I would rather be ashes than dust! I would rather that my spark should
burn out in a brilliant blaze than it should be stifled by dry-rot.
I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent
glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet. The proper function of
man is to live, not to exist. I shall not waste my days in trying
to prolong them. I shall use my time.
-- Jack London, Jack London's Tales of Adventure
