Famous quote by Hannah Arendt

"Death not merely ends life, it also bestows upon it a silent completeness, snatched from the hazardous flux to which all things human are subject"

About this Quote

Hannah Arendt's quote, "Death not merely ends life, it also bestows upon it a quiet completeness, taken from the hazardous flux to which all things human are subject", provides a profound reflection on the nature of death and its effect on the story of a human life. At first glance, it acknowledges death as the supreme terminator of the biological process. However, Arendt extends the analysis by suggesting that death plays an important function in defining and solidifying one's existence by imparting a "silent efficiency."

This "silent completeness" describes the finality and closure that death offers. In life, human experiences are dynamic and ever-changing, based on unpredictability and the impulses of fate. Individuals continually progress, make choices, and react to an unpredictable world. This constant state of flux frequently makes comprehending the totality of an individual's life elusive. However, death stops this fluidity, permitting a total and coherent narrative to emerge.

Arendt's choice of words, such as "bestows" and "taken", suggests a dual nature of death's function. On one hand, death gifts life with an indelible shape, fixing it in time for reflection and analysis. On the other, it suddenly removes life from the realm of infinite possibilities and uncertainty. This double function of death stresses the delicate balance in between life's prospective and its supreme cessation.

Furthermore, by mentioning that death pulls life out of the "hazardous flux", Arendt advises us that human experiences are susceptible and transient. Life is a series of occasions defined by their impermanence. Death, paradoxically, protects the essence of this temporariness by freezing the fluid narrative of one's life into a fixed story that can not be changed.

In conclusion, Arendt's perspective challenges us to think about death not entirely as an end however as a force that finishes and specifies a life. It changes the plethora of short lived human experiences into a coherent whole, instilling a sense of permanence in an otherwise impermanent existence.

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About the Author

Germany Flag This quote is written / told by Hannah Arendt between October 14, 1906 and December 4, 1975. He/she was a famous Historian from Germany. The author also have 39 other quotes.
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