Stone-cutters fighting time with marble, you fore-defeated Challengers of oblivion Eat cynical earnings, knowing rock splits, records fall down, The square-limbed Roman letters Scale in the thaws, wear in the rain.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Artists fight against time, but even their greatest works eventually crumble and fade away.
- In plain terms
- Even stone monuments fall apart over time despite our efforts.
- What can you take from it?
- Accept that all human creations are temporary.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- Does the temporary nature of work make it less valuable?
- How do you find meaning in things that fade?
Another view
Some art lasts longer than we expect and can still inspire.
More from Robinson Jeffers
Happy people die whole, they are all dissolved in a moment, they have had what they wanted
Permalink to quote #4 I believe that the Universe is one being, all its parts are different expressions of the same energy, and they are all in communication with each other, theref…
Permalink to quote #6 Mother, though my song's measure is like your surf-beat's ancient rhythm I never learned it of you. Before there was any water there were tides of fire, both o…
Permalink to quote #3
Related quotes
History repeats itself, but the special call of an art which has passed away is never reproduced. It is as utterly gone out of the world as the song of a destr…
Joseph ConradJoseph Conrad quote #43 At present, I am a poet trying to be a soldier. To tell the truth, I am not interested in writing nowadays, except in so far as writing is the expression of so…
Joyce KilmerJoyce Kilmer quote #1 Citizen Kane is perhaps the one American talking picture that seems as fresh now as the day it opened. It may seem even fresher.
Pauline KaelPauline Kael quote #3