Should Quotes by Robertson Davies

9 Should quotes by Robertson Davies

All Should quotes Robertson Davies’s page

Robertson Davies offers nine compact, literary‑flavored observations on the pressures of expectation. His nuanced phrasing adds a touch of elegance to the simple question of what we ought to do.

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If we seek the pleasures of love, passion should be occasional, and common sense continual.

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And why should it not be terrifying? A little terror, in my view, is good for the soul, when it is terror…

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If I had to describe my remarks this evening frankly as if I were in police court and on oath, so to…

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Not enough attention is paid to the negative side of fashion. Great effort is exerted to make people look smart, but somebody…

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I think we should see whether we are wise trying to educate everybody to a high standard the way we are trying…

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That is the operatic problem; the singer must keep up a big head of steam while trying to appear secretive, or seductive,…

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Though thousands of people indulge themselves in it regularly, and even develop a taste for it, there is no doubt in my…

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Our forebears are deserving of tribute for one indisputable reason, if for no other: without them we should not be here. Let…

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'Children, don't speak so coarsely,' said Mr Webster, who had a vague notion that some supervision should be exercised over his daughters'…

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“...the irrational will have its say, perhaps because 'irrational' is the wrong word for it.”

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If you're going to do something that looks evil, don't smear it with icing and pretend it's good; just bloody well do it and…

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Extraordinary people survive under the most terrible circumstances and they become more extraordinary because of it.

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Although there may be nothing new under the sun, what is old is new to us and so rich and astonishing that we never…

Robertson Davies

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If I had to describe my remarks this evening frankly as if I were in police court and on oath, so to speak I…

Robertson Davies

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The people of the United States, perhaps more than any other nation in history, love to abase themselves and proclaim their unworthiness, and seem…

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I don't suppose God laughs at the people who think He doesn't exist. He's above jokes. But the devil isn't. That's one of his…

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Inactivity and deprivation of all accustomed stimulus is not rest; it is a preparation for the tomb

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“My lifelong involvement with Mrs Dempster began at 5:58 o'clock p.m. on 27 December 1908, at which time I was ten years and seven months old.”

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In a government like ours, the Crown is the abiding and unshakable element in government; politicians may come and go, but the Crown remains…

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The art of the quoter is to know when to stop.

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There can be no doubt that Samuel Marchbanks is one of the choice and master spirits of this age. If there were such a…

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Nobody who looks as though he enjoyed life is ever called distinguished, though he is a man in a million.

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They're all so highly educated, you know. Education is a great shield against experience. It offers so much, ready-made and all from the best…

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Students today are a pretty solemn lot. One of the really notable achievements of the twentieth century has been to make the young old…

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