In our memories, there is a graveyard where we bury our dead. They all lie there together, the loved ones and the ones we hated, friends and foes and kin, with no distinction among them. We have to mourn every one of them, because our memories have made them as much a part of us as our bones or our skin. If we don't, we've no right to remember anything at all.
Interpretation
This quote reflects on the nature of memory and loss, emphasizing how all our relationships, positive or negative, shape our identity.
In this quote, Steven Brust explores the complex nature of our memories and how they contribute to our sense of self. He suggests that we carry not just the memories of those we loved, but also those we disliked, blurring the lines between friends and foes. Mourning all these relationships is portrayed as essential, as each one profoundly impacts us, making them inseparable from our being. Ignoring this mourning means denying a part of our lived experiences and the memories that form our identity.
In practice
In a eulogy, to reflect on the complexity of relationships in a person's life.
Because here’s the thing: No matter how much one tells stories of magical beasts or impossible worlds, in the end, it is always the world of here and now one is writing about. The better one understands that world, the more powerful the stories will be.
Unfortunately, however much we may deplore something, it does not stop being true.
From 1970 onwards, our culture told both sexes that individual expression was paramount. And for women, that was defined as the right to choose an interesting a career, a high-status mate, the desirable handbag or vacation, the perfect family size, and a definitionally fruitless quest for 'perfection.'
History is, strictly speaking, the study of questions; the study of answers belongs to anthropology and sociology.
The victor is not victorious if the vanquished does not consider himself so
Nothing short of self-respect and that justice which is essential to a national character ought to involve us in war.
There are certain phrases potent to make my blood boil -- improper influence! What old woman's cackle is that?" "Are you a young lady?" "I am a thousand times better: I am an honest woman, and as such I will be treated.
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