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Life is that which can hold a purpose for three thousand years and never yield. The individual fails, but life succeeds. The individual is foolish, but life holds in its blood and seed the wisdom of generations. The individual dies, but life, tireless and undiscourageble, goes on, wondering, longing, planning, trying, mounting, longing.

— Will Durant Fallen Leaves (2014)

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More quotes by Will Durant

It is a mistake to think that the past is dead. Nothing that has ever happened is quite without influence at this moment.

The Gentle Philosopher (2006)

Power dements even more than it corrupts, lowering the guard of foresight and raising the haste of action.

The Story of Civilization (1935)

Caesar and Christ had met in the arena, and Christ had won.

The Story of Civilization (1935)

I felt more keenly than before the need of a philosophy that would do justice to the infinite vitality of nature.

Transition (1927)

There is nothing in Greek civilization that does not illuminate our own.

The Story of Civilization (1935)

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Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Will Durant (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.