What worth is life, when I am fortune's butt?
'Tis better, better far its course to stay,
And die once only, than die every day.
• Les Bergeries, Act II, Sc. V (Alcidor) (Tr. Harbottle)
'Tis better, better far its course to stay,
And die once only, than die every day.
• Les Bergeries, Act II, Sc. V (Alcidor) (Tr. Harbottle)
“
A quoy me sert la vie en butte à la fortune?
II vaut mieux, il vaut mieux en arrester le cours,
Et mourir une fois que mourir tons les jours.
— Honorat de Bueil de Racan
What It Means
This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "A quoy me sert la vie en butte à la fortune?
II vaut mieux, il vaut mieux en arrester le cours,
Et mourir une fois que mourir tons les jours." in the context of "What worth is life, when I am fortune's butt?
'Tis better, better far its course to stay,
And die once only, than die every day.
• Les Bergeries, Act II, Sc. V (Alcidor) (Tr. Harbottle)" to mean that wisdom is timeless.
Source: Wikiquote: "Honorat de Bueil de Racan" (Quotes)
The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 19, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
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About Honorat de Bueil de Racan
Honorat de Bueil, seigneur de Racan (sometimes mistakenly listed as "marquis de Racan", although he never held this title; 5 February 1589 – 21 January 1670) was a French aristocrat, soldier, poet, dramatist and (original) member of the Académie française.
About Honorat de Bueil de Racan
Honorat de Bueil, seigneur de Racan (sometimes mistakenly listed as "marquis de Racan", although he never held this title; 5 February 1589 – 21 January 1670) was a French aristocrat, soldier, poet, dramatist and (original) member of the Académie française.
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