21d
Plato, Apology
Socrates (-470–-399 BC) classical Greek Athenian philosopher
29a–b
Alternate translation: "To fear death, is nothing else but to believe ourselves to be wise, when we are not; and to fancy that we know what we do not know. In effect, no body knows death; no body can tell, but it may be the greatest benefit of mankind; and yet men are afraid of it, as if they knew certainly that it were the greatest of evils."
Plato, Apology
“If you ask me to play myself, I will not know what to do. I do not know who or what I am.”
Peter Sellers (1925–1980) British film actor, comedian and singer
As quoted in Halliwell's Filmgoer's Companion (1988) by Leslie Halliwell, p. 622
“Much of what we do at any level is a bit like that, I fancy. But hard to know which is which.”
Ted Hughes (1930–1998) English poet and children's writer
The Paris Review interview
Context: Many writers write a great deal, but very few write more than a very little of the real thing. So most writing must be displaced activity. When cockerels confront each other and daren’t fight, they busily start pecking imaginary grains off to the side. That’s displaced activity. Much of what we do at any level is a bit like that, I fancy. But hard to know which is which. On the other hand, the machinery has to be kept running. The big problem for those who write verse is keeping the machine running without simply exercising evasion of the real confrontation. If Ulanova, the ballerina, missed one day of practice, she couldn’t get back to peak fitness without a week of hard work. Dickens said the same about his writing—if he missed a day he needed a week of hard slog to get back into the flow.
Gilbert O'Sullivan (1946) Irish singer-songwriter
"Doing What I Know" (song) <br class="br">Song lyrics <br class="br">Source: Gilbert O'Sullivan, "Doing What I Know" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YlkC9AFrSNU (song on YouTube)
