The great business of life is to be, to do, to do without, and to depart.

Morley’s aphorism compresses a whole moral philosophy into four infinitives. “To be” points to character and inward formation; “to do” to outward action and public duty; “to do without” to self-command, frugality, and the capacity to endure loss or scarcity without moral collapse; and “to depart” to the acceptance of mortality—leaving life with composure rather than clinging to it. The sequence suggests a life-course: cultivate the self, act in the world, practice renunciation, and finally meet death with dignity. It reflects a Victorian liberal moral seriousness, valuing disciplined agency over mere acquisition or fame.