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.
Then others for breath of words respect, Me for my dumb thoughts, speaking in effect.
The only reason I'm in Hollywood is that I don't have the moral courage to refuse the money.
Most evolving lineages, human or otherwise, when threatened with extinction, don't do anything special to avoid it.
Events can neither be regarded as a series of adventures nor strung on the thread of a preconceived moral. They must obey their own laws.
Maybe he hadn't thought the war through. It had seemed like simple fun when he had first pictured it, with a glorious beginning, a difficult but valor-filled middle, and a victorious end. He hadn't accounted for the fact that there might not be much of a resolution to the battle, and he hadn't imagined what it would feel like when the war just sort of ended, without anyone admitting defeat and congratulating him for his bravery.
The fact that the most powerful and significant connections in our lives are (at the time) invisible to us seems to me a compelling argument for religious reverence rather than skeptical empiricism as a response to life's meaning.
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