Life (n.) is measured in deeds, not years; in thoughts, not breaths; in feelings, not in figures on a dial. We should count time by heartthrobs. He most lives who thinks most, feels the noblest, acts the best.
Life (n.) is not necessarily organic — nature makes so gradual a transition from the inanimate to the animate kingdom that the boundary lines which separate them are indistinct and doubtful"; and perhaps a degree of life exists even in the inorganic.
Life (n.) is the keeping of a fire: the soul is set aglow in the heart, and death is that heat's destruction.
Life (n.) is the maintenance of a participation: generation is first sharing, through warmth, in the nourishing soul, and life is keeping that share.