December 29, 2011
“… a man may do an immense deal of good if he does not care who gets the credit for it.”
Attributed to “Father Strickland, an English Jesuit” mid- 19th century.
This quote has been attributed to many people, from Edward Everett Hale to Harry Truman and Ronald Reagan, but according to The Quote Investigator, and others, the first reference in print was as above in the 1873 diary of Sir Mountstuart Elphinstone Grant Duff. Further research has not revealed any details of Father Strickland’s life, not even his given name. However, the concept of altruism coupled with anonymity continues to appear down the years in the words of many who recognize that removing the ego from acts for the common good gives those acts a special power.
Good Morning Gloucester 
It must have been tough in grade school for Mountstewart Elphinstone. Imagine all the hazing he must have taken over his name!
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