It’s terrible to lie in chains,_x000D_ To rot in dungeon deep,_x000D_ But it’s still worse, when you are free_x000D_ To sleep, and sleep, and sleep.
Taras ShevchenkoRead
All has gone to rest, and I don't know whether I'm alive or will live or whether I'm rushing like this through the world for I'm not longer weeping or laughing
Interpretation
This quote reflects a state of existential confusion and a sense of detachment from life's emotions.
In this quote, Taras Shevchenko expresses a profound sense of uncertainty regarding his own existence and emotional state. He reflects on the passage of time and his experiences, indicating a feeling of resignation where both joy and sorrow have faded, leading to a deep philosophical inquiry about what it means to truly be alive and engaged in the world.
In practice
During a reflective talk about life's meaning at a philosophy club meeting.
It’s terrible to lie in chains,_x000D_ To rot in dungeon deep,_x000D_ But it’s still worse, when you are free_x000D_ To sleep, and sleep, and sleep.
The principles which men give to themselves end by overwhelming their noblest intentions.
Animals don't know as much about jealousy as people, but they're not ignorant of it, either.
Nothing can tend so much to humble us before the mercy and justice of God as the consideration of His benefits and our own sins. Let us, then, consider what He has done for us, and what we have done against Him; let us call to mind our sins in detail, and His gracious benefits in like manner, remembering that whatever there is of good in us is not ours, but His, and then we need not be afraid of vainglory or of taking complacency in ourselves.
There is no point asserting and reasserting what the heart cannot believe.
After all, what is your personal identity? It is what you really are, your real self. None of us is what he thinks he is, or what other people think he is, still less what his passport says he is. And it is fortunate for most of us that we are mistaken. We do not generally know what is good for us. That is because, in St. Bernard's language, our true personality has been concealed under the 'disguise' of a false self, the ego, whom we tend to worship in place of God.
Human history is a Gaian dream.
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