“It would certainly be better if a writer like Leacock knew always what was best to do and what would look best in the eyes of posterity, but such unnatural foresight cannot be required of any man.”
A Voice from the Attic (1960)
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Robertson Davies282
Canadian journalist, playwright, professor, critic, and nov… 1913–1995Related quotes
“No matter what you do, someone always knew you would.”
Ami McKay (1968) Canadian writer
Source: The Birth House
“What was life like in the colonies? Probably the best word to describe it would be "colonial."”
Dave Barry (1947) American writer
Nonfiction, Dave Barry Hits Below the Beltway (2001)
“We are always doing something for Posterity, but I would fain see Posterity do something for us.”
Joseph Addison (1672–1719) politician, writer and playwright
No. 587 (20 August 1714).
The Spectator (1711–1714)
Maya Angelou (1928–2014) American author and poet
Paris Review Interview (1990)
Context: I know when it’s the best I can do. It may not be the best there is. Another writer may do it much better. But I know when it’s the best I can do. I know that one of the great arts that the writer develops is the art of saying, No. No, I’m finished. Bye. And leaving it alone. I will not write it into the ground. I will not write the life out of it. I won’t do that.
“It’s not enough that we do our best; sometimes we have to do what’s required.”
Winston S. Churchill (1874–1965) Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
As cited in The Forbes Book of Business Quotations (2007), Ed. Goodwin, Black Dog Publishing, p. 168, ISBN 1579127215
Post-war years (1945–1955)
“The measure of a man's real character is what he would do if he knew he would never be found out.”
Thomas Babington Macaulay, 1st Baron Macaulay (1800–1859) British historian and Whig politician
citation needed <br class="br">The earliest quotations of this give it as anonymous or unknown author. https://books.google.com/books?id=hPIsAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA321&dq=%22what+he+would+do+if+he+knew+it+would+never+be+found+out%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CBwQ6AEwAGoVChMIlvi0prz_xwIVTwaSCh0hVwX5#v=onepage&q=%22what%20he%20would%20do%20if%20he%20knew%20it%20would%20never%20be%20found%20out%22&f=false https://books.google.com/books?id=i2MPAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA16-IA71&dq=%22what+he+would+do+if+he+knew+it+would+never+be+found+out%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CB0Q6AEwAGoVChMIkMmp8rz_xwIV1BGSCh25lAO0#v=onepage&q=%22what%20he%20would%20do%20if%20he%20knew%20it%20would%20never%20be%20found%20out%22&f=false <br class="br">Attributed
“Sometimes doing your best is not good enough. Sometimes you must do what is required.”
Winston S. Churchill (1874–1965) Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
