Many have said of Alchemy, that it is for the making of gold and silver. For me such is not the aim, but to consider only what virtue and power may lie in medicines.
ParacelsusRead
Suicide is the means of men whose resilience has been eaten away by rust, the rust of the daily round. They were born for action, but they have delayed their action; so action turns back on them with the swing of a pendulum. Suicide is an act, the act of those who have not been able to accomplish others. It is an act of faith, like all acts. Faith in one’s neighbor, in the existence of one’s neighbor, in the reality of the self and the other selves.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote reflects on the tragic contemplation of suicide as a result of lost resilience and delayed action.
In this profound statement, Pierre Drieu La Rochelle delves into the psyche of individuals who contemplate suicide, suggesting that their struggles are rooted in a loss of resilience caused by the monotonous burdens of daily life. He portrays suicide not as a mere escape, but as a complex act intertwined with faith—an expression of despair in the inability to act, connect, and find meaning in their existence and in their relationships with others. This quote serves as both a reflection on the tragic human condition and a critical reminder of the need for action and connection.
Themes
SuicideResilienceActionFaithDespair
In practice
Example use cases
In a mental health awareness speech, one might say, 'As Drieu La Rochelle reminds us, daily struggles can erode our resilience, leading to despair.'
Similar quotes
And, inasmuch [as] most good things are produced by labour, it follows that all such things of right belong to those whose labour has produced them. But it has so happened in all ages of the world, that some have laboured, and others have, without labour, enjoyed a large proportion of the fruits. This is wrong, and should not continue. To [secure] to each labourer the whole product of his labour, or as nearly as possible, is a most worthy object of any good government.
Abraham LincolnRead
To the European, it is a characteristic of the American culture that, again and again, one is commanded and ordered to 'be happy.' But happiness cannot be pursued; it must ensue. One must have a reason to 'be happy.' Once the reason is found, however, one becomes happy automatically. As we see, a human being is not one in pursuit of happiness but rather in search of a reason to become happy, last but not least, through actualizing the potential meaning inherent and dormant in a given situation.
Viktor E. FranklRead
You can make any human activity into meditation simply by being completely with it and doing it just to do it.
Alan WattsRead
Persuasion is clearly a sort of demonstration, since we are most fully persuaded when we consider a thing to have been demonstrated.
AristotleRead
Death does not trouble me. I have no fear of supernatural punishments, of course, nor could I enjoy an eternal life in which there would be nothing left for me to do, the task of living having been accomplished.
B. F. SkinnerRead