Huston Smith Quotes

No hero is mortal till he dies.

We wanted to talk about death in the DC Universe, and how some people go to get a pass and come back, and some people didn't. That opened up a whole other topic about legacy. We wanted to talk about what was required to be a hero, what were the elements of true heroism?

There are no heroes in a world where heroes can’t die.

The hope of immortality makes heroes of cowards.

Humans don't exist on the same level as immortals. They can't even be hurt by our weapons. But you,Percy - you are part god,part human.You live in both worlds.You can be harmed by both,and you can affect both. That's what makes heroes so special.

Heroes are damned. No mortal conquers Death.

Time, how short-eternity, how long! Death, how brief-immortali ty, how endless!

To be a hero you have to learn to be a deviant — because you're always going against the conformity of the group.

One day I wrote her name upon the strand, But came the waves and washèd it away: Again I wrote it with a second hand, But came the tide and made my pains his prey. Vain man (said she) that dost in vain assay A mortal thing so to immortalise; For I myself shall like to this decay, And eke my name be wipèd out likewise. Not so (quod I); let baser things devise To die in dust, but you shall live by fame; My verse your virtues rare shall eternise, And in the heavens write your glorious name: Where, when as Death shall all the world subdue, Our love shall live, and later life renew.

Perhaps a hero is someone who doesn’t register his own vulnerability. Is it courage, then, if you’re too daft to know you’re mortal?

As subjects, we all live in suspense, from day to day, from hour to hour; in other words, we are the hero of our own story. We cannot believe that it is finished, that we are 'finished,' even though we may say so; we expect another chapter, another installment, tomorrow or next week.

The soul of an individual; your soul and my soul, is that part of us that is immortal. Your personality is that part of you that was born into time, that matures in time, or at least grows older in time and then decays and passes away.

But, who is Death? A figure that harrows and wastes wherever and however it pleases. This is also a possible description of the Countess Bathory. Never did anyone wish so hard not to grow old; I mean, to die. That is why, perhaps, she acted and played the role of Death. Because, how can Death possibly die?

I was a hero, and a second afterwards it was all over. Casartelli was dead so what I had achieved was worth nothing.

Time is not your enemy, forever is.

Nobility and self-sacrifice sound wonderful in theory, but now he’s seen how it feels. A dead hero is still dead at the end of the day, and you’re still alone.

Heroes, well, they don't live so long. But they're muy suave, and we all admire them.

Eternity - waste of time.

Soon,” said the crackling voice of the flame, coming from behind him, “they will fall. Soon they will fall and the star people will meet the earth people. There will be heroes among them, and men who will slay monsters and bring knowledge, but none of them will be gods. This is a poor place for gods.

The hero is strangely akin to those who die young.

The average is the borderline that keeps mere men in their place. Those who step over the line are heroes by the very act. Go.

But thy strong Hours indignant work’d their wills, And beat me down and marr’d and wasted me, And tho’ they could not end me, left me maim’d To dwell in presence of immortal youth, Immortal age beside immortal youth, And all I was, in ashes. - Tithonus

If I were fierce, and bald, and short of breath,I'd live with scarlet Majors at the Base,And speed glum heroes up the line of death.

Immortality is the only thing which doesn't tolerate being postponed.