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How odd to watch a mortal kindle / Then to dwindle day by day / Knowing their bright souls are tinder / And the wind will have its way
Patrick Rothfuss
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Interpretation

What this quote means

This quote reflects on the fragility of life and the inevitability of mortality.

In this poignant quote by Patrick Rothfuss, the author observes the paradox of human existence, where an individual ignites with vitality but gradually fades away. It serves as a reminder of the transient nature of life, highlighting how one's spirit, like tinder, can be affected by external forces, such as the relentless passage of time and fate.

Themes

LifeMortalityTransienceExistenceSoul

In practice

Example use cases

This quote can be shared during a memorial service to honor the life of someone who has passed.

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But how awful would that be? How terrible to live surrounded by the stark, sharp, hollowness of things that simply were enough?
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I wanted to tell her that she was the first beautiful thing I had seen in three years. That the sight of her yawning to the back of her hand was enough to drive the breath from me. How I sometimes lost the sense of her words in the sweet fluting of her voice. I wanted to say that if she were with me then somehow nothing could ever be wrong for me again.
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Using words to talk of words is like using a pencil to draw a picture of itself, on itself. Impossible. Confusing. Frustrating ... but there are other ways to understanding.
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Words are pale shadows of forgotten names. As names have power, words have power. Words can light fires in the minds of men. Words can wring tears from the hardest hearts. There are seven words that will make a person love you. There are ten words that will break a strong man's will. But a word is nothing but a painting of a fire. A name is the fire itself.
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All the truth in the world is held in stories.
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Music is a proud, temperamental mistress. Give her the time and attention she deserves, and she is yours. Slight her and there will come a day when you call and she will not answer. So I began sleeping less to give her the time she needed.
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