I would rather live a short life of glory than a long one of obscurity.
Alexander The GreatRead
Sex and sleep alone make me conscious that I am mortal.
Interpretation
This quote reflects on the fundamental experiences of life that remind us of our own mortality.
In this quote, Alexander the Great emphasizes that the basic human experiences of sex and sleep are vital and intimate reminders of our mortality. While these activities are part of everyday life, their significance lies in how they connect us to our existence and remind us that life is finite. The mention of mortality serves as a profound reflection on the nature of human experience and the inevitability of death.
In practice
During a lecture on the human condition, I quoted this line to illustrate the significance of basic human experiences.
I would rather live a short life of glory than a long one of obscurity.
Are you still to learn that the end and perfection of our victories is to avoid the vices and infirmities of those whom we subdue?
Now you fear punishment and beg for your lives, so I will let you free, if not for any other reason so that you can see the difference between a Greek king and a barbarian tyrant, so do not expect to suffer any harm from me. A king does not kill messengers.
In the end, when it's over, all that matters is what you've done.
But truly, if I were not Alexander, I would be Diogenes.
A tomb now suffices him for whom the whole world was not sufficient.
It's like if you're an astronaut and you've been to the moon, what do you want to do with the rest of your life?
May I not forget that poverty and riches are of the spirit. Though the world knows me not, may my thoughts and actions be such as will keep me friendly with myself.
The God who gave us life gave us liberty. Can the liberties of a nation be secure when we have removed a conviction that these liberties are the gift of God?
What's happened to me,' he thought. It was no dream.
There is very little moral mixture in the 'Antislavery' feeling of this country. A great deal is abstract philanthropy; part is hatred of slaveholders; a great part is jealousy for white labor, very little is consciousness of wrong done and the wish to right it.
O God! if I worship Thee in fear of Hell, burn me in Hell; and if I worship Thee in hope of Paradise, exclude me from Paradise; but if I worship Thee for Thine own sake, withhold not thine everlasting beauty.
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