Decay quotes

Decay

228 quotes on this topic — from poets, philosophers, and thinkers across history.

228 quotes

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Decay quotes (page 3 of 12)

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Simone de Beauvoir Philosopher, Writer
Decay

"For me, the problem of time is linked up with that of death, with the thought that we inevitably draw closer and closer to it, with the horror of decay."

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Octavio Paz Poet, Essayist
Decay

"When a society decays, it is language that is first to become gangrenous. As a result, social criticism begins with grammar and the re-establishing of meanings"

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Laozi Philosopher
Decay

"Things exalted then decay. This is going against the Way. What goes against the Way meets an early end."

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Immanuel Kant Philosopher
Decay

"All false art, all vain wisdom, lasts its time but finally destroys itself, and its highest culture is also the epoch of its decay."

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Plato Philosopher
Decay

"Time on its back bears all things far away - Full many a challenge is wrought by many a day - Shape, fortune, name, and nature all decay"

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Winston Churchill Politician, Writer, Historian
Decay

"If the British Empire is fated to pass from life into history, we must hope it will not be by the slow process of dispersion and decay, but in some supreme exertion for freedom, for right and for truth."

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Nikos Kazantzakis Novelist, Playwright
Decay

"I loved my body and did not want it to perish; I loved my soul and did not want it to decay. I have fought to reconcile these two primordial forces."

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Rabindranath Tagore Poet, Playwright, Novelist
Decay

"God is neither manifest nor hidden; He is neither revealed nor unrevealed; there are no words to tell that which He is. He is without form, without quality, without decay."

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D. H. Lawrence Novelist, Poet
Decay

"He reflected on the decay of mankind-the decline of the human race into folly and weakness and rottenness. 'Be a good animal, true to your animal instinct' was his motto."

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C. S. Lewis Writer, Scholar
Decay

"When Catholicism goes bad it becomes the religion of amulets and holy places and priestcraft: Protestantism, in its corresponding decay, becomes a vague mist of ethical platitudes"

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"Man, who wert once a despot and a slave, A dupe and a deceiver! a decay, A traveller from the cradle to the grave Through the dim night of this immortal day."

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Bruce Springsteen Musician, Singer-songwriter
Decay

"For an adult, the world is constantly trying to clamp down on itself. Routine, responsibility, decay of institutions, corruption: this is all the world closing in."

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Aldous Huxley Novelist, Essayist
Decay

"Now, a corpse, poor thing, is an untouchable and the process of decay is, of all pieces of bad manners, the vulgarest imaginable. For a corpse is, by definition, a person absolutely devoid of savoir vivre."

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Alfred North Whitehead Philosopher, Mathematician
Decay

"Systems, scientific or philosophic, come and go. Each method of limited understanding is at length exhausted. In its prime each system is a triumphant success: in its decay it is an obstructive nuisance."

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