The loss of a friend is like that of a limb; time may heal the anguish of the wound, but the loss cannot be repaired.
Robert SoutheyRead
My days among the dead are passed; Around me I behold, Where'er these casual eyes are cast, The mighty minds of old; My never-failing friends are they, With whom I converse day by day.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects on the enduring influence of great thinkers and how their ideas continue to engage us even after their physical absence.
In this quote, Robert Southey expresses a deep appreciation for the wisdom of past philosophers and thinkers, suggesting that their thoughts and ideas feel like loyal companions in his daily life. By engaging with their works, he experiences a form of conversation and companionship with them, emphasizing the timeless nature of intellectual legacy and the comfort it brings in navigating one’s own existence.
Themes
WisdomPhilosophyCompanionshipGreat MindsIntellectual Legacy
In practice
Example use cases
During a lecture about the influence of historical thinkers on modern philosophy.
More from Robert Southey
All quotes →It is not for man to rest in absolute contentment. He is born to hopes and aspirations as the sparks fly upward, unless he has brutalized his nature and quenched the spirit of immortality which is his portion.
Robert SoutheyRead
Oh, when a mother meets on high The babe she lost in infancy, Hath she not then for pains and fears, The day of woe, the watchful night, For all her sorrow, all her tears, An over-payment of delight?
Robert SoutheyRead
If you would be pungent, be brief; for it is with words as with sunbeams - the more they are condensed, the deeper they burn.
Robert SoutheyRead
They sin who tell us Love can die: with Life all other passions fly, all others are but vanity.
Robert SoutheyRead
Order is the sanity of the mind, the health of the body, the peace of the city, the security of the state. Like beams in a house or bones to a body, so is order to all things.
Robert SoutheyRead
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