J. G. Zimmermann, Aphorisms and Reflections, (London, 1800), p. 229:
Be fit to live; be ready to die! Never can I peruse these words without the strongest agitation. What has been undergone, what has been suffered, what struggles have been made, before we are fit to live! and, the point once attain'd, we are to be ready to enter into a state totally unconnected with life! Oh, 'tis a melancholy reflection, that those creatures who are fit to live shou'd ever die. What do the present and the future lose by one such death?
Unfortunately, I could not find any available online copy of the book from which this fine excerpt is taken. Were you, sir, fortunate enough to find a copy yourself?
ReplyDeleteFor sure. Here is a PDF copy available on Google Books:
Deletehttps://books.google.jo/books?id=vFJFAAAAYAAJ&pg=PP12&dq=Aphorisms+and+Reflections+zimmermann&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi9-smXgar8AhVoTaQEHer9A10Q6AF6BAgCEAI#v=onepage&q&f=false