No one should approach the temple of science with the soul of a money changer.
Thomas BrowneRead
The long habit of living indisposeth us for dying.
Interpretation
This quote suggests that becoming accustomed to life makes us unprepared for death.
Thomas Browne's quote reflects on the nature of human existence and the psychological impact of living for an extended period. As individuals grow accustomed to their daily lives and routines, the inevitability of death may become a less immediate concern, leading to a sense of unpreparedness when faced with its reality. It challenges us to reflect on our mortality and the ways we navigate life in the face of this certainty.
In practice
In a discussion about the importance of living life fully, one could use this quote to emphasize our tendency to avoid thinking about death.
No one should approach the temple of science with the soul of a money changer.
Content may dwell in all stations. To be low but above contempt may be high enough to be happy.
Thus there are two books from whence I collect my Divinity; besides that written one of God, another of his servant Nature, that universal and public Manuscript, that lies expans'd unto the eyes of all; those that never saw him in the one, have discovered him in the other.
To be content with death may be better than to desire it.
Life itself is but the shadow of death, and souls departed but the shadows of the living.
Life is a pure flame and we live by an invisible sun within us.
All religions accept that there is something called 'criminality.' And criminality cannot be excused by religious fervour.
The naked truth is always better than the best-dressed lie.
The devil doesn't stay where there is music.
The social system based on and consonant with the altruist morality-with the code of self-sacrifice- is socialism, in all or any of its variants: fascism, Nazism, communism. All of them treat man as a sacrificial animal to be immolated for the benefit of the group, the tribe, the society, the state.
And then he greeted Death as an old friend, and went with him gladly, and, equals, they departed this life.
Time is the brush of God, as he paints his masterpiece on the heart of humanity.
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