Famous quotes containing the words birth, rate and/or decline:
“I am not fooling myself with dreams of immortality, know how relative all literature is, dont have any faith in mankind, derive enjoyment from too few things. Sometimes these crises give birth to something worth while, sometimes they simply plunge one deeper into depression, but, of course, it is all part of the same thing.”
—Stefan Zweig (18811942)
“I dont know but a book in a mans brain is better off than a book bound in calfat any rate it is safer from criticism. And taking a book off the brain, is akin to the ticklish & dangerous business of taking an old painting off a panelyou have to scrape off the whole brain in order to get at it with due safety& even then, the painting may not be worth the trouble.”
—Herman Melville (18191891)
“Our achievements speak for themselves. What we have to keep track of are our failures, discouragements, and doubts. We tend to forget the past difficulties, the many false starts, and the painful groping. We see our past achievements as the end result of a clean forward thrust, and our present difficulties as signs of decline and decay.”
—Eric Hoffer (19021983)