"Terrified of faltering and remaining still, a man deceives himself by
burying his unfinished business under new tasks, which he will never
finish either, and in these fresh enterprises and endeavors seeks new
strength and a new lease of courage. And so he cheats himself and as
time goes on piles up an ever greater and more hopeless debt to himself
and to everyone around him."

Adapted from the english translation of "The Travnik Chronicle" by
Ivo Andriĉ