No Time Like the Present

Tempus Neminem Manet and Other Lessons from Tolstoy

It once occurred to a certain King that if he knew the right time to begin everything, the right people to listen to, and most importantly, the most important thing to do, he will never fail in anything he might undertake.

He threw these three questions open to his people and promised to handsomely reward whoever answered all three satisfactorily. Different learned men came to the King and answered the questions differently.

Some believed that to know the right time for every action, one must draw up in advance a table of days, months, and years and must live strictly by it.

Others declared it impossible to decide beforehand the right time for every action but that not letting oneself be absorbed by idle pastimes and always attending to what was most important was the right way to go.

Another group felt the King needed a council of wise men who would help him fix the right time for everything.

Yet another group felt some things were too urgent to be subject to a council’s deliberations and thus felt magicians were the right people to consult to know the right time for every action

Equally various were the answers to the second question. Some people felt the councilors were the most important. Others, the priests. Some, the doctors while others felt it was the warriors.

To the third question, some replied that the most important thing in the world was science, others, warfare, and others again said it was religious worship.

But the King agreed with none of the answers and thus rewarded no one. Still wishing for answers to his questions, he decided to consult a Hermit widely renowned for his wisdom.

The Hermit lived deep in the woods, never left his abode, and only attended to commonfolk. So the King put on common clothes and before reaching the Hermit’s abode, dismounted from his horse and leaving his bodyguard behind, went on alone. When the King approached the Hermit, he was digging the ground in front of his hut. The old man greeted the King and went on digging. The Hermit was frail and weak and each time he struck his spade into the ground and turned a little earth, he breathed heavily.