It takes a wonderful brain and exquisite senses to produce a few stupid ideas.
George SantayanaRead
There is no cure for birth and death save to enjoy the interval. The dark background which death supplies brings out the tender colours of life in all their purity.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Life is defined by the experiences we have between birth and death, and one should cherish these moments.
In this quote, George Santayana reflects on the inevitability of birth and death, suggesting that the only remedy lies in fully appreciating the time we have in between. He emphasizes that the awareness of death enhances our appreciation for life, allowing us to see the beauty and vibrancy in our experiences more clearly.
Themes
LifeDeathEnjoymentExperienceAppreciation
In practice
Example use cases
Use this quote during a memorial service to remind attendees to cherish life.
More from George Santayana
All quotes βThe working of great institutions is mainly the result of a vast mass of routine, petty malice, self interest, carelessness and sheer mistake. Only a residual fraction is thought.
George SantayanaRead
Not to believe in love is a great sign of dullness. There are some people so indirect and lumbering that they think all real affection rests on circumstantial evidence.
George SantayanaRead
To feel beauty is a better thing than to understand how we come to feel it. To have imagination and taste, to love the best, to be carried by the contemplation of nature to a vivid faith in the ideal, all this is more, a great deal more, than any science can hope to be.
George SantayanaRead
The vital straining towards an ideal, definite but latent, when it dominates a whole life, may express that ideal more fully than could the best chosen words.
George SantayanaRead
All living souls welcome whatsoever they are ready to cope with; all else they ignore, or pronounce to be monstrous and wrong, or deny to be possible.
George SantayanaRead
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The knowledge of the cross brings a conflict of interest between God who has become man and man who wishes to become God.
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