QuoteProject
Cast a cold eye on life, on death Horseman pass by
William Butler Yeats
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

The quote suggests a detached perspective on life and death, implying one should observe without being emotionally involved.

William Butler Yeats's quote encourages individuals to adopt a cold, analytical view of both life and death. The imagery of a 'horseman' passing by implies a sense of inevitability and distance, urging us to recognize the transient nature of existence and to observe it without emotional interference. This perspective allows for a more profound understanding of life’s fleeting moments and the unavoidable reality of death.

Themes

LifeDeathPerspectiveExistenceDetachment

In practice

Example use cases

In a philosophy class while discussing existentialism.

More from William Butler Yeats

If a poet interprets a poem of his own he limits its suggestibility.
William Butler YeatsRead
It was my first meeting with a philosophy that confirmed my vague speculations and seemed at once logical and boundless.
William Butler YeatsRead
But I, being poor, have only my dreams; I have spread my dreams under your feet; Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.
William Butler YeatsRead
How far away the stars seem, and how far is our first kiss, and ah, how old my heart.
William Butler YeatsRead
For he would be thinking of love Till the stars had run away And the shadows eaten the moon.
William Butler YeatsRead
Love is created and preserved by intellectual analysis, for we love only that which is unique, and it belongs to contemplation, not to action, for we would not change that which we love.
William Butler YeatsRead

Similar quotes

It is intolerable that in our country citizens should feel so upset and under assault because of their religious choice that they would conclude that they have to hide.
Francois HollandeRead
Things are such that someone lifting a cup, or watching the rain, petting a dog, or singing, just singing - could be doing as much for this universe as anyone.
RumiRead
Your past is just a story. And once you realize this it has no power over you.
Chuck PalahniukRead
What is all our histories, but God showing himself, shaking and trampling on everything that he has not planted.
Oliver CromwellRead
Men are beginning to realize that they are not individuals but persons in society, that man alone is weak and adrift, that he must seek strength in common action.
Dorothy DayRead
Christian living means dying with Christ and rising again. That, as we saw, is part of the meaning of baptism, the starting point of the Christian pilgrimage.
N. T. WrightRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.