Ezra Pound

"The moment a man ceases to learn, he begins to decay."

"Civilization is based on a very few things, and warps and forgets them."

"There is nothing to be said for the advantage of rank except the possibility of leading an honest life."

"The artist's struggle is not against the public; it is against himself."

"Money is the root of all good when justly distributed."

"One cannot despise these so-called scientific truths; one must simply recognize their limitations."

"The human heart has hidden treasures, in secret kept, in silence sealed."

"You do not know how much you can do until you try."

"War is the normal state of mankind."

"The technique of art is not necessarily the technique of poetry."

"To be alive is not to be at the mercy of caprice."

"Justice should not merely be done; it should manifestly be done."

"The average man has no more faith than the average dog."

"Abstraction is a rich man's game, and the poet must remember he is poor."

"The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion."

"Time is the greatest gift and the greatest curse."

"Nothing has permanence except change."

"The artist is always ahead of his time or behind it."

"Most men are not philosophers, most are simply victims of circumstance."

"Integrity is the backbone of character."

"A man can stand almost anything except a succession of ordinary days."

"Do not go to poets for wisdom; go to them for beauty and illumination."

"The pen is a formidable weapon, but not when used with weakness."

"History does not repeat itself, but it often rhymes."

"To understand one's nation, one must first understand its poetry."

"Patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet."

"The true alchemist does not seek gold; he seeks transformation."

"Great art always starts with passion and ends with precision."

"A society that refuses to care for its poets will soon find itself without culture."

"The music of words is what separates the poet from the journalist."