Give me insight into to-day, and you may have the antique and future worlds.... This idea has inspired the genius of Goldsmith, Burns, Cowper, and, in a newer time, of Goethe, Wordsworth, and Carlyle. Their writing is blood-warm.

Meaning: Some activities make incompatible demands at the same moment. The saying suggests choosing an order for them instead of assuming that simultaneous effort will preserve the attention or conditions each requires.

Meaning: People or matters that are absent for a long time may lose their place in everyday attention. The saying describes a risk of being overlooked, without proving that distance ends affection or that a forgotten person has less worth.

Meaning: Advice offered after an irreversible action cannot prevent what has already happened. Give relevant guidance while someone can still use it, and distinguish prevention from help with what comes next.