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The only secret people keep is immortality.
Emily Dickinson
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Interpretation

What this quote means

This quote suggests that the concept of immortality is the only truth that people hide or avoid discussing openly.

Emily Dickinson's quote highlights the universal human preoccupation with mortality and the secretiveness surrounding the idea of immortality. It implies that while people may openly discuss many topics, the reality of death and the desire for eternal life are often left unspoken, hinting at a deep existential fear and a longing for permanence that is rarely acknowledged in public discourse.

Themes

ImmortalityDeathSecretsExistentialismHuman Experience

In practice

Example use cases

In a lecture about the human relationship with death, one may quote Dickinson to illustrate the societal reluctance to address mortality.

More from Emily Dickinson

Heart, we will forget him, You and I, tonight! You must forget the warmth he gave, I will forget the light.
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I held a jewel in my fingers And went to sleep. The day was warm, and winds were prosy; I said: "'T will keep." I woke and chid my honest fingers,β€” The gem was gone; And now an amethyst remembrance Is all I own.
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I'll tell you how the sun rose, a ribbon at a time. The steeples swam in amethyst, The news like squirrels ran. The hills untied their bonnets, The bobolinks begun. Then I said softly to myself, "That must have been the sun!
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My best Acquaintances are those With Whom I spoke no Word
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This is the Hour of Lead- Remembered, if outlived, As freezing persons, recollect the Snow- First-Chill-then Stupor- then the letting go---
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Luck is not chance, it's toil; fortune's expensive smile is earned.
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