--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: And how to stop the rot? How to salvage…" description: "\"“And how to stop the rot? How to salvage something from time's passage? How long before the map makers decide to erase this structure completely? Befor..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bfb/richard-skelton-78070_poetry-emptiness-rui_and-how-to-stop-the-rot-how-to-salvage-s_1317681.jpg" --- # And how to stop the rot? How to salvage something from… ![“And how to stop the rot? How to salvage something from time's passage? How long before the map makers decide to erase this structure completely? Before it becomes a nameless ruin? And then a mere pile of stones? Mossed over. Forgotten. How long before they lift its name from their charts and from…” quote by richard skelton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bfb/richard-skelton-78070_poetry-emptiness-rui_and-how-to-stop-the-rot-how-to-salvage-s_1317681.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bfb/richard-skelton-78070_poetry-emptiness-rui_and-how-to-stop-the-rot-how-to-salvage-s_1317681.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bfb/richard-skelton-78070_poetry-emptiness-rui_and-how-to-stop-the-rot-how-to-salvage-s_1317681.jpg) > ““And how to stop the rot? How to salvage something from time's passage? How long before the map makers decide to erase this structure completely? Before it becomes a nameless ruin? And then a mere pile of stones? Mossed over. Forgotten. How long before they lift its name from their charts and from our collective memory? The only thing I can do is fill the place with music.”” richard skelton ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote reflects on decay and loss of memory, urging artistic creation to preserve what otherwise would be forgotten. **In simple terms:** Art can keep fading things alive. Key Takeaway Create art to resist forgetting. Themes memory impermanence artistic preservation history legacy Mood melancholic reflective hopeful Type philosophical inspirational poetic When to use this quote - museum curation - urban decay documentation - personal memorial projects - community storytelling Key Concepts existentialism cultural memory creative response Questions to Reflect On - What can you create to honor a vanishing place? - How does music change our perception of loss? A Different Perspective Art may not stop physical decay, only symbolic remembrance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ruin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ruin/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [Nothing stays forgotten for long, Elly. Sometimes we simply have to remind the world that we're special and that we're still here.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-winman/nothing-stays-forgotten-for-long-elly-sometimes-we-simply-have-to/) [Sarah Winman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-winman/) > [All of the people of my time were bound with chains. They had forgotten the long fields and the standing corn. They had forgotten…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherwood-anderson/all-of-the-people-of-my-time-were-bound-with-chains-they-had/) [Sherwood Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherwood-anderson/) > [“Neal, I want to ruin you for everyone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainbow-rowell/neal-i-want-to-ruin-you-for-everyone/) [Rainbow Rowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainbow-rowell/) > [Most humans recognize their ruin, but they carry on regardless.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leopold-von-ranke/most-humans-recognize-their-ruin-but-they-carry-on-regardless/) [Leopold von Ranke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leopold-von-ranke/) > [Happiness is always the inaccessible castle which sinks in ruin when we set foot on it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arsene-houssaye/happiness-is-always-the-inaccessible-castle-which-sinks-in-ruin-when/) [Arsene Houssaye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arsene-houssaye/) > [I’d ruin any day, all my days, for those long nights with you, and I did.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-handler/i-d-ruin-any-day-all-my-days-for-those-long-nights-with-you-and-i-did/) [Daniel Handler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-handler/) > [Fear is one thing that can ruin everything. It's the greatest problem.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boman-irani/fear-is-one-thing-that-can-ruin-everything-it-s-the-greatest-problem/) [Boman Irani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boman-irani/) > [“There is a great deal of ruin in a nation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-smith/there-is-a-great-deal-of-ruin-in-a-nation/) [Adam Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-smith/) > [Ruin, eldest daughter of Zeus, she blinds us all, that fatal madness—she with those delicate feet of hers, never touching the earth, gliding over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/ruin-eldest-daughter-of-zeus-she-blinds-us-all-that-fatal-madness-she/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [Dnt let ur past to ruin your present…..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aku/dnt-let-ur-past-to-ruin-your-present/) Aku > [No One Can Ruin Your Day Without YOUR Permission.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/no-one-can-ruin-your-day-without-your-permission/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“He feared that by leaving her he would ruin her life - so he stayed, and did just that.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/he-feared-that-by-leaving-her-he-would-ruin-her-life-so-he-stayed-and/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [I loved Twitter. But I was going to end up saying something that would get me into trouble. I have kept a clean nose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/micah-richards/i-loved-twitter-but-i-was-going-to-end-up-saying-something-that-would/) [Micah Richards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/micah-richards/) > [The less we show our love to a woman, Or please her less, and neglect our duty, The more we trap and ruin her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pushkin/the-less-we-show-our-love-to-a-woman-or-please-her-less-and-neglect/) [Alexander Pushkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pushkin/) > [“Knowledge without conscience is but the ruin of the soul.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabelaise/knowledge-without-conscience-is-but-the-ruin-of-the-soul/) Rabelaise ## More by richard skelton > [“How to begin writing this down? Shall it be a simple inventory? A list of parts. Names. Dates. Genealogies. Sound begetting sound. Endless melody.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-skelton/how-to-begin-writing-this-down-shall-it-be-a-simple-inventory-a-list/) Richard Skelton > [“A night of exhilaration, of boredom and terror, in which the merest of sounds took on other forms - grew large in the expanse…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-skelton/a-night-of-exhilaration-of-boredom-and-terror-in-which-the-merest-of/) richard skelton Explore all 3 richard skelton quotes ## More Ruin quotes > [“Knowledge without conscience is but the ruin of the soul.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabelaise/knowledge-without-conscience-is-but-the-ruin-of-the-soul/) Rabelaise > [The less we show our love to a woman, Or please her less, and neglect our duty, The more we trap and ruin her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pushkin/the-less-we-show-our-love-to-a-woman-or-please-her-less-and-neglect/) [Alexander Pushkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pushkin/) > [I loved Twitter. But I was going to end up saying something that would get me into trouble. I have kept a clean nose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/micah-richards/i-loved-twitter-but-i-was-going-to-end-up-saying-something-that-would/) [Micah Richards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/micah-richards/) > [“He feared that by leaving her he would ruin her life - so he stayed, and did just that.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/he-feared-that-by-leaving-her-he-would-ruin-her-life-so-he-stayed-and/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [No One Can Ruin Your Day Without YOUR Permission.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/no-one-can-ruin-your-day-without-your-permission/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Dnt let ur past to ruin your present…..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aku/dnt-let-ur-past-to-ruin-your-present/) Aku > [Ruin, eldest daughter of Zeus, she blinds us all, that fatal madness—she with those delicate feet of hers, never touching the earth, gliding over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/ruin-eldest-daughter-of-zeus-she-blinds-us-all-that-fatal-madness-she/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [“There is a great deal of ruin in a nation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-smith/there-is-a-great-deal-of-ruin-in-a-nation/) [Adam Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-smith/) > [Fear is one thing that can ruin everything. It's the greatest problem.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boman-irani/fear-is-one-thing-that-can-ruin-everything-it-s-the-greatest-problem/) [Boman Irani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boman-irani/) > [I’d ruin any day, all my days, for those long nights with you, and I did.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-handler/i-d-ruin-any-day-all-my-days-for-those-long-nights-with-you-and-i-did/) [Daniel Handler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-handler/) > [Happiness is always the inaccessible castle which sinks in ruin when we set foot on it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arsene-houssaye/happiness-is-always-the-inaccessible-castle-which-sinks-in-ruin-when/) [Arsene Houssaye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arsene-houssaye/) > [Most humans recognize their ruin, but they carry on regardless.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leopold-von-ranke/most-humans-recognize-their-ruin-but-they-carry-on-regardless/) [Leopold von Ranke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leopold-von-ranke/) > [“Neal, I want to ruin you for everyone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainbow-rowell/neal-i-want-to-ruin-you-for-everyone/) [Rainbow Rowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainbow-rowell/) > [Don't ruin the present with the ruined past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-gilchrist/don-t-ruin-the-present-with-the-ruined-past/) [Ellen Gilchrist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-gilchrist/) > [In spring they lie flat at the first warmth, they ruin my summer and in autumn they smell of women.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugo-claus/in-spring-they-lie-flat-at-the-first-warmth-they-ruin-my-summer-and/) [Hugo Claus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugo-claus/) [Browse all 538 Ruin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ruin/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“And how to stop the rot? How to salvage something from time's passage? How long before the map makers decide to erase this structure completely? Before it becomes a nameless ruin? And then a mere pile of stones? Mossed over. Forgotten. How long before they lift its name from their charts and from our collective memory? The only thing I can do is fill the place with music.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "richard skelton" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-skelton/and-how-to-stop-the-rot-how-to-salvage-something-from-time-s-passage/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ruin" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-skelton/and-how-to-stop-the-rot-how-to-salvage-something-from-time-s-passage/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bfb/richard-skelton-78070_poetry-emptiness-rui_and-how-to-stop-the-rot-how-to-salvage-s_1317681.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bfb/richard-skelton-78070_poetry-emptiness-rui_and-how-to-stop-the-rot-how-to-salvage-s_1317681.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bfb/richard-skelton-78070_poetry-emptiness-rui_and-how-to-stop-the-rot-how-to-salvage-s_1317681.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“And how to stop the rot? How to salvage something from time's passage? How long before the map makers decide…” — richard skelton", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "richard skelton", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-skelton/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“And how to stop the rot?...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-skelton/and-how-to-stop-the-rot-how-to-salvage-something-from-time-s-passage/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-skelton/and-how-to-stop-the-rot-how-to-salvage-something-from-time-s-passage/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```