--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A Corpse or a Ghost- I'd sooner be one or…" description: "\"A Corpse or a Ghost- I'd sooner be one or t'other, square and fair, than a Ghost in a Corpse, which is my feelins at present.\" — William De Morgan" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d32/william-de-morgan-68416_corpse_a-corpse-or-a-ghost-i-d-sooner-be-one-or_1119249.png" --- # A Corpse or a Ghost- I'd sooner be one or t'other, square… ![“A Corpse or a Ghost- I'd sooner be one or t'other, square and fair, than a Ghost in a Corpse, which is my feelins at present.” quote by William De Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d32/william-de-morgan-68416_corpse_a-corpse-or-a-ghost-i-d-sooner-be-one-or_1119249.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d32/william-de-morgan-68416_corpse_a-corpse-or-a-ghost-i-d-sooner-be-one-or_1119249.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d32/william-de-morgan-68416_corpse_a-corpse-or-a-ghost-i-d-sooner-be-one-or_1119249.png) > “A Corpse or a Ghost- I'd sooner be one or t'other, square and fair, than a Ghost in a Corpse, which is my feelins at present.” [William De Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-de-morgan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Choosing to be a ghost or a corpse reflects a preference for being seen as fair and square rather than trapped in an unappealing form. **In simple terms:** Prefer being a fair ghost over an unattractive corpse. Key Takeaway Embrace clarity and fairness over hidden decay. Themes choice identity appearance Mood thoughtful melancholic Type philosophical poetic When to use this quote - personal decisions - career choices - public image - health choices Key Concepts metaphor self‑perception Questions to Reflect On - What does “ghost” symbolize for you? - How do you avoid becoming a “corpse” in your life? A Different Perspective May oversimplify complex self‑image issues. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Corpse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/corpse/) [Corpse Feelins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/corpse-feelins-3020138/) [Corpse Ghost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/corpse-ghost-459385/) [Corpses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/corpses/) [Fairs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fairs/) [Ghost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ghost/) [Ghost Corpse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ghost-corpse-3020140/) [Ghost Sooner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ghost-sooner-3020139/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Squares](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/squares/) ## Related quotes > [“such is their image of man’s nature: the battleground of a struggle between a corpse and a ghost,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/such-is-their-image-of-man-s-nature-the-battleground-of-a-struggle/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [ René of Anjou \[(1409-80)\] painted a picture of his mistress's corpse as he found it eaten by worms on having it \[her tomb\] openedon… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-walpole/ren-of-anjou-1409-80-painted-a-picture-of-his-mistress-s-corpse-as-he/) [Horace Walpole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-walpole/) > [“(these are my highlighted parts of the book) Not human, thought Maura, as the hairs stood up on the back of her neck. My…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tess-gerritsen/these-are-my-highlighted-parts-of-the-book-not-human-thought-maura-as/) [Tess Gerritsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tess-gerritsen/) > [There is no way of conveying to the corpse the reasons you have made him one--you have the corpse, and you are, thereafter, at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-baldwin/there-is-no-way-of-conveying-to-the-corpse-the-reasons-you-have-made/) [James A. Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-baldwin/) > [Here's a strange fact: murder a man, and you feel responsible for his life - ''possessive'', even. You know more about him than his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aravind-adiga/here-s-a-strange-fact-murder-a-man-and-you-feel-responsible-for-his/) [Aravind Adiga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aravind-adiga/) > [Before this war is over, I intend to be a Major General or a corpse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-r-trimble/before-this-war-is-over-i-intend-to-be-a-major-general-or-a-corpse/) [Isaac R. Trimble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-r-trimble/) > [A thousand times over, the death knell of the Bible has been sounded, the funeral procession formed, the inscription cut on the tombstone, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-ramm/a-thousand-times-over-the-death-knell-of-the-bible-has-been-sounded/) [Bernard Ramm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-ramm/) > [When there's someone who's dead and then someone does something that that person would not have liked, they say that that person is spinning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/demetri-martin/when-there-s-someone-who-s-dead-and-then-someone-does-something-that/) [Demetri Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/demetri-martin/) > [The corpse of friendship is not worth embalming.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/the-corpse-of-friendship-is-not-worth-embalming/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [If there is no love more in yonder heart, it is but a corpse unburied.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/if-there-is-no-love-more-in-yonder-heart-it-is-but-a-corpse-unburied/) [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) > [I think if I were walking someplace and I saw a corpse my brain would tell me it was a million things before I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-handler/i-think-if-i-were-walking-someplace-and-i-saw-a-corpse-my-brain-would/) [Daniel Handler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-handler/) > [Alas, poor Yorick! How surprised he would be to see how his counterpart of today is whisked off to a funeral parlor and is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-mitford/alas-poor-yorick-how-surprised-he-would-be-to-see-how-his-counterpart/) [Jessica Mitford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-mitford/) > [“You and I are victims of the same disease. We're fighting the same war, just different battles in different theaters, and it's way too…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-marion/you-and-i-are-victims-of-the-same-disease-we-re-fighting-the-same-war/) [Isaac Marion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-marion/) > [The government increasingly resembles somebody who is trying to give the kiss of life to a corpse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vince-cable/the-government-increasingly-resembles-somebody-who-is-trying-to-give/) [Vince Cable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vince-cable/) > [I tried body surfing once, but how often do you find a corpse?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emo-philips/i-tried-body-surfing-once-but-how-often-do-you-find-a-corpse/) [Emo Philips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emo-philips/) ## More by William De Morgan > [I don't want to achieve immortality by being inducted into the Hall of Fame. I want to achieve immortality by not dying.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-de-morgan/i-don-t-want-to-achieve-immortality-by-being-inducted-into-the-hall/) [William De Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-de-morgan/) > [For I never have seen, and never shall see, that the cessation of the evidence of existence is necessarily evidence of the cessation of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-de-morgan/for-i-never-have-seen-and-never-shall-see-that-the-cessation-of-the/) [William De Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-de-morgan/) > [I expressed just now my mistrust of what is called Spiritualism — ... I owe it a trifle for a message said to come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-de-morgan/i-expressed-just-now-my-mistrust-of-what-is-called-spiritualism-i-owe/) [William De Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-de-morgan/) [Explore all 4 William De Morgan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-de-morgan/) ## More Corpse quotes > [“WORDS ARE TEETH. AND THEY EAT ME ALIVE. FEED ON MY CORPSE INSTEAD.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-giles/words-are-teeth-and-they-eat-me-alive-feed-on-my-corpse-instead/) [Gail Giles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-giles/) > [“So I should not hate Adolin Kholin for wielding a corpse!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandon-sanderson/so-i-should-not-hate-adolin-kholin-for-wielding-a-corpse/) [Brandon Sanderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandon-sanderson/) > [ René of Anjou \[(1409-80)\] painted a picture of his mistress's corpse as he found it eaten by worms on having it \[her tomb\] openedon… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-walpole/ren-of-anjou-1409-80-painted-a-picture-of-his-mistress-s-corpse-as-he/) [Horace Walpole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-walpole/) > [“such is their image of man’s nature: the battleground of a struggle between a corpse and a ghost,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/such-is-their-image-of-man-s-nature-the-battleground-of-a-struggle/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [“She was dry, dry inside like a ten-thousand-year-old tomb, with the last of her life barely dampening the dirt underneath.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kat-rosenfield/she-was-dry-dry-inside-like-a-ten-thousand-year-old-tomb-with-the/) [Kat Rosenfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kat-rosenfield/) > [The government increasingly resembles somebody who is trying to give the kiss of life to a corpse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vince-cable/the-government-increasingly-resembles-somebody-who-is-trying-to-give/) [Vince Cable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vince-cable/) > [I never change, I'm like a corpse in a coffin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-cole/i-never-change-i-m-like-a-corpse-in-a-coffin/) [J Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-cole/) > [“You and I are victims of the same disease. We're fighting the same war, just different battles in different theaters, and it's way too…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-marion/you-and-i-are-victims-of-the-same-disease-we-re-fighting-the-same-war/) [Isaac Marion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-marion/) > [Alas, poor Yorick! How surprised he would be to see how his counterpart of today is whisked off to a funeral parlor and is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-mitford/alas-poor-yorick-how-surprised-he-would-be-to-see-how-his-counterpart/) [Jessica Mitford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-mitford/) > [Well, my friend, this earth will one day be that cold corpse; it will become uninhabitable and uninhabited like the moon, which has long…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jules-verne/well-my-friend-this-earth-will-one-day-be-that-cold-corpse-it-will/) [Jules Verne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jules-verne/) > [“Bagpipe Music' It's no go the merrygoround, it's no go the rickshaw, All we want is a limousine and a ticket for the peepshow.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-macneice/bagpipe-music-it-s-no-go-the-merrygoround-it-s-no-go-the-rickshaw-all/) [Louis MacNeice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-macneice/) > [“Now, feel free to call me what I am-call me a corpse, call me dead, call me a killer if you want. I've killed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lia-habel/now-feel-free-to-call-me-what-i-am-call-me-a-corpse-call-me-dead-call/) [Lia Habel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lia-habel/) > [“I’ve heard that sometimes a version of you must die before another more enlightened version can be born. I think that’s true after watching…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-flygare/i-ve-heard-that-sometimes-a-version-of-you-must-die-before-another/) [Julie Flygare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-flygare/) > [“In some warped way, having an embalmed body with us made perfect sense.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tahir-shah/in-some-warped-way-having-an-embalmed-body-with-us-made-perfect-sense/) [Tahir Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tahir-shah/) > [Memory heaps dead leaves on corpse-like deeds, from under which they do but vaguely offend the sense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-galsworthy/memory-heaps-dead-leaves-on-corpse-like-deeds-from-under-which-they/) [John Galsworthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-galsworthy/) [Browse all 240 Corpse quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/corpse/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "A Corpse or a Ghost- I'd sooner be one or t'other, square and fair, than a Ghost in a Corpse, which is my feelins at present.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "William De Morgan" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-de-morgan/a-corpse-or-a-ghost-i-d-sooner-be-one-or-t-other-square-and-fair-than/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Corpse" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-de-morgan/a-corpse-or-a-ghost-i-d-sooner-be-one-or-t-other-square-and-fair-than/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d32/william-de-morgan-68416_corpse_a-corpse-or-a-ghost-i-d-sooner-be-one-or_1119249.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d32/william-de-morgan-68416_corpse_a-corpse-or-a-ghost-i-d-sooner-be-one-or_1119249.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d32/william-de-morgan-68416_corpse_a-corpse-or-a-ghost-i-d-sooner-be-one-or_1119249.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“A Corpse or a Ghost- I'd sooner be one or t'other, square and fair, than a Ghost in a Corpse, which is my…” — William De Morgan", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "William De Morgan", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-de-morgan/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "A Corpse or a Ghost- I'd...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-de-morgan/a-corpse-or-a-ghost-i-d-sooner-be-one-or-t-other-square-and-fair-than/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-de-morgan/a-corpse-or-a-ghost-i-d-sooner-be-one-or-t-other-square-and-fair-than/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```