We must declare ourselves, become known; allow the world to discover this subterranean life of ours which connects kings and farm boys, artists and clerks. Let them see that the important thing is not the object of love, but the emotion itself.
Life will be wonderful when men no longer fear dying. When the last superstitions are thrown out and we meet death with the same equanimity as life. No longer will children's minds be twisted by evil gods whose fantastic origin is in those barbaric tribes who feared death and lightning, who feared life. That's it: life is the villain to to those who preach reward in death, through grace and eternal bliss, or through dark revenge.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Life can be beautiful when fear of death is eliminated and superstitions are discarded.
Gore Vidal's quote reflects the idea that many of humanity's fears and superstitions, particularly around death, have distorted our understanding of life. By removing these fears and approaching death with calmness, we can liberate ourselves from outdated beliefs that hinder our appreciation of life and its experiences. The insistence of various doctrines on fearing death only serves to twist human perception, showing that life can become a 'villain' when it is viewed through the lens of these beliefs about death and divine punishment or reward.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about overcoming fears, you might use this quote to illustrate the point that fear of death can lead to a distorted view of life.
More from Gore Vidal
All quotes →American writers want to be not good but great; and so are neither.
Writing fiction has become a priestly business in countries that have lost their faith.
The important thing is not the object of love, but the emotion itself.
For the average American, freedom of speech is simply the freedom to repeat what everyone else is saying and no more.
Ayn Rand's 'philosophy' is nearly perfect in its immorality, which makes the size of her audience all the more ominous and symptomatic as we enter a curious new phase in our society.... To justify and extol human greed and egotism is to my mind not only immoral, but evil.
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