The Secret of Death

Skull, by Paul Cézanne

The great secret of death, and perhaps its deeper connection with us, is this: that, in taking from us a being we have loved and venerated, death does not wound us without, at the same time, lifting us toward a more perfect understanding of this being and of ourselves.

Letter to Countess Margo Sizzo-Noris-Crouy

January 23, 1924