Dream Within a Dream
Take this kiss upon the brow!
And, in parting from you now,
Thus much let me avow-
You are not wrong, who deem
That my days have been a dream;
Yet if hope has flown away
In a night, or in a day,
In a vision, or in none,
Is it therefore the less gone?
All that we see or seem
Is but a dream within a dream.
I stand amid the roar
Of a surf-tormented shore,
And I hold within my hand
Grains of the golden sand-
How few! yet how they creep
Through my fingers to the deep,
While I weep- while I weep!
O God! can I not grasp
Them with a tighter clasp?
O God! can I not save
One from the pitiless wave?
Is all that we see or seem
But a dream within a dream?
Edgar Allan Poe, 1827
"Relearning innocence is probably one of the toughest things you will ever do. Nevertheless, you can't give it up. Consciously coming back to, and choosing to live in, that place of childlike wonder, openness and trust could be your greatest triumph... That may be its own reward, but learning to be receptive after so much hurt, despite the risks, will also make you richer... Trust created from knowledge and choice is powerful. I can't help you conquer your cynicism, but I can tell you we're all gleefully anticipating [and rooting for] the moment you do."
That was Taurus' reading for feb 14-20, 2002. I normally don't believe in horroscopes but hey when it hits the mark I'm not one to argue. Even a broken clock is right twice a day.
Finally, someone put it into words!
"...it should not surprise us if intelligent and thoughtful individuals can sincerely disagree as to which view seems most plausible when all arguments are takein into account. Consequently, all one can do--on this question, as on others that will follow--is to weigh the various arguments of each side and decide for oneself."
-Shelly Kagan, Normative Ethics
Some Quotes from 1984:
"One could not avoid [death], but one could perhaps postpone it: and yet instead, every now and then, by a conscious wilful act, one chose to shorten the interval before it happened."
Some quotes from the Heart of Darkness:
"No relation of a dream can convey the dream-sensation, that commingling of absurdity, surprise, and bewilderment in a tremor of struggling revolt, that notion of being captured by the incredible which is of the very essence of dreams.... No, it is impossible;it is impossible to convey the life-sensation of any given epoch of one's existence -- that which makes its truth, its meaning -- its subtle and penetrating essence. It is impossible. We live, as we dream--alone."
"No, I don't like work. I had rather laze around and think of all the fine things that can be done -- but I like what is in the work, -- the chance to find yourself. Your own reality -- for yourself, not for others -- what no other man can ever know."
"The things we touch in life, they have no permanence. Only by letting go, may we truly possess what is real."
-Li Mu Bai, "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon."
Quotes from the Three Kingdoms:
"There is no end of deception in warfare," Kongming
"If the difference betwenn obedience & disobedience is not understod than there can be no loyalty. If the difference between favour & injury is not understood then there can be no honour." Mao.
"How can those who practice warfare give up after defeat or be complacent after victory?"
"Adapt to heaven and know ease; oppose it and toil in vain,"
"In man's short life between heaven and earth, loyalty and filial devotion are the foundations of personal integrity," Well put.
"Tell the old fool to hurry up and surrender and spare his people, or I'll flatten the city and kill all within,"
-Zhang Fei, Chapter 63.
"Does the mighty Mount Tai challenge a common stone?"
-regarding Pang De's challenge to Guan Yu in chapter 74. I used a similar quote in the november 2002 episode of Adventurer's mark.
"a man may fall, but his name will come down through history,"
-Guan Yu, pg 1366 ch 76, and it's the truth because I have his statue on my dresser.
"No man can master the infinity of possibility; No heart can match wits with destiny"
"There are five inevitables in war. If you can fight, you must fight; if not, you must defend. If you cannot defend, you must flee; if you cannot flee, you must surrender. If you cannot surrender, you must die!"
-Sima Yi, Pg 1930 ch 107. I had a newfound respect for this rat ever since.
"Humanity means fidelity to one's integrity, for better or for worse; honour means an unchanging heart and mind even if survival is at stake,"
-Daughter of Xiahou Ling p1952
"The rats hold their lives cheap!" p1996
"He did not make use of the unknowable and leave the world wondering. He made use of theknowable and left the world a model,"
-Mao commenting on Kongming (Zhuge Liang)
"The sky's a curving vault of blue,
The level earth a chessboard,
Where men their black and white divide,
Disgrace or glory to decide.
For the winners, peace and comfort,
For the losers, tiring toil."
Luo Guanzhong, Three Kingdoms, Chapter 37 (page 660) Translated by Dr. Moss Roberts