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Ruin Quotes

Quotes on risk, downfall, and ambition

These ruin quotes treat collapse as often quiet and avoidable — a single misstep, a rushed decision — proof that Destruction rarely arrives without warning.

Drugs ruin peoples lives, break up families and have disastrous effects on our communities.

Quotes by Adam Rickitt

The slightest thing can ruin a scene, but you must be willing to take chances.

Quotes by William Wyler

There is no sure-fire way to get rich quickly. In fact, the pursuit of that usually leads to ruin.

Quotes by Whitney Tilson

Candor and generosity, unless tempered by due moderation, leads to ruin.

Quotes by Tacitus

Destruction Quotes

It takes one second to ruin a woman's life.

Quotes by Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy

Only a monopolist could study a business and ruin it by giving away products.

Quotes by Scott McNealy

The tribal system from which the Celt never freed himself entirely was the curse of the Celtic race, predooming it to ruin.

Quotes by Sabine Baring-Gould

Movies can't ruin books. They can only ruin movies.

Quotes by S. E. Hinton

I don't want to bother them and ruin the party they are preparing so carefully at La Scala.

Quotes by Riccardo Muti

Emotion Quotes

Success tempts many to their ruin.

Quotes by Phaedrus

The majority of Jews and Arabs want to get along. Don't let a few bad apples ruin it for everyone.

Quotes by Nuseir Yassin

Nations whose nationalism is destroyed are subject to ruin.

Quotes by Muammar al-Gaddafi

The road to ruin is always in good repair, and the travellers pay the expense of it.

Quotes by Josh Billings

Ignorance and inconsideration are the two great causes of the ruin of mankind.

Quotes by John Tillotson

History Quotes

Many have been ruined by their fortunes, and many have escaped ruin by the want of fortune. To obtain it the great have become little, and the little great.

Quotes by Johann Georg Zimmermann

It's so rare when marketing and press doesn't ruin your movie.

Quotes by Jeff Baena

If one has not influence to stem the torrent of popular delusion he is reduced to the melancholy part of a spectator in the midst of the ruin.

Quotes by James L. Petigru

Do not gain basely; base gain is equal to ruin.

Quotes by Hesiod

Any ICO going forward that doesn't use a 'Ticketmaster-style' queueing engine is clearly trying to ruin the ecosystem.

Quotes by Gil Penchina

Loss Quotes

Freedom in a commons brings ruin to all.

Quotes by Garrett Hardin

Frequently Asked Questions

What kind of "ruin" do these quotes mostly describe?
A mix of small, immediate mistakes — like one wrong move ruining a scene — and larger, slower forms of collapse tied to greed or history.
Is chasing wealth linked to ruin here?
Yes, one quote warns that there's no shortcut to getting rich, and pursuing one usually leads to ruin instead.
Do any quotes connect ruin to nations or history?
Yes, one states that nations whose nationalism is destroyed become subject to ruin, tying the idea to national identity.
Is risk-taking treated as necessary despite the chance of ruin?
Yes, one quote about scenes notes that the slightest thing can ruin them, but that taking chances is still worth the risk.
What's the overall tone of the ruin quotes on this page?
Cautionary but not fatalistic — each quote treats ruin as a real risk worth naming, not an inevitability.

Others zoom out to nations and history, noting that a country's nationalism, once destroyed, leaves it exposed to real Loss — a theme running through much of History.