This site uses cookies. Some of these cookies are essential to the operation of the site, while others help to improve your experience by providing insights into how the site is being used. For more information, please see the ProZ.com privacy policy.
Cookie settings
  1. KudoZ™ Top
  2. English

live to die

English translation: The old proverb said, Life is real, life is earnest, and its goal is but the grave.

00:51 Mar 29, 2003
English language (monolingual) [Non-PRO]
English term or phrase: live to die
this is all in the sentance
Byran
Selected answer:The old proverb said, Life is real, life is earnest, and its goal is but the grave.
Explanation:
This was rebutted by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow:

What the Heart of the Young Man Said to the Psalmist

TELL me not, in mournful numbers,
Life is but an empty dream!—
For the soul is dead that slumbers,
And things are not what they seem.

Life is real! Life is earnest!
And the grave is not its goal;
Dust thou art, to dust returnest,
Was not spoken of the soul.

Not enjoyment, and not sorrow,
Is our destined end or way;
But to act, that each to-morrow
Find us farther than to-day.

Art is long, and Time is fleeting,
And our hearts, though stout and brave,
Still, like muffled drums, are beating
Funeral marches to the grave.

In the world's broad field of battle,
In the bivouac of Life,
Be not like dumb, driven cattle!
Be a hero in the strife!

Trust no Future, howe'er pleasant!
Let the dead Past bury its dead!
Act,—act in the living Present!
Heart within, and God o'erhead!

Lives of great men all remind us
We can make our lives sublime,
And, departing, leave behind us
Footprints on the sands of time;

Footprints, that perhaps another,
Sailing o'er life's solemn main,
A forlorn and shipwrecked brother,
Seeing, shall take heart again.

Let us, then, be up and doing,
With a heart for any fate;
Still achieving, still pursuing,
Learn to labor and to wait.
Selected response from:

Refugio
Local time: 04:06
Grading comment
Graded automatically based on peer agreement. KudoZ.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



SUMMARY OF ALL EXPLANATIONS PROVIDED
5 +5A sentence like this is a skeleton. . .
Fuad Yahya
4 +6The old proverb said, Life is real, life is earnest, and its goal is but the grave.
Refugio


  

Answers


7 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5 peer agreement (net): +5
A sentence like this is a skeleton. . .


Explanation:
. . . that you can flesh out in any number of ways.

It can mean: Live like there is no tomorrow. Enjoy every minute; you will end up dead anyway.

It can also mean: Live knowing that this world is vanishing, this life is not the life everlasting. Live in anticipation of the defining moment of your whole life, the moment of your death. That is when the meaning is summed up.

It can also mean be daring, throw caution to the wind, seek death, and life will be given to you.

You can dress up such a skeleton in so many ways.


Fuad

Fuad Yahya
Native speaker of: Native in ArabicArabic, Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in pair: 893

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Erika P (X): "You can dress up such a skeleton in so many ways." I like that..
12 mins
agree  Ariser: live for the moment, Apres nous le deluge
29 mins
agree  Ino66 (X)
5 hrs
agree  Yelena.
6 hrs
agree  Empty Whiskey Glass
7 hrs
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

2 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +6
The old proverb said, Life is real, life is earnest, and its goal is but the grave.


Explanation:
This was rebutted by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow:

What the Heart of the Young Man Said to the Psalmist

TELL me not, in mournful numbers,
Life is but an empty dream!—
For the soul is dead that slumbers,
And things are not what they seem.

Life is real! Life is earnest!
And the grave is not its goal;
Dust thou art, to dust returnest,
Was not spoken of the soul.

Not enjoyment, and not sorrow,
Is our destined end or way;
But to act, that each to-morrow
Find us farther than to-day.

Art is long, and Time is fleeting,
And our hearts, though stout and brave,
Still, like muffled drums, are beating
Funeral marches to the grave.

In the world's broad field of battle,
In the bivouac of Life,
Be not like dumb, driven cattle!
Be a hero in the strife!

Trust no Future, howe'er pleasant!
Let the dead Past bury its dead!
Act,—act in the living Present!
Heart within, and God o'erhead!

Lives of great men all remind us
We can make our lives sublime,
And, departing, leave behind us
Footprints on the sands of time;

Footprints, that perhaps another,
Sailing o'er life's solemn main,
A forlorn and shipwrecked brother,
Seeing, shall take heart again.

Let us, then, be up and doing,
With a heart for any fate;
Still achieving, still pursuing,
Learn to labor and to wait.

Refugio
Local time: 04:06
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in pair: 485
Grading comment
Graded automatically based on peer agreement. KudoZ.

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Andrea Ali: Beautiful, Ruth!
1 hr
  -> Thank you, Andrea.
agree  Georgios Paraskevopoulos
3 hrs
  -> Thank you, Georgios
agree  Сергей Лузан
3 hrs
  -> Thank you, Ñåðãåé Ëóçàí
agree  Ino66 (X)
3 hrs
  -> Thank you, Ino
agree  awilliams
6 hrs
  -> Thank you, Amy
agree  Marion Burns
2 days 11 hrs
  -> Thank you, Marion
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)



Login or register (free and only takes a few minutes) to participate in this question.

You will also have access to many other tools and opportunities designed for those who have language-related jobs (or are passionate about them). Participation is free and the site has a strict confidentiality policy.

Return to KudoZ list

KudoZ™ translation help

The KudoZ network provides a framework for translators and others to assist each other with translations or explanations of terms and short phrases.

See also:
ProZ.com term search
Search millions of term translations
Close search
Term search
  • All of ProZ.com
  • Term search
  • Jobs
  • Forums
  • Multiple search