Friday, February 08, 2008

Profound Quote


The other day I had a snippet of a quote running through my brain, and I couldn't nail it down. Something about a man's life being like a book . . . something about "he hoped to make of it."  I Googled quotations, I Googled diary, I Googled everything I could think of, but no dice. 

Then, last night, I could hear the voice speaking the quote . . . and I remembered that I'd heard the quote on a tape. A tape I used to listen to in my car--when I had a car with a tape player.  So I went out to the garage and, wonder of wonders, found the tape in a basket of tapes I'd pulled out of my old car.  And I found THE tape, which had been recorded by the late Gary Provost in his distinctive Boston accent. 

That accent, in fact, is probably why I got the quote wrong--I couldn't understand Gary!  So here it is, the profound quote that's been haunting me for a couple of weeks: 

"The life of every man is a diary in which he means to write one story, and writes another; and his humblest hour is when he compares the volume as it is with what he vowed to make it."

Know who said it?  J. M. Barrie, the man who wrote Peter Pan.  
I think that quote is very appropriate for a book set in a funeral home . . . 

~~Happy Friday!  

Angie 

9 comments:

Kathy Cassel said...

Good quote.

Mocha with Linda said...

Sobering and thought-provoking.

Bonnie Way aka the Koala Mom said...

Definately food for thought, especially when you know something of J. M. Barrie's story.

Anonymous said...

Wow.

I love that quote.

Luke said...

Was Peter Pan originally set in a funeral home, or the other book that the quote came from?

kittyhox said...

That is a GREAT quote. It really sums up the human experience. There is the person I want to be and then there is the person I actually am and the differences become apparent during my quiet time.

Angela said...

It's my book that's set in a funeral home, Luke. I think I'll have someone refer to it.

Angie

Anonymous said...

That's an excellent quote and one to take to heart. It reminds me of the refrigerator plaque my grandchildren gave me for Christmas - "It is never too late to be what you might have been. T.S. Eliot"

Clyde

Holly said...

You know what I like best about you Angie? You are a treasure-hunter, too. I love that you went to search for your lost coin, um, I mean quote!
Have a blessed day of worship and rest tomorrow!
Love,
holly