QuoteProject
Cast a cold eye on life, on death Horseman pass by
William Butler Yeats
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

The quote suggests a detached perspective on life and death, implying one should observe without being emotionally involved.

William Butler Yeats's quote encourages individuals to adopt a cold, analytical view of both life and death. The imagery of a 'horseman' passing by implies a sense of inevitability and distance, urging us to recognize the transient nature of existence and to observe it without emotional interference. This perspective allows for a more profound understanding of life’s fleeting moments and the unavoidable reality of death.

Themes

LifeDeathPerspectiveExistenceDetachment

In practice

Example use cases

In a philosophy class while discussing existentialism.

More from William Butler Yeats

If a poet interprets a poem of his own he limits its suggestibility.
William Butler YeatsRead
It was my first meeting with a philosophy that confirmed my vague speculations and seemed at once logical and boundless.
William Butler YeatsRead
But I, being poor, have only my dreams; I have spread my dreams under your feet; Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.
William Butler YeatsRead
How far away the stars seem, and how far is our first kiss, and ah, how old my heart.
William Butler YeatsRead
For he would be thinking of love Till the stars had run away And the shadows eaten the moon.
William Butler YeatsRead
Love is created and preserved by intellectual analysis, for we love only that which is unique, and it belongs to contemplation, not to action, for we would not change that which we love.
William Butler YeatsRead

Similar quotes

How poor this world would be without its graves, without the memories of its mighty dead. Only the voiceless speak forever.
Robert Green IngersollRead
After the Manchu government had carried on wars with foreign nations and had been defeated, China was forced to sign many unequal treaties. Foreign nations are still using these treaties to bind China, and as a result, China fails at whatever she attempts.
Sun Yat-SenRead
The Grecians and Romans were strongly possessed of the spirit of liberty but not the principle, for at the time they were determined not to be slaves themselves, they employed their power to enslave the rest of mankind.
Thomas PaineRead
It is by its promise of a sense of power that evil often attracts the weak.
Eric HofferRead
Anyone can lie. One need only have the requisite intention - in other words, to say something with the intention to deceive. Faking, by contrast, is an achievement. To fake things you have to take people in, yourself included.
Roger ScrutonRead
I love to move like a mouse inside this puzzle for the body, balancing the wish to be lost with the need to be found.
Billy CollinsRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.