Who really said it
Hermann Hesse wrote the underlying passage in Demian (1919). This English wording appears in the Michael Roloff and Michael Lebeck translation reproduced by Bookwise, in chapter 5.
Last verified 9 Nov 2026 · how we verify · spot an error?
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Verified quote & credit
“Who would be born must first destroy a world” Hermann Hesse, Demian, chapter 5, in the Michael Roloff and Michael Lebeck English translation; a fictional note from Demian to Sinclair.
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Evoking the world of Hermann Hesse — German-born Swiss novelist. Theme: "Who would be born must first destroy a world". Atmospheric and restrained, cinematic directional light, a muted period-appropriate palette, fine grain and texture. Compose with generous empty space for the quote and a small credit line. No lettering in the image itself.
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Provenance
Who would be born must first destroy a world.
Demian: translated textHow we verified this
The quotation is from a modern English translation credited to Michael Roloff and Michael Lebeck. It is treated as copyrighted; the 1919 German publication date does not make this English wording public domain.
Rights status is our research, not legal advice — and copyright varies by country and edition. For commercial or published use, confirm with the rightsholder. See terms.
Context
Sinclair has sent Demian a painting of a bird emerging from a globe. The reply compares the egg to a world that must be broken to make birth possible, then names Abraxas; its setting is a novel about the development of Sinclair’s identity.
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Names Roloff and Lebeck as translators; chapter 5 contains the exact sentence in Demian’s note to Sinclair.
Attributes the passage to Demian and presents a different English translation as a variant.
Biographical reference identifies Hesse’s novels and Nobel Prize.
English-translations list identifies Michael Roloff and Michael Lebeck, Harper & Row, 1965; edition metadata, not independent quotation proof.
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The author
For writers & researchers
Hesse, Hermann. Demian, chapter 5. English translation credited to Michael Roloff and Michael Lebeck in the Bookwise reproduction; German original 1919.
Quotle.info. “Who really said ‘Who would be born must first destroy a world’?” Last verified 9 Nov 2026. https://quotle.info/who-said/who-would-be-born-must-first-destroy-a-world/