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Zbigniew Herbert Quotes

1924–1998 Poland

Zbigniew Herbert (29 October 1924 – 28 July 1998) was a Polish poet, playwright and essayist.

Poland
Essayists
Playwrights
Poets

Also known as: Herbert, Zbigniew

Random Zbigniew Herbert quote

7 quotes

You survived not to live on
your time is short, you have to give a proof of truth

I turn to history not for lessons but to confront my experience with the experience of others and to win for myself a sense of responsibility for the state of the human conscience.

And do not forgive indeed it is beyond your power
to forgive in the name of those betrayed at dawn

Now that we're alone we can talk prince man to man
though you lie on the stairs and see no more than a dead ant.

The liver is not a gentleman.

And if the City falls and one survives
he shall carry the City within on the roads of exile
he shall be the City

Go where the others have gone, to the tenebrous limit
for the golden fleece of void, your ultimate prize
go upright among those who are on their knees
among those turning their backs on and those fallen to dust.

Attribution

Quotes and notes from Wikiquote: Zbigniew Herbert (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0.