Who said: "The purpose of life is to be defeated by greater and greater things."

BookBrowse's Favorite Quotes

"The purpose of life is to be defeated by greater and greater things."
- Rainer Maria Rilke


Rainer Maria RilkeRainer Maria Rilke (1875-1926) is considered one of the German language's greatest 20th century poets. He was born in Prague (then part of the Austro-Hungarian empire) and studied in Prague, Munich and Berlin. His works in German include Das Stundenbuch (The Book of Hours), written after visiting Russia; Die Sonnette an Orpheus (Sonnets to Orpheus) and Duineser Elegien (Duion Elegies). He also wrote about 400 poems in French dedicated to Valais in Switzerland, his homeland of choice, where he died of leukemia at just 51 years of age.


More quotes by Rilke
This is the miracle that happens every time to those who really love: the more they give, the more they possess.

The only journey is the one within.

Love is like the measles. The older you get it, the worse the attack.

I hold this to be the highest task for a bond between two people: that each protects the solitude of the other.

More Quotes

This quote & biography originally ran in an issue of BookBrowse's membership magazine. Full Membership Features & Benefits.

Become a Member

Join BookBrowse today to start discovering exceptional books!

Find out more


Top Picks

  • Book Jacket: Daughter in Exile
    Daughter in Exile
    by Bisi Adjapon
    In Bisi Adjapon's Daughter in Exile, main character Lola is a Ghanaian who lands in New York City in...
  • Book Jacket
    The Correspondents
    by Judith Mackrell
    In the introduction to The Correspondents, author Judith Mackrell points out that although there had...
  • Book Jacket: Exiles
    Exiles
    by Jane Harper
    Our First Impressions readers were thrilled to return to the world of Jane Harper's protagonist ...
  • Book Jacket: Spice Road
    Spice Road
    by Maiya Ibrahim
    Imani is a Shield, a warrior who is renowned for her fighting abilities and for her iron dagger, ...

Book Club Discussion

Book Jacket
The Nurse's Secret
by Amanda Skenandore
A fascinating historical novel based on the little-known story of America's first nursing school.

Members Recommend

  • Book Jacket

    Once We Were Home
    by Jennifer Rosner

    From the author of The Yellow Bird Sings, a novel based on the true stories of children stolen in the wake of World War II.

  • Book Jacket

    The Last Russian Doll
    by Kristen Loesch

    A haunting epic of betrayal, revenge, and redemption following three generations of Russian women.

Win This Book
Win Last House Before the Mountain

Last House Before the Mountain by Monika Helfer

A spellbinding, internationally bestselling family saga set in a fractured rural village in WWI Austria.

Enter

Wordplay

Solve this clue:

R Peter T P P

and be entered to win..

Your guide toexceptional          books

BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.