Authors like cats because they are such quiet, lovable, wise creatures, and cats like authors for the same reasons.
Robertson DaviesRead
The egotist is all surface; underneath is a pulpy mess and a lot of self-doubt. But the egoist may be yielding and even deferential in things he doesn't consider important; in anything that touches his core he is remorseless.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Egotism hides insecurity, while true egoism can balance humility with strength.
Robertson Davies highlights the difference between an egotist and an egoist, suggesting that while the egotist presents a confident facade that conceals deep self-doubt and vulnerability, the egoist displays a more balanced character. The egoist can show humility in trivial matters but emerges unwavering and relentless when faced with issues that resonate with their true identity and values, pointing to an inner strength lurking beneath the surface.
Themes
EgotismEgoismSelf-DoubtIdentityStrengthHumility
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about self-awareness and confidence, this quote could highlight the importance of recognizing one's inner struggles.
More from Robertson Davies
All quotes →Pessimism is a very easy way out because it is a short view of life. If you look at what is happening around us today, you can't help but feel that life is a terrible complexity of problems. But if you look back a few thousand years, you realize that we have advanced fantastically. If you take a long view, I do not see how you can be pessimistic about the future of mankind.
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This is one of the cruelties of the theatre of life; we all think of ourselves as stars and rarely recognize it when we are indeed mere supporting characters or even supernumeraries.
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Everything matters. The Universe is approximately fifteen billion years old, and I swear that in all that time, nothing has ever happened that has not mattered, has not contributed in some way to the totality.
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The world is full of people whose notion of a satisfactory future is, in fact, a return to the idealized past.
Robertson DaviesRead
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 DaviesRead
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