proverb · Words worth keeping
The days follow each other and are not alike.
The days follow each other and are not alike.
In print by 1857 AD · industrial
Recorded in a printed collection by this date; the original date of these words is still unknown.
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
Days arrive in succession without being identical. Attend to the circumstances of the present day rather than assuming yesterday’s experience is a complete guide.
What the words are saying
The same sequence that makes days familiar also brings differences between them. A useful reading asks which conditions have stayed the same and which have changed. Routine can help organise a task, but it should not prevent noticing a new need, opportunity or difficulty. The saying does not promise that the next day will be better or require constant novelty. Its modest point is that repetition in the calendar does not establish sameness in experience. Notice the particular day before deciding what response it calls for.
Everyday example
A caretaker adjusts an outdoor task after checking today’s conditions rather than repeating yesterday’s plan automatically.
When to use it
Use it to renew attention within a familiar routine.
What it does not mean
A changing day is not a guarantee of improvement; respond to the actual circumstances.
Agent-assisted editorial interpretation. This explains the words; it does not by itself verify their author or earliest origin.
Attribution & collection notes
- Author or tradition
- Traditional (French-language collection)
Attribution: traditional - Country attributed
- Not established
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin. - Historical period
- In print by 1857 AD · industrial
In print by 1857: recorded in A Polyglot of Foreign Proverbs (1857). Collection publication is an upper bound for this wording, not its earliest origin, composition date or the author's lifetime.
An author lifetime, approximate period or collection date is not necessarily the date when these words were first written or spoken. - Recorded source
- A Polyglot of Foreign Proverbs (1857) (1857 AD)
Printed page 35; French section, paragraph 696; source wording: Les jours se suivent et ne se ressemblent pas.
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.