Thursday, May 7, 2009

Robertson Davies Quotations: Literary Riffs, or...Scripture for Secularists

The world is so full of published quotations telling us how to successfully conduct our lives that it is a wonder we haven’t all reached a perpetual state of contentedness and wisdom. Judging from the current state of world affairs, I can only surmise that perhaps some people are reading the wrong quotations.

The following quotations, from The Quotable Robertson Davies, are my favorites, the ones I keep returning to. The book contains over 800 from the Canadian novelist and playwright Robertson Davies.

I had a revelation of sorts while compiling Davies's quotes for the book. I have always been annoyed by fundamentalist thinking and behavior. Reborn Christians were the worst: they were endlessly reciting scripture! While extracting passages from Davies’s books, more and more quotations were at the tip of my tongue during conversation. A Davies quote seemed to be apropos to almost any subject being discussed. After collecting more than half of the quotations in the book, it suddenly struck me that I was doing exactly what I disliked about scripture-quoting Christians. I was quoting Davies by chapter and verse! Davies had become my secular scripture! Alone in my study, I blushed with embarrassment when I made this discovery, and have since become more discreet with the use of the quotes.

Nevertheless, here are 25 of my favorites.

Quietness is a great beautifier. –Tempest-Tost

No man should ever assume that he will be able to get the immediate and undivided attention of a woman who has children. -Leaven of Malice

Music is like wine; the less people know about it, the sweeter they like it. – A Mixture of Frailties

One of the secrets of life is that one must give up caring too much about anything. – A Mixture of Frailties

I, as a skeptic, am committed to non-belief in everything, including my most cherished philosophical ideas. –The Rebel Angels

Too much orthodoxy can lead to trouble; a decent measure of come-and-go is more enduring. –The Rebel Angels

Nobody gets through life without a broken heart. -What’s Bred in the Bone

A happy childhood has spoiled many a promising life. -What’s Bred in the Bone

Nature and nurture are inextricable; only scientists and psychologists could think otherwise. -What’s Bred in the Bone

Genius is the only true aristocracy. –The Lyre of Orpheus

Canada…. the Home of Modified Rapture. –The Lyre of Orpheus

Who really knows his father, or his mother? In our personal dramas they play older, supporting roles, and we are always center stage, in the limelight. – Murther & Walking Spirits

In my experience snobbery sometimes means no more than a rejection of what is truly inferior. – The Cunning Man

Shakespeare in printed form should be kept from children; if they cannot meet him in the theatre, better not meet him at all. One might just as well ask children to read the symphonies of Beethoven. – The Cunning Man

Don’t miss a chance to acquire an ancestor. – The Cunning Man

Longing is some of the best of loving. – The Cunning Man

A doctor’s treatment is always a reflection of himself, to some degree. – The Cunning Man

If we were all robbed of our wrong convictions, how empty our lives would be. – The Diary of Samuel Marchbanks

Children never forgive their elders for their ignorance. It is obviously a grown-up’s business to know. – The Table Talk of Samuel Marchbanks

My dullness is so complete and all-embracing that it constitutes a kind of mystical experience – the merging of the Null with the Void. – The Table Talk of Samuel Marchbanks

It takes two to make charm. . – Hunting Stuart

The good life is lived not widely, but deeply. It is not doing things, but understanding what you do that brings real excitement and lasting pleasure. – One-half of Robertson Davies

If one regards oneself as a skeptic, it is a good plan to have occasional doubts about one’s skepticism too. – One-half of Robertson Davies

Everybody can share in grief, and grief can be feigned; but laughter can only be shared by those who are of like mind. –A Voice From the Attic

Don’t be surprised if you find that nobody wants you except in your professional capacity. – One-half of Robertson Davies

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