“You would not think any duty small,
If you yourself were great.”
Willie's Question
The Disciple and Other Poems (1867)
Help us to complete the source, original and additional information
George MacDonald127
Scottish journalist, novelist 1824–1905Related quotes
“Of any activity you do, ask yourself: If I were the last person on earth, would I still do it?”
Steven Pressfield (1943) United States Marine
Source: The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks & Win Your Inner Creative Battles
James Hamilton (1814–1867) Scottish minister and a prolific author of religious tracts
Source: Dictionary of Burning Words of Brilliant Writers (1895), P. 88.
Lewis Thomas book The Lives of a Cell: Notes of a Biology Watcher
"On Probability and Possibility"
The Lives of a Cell: Notes of a Biology Watcher (1974)
Context: Statistically the probability of any one of us being here is so small that you would think the mere fact of existence would keep us all in a contented dazzlement of surprise. We are alive against the stupendous odds of genetics, infinitely outnumbered by all the alternates who might, except for luck, be in our places.
Frédéric Bastiat (1801–1850) French classical liberal theorist, political economist, and member of the French assembly