--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: My position was a common one; I wanted to…" description: "\"“My position was a common one; I wanted to do the right thing but could not help regretting the damnable expense.”\" — Robertson Davies" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/097/robertson-davies-834_regretting_my-position-was-a-common-one-i-wanted-to_2864059.png" --- # My position was a common one; I wanted to do the right… ![“My position was a common one; I wanted to do the right thing but could not help regretting the damnable expense.” quote by Robertson Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/097/robertson-davies-834_regretting_my-position-was-a-common-one-i-wanted-to_2864059.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/097/robertson-davies-834_regretting_my-position-was-a-common-one-i-wanted-to_2864059.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/097/robertson-davies-834_regretting_my-position-was-a-common-one-i-wanted-to_2864059.png) > ““My position was a common one; I wanted to do the right thing but could not help regretting the damnable expense.”” [Robertson Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robertson-davies/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Good intentions can be costly, leading to regret over expenses. **In simple terms:** Doing right can be expensive. Key Takeaway Weigh costs before acting. Themes ethics economics regret Mood reflective cautious Type philosophical advice When to use this quote - budget planning - charitable giving - business decisions Key Concepts cost‑benefit analysis moral dilemmas Questions to Reflect On - Is the expense justified? - What alternatives exist? A Different Perspective Sometimes sacrifice is necessary. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Right thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/right-thing/) ## Related quotes > [I think people can at least appreciate the sensibility behind the position I have. It is not a pro-marijuana position. 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I didn't want the glory or the pay; I wanted the right thing done. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/i-went-to-war-because-i-couldn-t-help-it-i-didn-t-want-the-glory-or/) [Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/) > [During my practising I wanted to find the right technique for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-ward-prowse/during-my-practising-i-wanted-to-find-the-right-technique-for-me/) [James Ward-Prowse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-ward-prowse/) > [“Wasn’t that the definition of adulthood? That you wanted one thing, but did another because you knew what was right and good, and wanted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/wasn-t-that-the-definition-of-adulthood-that-you-wanted-one-thing-but/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [I wanted to do everything right. 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That's one of his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robertson-davies/i-don-t-suppose-god-laughs-at-the-people-who-think-he-doesn-t-exist/) [Robertson Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robertson-davies/) > [Inactivity and deprivation of all accustomed stimulus is not rest; it is a preparation for the tomb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robertson-davies/inactivity-and-deprivation-of-all-accustomed-stimulus-is-not-rest-it/) [Robertson Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robertson-davies/) > [“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.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robertson-davies/my-lifelong-involvement-with-mrs-dempster-began-at-5-58-o-clock-p-m/) [Robertson Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robertson-davies/) > [In a government like ours, the Crown is the abiding and unshakable element in government; politicians may come and go, but the Crown remains…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robertson-davies/in-a-government-like-ours-the-crown-is-the-abiding-and-unshakable/) [Robertson Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robertson-davies/) > [The art of the quoter is to know when to stop.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robertson-davies/the-art-of-the-quoter-is-to-know-when-to-stop/) [Robertson Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robertson-davies/) > [There can be no doubt that Samuel Marchbanks is one of the choice and master spirits of this age. If there were such a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robertson-davies/there-can-be-no-doubt-that-samuel-marchbanks-is-one-of-the-choice-and/) [Robertson Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robertson-davies/) > [Nobody who looks as though he enjoyed life is ever called distinguished, though he is a man in a million.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robertson-davies/nobody-who-looks-as-though-he-enjoyed-life-is-ever-called/) [Robertson Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robertson-davies/) > [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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robertson-davies/they-re-all-so-highly-educated-you-know-education-is-a-great-shield/) [Robertson Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robertson-davies/) > [Students today are a pretty solemn lot. One of the really notable achievements of the twentieth century has been to make the young old…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robertson-davies/students-today-are-a-pretty-solemn-lot-one-of-the-really-notable/) [Robertson Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robertson-davies/) [Explore all 357 Robertson Davies quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robertson-davies/) ## More Regretting quotes > [“She had been lonely, the kiss hadn't meant anything, and he was clearly regretting it. How many mistakes did that sentence encapsulate in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thea-harrison/she-had-been-lonely-the-kiss-hadn-t-meant-anything-and-he-was-clearly/) [Thea Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thea-harrison/) > [ \[When I die\], I will decidedly not be regretting missed opportunities for a good time. My regrets will be more along the lines of… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-bourdain/when-i-die-i-will-decidedly-not-be-regretting-missed-opportunities/) [Anthony Bourdain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-bourdain/) > [I can always tell, Wormtail! You are regretting that you ever returned to me. I revolt you. I see you flinch when you look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-voldemort/i-can-always-tell-wormtail-you-are-regretting-that-you-ever-returned/) [Lord Voldemort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-voldemort/) > [I didn't like who I was. I spent a lot of my life regretting who I was, which is a sad thing to say.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-gethard/i-didn-t-like-who-i-was-i-spent-a-lot-of-my-life-regretting-who-i-was/) [Chris Gethard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-gethard/) > [I hate myself for doing the things I do, I hate that I wake up regretting the things I have done, I hate feeling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashley/i-hate-myself-for-doing-the-things-i-do-i-hate-that-i-wake-up/) [Ashley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashley/) > [Regret for time wasted can become a power for good in the time that remains, if we will only stop the waste and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-brisbane/regret-for-time-wasted-can-become-a-power-for-good-in-the-time-that/) [Arthur Brisbane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-brisbane/) > [“I'm sorry you don't want to know me anymore. I will spend the rest of my life regretting the fact that I wasted my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvain-reynard/i-m-sorry-you-don-t-want-to-know-me-anymore-i-will-spend-the-rest-of/) [Sylvain Reynard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvain-reynard/) > [“There are two kinds of guilt: the kind that drowns you until you’re useless, and the kind that fires your soul to purpose.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sabaa-tahir/there-are-two-kinds-of-guilt-the-kind-that-drowns-you-until-you-re/) [Sabaa Tahir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sabaa-tahir/) > [I'm trying to be better for my son. And regretting every moment that I'm not spending with him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cory-barlog/i-m-trying-to-be-better-for-my-son-and-regretting-every-moment-that-i/) [Cory Barlog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cory-barlog/) > [Regretting the past does not prevent me from repeating it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/regretting-the-past-does-not-prevent-me-from-repeating-it/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [I don't believe in regretting - one should try to move on. My mum was good at that. She was deeply in love with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-winston/i-don-t-believe-in-regretting-one-should-try-to-move-on-my-mum-was/) [Robert Winston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-winston/) > [The feeling of being deceived, completely betrayed by someone so close to your clueless heart. You tell them everything, all the emotions and ideas…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-feeling-of-being-deceived-completely-betrayed-by-someone-so-close/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There's no point regretting things. If you can't do the time, don't do the crime. Life's too short to worry about things I've said.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robbie-williams/there-s-no-point-regretting-things-if-you-can-t-do-the-time-don-t-do/) [Robbie Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robbie-williams/) > [Love is... what I gave you, Noona. That is love. After you lost it, you realized how precious it was. You're regretting it to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ma-roo/love-is-what-i-gave-you-noona-that-is-love-after-you-lost-it-you/) [Ma-Roo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ma-roo/) > [“What have you done? (Apollymi) Mulling mostly coupled with a shot or two of reminiscing and a drop of regretting a few past decisions.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/what-have-you-done-apollymi-mulling-mostly-coupled-with-a-shot-or-two/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) Browse all 126 Regretting quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“My position was a common one; I wanted to do the right thing but could not help regretting the damnable expense.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Robertson Davies" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robertson-davies/my-position-was-a-common-one-i-wanted-to-do-the-right-thing-but-could/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Regretting" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robertson-davies/my-position-was-a-common-one-i-wanted-to-do-the-right-thing-but-could/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/097/robertson-davies-834_regretting_my-position-was-a-common-one-i-wanted-to_2864059.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/097/robertson-davies-834_regretting_my-position-was-a-common-one-i-wanted-to_2864059.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/097/robertson-davies-834_regretting_my-position-was-a-common-one-i-wanted-to_2864059.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“My position was a common one; I wanted to do the right thing but could not help regretting the damnable…” — Robertson Davies", "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": "Robertson Davies", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robertson-davies/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“My position was a common one;...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robertson-davies/my-position-was-a-common-one-i-wanted-to-do-the-right-thing-but-could/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robertson-davies/my-position-was-a-common-one-i-wanted-to-do-the-right-thing-but-could/#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 } } ] } ```