I have heard it said that as we keep our birthdays when we are alive, so the ghosts of dead people, who are not easy in their graves, keep the day they died upon.
Interpretation
This quote reflects on how memories and the significance of life events linger even after death.
In this quote, Charles Dickens explores the connection between the living and the dead, suggesting that just as we celebrate our birthdays, those who have passed may also have their own significant days marked. It highlights the idea that memories persist, and the dead are not forgotten; they continue to be remembered on their special occasions, emphasizing the impact of life and the enduring presence of those who are no longer with us.
In practice
In a eulogy, one might say, 'As Dickens noted, we remember our loved ones on the anniversaries of their passing, just as we celebrate the milestones of our own lives.'
I recollected one story there was in the village, how that on a certain night in the year (it might be that very night for anything I knew), all the dead people came out of the ground and sat at the heads of their own graves till morning.
A silent look of affection and regard when all other eyes are turned coldly away-the consciousness that we possess the sympathy and affection of one being when all others have deserted us-is a hold, a stay, a comfort, in the deepest affliction, which no wealth could purchase, or power bestow.
Heaven knows we need never be ashamed of our tears, for they are rain upon the blinding dust of earth, overlying our hard hearts. I was better after I had cried, than before--more sorry, more aware of my own ingratitude, more gentle.
There are not a few among the disciples of charity who require, in their vocation, scarcely less excitement than the votaries of pleasure in theirs.
You might, from your appearance, be the wife of Lucifer,” said Miss Pross, in her breathing. “Nevertheless, you shall not get the better of me. I am an Englishwoman.
Christmas is a poor excuse every 25th of December to pick a man's pockets.
Man's chief delusion is his conviction that there are causes other than his own state of consciousness.
There are no souls in the world that are so fearful to judge others as those that do most judge themselves, nor so careful to make a righteous judgment of men or things as those that are most careful to judge themselves.
Absolutely no religious rites of any kind, relating to any religious faith, should be associated with my funeral.
The power of the world always works in circles.
The caricature of Islam as a violent and intolerant religion is horrendously incomplete. Remember that those standing up to Muslim fanatics are mostly Muslims.
Introspection and preserved writings give us far more insight into the ways of past humans than we have into the ways of past dinosaurs. For that reason, I'm optimistic that we can eventually arrive at convincing explanations for these broadest patterns of human history.
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