--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Even now I cannot believe that I am still…" description: "\"“Even now I cannot believe that I am still alive and writing this account of the emperor's death. I put my hands to my eyes, wondering if what I am rel..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed9/anna-comnena-70382_death_even-now-i-cannot-believe-that-i-am-stil_2475569.jpg" --- # Even now I cannot believe that I am still alive and… ![“Even now I cannot believe that I am still alive and writing this account of the emperor's death. I put my hands to my eyes, wondering if what I am relating here is not all a dream - or maybe it is not a dream: perhaps it is a delusion and I am mad, the victim of some extraordinary and monstrous…” quote by Anna Comnena](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed9/anna-comnena-70382_death_even-now-i-cannot-believe-that-i-am-stil_2475569.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed9/anna-comnena-70382_death_even-now-i-cannot-believe-that-i-am-stil_2475569.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed9/anna-comnena-70382_death_even-now-i-cannot-believe-that-i-am-stil_2475569.jpg) > ““Even now I cannot believe that I am still alive and writing this account of the emperor's death. I put my hands to my eyes, wondering if what I am relating here is not all a dream - or maybe it is not a dream: perhaps it is a delusion and I am mad, the victim of some extraordinary and monstrous hallucination. How comes it that when he is dead I am still numbered among the living?”” [Anna Comnena](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-comnena/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. She doubts the reality of surviving the emperor’s death, questioning sanity and the nature of existence. **In simple terms:** She feels surreal about living after a traumatic event. Key Takeaway Accept uncertainty and seek grounding. Themes history psychology survival Mood conflicted reflective Type historical personal When to use this quote - studying ancient texts - mental health reflection - philosophical contemplation Key Concepts existential doubt trauma memory Questions to Reflect On - How do we distinguish memory from delusion? - What anchors us in reality after trauma? A Different Perspective The account may be colored by personal bias and limited perspective. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Delusion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/delusion/) [Delusion Mad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/delusion-mad-807805/) [Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) [Emperor Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emperor-death-807807/) [Hallucination Comes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hallucination-comes-807808/) [Wondering Relating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wondering-relating-807806/) ## Related quotes > [Getting rid of a delusion makes us wiser than getting hold of a truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-borne/getting-rid-of-a-delusion-makes-us-wiser-than-getting-hold-of-a-truth/) [Ludwig Borne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-borne/) > [Women are women, and so are men, and the delusion that we are spiritually separate from or are about to spiritually separate from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anohni/women-are-women-and-so-are-men-and-the-delusion-that-we-are/) [Anohni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anohni/) > [Paranoia is a state of heightened awareness. 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They think they'll be young and beautiful forever, even though most of them… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/it-s-los-angeles-mostly-full-of-nonsense-and-delusion-and-egomania/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [If the idea of having to change ourselves makes us uncomfortable, we can remain as we are. We can choose rest over labour, entertainment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-rohn/if-the-idea-of-having-to-change-ourselves-makes-us-uncomfortable-we/) [Jim Rohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-rohn/) > [I'd actually love to think that I could trust Kerry on national security. But the only way I could do that, at this point,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-reynolds/i-d-actually-love-to-think-that-i-could-trust-kerry-on-national/) [Glenn Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-reynolds/) ## More by Anna Comnena > [“It is extraordinary that nobody nowadays under the stress of great troubles is turned into stone or a bird or a tree or some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-comnena/it-is-extraordinary-that-nobody-nowadays-under-the-stress-of-great/) [Anna Comnena](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-comnena/) > [“The stream of Time, irresistible, ever moving, carries off and bears away all things that come to birth and plunges them into utter darkness,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-comnena/the-stream-of-time-irresistible-ever-moving-carries-off-and-bears/) [Anna Comnena](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-comnena/) > [“For they do not look through to the soul, nor have a keen eye for virtue, but they stop at the outward excellencies of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-comnena/for-they-do-not-look-through-to-the-soul-nor-have-a-keen-eye-for/) [Anna Comnena](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-comnena/) [Explore all 4 Anna Comnena quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-comnena/) ## More Death quotes > [“He wondered how it was fair that your dying should depend so much on when you were born.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/he-wondered-how-it-was-fair-that-your-dying-should-depend-so-much-on/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. 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Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [I love life. I love life to death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emmanuelle-riva/i-love-life-i-love-life-to-death/) [Emmanuelle Riva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emmanuelle-riva/) > [I think when you’re dying you start looking for important things in the corners. You can’t let anything that seems even semi-important pass, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-crutcher/i-think-when-you-re-dying-you-start-looking-for-important-things-in/) [Chris Crutcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-crutcher/) [Browse all 39,127 Death quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Even now I cannot believe that I am still alive and writing this account of the emperor's death. 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