“I need not put myself center stage but can rather place myself at the side, like a Greek chorus. As the curtain rises, I can walk to the center and can speak as follows: I wish to tell you of happenings in the twentieth century, as I witnessed them and reflected upon them. You will see me return to center stage, but only occasionally.”

— Abraham Pais

On considering his wife's suggestion that he write his autobiography, Prologue, p. xiii
A Tale of Two Continents (1997)
Context: I made a discovery, perhaps known to others but new to me: I need not put myself center stage but can rather place myself at the side, like a Greek chorus. As the curtain rises, I can walk to the center and can speak as follows: I wish to tell you of happenings in the twentieth century, as I witnessed them and reflected upon them. You will see me return to center stage, but only occasionally. Once that imagery had gotten hold of me, I went back to Ida and said yes, I shall try.

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "I need not put myself center stage but can rather place myself at the side, like a Greek chorus. As the curtain rises, …" by Abraham Pais?

Abraham Pais 19

American Physicist 1918–2000

Related quotes

“I want to stay as close to the edge as I can without going over. Out on the edge you see all kinds of things you can't see from the center.”

Kurt Vonnegut book Player Piano

Source: Player Piano (1952), Chapter 9 (p. 86)
Context: "You think I'm insane?" said Finnerty. Apparently he wanted more of a reaction than Paul had given him.
"You're still in touch. I guess that's the test."
"Barely — barely."
"A psychiatrist could help. There's a good man in Albany."
Finnerty shook his head. "He'd pull me back into the center, and I want to stay as close to the edge as I can without going over. Out on the edge you see all kinds of things you can't see from the center." He nodded, "Big, undreamed-of things — the people on the edge see them first."

“If I never see you again
I will always carry you
inside
outside

on my fingertips
and at brain edges

and in centers
centers
of what I am of
what remains.”

Charles Bukowski (1920–1994) American writer

Source: Living on Luck

“I had centered myself, learning of the existence of an interior motion, a shift in the levels from isolation to solitude to wordlessness to immobility. When Opel occupied that center I became the thing that swirled.”

Don DeLillo book Great Jones Street

Source: Great Jones Street (1974), Ch. 11

“I told you before, we’re the center,” she said. “And the center will hold.”

Richelle Mead (1976) American writer

Source: The Ruby Circle

“Dreams, dreams. I walk them; I live them. I delude myself with them. It's a wonder I can spot reality anymore.”

Richelle Mead book Spirit Bound

Source: Spirit Bound

“They are like me, I tell myself. And in that way I protect myself against them. And in that way I protect myself against myself.”

Antonio Porchia (1885–1968) Italian Argentinian poet

Ellos también son como yo, me digo. Y así me defiendo de ellos. Y así me defiendo de mí.
Voces (1943)

“I am writing for myself and strangers. This is the only way that I can do it. Everybody is a real one to me, everybody is like some one else too to me. No one of them that I know can want to know it and so I write for myself and strangers.”

Gertrude Stein book The Making of Americans

The Making of Americans (1925)

“Those audiences are my critics. They tell me right away! I learnt very early on how far I can go, what I can and can’t say on stage. They inspire the stories that I tell, and how I tell them. It has to be something that the core can relate to. And what I’m finding is that if you serve the core, it grows, and you find a whole new audience.”

Tyler Perry (1966) American actor, director, screenwriter, playwright, producer, author, and songwriter

Interview: Tyler Perry, movie mogul, 21 August 2010

“I see a vital need for the political center in order for our democracy to flourish and to find solutions that unite rather than divide us.”

Olympia Snowe (1947) United States Senator from Maine

Official statement (28 February 2012) http://www.olympiasnowe.com/, also quoted in "Snowe to Retire" at "The Page" at TIME.com (28 February 2012) http://thepage.time.com/2012/02/28/snowe-to-retire/.
Context: I do find it frustrating … that an atmosphere of polarization and "my way or the highway" ideologies has become pervasive in campaigns and in our governing institutions.
With my Spartan ancestry I am a fighter at heart; and I am well prepared for the electoral battle, so that is not the issue. However, what I have had to consider is how productive an additional term would be. Unfortunately, I do not realistically expect the partisanship of recent years in the Senate to change over the short term. So at this stage of my tenure in public service, I have concluded that I am not prepared to commit myself to an additional six years in the Senate, which is what a fourth term would entail.
As I enter a new chapter, I see a vital need for the political center in order for our democracy to flourish and to find solutions that unite rather than divide us. It is time for change in the way we govern, and I believe there are unique opportunities to build support for that change from outside the United States Senate. I intend to help give voice to my fellow citizens who believe, as I do, that we must return to an era of civility in government driven by a common purpose to fulfill the promise that is unique to America.

“Is there anything else you need to tell me?”
Every time I look at you, I have to put a leash on myself. “No.”

Ilona Andrews American husband-and-wife novelist duo

Source: Bayou Moon

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Abraham Pais 19

Related quotes

Related topics