You've got to learn to accept the law of life, and face the fact that we disintegrate slowly.
Erik EriksonRead
In Africa, when an old man dies, it's a library burning.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The loss of an elderly person represents the disappearance of valuable knowledge and wisdom.
This quote by Amadou Hampate Ba emphasizes the profound impact that the death of an elder has on a community, as they carry with them a wealth of experiences, stories, and traditions. In many cultures, especially in Africa, elders are seen as repositories of wisdom and their passing signifies not just the loss of a loved one, but the loss of history, teachings, and cultural knowledge that can never be fully replaced.
Themes
KnowledgeWisdomLossElderlyCultureHistory
In practice
Example use cases
During a remembrance ceremony, we quoted this to reflect on the wisdom we've lost with the passing of our grandmother.
Similar quotes
As bad as it might be to destroy a creature made in God's image, it might be very much worse to be creating them after images of one's own.
Leon KassRead
The word of the oldest of the old of our peoples didn't stop. It spoke the truth, saying that our feet couldn't walk alone, that our history of pain and shame was repeated and multiplied in the flesh and blood of the brothers and sisters of other lands and skies.
Subcomandante MarcosRead
America rests on shared values rather than shared ethnicity.
Joseph NyeRead
Why, I hold fate Clasped in my fist, and could command the course Of time's eternal motion, hadst thou been One thought more steady than an ebbing sea.
John FordRead
Wrong life cannot be lived rightly.
Theodor AdornoRead