Only sterility is noble and dignified. Only killing what never was is elevated and perverse and absurd.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Pessoa critiques the idea that destroying potential or creation is noble.
- In plain terms
- He says it is wrong to praise stopping things before they start.
- What can you take from it?
- Value creation over destruction.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- Is destruction ever noble?
- What defines dignity?
Another view
Some argue restraint is a form of dignity.
More from Fernando Pessoa
They were two and beautiful and wanted to be something else; love delayed itself to them in the tedium of the future, and regret of what would happen to be was…
Permalink to quote #147 I exempt you of being present in my idea of you.
Permalink to quote #149 Life is a thread that someone entangled.
Permalink to quote #146
Related quotes
That's why my girlfriend and I broke up: she wanted kids, and I : well, she wanted kids. [laughs] I had no idea her philosophy was that flawed. She goes, 'Woul…
Bill HicksBill Hicks quote #1 'If we don't play god, who will?'
James D. WatsonJames D. Watson quote #1 Atheists and the unchurched undervalue the extent to which they are getting a free ride on the social strength that religious-based virtue provides.
Daniel HenningerDaniel Henninger quote #1