. Nature doesn’t disdain what only lives for a day. It pours the whole of itself into each moment … Life’s bounty is in its flow. Later is too late**.”" --- **Tags** -- [[quotes]], [[ever-present-now]], [[amor-fati]], [[character]], [[parenting]], [[grief]], [[failure]], **Source** -- [[202410130434 - B - Four Thousand Weeks]]