Being true Quote by Alfred Lord Tennyson
“Let me go: take back thy gift: Why should a man desire in any way To vary from the kindly race of men, Or pass beyond the goal of ordinance Where all should pause, as is most meet for all? ...Why wilt thou ever scare me with thy tears, And make me tremble lest a saying learnt, In days far-off, on that dark earth, be true? ‘The Gods themselves cannot recall their gifts.’ - Tithonus”
About This Quote
Source Poem: "Tithonus", 1860
The speaker questions why one should reject the natural human condition and fear inevitable loss, emphasizing that even gods cannot retrieve what they have given.
In simple terms: Why fear natural limits when even gods cannot restore lost gifts?
Key Takeaway
Accept mortality and cherish present moments.
Themes
mortality
human nature
acceptance
Mood
reflective
melancholic
Type
poetic
philosophical
When to use this quote
- grief counseling
- life coaching
- literary analysis
- philosophical debate
Key Concepts
existentialism
mythology
philosophy
Questions to Reflect On
- What does it mean to accept the limits of humanity?
- How can we find value in loss?
A Different Perspective
Even if gods cannot recall gifts, humans can find meaning in their loss.
![“My mom had bought this camera to take classes herself and I remember working with her on it, understanding how the stop-motion [worked], having a high shutter speed and things like that. Long before I picked it up myself, I remember being on a slide at a country club going into the water and…” quote by Jeff Vespa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/ca0/jeff-vespa-25539_artistic_my-mom-had-bought-this-camera-to-take-cl_266973.jpg)
