Marcus Aurelius. To himself (№ 336697)

You need to take into account not only what every day life is decreasing and there is a smaller part, but you need to take into account the fact that if anyone will live to a very
old age, it is unknown whether will get him then the same power of mind to comprehend things and observations to the knowledge of divine and human Affairs. After all, if [people] start to become blunt, the ability to breathe, to eat, to imagine, to breaks and all the rest of it will not disappear, but the ability to intelligently dispose of them, to determine exactly the right amount of duties to divide the original presentation and to ensure I do not have time to escape from life, and everything else that absolutely can't do without a trained mind, is declining earlier [than fading in old age the ability to breathe, to eat]. Therefore it is necessary to hurry not only because death is every hour is getting closer, but also because understanding and comprehension of the connections between things weakens faster [than all other abilities].