"They are the cream of the social bowl—in their own estimation. The stone pillars which, according to the Arabic legend, hold the earth up. There never was, or can be, anything to equal them. You may be the best fellow in the world, the sole support of an aged mother, and the protector of a whole boarding-schoolful of orphan sisters. You may work like a horse, and give all your goods to feed the poor, but if you are not a Business Man, you are sounding brass or tinkling cymbal. To be a Business Man is a special gift—a sort of inherent virtue, like a cast in the eye."
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Novelists from AustraliaPlaywrights from AustraliaShort story writers from AustraliaPoets from AustraliaEnglish emigrants to colonial Australia
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
"On Business Men", in A Marcus Clarke Reader (1963)
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Marcus_Clarke
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
Marcus Clarke
Marcus Andrew Hislop Clarke FRSA (24 April 1846 – 2 August 1881) was an English-born Australian novelist, journalist, poet, editor, librarian, and playwright. He is best known for his 1874 novel ', about the convict system in Australia, and widely regarded as a classic of Australian literature. It has been adapted into many plays, films and a folk opera.
33 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by Marcus Clarke →
Related Quotes
"Every country can claim for itself a of home manufacture. He of Australia is William Buckley."
"The Australian black is as far removed from and Chingachook, as Uncas and Chingachook are from reality. ... An Austra…"
"What can I write in thee, O dainty book, About whose daintiness quaint perfume lingers— Into whose pages dainty ladie…"
"Mothers-in-law are ladies with daughters. A mother-in-law may be considered as the beard on the matrimonial oyster."
"All my soul is slowly melting, all my brain is softening fast, And I know that I'll be taken to the Yarr bend at last…"
"Distrust the men who make bargains. They are a disgrace to humanity. No man ever saw a dog swap a bone with another dog."
"Borrowing may be reduced to a Science, or elevated to an Art. Borrowing an umbrella is a science; borrowing half-a-cr…"
"I am rather good at it. I have been always borrowing. If I can borrow nothing else, I borrow ideas."
"It is no use borrowing if you mean to pay. There have been more men ruined by 'temporary accommodation' than anything…"
"Here I am in bed, with vinegar and brown paper over my nose, all the children sick, the baby howling like an unfledge…"