A nation is born stoic, and dies epicurean. At its cradle (to repeat a thoughtful adage) religion stands, and philosophy accompanies it to the grave. In the beginning of all cultures a strong religious faith conceals and softens the nature of things, and gives men courage to bear pain and hardship patiently; at every step the gods are with them, and will not let them perish, until they do. Even then a firm faith will explain that it was the sins of the people that turned their gods to an avenging wrath; evil does not destroy faith, but strengthens it. If victory comes, if war is forgotten in security and peace, then wealth grows; the life of the body gives way, in the dominant classes, to the life of the senses and the mind; toil and suffering are replaced by pleasure and ease; science weakens faith even while thought and comfort weaken virility and fortitude. At last men begin to doubt the gods; they mourn the tragedy of knowledge, and seek refuge in every passing delight. Achilles is at the beginning, Epicurus at the end. After David comes Job, and after Job, Ecclesiastes. Will Durant
About This Quote

The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall. If we fall, we must get up and try again. This is what is meant by the quote above. The idea is that there is always something new to learn and something better to accomplish.

If we never fall, we will never learn anything and we will never accomplish anything. The quote above is a great example of how life and love and happiness all come from the ups and downs of life. It might seem like nothing can be done when you are down or in an unhappy situation, but you must keep trying and keep working toward getting back to where you were before.

Source: Our Oriental Heritage

Some Similar Quotes
  1. Sometimes I feel like we're a knot, too tangled to be taken apart. - Kiera Cass
  2. Isn’t it queer: there are only two or three human stories, and they go on repeating themselves as fiercely as if they had never happened before; like the larks in this country, that have been singing the same five notes over for thousands of years. - Willa Cather
  3. Learning the truth has become my life's love. - Dan Brown
  4. I am not a victim. No matter what I have been through, I'm still here. I have a history of victory. - Steve Maraboli
  5. It is better to fill your head with useless knowledge than no knowledge at all. - Jim Hinckley
More Quotes By Will Durant
  1. Science is organized knowledge. Wisdom is organized life.
  2. And last are the few whose delight is in meditation and understanding; who yearn not for goods, nor for victory, but for knowledge; who leave both market and battlefield to lose themselves in the quiet clarity of secluded thought; whose will is a light rather...
  3. Education is a progressive discovery of our own ignorance.
  4. Civilization is not inherited it has to be learned and earned by each generation anew…
  5. Civilization exists by geological consent, subject to change without notice.
Related Topics