To retire is the beginning of death.
Interpretation
Retirement signifies a loss of purpose, akin to the end of life.
Pablo Casals' quote suggests that retirement is not merely a break from work, but rather a transition that can lead to a decline in one's vitality and sense of purpose. The phrase implies that without the engagement and activity that work provides, one may metaphorically experience a sense of death, highlighting the importance of remaining active and involved in life even after one has left their formal career.
In practice
During a speech about the importance of staying active after retirement, one might use this quote.
Bach is the supreme genius of music... This man, who knows everything and feels everything, cannot write one note, however unimportant it may appear, which is anything but transcendent. He has reached the heart of every noble thought, and has done it in the most perfect way.
In music, in the sea, in a flower, in a leaf, in an act of kindness... I see what people call God in all these things.
The love of one's country is a splendid thing. But why should love stop at the border?
The child must know that he is a miracle, that since the beginning of the world there hasn't been, and until the end of the world there will not be, another child like him.
I am an old man but in many senses a very young man. And this is what I want you to be, young, young all your life.
To the whole world you might be just one person, but to one person you might just be the whole world.
[There is] a duty in refusing to cooperate in any undertaking that violates the Constitutional rights of the individual. This holds in particular for all inquisitions that are concerned with the private life and the political affiliations of the citizens.
Tis' better to live your own life imperfectly than to imitate someone else's perfectly.
Ah, how many luxuries has the good God prepared for his Jewish children.
Buddhism teaches us not to try to run away from suffering. You have to confront suffering. You have to look deeply into the nature of suffering in order to recognize its cause, the making of the suffering.
They've got something they do it with, I think it's called a mocracy, and it means everyone in the whole country can say who the new Tyrant is. One man ... one vet. ... Everyone has ... the vet. Except for women, of course. And children. And criminals. And slaves. And stupid people. And people of foreign extraction. And people disapproved of for, er, various reasons. And lots of other people. But everyone apart from them. It's a very enlightened civilization.
Europe will never be like America. Europe is a product of history. America is a product of philosophy.
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