Original artwork, not a still
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone · 1997
To the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure.
Behind the line
What it means
Our interpretation.
It is Dumbledore's whole attitude to mortality in one sentence, offered to a boy of eleven who has just come close to dying. The calm is the comfort: the line suggests that fear of death belongs to a cluttered mind, and that a life well ordered can face the end with curiosity. It has become one of the most quoted Harry Potter lines at memorials.
Context reviewed
In context
Spoilers for Harry Potter and the Philosopher's StoneShow the scene
Chapter 17, "The Man with Two Faces", the last chapter before the end-of-term feast. Harry has survived the chamber beneath the trapdoor, where Quirrell wore Voldemort's face on the back of his head, and wakes in the hospital wing with Dumbledore nearby. The headmaster tells him the Philosopher's Stone has been destroyed, so Nicolas Flamel and his wife Perenelle, who lived on its Elixir of Life, will die, though they have enough time left to put their affairs in order. Dumbledore adds this line to explain why that is not a tragedy.
Sources (2)
- Wikibooks: Muggles' Guide to Harry Potter, Philosopher's Stone, Chapter 17SynopsisReference checked
- Wikiquote: Harry Potter and the Philosopher's StoneSection The Man with Two FacesReference checked
Context reviewed
