Authors like cats because they are such quiet, lovable, wise creatures, and cats like authors for the same reasons.
Robertson DaviesRead
Nothing grows old-fashioned so fast as modernity.
Interpretation
Modern ideas and technologies quickly become outdated.
This quote by Robertson Davies highlights how rapidly changing times render contemporary trends and innovations obsolete. It suggests that what is considered modern or cutting-edge today will soon be viewed as outdated, reflecting the relentless pace of social and technological evolution.
In practice
During a speech about innovation in technology, you could use this quote to emphasize the fleeting nature of modern advancements.
Authors like cats because they are such quiet, lovable, wise creatures, and cats like authors for the same reasons.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The world is full of people whose notion of a satisfactory future is, in fact, a return to the idealized past.
The only way really to influence countries, in terms of poverty, is to get them to change their policies and get them to understand what the issues are.
Heal the world! Stop the hate. Lend a helping hand to those in need.
If there are challenges thrown across, then some interesting, innovative solutions are found. Without challenges, the tendency is to go on the same way.
We have seen a man dragged to death in Texas simply because he was black. A young man murdered in Wyoming simply because he was gay. In the last year alone, we've seen the shootings of African Americans, Asian Americans, and Jewish children simply because of who they were. This is not the American way. We must draw the line. Without delay, we must pass the Hate Crimes Prevention Act and the Employment Non-Discrimination Act. And we should reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act.
I didn't want to be a slave to any passion anymore. I gave up card playing altogether, even bridge and gambling - more or less. It took me a few years to get out of it.
Come, come, my conservative friend, wipe the dew off your spectacles, and see that the world is moving.
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