Quotessence
Home / Quotes / Quote by Robertson Davies

Quote by Robertson Davies

“Anybody who has had experience of poetesses knows that they may forgive a punch on the jaw, but never a suggestion that they would be wiser to give up versifying.”

Quote by Robertson Davies

Create image

Author

Robertson Davies
Robertson Davies

Robertson Davies was a Canadian novelist known for his wit and humor. His works often set in the Canadian society, exploring the relationship between individuals and society. Davies' works include the 'Amos Fortune' series and the 'Crown of the North' series, which are highly appreciated by readers. more

You May Also Like

“If I had to describe my remarks this evening frankly as if I were in police court and on oath, so to speak I should have to call it a ramble over several subjects, portions of which may seem to you to be impudent, and portions of which will be ignorant, and portions of which may contrive to be both at once.”

IfsShouldMaySeemsSpeakSubjectsShould HavePoliceCourtIgnorantEveningPortionsRemarksOath
Book:Selected Works on the Pleasures of Reading
Create image

“Our forebears are deserving of tribute for one indisputable reason, if for no other: without them we should not be here. Let us recognize that we are not the ultimate triumph but rather we are beads on a string. Let us behave with decency to the beads that were strung before us and hope modestly that the beads that come after us will not hold us of no account simply because we are dead.”

IfsShouldReasonUltimateAccountsTriumphBehaveStringsDecencyTributeDeservingBeads
Author:Robertson Davies
Create image

“Of course, fairies are all imported in North America. We have no native fairies. The Little People do not long survive importation unless they go to California and grow large and beautiful, but haven't much flavour, like the fruit and the film stars.”

PeopleLittlesLongAmericaBeautifulFilmCoursesStarsGrowsHavensFruitCaliforniaFairyNativeNorth AmericaFlavourFilm StarsImportation
Book:Happy Alchemy: On the Pleasures of Music and the Theatre
Create image

“That's the nub of the thing, you see seriousness of spirit. It doesn't mean heaviness of heart, or a lack of fantasy, but it does mean an awareness of influences that touch our lives, sometimes in ways that seem cruel and unfeeling, and sometimes in ways that open up a glory which can never be forgotten.”

WayHeartMeanDoeSometimesSeemsSpiritFantasyOur LivesInfluenceAwarenessGloryForgottenSeriousnessHeavinessUnfeeling
Book:Happy Alchemy: On the Pleasures of Music and the Theatre
Create image

“The first principle, when you don't know anything about the subject of a thesis, is to let the candidate talk, nodding now and then with an ambiguous smile. He thinks you know, and are counting his mistakes, and it unnerves him... the second principle of conducting an oral, ... is to pretend ignorance, and ask for explanations of very simple points. Of course your ignorance is real, but the examinee thinks you are being subtle, and that he is making an ass of himself, and this rattles him.”

ThinkingKnowsFirstsRealCoursesAsksSimpleMistakePrinciplesSubjectsIgnoranceAssExplanationCandidatesSubtleNow And ThenCountingAmbiguousConductingThesisNodding
Author:Robertson Davies
Create image

“One of the things that puzzles me is that so few people want to look at life as a totality and to recognize that death is no more extraordinary than birth. When they say it's the end of everything they don't seem to recognize that we came from somewhere and it would be very, very strange indeed to suppose that we're not going somewhere.”

PeopleWantLooksEndsSeemsWould BeStrangeBirthExtraordinaryPuzzlesTotality
Book:Conversations with Robertson Davies
Create image