And yet, and yet, in these our ghostly lives, Half night, half day, half sleeping, half awake, How if our waking life, like that of sleep, Be all a dream in that eternal life To which we wake not till we sleep in death
Pedro Calderon De La BarcaRead
What is life? A madness. What is life? An illusion, a shadow, a story. And the greatest good is little enough: for all life is a dream, and dreams themselves are only dreams.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote reflects on the ephemeral and illusory nature of life and reality, suggesting that life is akin to a dream.
In this quote, Pedro Calderon De La Barca contemplates the nature of existence by asserting that life is filled with madness, illusions, and shadows. He emphasizes the idea that life is not as concrete as it seems, being more like a story or a dream, which invites reflection on the deeper meaning of our experiences and the transient nature of reality itself. By stating that 'the greatest good is little enough,' he suggests that even our highest achievements are small in the grand scheme of existence, mirroring the fleeting quality of dreams.
Themes
LifeDreamIllusionPhilosophyExistenceReality
In practice
Example use cases
A speaker at a philosophy conference might use this quote to illustrate the theme of existentialism.
More from Pedro Calderon De La Barca
All quotes →But whether it be dream or truth, to do well is what matters. If it be truth, for truth's sake. If not, then to gain friends for the time when we awaken.
Pedro Calderon De La BarcaRead
Tis not where we lie but whence we fell; the loss of Heaven's the greatest pain in Hell.
Pedro Calderon De La BarcaRead
Green is the prime color of the world, and that from which its loveliness arises.
Pedro Calderon De La BarcaRead
In this treacherous world Nothing is the truth nor a lie. Everything depends on the color Of the crystal through which one sees it
Pedro Calderon De La BarcaRead
Similar quotes
Why do we not care to acknowledge them? The cattle, the body count. We still don't like to admit the war was even partly our fault because so many of our people died. A photograph on every mantlepiece. And all this mourning has veiled the truth. It's not so much lest we forget, as lest we remember. Because you should realise the Cenotaph and the Last Post and all that stuff is concerned, there's no better way of forgetting something than by commemorating it.
Alan BennettRead
Cowardice and courage are never without a measure of affectation. Nor is love. Feelings are never true. They play with their mirrors.
Jean BaudrillardRead
The revival in religion will be a rhetorical problem - new persuasive words for defaced or degraded ones.
Thornton WilderRead
Advent is patience it's how God has made us a people of promise, in a world of impatience.
Stanley HauerwasRead
Religion isn’t about believing things. It's ethical alchemy. It’s about behaving in a way that changes you, that gives you intimations of holiness and sacredness.
Karen ArmstrongRead
Imagine" he said, "never even thinking, 'We are alone,' simply because it has never occurred to you to think that there's any other way to be.
Douglas AdamsRead