“Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon 'em.”
Malvolio, Act II, scene v.
Variant: Some are born great, others achieve greatness.
Source: Twelfth Night (1601)
“Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some hire public relations officers.”
As quoted in Book of Humorous Quotations (1998), by Connie Robertson, p. 29.
“Some are born weird, some achieve it, others have weirdness thrust upon them.”
Source: To the Hilt (1996)
“Some men are born sodomites, some achieve sodomy, and some have sodomy thrust upon them…”
Source: The Scented Garden Of Abdullah The Satirist Of Shiraz
Variant: Some men are born mediocre, some men achieve mediocrity, and some men have mediocrity trust upon them.
Source: Catch-22 (1961)
Context: Some men are born mediocre, some men achieve mediocrity, and some men have mediocrity thrust upon them. With Major Major it had been all three.
Of his knighthood; p. 18
M. N. Cohen & E. Wakeling, Lewis Carroll and his Illustrators (2003)
“Some are born crazy,” Amelia said. “Some achieve craziness. We had craziness thrust upon us.”
Source: Forever Peace (1997), p. 249
“That some achieve great success, is proof to all that others can achieve it as well.”
