“Death is the dark backing that a mirror needs if we are to see anything.”
Humboldt's Gift (1975), p. 265
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Saul Bellow103
Canadian-born American writer 1915–2005Related quotes
Emperor Taizong of Tang (598–649) emperor of the Tang Dynasty
Quoted in: Yanqing Vanessa Ong et al. Memories unfolded: a guide to memories at Old Ford Factory, 2008, p. 50
Quoted regarding his advisor.Few men in history would be so frank and honest with their monarch and when Weizheng died, Taizong was overwhelmed with grief. The Emperor said to his ministers,
“All I see in the mirror every morning is a face that needs washing.”
Elizabeth Taylor (1932–2011) British-American actress
“For our improvement we need a mirror.”
Arthur Schopenhauer book Aphorisms on the Wisdom of Life
Zu unserer Besserung bedürfen wir eines Spiegels.
Parerga and Paralipomena (1851), Aphorisms on the Wisdom of Life
J. Howard Moore (1862–1916)
"Modern Ethics", pp. 270–271
The Universal Kinship (1906), The Ethical Kinship
Jean Cocteau (1889–1963) French poet, novelist, dramatist, designer, boxing manager and filmmaker
As quoted by Ned Rorem The Dick Cavett Show (PBS) (6 October 1981)
Michel Foucault (1926–1984) French philosopher
Las Menias
The Order of Things: An Archaeology of the Human Sciences (1970)