>>What does atheism have to do with this?
>>Don't get me wrong, I'm not an atheist; I'm agnostic.
I guess I was contemplating biblical references such as "In all thy works remember thy last end, and thou shalt never sin." That sort of belief seems to characterize most religion, and it seems less likely to cause bitterness or regret when our "last end" is staring us in the face.
FWIW, I was tempted to inscribe the fireplace mantel in the entrance of my new home "in púlverem revertéris" for the amusement of those who would "get" my inside joke. I still might.
"... They ne'er cared for us
yet: suffer us to famish, and their store-houses
crammed with grain; make edicts for usury, to
support usurers; repeal daily any wholesome act
established against the rich, and provide more
piercing statutes daily, to chain up and restrain
the poor. If the wars eat us not up, they will; and
there's all the love they bear us."
-- Shakespeare: Coriolanus, Act 1, scene 1
