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“You are a little soul carrying around a corpse.” – Epictetus
“The saddest thing about betrayal is that it never comes from your enemies.” – Anon
“Most people die at 25 and aren’t buried until they’re 75.” – Benjamin Franklin
Scrolling through Tumblr I found these interesting quotes. Not sure what I think of them exactly but they caught my eye and made me think of how they could be incorporated into a story. I liked Epictetus’ quote the most. It’s all about perspective, eh? Do they make you think? How would you incorporate them directly or indirectly into your writing?
– Ermisenda
Ermilia 
Yes, the Epictetus quote is by far the most attention-catching. Right now I have some notes about ideas for stories that a famous writer never got round to writing – I can just imaging someone using the Epictetus quote in one of these yet-to-be-written tales.
I hope you can use the quote in one of your to-be-written tales. 😀
Epictetus knew a thing or two for sure. I found the quote really thought provoking, as I am at that end of my life when I seem to be more corpse than soul. I feel a little like the dragonfly which was urged by its friends not to leave the water as only death awaited it outside – little did they know. It should be personally interesting to find out what happens next. Not that I’m ready to go just yet, as I have an ambition, so far unfulfilled, to live until the age of 131. (Don’t have an enemy in the world. Outlived them all). Why 131? That’s another story, and quite a long one.
Thanks for sharing your side of things, Raymond. 🙂 Time is ultimately unkind to all of us. To live to 131 sounds fantastic though.
Oddly enough, I have never found that time is unkind. Neutral, yes, but not unkind. Even the ‘dread reaper’ is actually the one that takes away the pain and suffering of life where this exists – another act of kindness in my book. It’s just a personal view, and not everyone would agree, but I feel that if you are afraid to die, you may be afraid to live.
You raise some great points. I guess I was thinking from a physical-body point of view, time is cruel – we start off as dependent, incapable beings that after many years become independent and capable… and then many of us end up dependent and incapable of taking care of ourselves at the very end (which is heartbreaking and devastating for most). But then again, one of my favourite all time quotes in regards to aging is ‘Aging is a luxury denied to many’. So whether time is good, bad, or neutral, those of us who get to live into old age are the lucky ones.
So no one is likely to quote me after my fiasco with the internet is over, let alone after my probably-to-be-celebrated death…
If there is such a thing as a little soul, it would take a corpse to house one.
The saddest thing about betrayal is ignorance.
Most people die when the grown-ups with educations finally kill them.
So sombre. 😦
How interesting that you thought so. I thought the original quotes were very somber and collectively defeatist, and I was actually contradicting them in defense of a more positive outlook. 🙂
It’s true, all the quotes are originally sombre. Maybe it was the last response you shared that made me think of the word ‘sombre’.
Wow, these are actually quite thought provoking! As always, thanks for sharing your finds – I’m definitely going to have to pass these on! 🙂
Glad you liked them, Gemma! 😀
These are great quotes – definitely sources for thought, reflection and inspiration.
I am bookmarking this because it’s most definitely something that resonates with me – and I think I could use them as sources in some way or another.
Fantastic to hear, Pat. I’ve definitely bookmarked them myself. They’re great story fodder. 🙂