Courage consists not in blindly overlooking danger, but in seeing it, and conquering it.
Jean PaulRead
As winter strips the leaves from around us, so that we may see the distant regions they formerly concealed, so old age takes away our enjoyments only to enlarge the prospect of the coming eternity.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Old age removes certain pleasures, allowing us to see the bigger picture of eternity.
This quote suggests that as we age and experience the loss of certain joys in life, it provides us with a clearer perspective on the eternal aspects of existence. Just as winter leads to the shedding of leaves to reveal the landscape, the process of aging unveils a broader understanding of life and the afterlife, encouraging us to contemplate deeper truths.
Themes
AgingEternityPerspectiveWisdomLife
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about the value of life experiences, you could use this quote to illustrate how aging provides clarity.
More from Jean Paul
All quotes →Man's feelings are always purest and most glowing in the hour of meeting and of farewell.
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A man never discloses his own character so clearly as when he describes anothers.
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There are souls in this world which have the gift of finding joy everywhere and of leaving it behind them when they go.
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If self-knowledge is the road to virtue, so is virtue still more the road to self-knowledge.
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I would rather dwell in the dim fog of superstition than in air rarefied to nothing by the air-pump of unbelief-in which the panting breast expires, vainly and convulsively gasping for breath.
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