There are people in every age who come early or late to a sense of the futility of the world. Some people, such as the monks of the desert, flee the entanglements of the world to rush toward eternity. But even for those who remain in the world, the approach of eternity is implacable. The glacier knocks in the cupboard, / The desert sighs in the bed, was W. H. Auden's mock-prophetic forecast. He meant the desert is incipient in the human condition. Time melts away from us. Even in luxuriant weather, even in luxuriant wealth, even in luxuriant youth, we know our bodies will fail; our buildings will fall to ruin.


Darling: A Spiritual Autobiography (2013)

Richard Rodriguez Quotes

There are people in every age who come early or late to a sense of the futility of the world. Some people, such as the monks of the desert, flee the...

There are people in every age who come early or late to a sense of the futility of the world. Some people, such as the monks of the desert, flee the...

There are people in every age who come early or late to a sense of the futility of the world. Some people, such as the monks of the desert, flee the...

There are people in every age who come early or late to a sense of the futility of the world. Some people, such as the monks of the desert, flee the...