“ A man is seldom remembered unless he has been amusing or serviceable. ”
Gustave Flaubert, Bouvard et Pécuchet (1881). copy citation
| Author | Gustave Flaubert |
|---|---|
| Source | Bouvard et Pécuchet |
| Topic | |
| Date | 1881 |
| Language | English |
| Reference | |
| Note | |
| Weblink | https://www.gutenberg.org/files/46909/46909-h/46909-h.htm |
Context
“I do not wish to speak unbecomingly, or to insult a sorrowful family I have not the honour of knowing, but it seems to me that Nicholas-Louis-Juste Thubeuf is at the present moment as forgotten as if he never had existed, while Bouilhet’s name is known over all Europe. Aïssé is being played in St. Petersburg and London. His plays and verses will be printed in six, twenty, even a hundred years hence, and perhaps beyond that. A man is seldom remembered unless he has been amusing or serviceable. You are not able to be the former; grant us the latter. Instead of devoting your time to literary criticism, a pastime that is beyond your powers, attend to more serious things such as: the construction of a bridge;”
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