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They can send death at once, but life is slower.
Ursula K. Le Guin
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Interpretation

What this quote means

Life unfolds gradually while death can come suddenly.

Ursula K. Le Guin's quote reflects on the nature of life and death, emphasizing that the experience of living is often prolonged, filled with complexities and nuances, whereas death can strike abruptly and without warning. This highlights a fundamental truth about human existence, where the journey of life is intricate and layered, contrasting with the simplicity and immediacy of death.

Themes

LifeDeathExistenceTimePhilosophy

In practice

Example use cases

In a speech about the resilience of the human spirit, this quote can illustrate the gradual journey of overcoming challenges.

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It is good to have an end to journey towards; but it is the journey that matters, in the end.
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Reason is a faculty far larger than mere objective force. When either the political or the scientific discourse announces itself as the voice of reason, it is playing God, and should be spanked and stood in the corner.
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The only thing that makes life possible is permanent, intolerable uncertainty; not knowing what comes next.
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We read books to find out who we are. What other people, real or imaginary, do and think and feel... is an essential guide to our understanding of what we ourselves are and may become.
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When he found that the administrators were upset, he laughed. “Do they expect students not to be anarchists?” he said. “What else can the young be? When you are on the bottom, you must organize from the bottom up
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