At a certain age, you have to live near good medical care - if, that is, you're going to continue. You always have the option of not continuing, which, I fear, is sometimes nobler.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- In later life, proximity to quality healthcare becomes essential, and choosing not to continue living may be a noble option.
- In plain terms
- Good medical care matters with age, and ending life can be a dignified choice.
- What can you take from it?
- Plan for healthcare access and consider end‑of‑life wishes.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- What are my healthcare priorities?
- How do I want to approach aging?
Another view
The view that ending life is nobler is subjective and culturally dependent.
More from Gore Vidal
Nonprofit status is what created the Bible Belt. The tax code brought religion back to this country.
Permalink to quote #66 There are some joys in the higher hypochondria.
Permalink to quote #68 I lived with Howard [Austen] for fifty years, but what we had was certainly not romantic love, not passionate love. And it certainly was nonsexual. Try to expl…
Permalink to quote #65
Related quotes
'Malpractice: Where Will It End?' Orthopedic Technology Review, September/October 2003, by Michael Johns.
Michael JohnsMichael Johns quote #2 A transfer of money should never be involved in this profound situation. Although illness is profound, too, but medicine's a business today. It's a business.
Jack KevorkianJack Kevorkian quote #5 It may seem a strange principle to enunciate as the very first requirement in a hospital that it should do the sick no harm.
Florence NightingaleFlorence Nightingale quote #8