Let me go: take back thy gift: Why should a man desire in any way To vary from the kindly race of men, Or pass beyond the goal of ordinance Where all should pause, as is most meet for all? ...Why wilt thou ever scare me with thy tears, And make me tremble lest a saying learnt, In days far-off, on that dark earth, be true? ‘The Gods themselves cannot recall their gifts.’ - Tithonus
Interpretation
This quote reflects on the desires and existential fears of human beings, particularly regarding the acceptance of one's fate and limitations.
In this poignant quote from Tithonus by Alfred Lord Tennyson, the speaker grapples with the gift of immortality, questioning the value of such a blessing when it leads to isolation from humanity. The speaker implores a higher power to take back the gift, emphasizing a yearning for connection with the 'kindly race of men' and expressing a fear of the loneliness that comes with eternal life. Tennyson explores deep themes of human longing, existence, and the nature of divine gifts, reminding us that sometimes what we wish for may not align with our true desires.
In practice
This quote can be used in a discussion about the consequences of wishing for eternal life.
Twilight and evening bell, And after that the dark! And may there be no sadness of farewell, When I embark; For though from out our bourne of Time and Place The flood may bear me far, I hope to see my Pilot face to face When I have crossed the bar.
How many a father have I seen, A sober man, among his boys, Whose youth was full of foolish noise.
O Love! what hours were thine and mine, In lands of palm and southern pine; In lands of palm, of orange-blossom, Of olive, aloe, and maize and vine!
Earth is dry to the centre,_x000D_ But spring, a new comer,_x000D_ A spring rich and strange,_x000D_ Shall make the winds blow_x000D_ Round and round,_x000D_ Thro' and thro',_x000D_ Here and there,_x000D_ Till the air_x000D_ And the ground_x000D_ Shall be fill'd with life anew.
O love, O fire! once he drew With one long kiss my whole soul through My lips, as sunlight drinketh dew.
But thy strong Hours indignant work’d their wills, And beat me down and marr’d and wasted me, And tho’ they could not end me, left me maim’d To dwell in presence of immortal youth, Immortal age beside immortal youth, And all I was, in ashes. - Tithonus
This is the most immediate fruit of exile, of uprooting: the prevalence of the unreal over the real. Everyone dreamed past and future dreams, of slavery and redemption, of improbable paradises, of equally mythical and improbable enemies; cosmic enemies, perverse and subtle, who pervade everything like the air.
Let nothing disturb you. Let nothing frighten you. Everything passes away except God. God alone is sufficient.
The human race is in the best condition when it has the greatest degree of liberty.
Every month, it is woman's fate to face the abyss of time and being, the abyss which is herself.
It was enough to make a body ashamed of the human race.
One has to reach to the absolute state of awareness: that is Zen. You cannot do it every morning for a few minutes or for half an hour and then forget all about it. It has to become like your heartbeat. You have to sit in it, you have to walk in it. Yes, you have even to sleep in it.
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