" He has outlived dissatisfaction. This is what remains after the passing of everything, the disciplined sadness of stoicism. This is the cooling. For so long it’s so hot, everything in life is so intense, and then little by little it goes away, and then comes the cooling, and then comes the ashes. "

― Philip Roth , I Married a Communist (Complete Nathan Zuckerman #7/The American Trilogy, #2)