So be my passing! My task accomplished and the long day done, My wages taken, and in my heart Some late lark singing, Let me be gathered in the quiet west, The sundown splendid and serene, Death.
Interpretation
This quote reflects on the acceptance of death as a peaceful conclusion to life.
William Ernest Henley's quote contemplates the inevitability of death, expressing a desire for a serene and beautiful end to life's journey. It captures the notion of finding peace in the transition from life to death, suggesting that, much like a long day that comes to a close, one can accept their fate with grace and tranquility.
In practice
In a eulogy, one might say, 'As Henley put it, let us find peace in the quiet west and accept the beauty of life's end.'
It is the artist's function not to copy but to synthesise: to eliminate from that gross confusion of actuality which is his raw material whatever is accidental, idle, irrelevant, and select for perpetuation that only which is appropriate and immortal.
Were I so tall as to reach the pole or grasp the ocean at a span, I must be measured by my soul. The mind is the standard of the man.
Here is the ghost _x000D_ _x000D_ Of a summer that lived for us, _x000D_ _x000D_ Ere is a promise _x000D_ _x000D_ Of summer to be.
I thank whatever gods may be For my unconquerable soul.
When Zarathustra was alone . . . he said to his heart: "Could it be possible! This old saint in the forest hath not yet heard of it, that God is dead!"
It is the hallmark of any deep truth that its negation is also a deep truth.
What we do during our working hours determines what we have; what we do in our leisure hours determines what we are.
"Why are breakfast food breakfast foods?" I asked them. "Like, why don't we have curry for breakfast?" "Hazel, eat." "But why?" I asked. "I mean seriously: How did scrambled eggs get stuck with breakfast exclusivity? You can put bacon on a sandwich without anyone freaking out. But the moment your sandwich has an egg, boom, it's a breakfast sandwich."
I have never met anyone who wasn't confused inside.
There are horrors beyond life's edge that we do not suspect, and once in a while man's evil prying calls them just within our range.
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