“Why is it that we rejoice at a birth and grieve at a funeral? It is because we are not the person involved.”

—  Mark Twain

Last update Sept. 28, 2023. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "Why is it that we rejoice at a birth and grieve at a funeral? It is because we are not the person involved." by Mark Twain?
Mark Twain photo
Mark Twain 637
American author and humorist 1835–1910

Related quotes

Robert N. Bellah photo

“Leaving home in a sense involves a kind of second birth in which we give birth to ourselves.”

Robert N. Bellah (1927–2013) American sociologist

Habits of the Heart, pt. 1, ch. 3 (1985)

Jonathan Katz photo

“I hate going to funerals because I'm not a mourning person.”

Jonathan Katz (1946) Comedian, actor

Interview on Late Night with Conan O'Brien
Attributed

Michele Bachmann photo

“It leads to the personal enslavement of individuals. Because if you're involved in the gay and lesbian lifestyle, it's bondage. Personal bondage, personal despair, and personal enslavement. And that's why this is so dangerous.”

Michele Bachmann (1956) American politician

EdWatch National Education Conference, November 6, 2004
Michele Bachmann in 2004: Homosexuality is "personal enslavement"
2011-07-13
CBS News
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20079221-503544.html
2011-07-17
https://archive.is/YKg1q
2013-06-28
2010s

Indíra Gándhí photo

“We should not mourn for men of high ideals. Rather we should rejoice that we had the privilege of having had them with us, to inspire us by their radiant personalities.”

Indíra Gándhí (1917–1984) Indian politician and Prime Minister

Luther King" http://gos.sbc.edu/g/gandhi2.html"Martin, speech at the presentation of the Jawaharial Nehru Award for International Understanding to Coretta Scott King in New Delhi, India (January 24, 1969). Published in Selected Speeches and Writings of Indira Gandhi, September 1972-March 1977 (New Delhi : Publications Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Govt. of India, 1984. pp. 312-313).
Context: We admired Dr. King. We felt his loss as our own. The tragedy rekindled memories of the great martyrs of all time who gave their lives so that men might live and grow. We thought of the great men in your own country who fell to the assassin's bullet and of Mahatma Gandhi's martyrdom here in this city, this very month, twenty-one years ago. Such events remain as wounds in the human consciousness, reminding us of battles, yet to be fought and tasks still to be accomplished. We should not mourn for men of high ideals. Rather we should rejoice that we had the privilege of having had them with us, to inspire us by their radiant personalities.

Pierre Teilhard De Chardin photo

“Personally, I stick to my idea that we are watching the birth, more than the death, of a World.”

Pierre Teilhard De Chardin (1881–1955) French philosopher and Jesuit priest

Letter from Peking (Summer 1940), quoted in The Last European War : September 1939/December 1941 (1976) by John Lukacs, p. 515
Context: Personally, I stick to my idea that we are watching the birth, more than the death, of a World. The scandal for you, is that England and France should have come to this tragedy because they have sincerely tried the road of peace. But did they not precisely make a mistake on the true meaning of "peace"? Peace cannot mean anything but a HIGHER PROCESS OF CONQUEST. … The world is bound to belong to its most active elements. … Just now, the Germans deserve to win because, however bad or mixed is their spirit, they have more spirit than the rest of the world. It is easy to criticize and despise the fifth column. But no spiritual aims or energy will ever succeed, or even deserve to succeed, unless it is able to spread and keep spreading a fifth column.

Jon Stewart photo

“We called her Mother Earth. Because she gave birth to us, and then we sucked her dry.”

Jon Stewart (1962) American political satirist, writer, television host, actor, media critic and stand-up comedian

Related topics