That public men publish falsehoods Is nothing new. That America must accept Like the historical republics corruption and empire Has been known for years. Be angry at the sun for setting If these things anger you. Watch the wheel slope and tum. They are all bound on the wheel, these people, those warriors, This republic, Europe, Asia. Observe them gesticulating, Observe them going down. The gang serves lies, the passionate Man plays his part; the cold passion for truth Hunts in no pack. You are not CatulIus, you know, To lampoon these crude sketches of Caesar. You are far From Dante’s feet, but even farther from his dirty Political hatred S. Let boys want pleasure, and men Struggle for power, and women perhaps for fame, And the servile to serve a Leader and the dupes to be duped. Yours is not theirs.Robinson Jeffers
About This Quote
The quote above comes from a poem by William Butler Yeats. It is a simple but consistent description of the world we live in today. We are all bound to the wheel, whether it is our own wheel or someone else's. We are all subject to the same laws that govern the universe, and they are all inexorable.
We all have our paths of destiny, but just because we are surrounded by others who are bound to the same path doesn't mean that we won't slip off at some point or another. The poem goes on to say that people will join together in groups and try to do good deeds for themselves and others. However, they often fall short of achieving their true goals, either because they commit wrongs against one another or because of their own misgivings.
Like Caesar's enemies, they are wont to criticize each other's works even if they happen to be positive or loved by many.
Source: Selected Poems
Some Similar Quotes
- I wonder if fears ever really go away, or if they just lose their power over us.
- The day the power of love overrules the love of power, the world will know peace.
- Keep your best wishes, close to your heart and watch what happens
- I met an old lady once, almost a hundred years old, and she told me, 'There are only two questions that human beings have ever fought over, all through history. How much do you love me? And Who's in charge?
- This life is yours. Take the power to choose what you want to do and do it well. Take the power to love what you want in life and love it honestly. Take the power to walk in the forest and be a part of...
More Quotes By Robinson Jeffers
- What is this thing called life? I believe That the earth and the stars too, and the whole glittering universe, and rocks on the mountains have life, Only we do not call it so-- I speak of the life That oxidizes fats and proteins and...
- You have perhaps heard some false reports On the subject of God. He is not dead; and he is not a fable. He is not mocked nor forgotten-- Successfully. God is a lion that comes in the night. <span style="margin:15px; display:block"></span>God is a hawk gliding...
- I've changed my ways a little, I cannot now Run with you in the evenings along the shore, Except in a kind of dream, and you, if you dream a moment, You see me there.
- The tides are in our veins, we still mirror the stars, life is your child, but there is in me Older and harder than life and more impartial, the eye that watched before there was an ocean.
- 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. The poet as well Builds his monument mockingly; For man will be blotted...