Talk about an ideal democracy！ In the realm of time there is no aristocracy of wealth， and no aristocracy of intellect. Genius is never rewarded by even an extra hour a day. And there is no punishment. Waste your infinitely precious commodity as much as you will， and the supply will never be withheld from you. Mo mysterious power will say： "This man is a fool， if not a knave. He does not deserve time； he shall be cut off at the meter." It is more certain than consols， and payment of income is not affected by Sundays. Moreover， you cannot draw on the future. Impossible to get into debt！ You can only waste the passing moment. You cannot waste tomorrow； it is kept for you. You cannot waste the next hour； it is kept for you.
I said the affair was a miracle. Is it not？
You have to live on this twenty-four hours of daily time. Out of it you have to spin health， pleasure， money， content， respect， and the evolution of your immortal soul. Its right use， its most effective use， is a matter of the highest urgency and of the most thrilling actuality. All depends on that. Your happiness—the lusive prize that you are all clutching for， my friends！—depends on that. Strange that the newspapers， so enterprising and up-to-date as they are， are not full of "How to live on a given income of time， " instead of "How to live on a given income of money"！ Money is far commoner than time. When one reflects， one perceives that money is just about the commonest thing there is. It encumbers the earth in gross heaps.
If one can' t contrive to live on a certain income of money， one earns a little more—or steals it， or advertises for it. One doesn' t necessarily muddle one' s life because one can' t quite manage on a thousand pounds a year； one braces the muscles and makes it guineas， and balances the budget. But if one cannot arrange that an income of twenty-four hours a day shall exactly cover all proper items of expenditure， one does muddle one' s life definitely. The supply of time， though gloriously regular， is cruelly restricted.