Meaning of “He who has not one and always the…”

Purpose gives thought a direction, turning ideas into a standard for choosing and completing useful work.

The passage favors an examined personal direction over drifting into a life selected by convention.

The excerpt connects finite existence with agency: action, pursuit and intention require continued life, which helps explain why future time matters to an active person.

Deliberate action begins by knowing why an act is being done instead of moving from impulse, distraction, or social pressure.

Work is presented as participation in life rather than only a transaction for wages or status.

Work is imagined as a way of giving form to passing time, connecting effort with participation and expression.