The despondency that follows makes me feel somewhat like a shipwrecked man who spies a sail, sees himself saved, and suddenly remembers that the lens of his spyglass has a flaw, a blurred spot -- the sail he has seen.
Jean GenetRead
When we see life, we call it beautiful. When we see death, we call it ugly. But it is more beautiful still to see oneself living at great speed, right up to the moment of death.
Interpretation
Life is beautiful in its intensity, and both life and death have their own beauty when viewed from a certain perspective.
Jean Genet reflects on the nature of life and death, suggesting that while society often views life as beautiful and death as ugly, there is a deeper beauty to be found in the experience of living fully and passionately, even in the face of mortality. The quote emphasizes the significance of embracing life at its fullest, right up to its conclusion, as an extraordinary journey that should be cherished.
In practice
This quote is perfect for a eulogy to celebrate the life of someone who lived fully.
The despondency that follows makes me feel somewhat like a shipwrecked man who spies a sail, sees himself saved, and suddenly remembers that the lens of his spyglass has a flaw, a blurred spot -- the sail he has seen.
Erotic play discloses a nameless world which is revealed by the nocturnal language of lovers. Such language is not written down. It is whispered into the ear at night in a hoarse voice. At dawn it is forgotten.
I'm homosexual. How and why are idle questions. It's a little like wanting to know why my eyes are green.
I wanted to swallow myself by opening my mouth very wide and turning it over my head so that it would take in my whole body, and then the Universe, until all that would remain of me would be a ball of eaten thing which little by little would be annihilated: that is how I see the end of the world.
I decided to be what crime made of me.
It's a true image, born of a false spectacle.
Life has a certain flavor for those who have fought and risked all that the sheltered and protected can never experience.
And life goes on, which seems kind of strange and cruel when you're watching someone die. But there's a joy and an abundance of everything, like information and laughter and summer weather and so many stories.
Open-faced sandwiches take risks and live big and smile with all their teeth. These are the people I want to be around.
My bones are ringing the way sometimes people say their ears are ringing, I'm so tired.
The measure of a life is a measure of love and respect, So hard to earn so easily burned In the fullness of time, A garden to nurture and protect It's a measure of a life The treasure of a life is a measure of love and respect, The way you live, the gifts that you give In the fullness of time, It's the only return that you expect
It is that unoccupied space which makes a room habitable, as it is our leisure hours which make life endurable.
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