Canadian Quotes: Timothy Findley
On July 20th, we celebrate Timothy Findley!
You cannot know these things. You live when you live. No one else can ever live your life and no one else will ever know what you know. Then was then. Unique. And how does one explain? You had a war. Every generation has a war-except this one. But that's beside the point. The thing is not to make excuses for the way you behaved—not to take refuge in tragedy—but to clarify who you are through your response to when you lived. If you can't do that, then you haven't made your contribution to the future. Think of any great man or woman. How can you separate them from the years in which they lived? You can't. Their greatness lies in their response to that moment.
- from The Wars by Timothy Findley
