Approaching death Quote by Irvin S. Cobb
““Daylight would have shown a wilderness weathered and blowzy, a wanton that had lived her summer too fast and too greedily. It would have shown the white birches pale and shivering in a sudden ague, and here and there an ash or a sumac burning red, like a hectic spot, where the first frosts already had set the marks of their galloping consumption on the cheek of the forest, giving warning of the time when the white plague of the winter would make a massacre of all this present glory and turn the trees to naked skeletons and stretch a bony bare cadaver on every steeper hillside to bleach there until the snows covered things up. But now the kindly nighttime had all signs and threats of approaching death, so that each shriveled speckled leaf, as revealed and traced in the waning light, seemed flawless — a perfect part of a perfect tapestry.””
About This Quote
A vivid description contrasts harsh winter with delicate night, illustrating nature’s cycle of decay and renewal, and the fleeting perfection of moments.
In simple terms: Nature shifts from harsh winter to gentle night, showing change and beauty.
Key Takeaway
Appreciate fleeting beauty amid change.
Themes
nature
seasonality
beauty
impermanence
contrast
reflection
Mood
melancholic
contemplative
Type
literary
descriptive
When to use this quote
- forest walks
- photography
- writing
- meditation
Key Concepts
ecology
aesthetics
temporal cycles
Questions to Reflect On
- What does the night reveal that day hides?
- How can we cherish transient moments?
A Different Perspective
Winter can destroy and erase beauty.
![“[About the main character approaching death in old age, observed by her husband . . .] He saw that she had already laid down a large portion of her life long ago. Piece by piece she had given it away as she wrestled with existence, as her self was absorbed as nourishment into his life and the life…” quote by Michael D. O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/f03/michael-d-o-brien-17161_death_about-the-main-character-approaching-dea_284602.jpg)
