Careful Words

necessary (n.)

necessary (v.)

necessary (adj.)

  If God were not a necessary Being of himself, he might almost seem to be made for the use and benefit of men.

John Tillotson (1630-1694):

Cowards die many times before their deaths;

The valiant never taste of death but once.

Of all the wonders that I yet have heard,

It seems to me most strange that men should fear;

Seeing that death, a necessary end,

Will come when it will come.

William Shakespeare (1564-1616): Julius Caesar. Act ii. Sc. 2.

A harmless necessary cat.

William Shakespeare (1564-1616): The Merchant of Venice. Act iv. Sc. 1.

  If there were no God, it would be necessary to invent him.

Alain René Le Sage (1668-1747): Epître à l'Auteur du Livre des Trois Imposteurs. cxi.