To ask an author who hopes to be a serious writer if his work is autobiographical is like asking a spider where he buys his thread. The spider gets his thread right out of his own guts, and that is where the author gets his writing. Robertson Davies More Quotes by Robertson Davies More Quotes From Robertson Davies "Civilization rests on two things," said Hitzig; "the discovery that fermentation produces alcohol, and voluntary ability to inhibit defecation. And I put it to you, where would this splendidly civilized occasion be without both?" Robertson Davies discovery civilization two The Bible takes much of its color from whoever is reading it, and it provides a text to support almost every shade of opinion, however preposterous. Robertson Davies color reading christian Childhood may have periods of great happiness, but it also has times that must simply be endured. Childhood at its best is a form of slavery tempered by affection. Robertson Davies slavery childhood may And why should it not be terrifying? A little terror, in my view, is good for the soul, when it is terror in the face of a noble object. Robertson Davies soul views fear The best among our writers are doing their accustomed work of mirroring what is deep in the spirit of our time; if chaos appears in those mirrors, we must have faith that in the future, as always in the past, that chaos will slowly reveal itself as a new aspect of order. Robertson Davies mirrors order past A Librettist is a mere drudge in the world of opera. Robertson Davies mere opera world Nobody who looks as though he enjoyed life is ever called distinguished, though he is a man in a million. Robertson Davies life-is men looks But as a skeptic I am dubious about science as about everything else, unless the scientist is himself a skeptic, and few of them are. The stench of formaldehyde may be as potent as the whiff of incense in stimulating a naturally idolatrous understanding. Robertson Davies dubious understanding science The people of the United States, perhaps more than any other nation in history, love to abase themselves and proclaim their unworthiness, and seem to find refreshment in doing so... That is a dark frivolity, but still frivolity. Robertson Davies dark america people I have no skills with machines. I fear them, and because I cannot help attributing human qualities to them, I suspect that they hate me and will kill me if they can. Robertson Davies technology hate skills That was what stuck in the craws of all the good women of Deptford: Mrs Dempster had not been raped, as a decent woman would have been-no, she had yielded because a man wanted her. The subject was not one that could be freely discussed even among intimates, but it was understood without saying that if women began to yield for such reasons as that, marriage and society would not last long. Any man who spoke up for Mrs Dempster probably believed in Free Love. Certainly he associated sex with pleasure, and that put him in a class with filthy thinkers like Cece Athelstan. Robertson Davies love men sex The most original thing a writer can do is write like himself. It is also his most difficult task. Robertson Davies difficult tasks writing "Children, don't speak so coarsely," said Mr Webster, who had a vague notion that some supervision should be exercised over his daughters' speech, and that a line should be drawn, but never knew quite when to draw it. He had allowed his daughters to use his library without restraint, and nothing is more fatal to maidenly delicacy of speech than the run of a good library. Robertson Davies daughter running children Oh hearts! Nobody gets through life without a broken heart. The important thing is to break the heart so that when it mends it will be stronger than before. Robertson Davies important broken heart The attributes of God have been carefully explored. But the Devil's attributes have been left vague. I think I've found one of them. It is he who puts the prices on things." "Doesn't God put a price on things?" "No. One of his attributes is magnanimity. But the Devil is a setter of prices, and a usurer, as well. You buy from him at an agreed price, but the payments are all on time, and the interest is charged on the whole of the principal, right up to the last payment, however much of the principal you think you have paid off in the meantime. Robertson Davies devil lasts thinking You never see what you want to see, forever playing to the gallery. Robertson Davies truth want forever The result of a single action may spread like the circles that expand when a stone is thrown into a pond, until they touch places and people unguessed at by the person who threw the stone. Robertson Davies ponds circles people That is the operatic problem; the singer must keep up a big head of steam while trying to appear secretive, or seductive, or consumptive. Some ingenious composer should write an opera about a group of people who were condemned by a cruel god to scream all the time; it would be an instantaneous success, and a triumph of versimilitude. Robertson Davies seductive writing people Fiction is not photography, it's oil painting. Robertson Davies oil photography fiction The division between art and deviousness and crime is sometimes as thin as a cigarette paper. Robertson Davies division paper art
