An animal’s life consists of a series of separate cycles, repeated over and
over again, such as the cycle of breeding its young, or of storing food for the
winter; an animal’s consciousness cannot integrate its entire lifespan; it can
carry just so far, then the animal has to begin the cycle all over again, with
no connection to the past. Man’s life is a continuous whole: for good or
evil, every day, year and decade of his life holds the sum of all the days
behind him.