Quote by Michelangelo Buonarroti, Sonnets
Led by long years to my last hours, too late, O world, I know your joys for what they are. You promise a peace which is not yours to give and the repose that dies before it is born. The years of fear and shame to which Heaven now set a term, renew nothing in me but the old sweet error in which, living overlong a man kills his soul with no gain to his body. I say and I know having put it to the proof, that he has the better part in Heaven whose death falls nearest his birth.http://vrcoll.fa.pitt.edu/ftoker/tokerfile/0010sb01-10.html
Summary
This quote explores the disillusionment and regrets felt by someone nearing the end of their life. The speaker has come to realize that the pleasures and promises offered by the world were transient and empty. They acknowledge that the pursuit of worldly joys led to fear, shame, and the ultimate sacrifice of their soul. Reflecting on their experiences, they assert that those who die soon after birth have a greater advantage in heaven, as they are spared from enduring such hardships and the subsequent disillusionment.