Ten Mills : Assertive
1920s, Further Range (1926)
“Let them do what I have done.”
Cornelius Vanderbilt (1794–1877) American businessman, philanthropist, and tycoon
Often attributed, but without a contemporary source, as a remark on being asked to contribute to charity for the poor. See for example Commodore (2009) by Edward J. Renehan
Robert A. Heinlein book Beyond This Horizon
Source: Beyond This Horizon (1948; originally serialized in 1942), Chapter 14, “—and beat him when he sneezes”, p. 130
Ernest King (1878–1956) United States Navy admiral, Chief of Naval Operations
From Time magazine's interview with King, Volume XL, Number 23 (December 7, 1942), p. 32.
1940s
Karen Blixen book Seven Gothic Tales
"The Dreamers"
Seven Gothic Tales (1934)
Context: The consolations of the vulgar are bitter in the royal ear. Let physicians and confectioners and servants in the great houses be judged by what they have done, and even by what they have meant to do; the great people themselves are judged by what they are. I have been told that lions, trapped and shut up in cages, grieve from shame more than from hunger.
Kris Kristofferson (1936) American country music singer, songwriter, musician, and film actor
Why Me
Song lyrics, Jesus Was a Capricorn (1972)
“I do not forget any good deed done to me & I do not carry a grudge for a bad one.”
Viktor E. Frankl book Man's Search for Meaning
Source: Man's Search for Meaning
