We say that the hour of death cannot be forecast, but when we say this we imagine that hour as placed in an obscure and distant future. It never occurs to us that it has any connection with the day already begun or that death could arrive this same afternoon, this afternoon which is so certain and which has every hour filled in advance.

Summary

This quote by Marcel Proust highlights our tendency to view death as something distant and unknown, detached from our present reality. We often think of death as an event in the distant future, failing to recognize that it could unexpectedly occur in the very moments of the day we're currently living. Proust urges us to realize that death is not disconnected from our present moments, emphasizing the certainty of the afternoon we find ourselves in and reminding us to be mindful of the preciousness of each passing hour.

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