1870s, Eighth State of the Union Address (1876)
Context: It was my fortune, or misfortune, to be called to the office of Chief Executive without any previous political training. From the age of 17 I had never even witnessed the excitement attending a Presidential campaign but twice antecedent to my own candidacy, and at but one of them was I eligible as a voter.
Under such circumstances it is but reasonable to suppose that errors of judgment must have occurred. Even had they not, differences of opinion between the Executive, bound by an oath to the strict performance of his duties, and writers and debaters must have arisen. It is not necessarily evidence of blunder on the part of the Executive because there are these differences of views. Mistakes have been made, as all can see and I admit...
“In one second, without any previous training or upbringing, he had become the wettest man in Worcestershire.”
Very Good, Jeeves (1930)
Help us to complete the source, original and additional information
P.G. Wodehouse 302
English author 1881–1975Related quotes
“Parry is a man with a previous life that was so damaged that he had to create another personality.”
On his role in The Fisher King (1991), as quoted in "Dreams: The Fisher King" (2006) edited by Phil Stubbs http://www.smart.co.uk/dreams/fkprod1.htm
Context: Parry is a man with a previous life that was so damaged that he had to create another personality. … It's like post-traumatic stress syndrome: Some people respond to traumatic or tragic events by withdrawal; some even create other personalities. Parry is a creation — somewhat Don Quixote, somewhat Groucho Marx — but he's a creation designed to avoid a past event.
VALIS (1981)
Context: For each person there is a sentence — a series of words — which has the power to destroy him … another sentence exists, another series of words, which will heal the person. If you're lucky you will get the second; but you can be certain of getting the first: that is the way it works. On their own, without training, individuals know how to deal out the lethal sentence, but training is required to deal out the second.
Source: Memory: A contribution to experimental psychology, 1885, p. 113
C 36
Aphorisms (1765-1799), Notebook C (1772-1773)
Women Can't Hear What Men Don't Say (2000)