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Robertson Davies Quotes

There are great numbers of people to whom the act of reading a book - any sort of book - is wondrous; they speak of the reader in the tone of warm approbation which they use otherwise when referring to pregnant women, or the newly dead Picture Quote #1

And how often do we meet the man who prefaces his remarks with: I was reading a book last night... In the too loud, overenunciated fashion of one who might be saying: I keep a hippogryph in my basement. Reading confers status Picture Quote #1

Any enjoyment or profit we get from life, we get now; to kill now is to abridge our own lives Picture Quote #1

Bookes give no wisdom where none was before, But where some is, there reading makes it more Picture Quote #1

Long toil and short leisure are part of the heavy price we pay for our North American standard of living. It is reputed to be the highest in the world, and so it should be, for it is bought at an inordinate price Picture Quote #1

The true realist is he who believes in both God and the Devil, and is prepared to attempt, with humility, to sort out some corner of the extraordinary tangle of their works which is our world. He cannot use his feeling alone, he must use his intellect Picture Quote #1

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In an age where public health has never been better provided for, and medical men enjoy a respect formerly reserved for the aristocracy and the clergy, millions of people are unwell, or merely feel unwell, or are in dread lest at some future time they may become unwell Picture Quote #1

The day has long passed when a university degree was a guarantee of experience in the humanities, or of literacy beyond its barest meaning of being able, after a fashion, to read and write Picture Quote #1

There is no disputing about tastes, says the old saw. In my experience there is little else Picture Quote #1

Women always think that if they tell a man not to be pompous that will shut him up, but I am an old hand at that game. I know that if a man bides his time his moment will come Picture Quote #1

The devil gave me a look which made me profoundly uneasy. 'Just because I am enjoying your sympathy, don't imagine that I cannot read you like a book,' he said. 'You think you are cleverer than I; it is a very common academic delusion Picture Quote #1

Such rebellion is too deep and too constant to express itself in picketing, marching, sitting-in or freaking out; it is the serious, unresting protest of serious people. It is 24-hours-a-day rebellion, not intermittent, showy, status-seeking public uproar. It is rebellion as a way of life Picture Quote #1

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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 to do now. There has to be a high level of education so everybody is literate, but whether university education is necessary for everyone is open to question Picture Quote #1

In too many modern churches there is no emphasis on theology at all. There is a kind of justification by works or by keeping up with modern trends - anything that will drag in a few more people Picture Quote #1

Let people alone. Let them find their way. Let them find their level and you may sometimes be delighted and astonished at the extraordinary high level to which they'll rise if they're let alone Picture Quote #1

Happiness is a by-product. It is not a primary product of life. It is a thing which you suddenly realize you have because you're so delighted to be doing something which perhaps has nothing whatever to do with happiness Picture Quote #1

Humour very often consists of shrewd perceptions about people. It's usually fun at someone's expense. Nowadays if you're funny at anybody's expense they run to the UN and say, I must have an ombudsman to protect me. You hardly dare have a shrewd perception about anybody Picture Quote #1

I think we're living in an age which despises humanity and despises bravery and doesn't need bravery because modern warfare has rather gone beyond bravery. It is a kind of warfare where people are fighting enemies they never see, killing people of whom they know nothing Picture Quote #1

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Are you going to be just kind of a walking monument to a job, or are you going to have some kind of really significant inner life of your own? Because the external things - the job, the house, the this, the that - do not really fill the place inside Picture Quote #1

Marriage is a framework to preserve friendship. It is valuable because it gives much more room to develop than just living together. It provides a base from which a person can work at understanding himself and another person Picture Quote #1

I have no skills with machines. I fear them, and because I cannot help attributing human qualities to them, I suspect that they hate me and will kill me if they can Picture Quote #1

I have known far too many university graduates, in this country and in my own, who, as soon as they have received the diploma which declares them to be of Certified Intelligence, put their brains in cold storage and never use them again until they are hauled away to the mortuary Picture Quote #1

Modern disillusion is unlikely to last forever, and nothing rings so hollow as the angst of yesterday Picture Quote #1

Poetry which has decided to do without music, to divorce itself from song, has thrown away much of its reason for being Picture Quote #1

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His face was tense with pain. But then, who notices when they meet a theatre critic whose face is tense with pain? It is one of the marks of the profession Picture Quote #1

The mind of man, though perhaps the most splendid achievement of evolution, is not, surely, that answer to every problem of the universe. Hamlet suffers, but the Gravediggers go right on with their silly quibbles Picture Quote #1

The people who fear humour - and they are many - are suspicious of its power to present things in unexpected lights, to question received opinions and to suggest unforeseen possibilities Picture Quote #1

I knew that he prayed a great deal, of course for help in the examinations. But subsequent clinical experience has convinced me that God is not particularly interested in examinations, just as he won't be dragged into the stock market, or being a backer in show business Picture Quote #1

When irony first makes itself known in a young man's life, it can be like his first experience of getting drunk; he has met with a powerful thing which he does not know how to handle Picture Quote #1

Art is always at peril in universities, where there are so many people, young and old, who love art less than argument, and dote upon a text that provides the nutritious pemmican on which scholars love to chew Picture Quote #1

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Friendship Quotes

Motivational Quotes

Inspirational Quotes

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Text Quotes

There are great numbers of people to whom the act of reading a book - any sort of book - is wondrous; they speak of the reader in the tone of warm approbation which they use otherwise when referring to pregnant women, or the newly dead (Robertson Davies Quotes) And how often do we meet the man who prefaces his remarks with: I was reading a book last night... In the too loud, overenunciated fashion of one who might be saying: I keep a hippogryph in my basement. Reading confers status (Robertson Davies Quotes) Any enjoyment or profit we get from life, we get now; to kill now is to abridge our own lives (Robertson Davies Quotes) Bookes give no wisdom where none was before, But where some is, there reading makes it more (Robertson Davies Quotes) Long toil and short leisure are part of the heavy price we pay for our North American standard of living. It is reputed to be the highest in the world, and so it should be, for it is bought at an inordinate price (Robertson Davies Quotes) The true realist is he who believes in both God and the Devil, and is prepared to attempt, with humility, to sort out some corner of the extraordinary tangle of their works which is our world. He cannot use his feeling alone, he must use his intellect (Robertson Davies Quotes) In an age where public health has never been better provided for, and medical men enjoy a respect formerly reserved for the aristocracy and the clergy, millions of people are unwell, or merely feel unwell, or are in dread lest at some future time they may become unwell (Robertson Davies Quotes) The day has long passed when a university degree was a guarantee of experience in the humanities, or of literacy beyond its barest meaning of being able, after a fashion, to read and write (Robertson Davies Quotes) There is no disputing about tastes, says the old saw. In my experience there is little else (Robertson Davies Quotes) Women always think that if they tell a man not to be pompous that will shut him up, but I am an old hand at that game. I know that if a man bides his time his moment will come (Robertson Davies Quotes) The devil gave me a look which made me profoundly uneasy. 'Just because I am enjoying your sympathy, don't imagine that I cannot read you like a book,' he said. 'You think you are cleverer than I; it is a very common academic delusion (Robertson Davies Quotes) Such rebellion is too deep and too constant to express itself in picketing, marching, sitting-in or freaking out; it is the serious, unresting protest of serious people. It is 24-hours-a-day rebellion, not intermittent, showy, status-seeking public uproar. It is rebellion as a way of life (Robertson Davies Quotes) I think we should see whether we are wise trying to educate everybody to a high standard the way we are trying to do now. There has to be a high level of education so everybody is literate, but whether university education is necessary for everyone is open to question (Robertson Davies Quotes) In too many modern churches there is no emphasis on theology at all. There is a kind of justification by works or by keeping up with modern trends - anything that will drag in a few more people (Robertson Davies Quotes) Let people alone. Let them find their way. Let them find their level and you may sometimes be delighted and astonished at the extraordinary high level to which they'll rise if they're let alone (Robertson Davies Quotes) Happiness is a by-product. It is not a primary product of life. It is a thing which you suddenly realize you have because you're so delighted to be doing something which perhaps has nothing whatever to do with happiness (Robertson Davies Quotes) Humour very often consists of shrewd perceptions about people. It's usually fun at someone's expense. Nowadays if you're funny at anybody's expense they run to the UN and say, I must have an ombudsman to protect me. You hardly dare have a shrewd perception about anybody (Robertson Davies Quotes) I think we're living in an age which despises humanity and despises bravery and doesn't need bravery because modern warfare has rather gone beyond bravery. It is a kind of warfare where people are fighting enemies they never see, killing people of whom they know nothing (Robertson Davies Quotes) Are you going to be just kind of a walking monument to a job, or are you going to have some kind of really significant inner life of your own? Because the external things - the job, the house, the this, the that - do not really fill the place inside (Robertson Davies Quotes) Marriage is a framework to preserve friendship. It is valuable because it gives much more room to develop than just living together. It provides a base from which a person can work at understanding himself and another person (Robertson Davies Quotes) I have no skills with machines. I fear them, and because I cannot help attributing human qualities to them, I suspect that they hate me and will kill me if they can (Robertson Davies Quotes) I have known far too many university graduates, in this country and in my own, who, as soon as they have received the diploma which declares them to be of Certified Intelligence, put their brains in cold storage and never use them again until they are hauled away to the mortuary (Robertson Davies Quotes) Modern disillusion is unlikely to last forever, and nothing rings so hollow as the angst of yesterday (Robertson Davies Quotes) Poetry which has decided to do without music, to divorce itself from song, has thrown away much of its reason for being (Robertson Davies Quotes) His face was tense with pain. But then, who notices when they meet a theatre critic whose face is tense with pain? It is one of the marks of the profession (Robertson Davies Quotes) The mind of man, though perhaps the most splendid achievement of evolution, is not, surely, that answer to every problem of the universe. Hamlet suffers, but the Gravediggers go right on with their silly quibbles (Robertson Davies Quotes) The people who fear humour - and they are many - are suspicious of its power to present things in unexpected lights, to question received opinions and to suggest unforeseen possibilities (Robertson Davies Quotes) I knew that he prayed a great deal, of course for help in the examinations. But subsequent clinical experience has convinced me that God is not particularly interested in examinations, just as he won't be dragged into the stock market, or being a backer in show business (Robertson Davies Quotes) When irony first makes itself known in a young man's life, it can be like his first experience of getting drunk; he has met with a powerful thing which he does not know how to handle (Robertson Davies Quotes) Art is always at peril in universities, where there are so many people, young and old, who love art less than argument, and dote upon a text that provides the nutritious pemmican on which scholars love to chew (Robertson Davies Quotes)

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