131 Quotes by Czesław Miłosz

LearningTo believe you are magnificent. And gradually to discover that you are not magnificent. Enough labor for one human life.

The purpose of poetry is to remind ushow difficult it is to remain just one person,for our house is open, there are no keys in the doors, and invisible guests come in and out at will.

You see how I tryTo reach with wordsWhat matters mostAnd how I fail.

It is sweet to think I was a companion in an expedition that never ends

In the very essence of poetry there is something indecent; A thing brought forth that we didn't know we had in us, So we blink our eyes, as if a tiger had sprung out And stood in the light, licking its tail.

I have defined poetry as a 'passionate pursuit of the Real.

The purpose of poetry is to remind us / how difficult it is to remain just one person...

I have heard that voice many a time when asleepand, what is strange, I understood more or lessan order or an appeal in an unearthly tongue:day draws nearanother onedo what you can.

A true opium of the people is a belief in nothingness after death - the huge solace of thinking that for our betrayals, greed, cowardice, murders we are not going to be judged.