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Quote by Octavio Paz

Work

The Labyrinth of Solitude and Other Writings

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Author

Octavio Paz
Octavio Paz

Octavio Paz (March 31, 1914 - April 19, 1998) was a renowned Mexican poet, essayist, and diplomat. He is considered one of the greatest Spanish-language poets of the 20th century, known for his unique poetic style and profound intellectual depth. more

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“when death comes like an iceberg between the shoulder blades, I want to step through the door full of curiosity, wondering: what is it going to be like, that cottage of darkness? And therefore I look upon everything as a brotherhood and a sisterhood, and I look upon time as no more than an idea, and I consider eternity as another possibility, and I think of each life as a flower, as common as a field daisy, and as singular, and each name a comfortable music in the mouth, tending, as all music does, toward silence, and each body a lion of courage, and something precious to the earth.”

“On earth, we are like chess dice in the hands of the master. At each tweak, he decides which dice leads first. On his weakness, his own gets defeated. We are like the farmer who has planted and toiled, but on the day of rest, the rain sweeps everything away. All the labor, the hard work – all gone, and never to return as before. We are like the flowers that blossom each day, but then the floods sweep them away. We are left with nothing but heartbreak, sadness, and grief. Hoping to recover, but time doesn't heal anything. We are nothing here, nothing on earth, nothing in this world. Let each of us await his own time. Until then, YOLO.”