Harold Rosenberg, in Robert Andrews The New Penguin Dictionary of Modern Quotations, Penguin UK, 30 October 2003, p. 1473.
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The story of Americans is the story of arrested metamorphoses. Those who achieve success come to a halt and accept themselves as they are. Those who fail become resigned and accept themselves as they are.

— Harold Rosenberg on Metamorphosis

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "The story of Americans is the story of arrested metamorphoses. Those who achieve success come to a halt and accept themselves as they are. Those who fail become resigned and accept themselves as they are." in the context of "Harold Rosenberg, in Robert Andrews The New Penguin Dictionary of Modern Quotations, Penguin UK, 30 October 2003, p. 1473." to mean that wisdom is timeless.

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Source: Wikiquote: "Metamorphosis" (M - R) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app

About Harold Rosenberg

Harold Rosenberg (February 2, 1906 – July 11, 1978) was an American art critic, educator and historian. His essay on Action painting of 1952 made him an important voice in the New York art world.