
“The value of a man should be seen in what he gives and not in what he is able to receive.”
On his gifts for the services of others, as quoted in Dictionary of Phrase and Fable: Giving the Derivation, Source, or Origin of Common Phrases, Allusions, and Words That Have A Tale To Tell (1905) by Ebenezer Cobham Brewer, p. 30
quoted in Alexander : A History of the Origin and Growth of the Art of War from Earliest Times to the Battle Of Ipsus, B. C. 301 (1899) by Theodore Ayrault Dodge
Variant: It is not what Parmenio should receive, but what Alexander should give.
“The value of a man should be seen in what he gives and not in what he is able to receive.”
Source: Women Can't Hear What Men Don't Say (2000), p. 36.
Reflections on Various Subjects (1665–1678), I. On Confidence
Source: 1950's, Interview by William Wright, Summer 1950, pp. 139-140
Speech at her adoption meeting as Conservative candidate for Dartford (28 February 1949) http://www.margaretthatcher.org/document/100821
1940s
“I don't care about that scum! Why should I receive a prize? I know that I'm a genius!”
As quoted by Werner Herzog, in My Best Fiend, (1999)
"The Brooklyn Divines." Brooklyn Union (Brooklyn, NY), 1883.
“O lady! we receive but what we give
And in our life alone does Nature live.”
St. 4
Dejection: An Ode (1802)