Themes
There is no cure for birth and death save to enjoy the interval.
— George Santayana · War Shrines
Behind the line May contain spoilers.
Our reading
An editorial interpretation.
Birth and death cannot be remedied, the speaker says, so the only sensible response is to savor the stretch between them. The line treats mortality as a fixed condition rather than a problem to solve, and turns attention to the brief, ordinary time we actually have.
Context reviewed