--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If you stand right fronting and face to…" description: "\"If you stand right fronting and face to face to a fact, you will see the sun glimmer on both its surfaces, as if it were a cimeter, and feel its sweet ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de6/henry-david-thoreau-20_alive_if-you-stand-right-fronting-and-face-to_3212539.jpg" --- # If you stand right fronting and face to face to a fact… ![“If you stand right fronting and face to face to a fact, you will see the sun glimmer on both its surfaces, as if it were a cimeter, and feel its sweet edge dividing you through the heart and marrow, and so you will happily conclude your mortal career. Be it life or death, we crave only reality. If…” quote by Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de6/henry-david-thoreau-20_alive_if-you-stand-right-fronting-and-face-to_3212539.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de6/henry-david-thoreau-20_alive_if-you-stand-right-fronting-and-face-to_3212539.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de6/henry-david-thoreau-20_alive_if-you-stand-right-fronting-and-face-to_3212539.jpg) > “If you stand right fronting and face to face to a fact, you will see the sun glimmer on both its surfaces, as if it were a cimeter, and feel its sweet edge dividing you through the heart and marrow, and so you will happily conclude your mortal career. Be it life or death, we crave only reality. If we are really dying, let us hear the rattle in our throats and feel cold in the extremities; if we are alive, let us go about our business.” [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Confronting truth directly reveals its dual nature, prompting acceptance of life or death with equanimity. **In simple terms:** Facing facts shows both sides, leading to calm acceptance. Key Takeaway Embrace reality, whether life or death. Themes reality acceptance mortality philosophy Mood contemplative serene Type philosophical reflective When to use this quote - personal crisis - end‑of‑life decisions - daily mindfulness - spiritual reflection Key Concepts dualism existentialism mindfulness Questions to Reflect On - What truths are you avoiding? - How does accepting mortality change daily choices? A Different Perspective May overlook the comfort of hopeful illusion. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Alive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alive/) [Cold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cold/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Face to face](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/face-to-face/) [Faces](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faces/) [Facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life or death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-or-death/) [Mortal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mortal/) [Mortals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mortals/) [Realism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/realism/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) [Sun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sun/) ## Related quotes > [“Be it life or death, we crave only reality. If we are really dying, let us hear the rattle in our throats and feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/be-it-life-or-death-we-crave-only-reality-if-we-are-really-dying-let/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Be it life or death, we crave only reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/be-it-life-or-death-we-crave-only-reality/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“We live in a day when our sense are so dull that we need extreme sports, bingeing, or dangerous pastimes to give us a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-b-allender/we-live-in-a-day-when-our-sense-are-so-dull-that-we-need-extreme/) [Dan B. Allender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-b-allender/) > [I am not sure but I should betake myself in extremities to the liberal divinities of Greece, rather than to my country's God. Jehovah,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-am-not-sure-but-i-should-betake-myself-in-extremities-to-the/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [WE begin to die not in our sense or extremities, but in our divine faculties.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/we-begin-to-die-not-in-our-sense-or-extremities-but-in-our-divine/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-wanted-to-live-deep-and-suck-out-all-the-marrow-of-life/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [I did not wish to live what was not life, living is so dear; nor did I wish to practice resignation, unless it was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-did-not-wish-to-live-what-was-not-life-living-is-so-dear-nor-did-i/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [The civilized nations--Greece, Rome, England--have been sustained by the primitive forests which anciently rotted where they stand. They survive as long as the soil…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/the-civilized-nations-greece-rome-england-have-been-sustained-by-the/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-went-to-the-woods-because-i-wished-to-live-deliberately/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-went-to-the-woods-because-i-wished-to-live-deliberately-to-front/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [When we consider the weak and nerveless periods of some literary men, who perchance in feet and inches come up to the standard oftheir…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/when-we-consider-the-weak-and-nerveless-periods-of-some-literary-men/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [When I would re-create myself, I seek the darkest wood, the thickest and most interminable and to the citizen, most dismal, swamp. I enter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/when-i-would-re-create-myself-i-seek-the-darkest-wood-the-thickest/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“Let us spend one day as deliberately as Nature, and not be thrown off the track by every nutshell and mosquito's wing that falls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/let-us-spend-one-day-as-deliberately-as-nature-and-not-be-thrown-off-3/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Nature doth thus kindly heal every wound. By the mediation of a thousand little mosses and fungi, the most unsightly objects become radiant of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/nature-doth-thus-kindly-heal-every-wound-by-the-mediation-of-a/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Very often the law of extremity demands an attention to irrelevance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-frame/very-often-the-law-of-extremity-demands-an-attention-to-irrelevance/) [Janet Frame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-frame/) ## More by Henry David Thoreau > [If ever I did a man any goodof course it was something exceptional and insignificant compared with the good or evil which I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/if-ever-i-did-a-man-any-goodof-course-it-was-something-exceptional/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Our inventions are wont to be pretty toys, which distract our attention from serious things. They are but improved means to an unimproved end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/our-inventions-are-wont-to-be-pretty-toys-which-distract-our/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“Men say they know many things; But lo! they have taken wings, — The arts and sciences, And a thousand appliances; The wind that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/men-say-they-know-many-things-but-lo-they-have-taken-wings-the-arts/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [I am not afraid of praise, for I have practiced it on myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-am-not-afraid-of-praise-for-i-have-practiced-it-on-myself/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“All voting is a sort of gaming, like checkers or back gammon, with a slight moral tinge to it, a playing with right and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/all-voting-is-a-sort-of-gaming-like-checkers-or-back-gammon-with-a/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“This spending of the best part of one's life earning money in order to enjoy a questionable liberty during the least valuable part of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/this-spending-of-the-best-part-of-one-s-life-earning-money-in-order/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [As for doing good; that is one of the professions which is full. Moreover I have tried it fairly and, strange as it may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/as-for-doing-good-that-is-one-of-the-professions-which-is-full/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [A traveler who looks at things with an impartial eye may see what the oldest inhabitant has not observed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/a-traveler-who-looks-at-things-with-an-impartial-eye-may-see-what-the/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [In proportion as our inward life fails, we go more constantly and desperately to the post office. You may depend on it, that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/in-proportion-as-our-inward-life-fails-we-go-more-constantly-and/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [I had three chairs in my house; one for solitude, two for friendship, three for society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-had-three-chairs-in-my-house-one-for-solitude-two-for-friendship/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [The still youthful energies of the globe have only to be directed in their proper channel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/the-still-youthful-energies-of-the-globe-have-only-to-be-directed-in/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Concord's little arch does not span all our fate, nor is what transpires under it law for the universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/concord-s-little-arch-does-not-span-all-our-fate-nor-is-what/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [The lumberers rarely trouble themselves to put out their fires, such is the dampness of the primitive forest; and this is one cause, no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/the-lumberers-rarely-trouble-themselves-to-put-out-their-fires-such/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“When he has obtained those things which are necessary to life, there is another alternative than to obtain the superfluities; and that is, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/when-he-has-obtained-those-things-which-are-necessary-to-life-there/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Wealth is measured by the level of experience in all aspects of life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/wealth-is-measured-by-the-level-of-experience-in-all-aspects-of-life/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) [Explore all 3,376 Henry David Thoreau quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) ## More Alive quotes > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [I feel very grateful to be alive and well enough to make music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-ant/i-feel-very-grateful-to-be-alive-and-well-enough-to-make-music/) Adam Ant > [I don't crave applause. I'm not one of those guys who comes alive on stage. I'm much more alive at home, I think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bowie/i-don-t-crave-applause-i-m-not-one-of-those-guys-who-comes-alive-on/) [David Bowie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bowie/) > [We must master our egoism, and through this mastery, step outside ourselves and educate ourselves in giving. Fasting requires that we rediscover all that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tariq-ramadan/we-must-master-our-egoism-and-through-this-mastery-step-outside/) [Tariq Ramadan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tariq-ramadan/) > [I can't say that there are 'things' that make me come alive. There are thoughts that make me come alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/i-can-t-say-that-there-are-things-that-make-me-come-alive-there-are/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [We're like the wicked witch. We promise gingerbread, then eat the little brats alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/we-re-like-the-wicked-witch-we-promise-gingerbread-then-eat-the/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [If Jovan Belcher didn't possess a gun, he and Kasandra Perkins would both be alive today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-costas/if-jovan-belcher-didn-t-possess-a-gun-he-and-kasandra-perkins-would/) [Bob Costas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-costas/) > [Peace is an ongoing process. It begins with the first step and it does not end. We, all of us alive today, are the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-krieger/peace-is-an-ongoing-process-it-begins-with-the-first-step-and-it-does/) [David Krieger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-krieger/) > [I think adoption becomes complicated whenever the biological parents are alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-haven/i-think-adoption-becomes-complicated-whenever-the-biological-parents/) [James Haven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-haven/) > [The pain of love is the pain of being alive. It is a perpetual wound.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-duffy/the-pain-of-love-is-the-pain-of-being-alive-it-is-a-perpetual-wound/) [Maureen Duffy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-duffy/) > [I have tried to resign myself, and to console myself; and that, I hope, I may have done imperfectly; but what I cannot firmly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/i-have-tried-to-resign-myself-and-to-console-myself-and-that-i-hope-i/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [If Melanchthon were alive today, he might not weep because of controversies that surround the Lord's Supper, but he might well sorrow because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-w-lutzer/if-melanchthon-were-alive-today-he-might-not-weep-because-of/) [Erwin W. Lutzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erwin-w-lutzer/) > [If you’re alive, don’t move, if you’re dead, don’t worry about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurell-k-hamilton/if-you-re-alive-don-t-move-if-you-re-dead-don-t-worry-about-it/) [Laurell K. Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurell-k-hamilton/) > [Here Greek and Roman find themselves alive along these crowded shelves; and Shakespeare treads again his stage, and Chaucer paints anew his age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-greenleaf-whittier/here-greek-and-roman-find-themselves-alive-along-these-crowded/) [John Greenleaf Whittier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-greenleaf-whittier/) > [You're alive!" Fezzik cried. The man in black sat immobile, like a ventriloquist's dummy, just his mouth moving. "That is perhaps the most childishly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-goldman/you-re-alive-fezzik-cried-the-man-in-black-sat-immobile-like-a/) [William Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-goldman/) [Browse all 7,282 Alive quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alive/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If you stand right fronting and face to face to a fact, you will see the sun glimmer on both its surfaces, as if it were a cimeter, and feel its sweet edge dividing you through the heart and marrow, and so you will happily conclude your mortal career. Be it life or death, we crave only reality. 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