The comic spirit is given to us in order that we may analyze, weigh, and clarify things in us which nettle us, or which we are outgrowing, or trying to reshape
Thornton WilderRead
We do not choose the day of our birth nor may we choose the day of our death, yet choice is the sovereign faculty of the mind.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Life is marked by events beyond our control, yet we possess the power of choice in our thoughts and actions.
Thornton Wilder's quote reflects on the human experience of inevitability and the capacity for choice. While we cannot dictate the circumstances of our birth or death, which represent the boundaries of our existence, we are endowed with the profound ability to choose how we navigate our lives, our thoughts, and our responses to the world around us. This highlights the importance of personal agency and mental sovereignty in shaping our experiences.
Themes
BirthDeathChoiceMindSovereignty
In practice
Example use cases
Using this quote during a motivational speech about the power of personal choice.
More from Thornton Wilder
All quotes →A man looks pretty small at a wedding, George. All those good women standing shoulder to shoulder, making sure that the knot's tied in a mighty public way.
Thornton WilderRead
Good-by, Good-by, world. Good-by, Grover's Corners... Mama and Papa. Good-by to clocks ticking... and Mama's sunflowers. And food and coffee. And new-ironed dresses and hot baths...and sleeping and waking up. Oh, earth, you're too wonderful for anybody to realize you.
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When you're safe at home you wish you were having an adventure; when you're having an adventure you wish you were safe at home.
Thornton WilderRead
Many great writers have been extraordinarily awkward in daily exchange, but the greatest give the impression that their style was nursed by the closest attention to colloquial speech.
Thornton WilderRead
I want you to try and remember what it was like to have been very young. And particularly the days when you were first in love; when you were like a person sleepwalking, and you didn’t quite see the street you were in, and didn’t quite hear everything that was said to you. You’re just a little bit crazy. Will you remember that, please?
Thornton WilderRead
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