Human material seems to have one major defect: it does not like to be… — Czeslaw Milosz

Human material seems to have one major defect: it does not like to be considered merely as human material. It finds it hard to endure the feeling that it must resign itself to passive acceptance of changes introduced from above.

Czeslaw MiloszPoet · 1911 – 2004

More from Czeslaw Milosz

Through perseverance many people win success out of what seemed destined to be certain failure. — Benjamin Disraeli
The spirit is the true self. The spirit, the will to win, and the will to excel are the things that endure. — Marcus Tullius Cicero
To be able to endure odium is the first art to be learned by those who aspire to power. — Lucius Annaeus Seneca
The voice of passion is better than the voice of reason. The passionless cannot change history. — Czeslaw Milosz
It is impossible to communicate to people who have not experienced it the undefinable menace of total rationalism. — Czeslaw Milosz
What is poetry which does not save nations or people? — Czeslaw Milosz