no day without its line
Preserved but no longer current.
A saying attributed by Pliny to the Greek artist Apelles (nulla dies sine lined) , who said he never passed a day without doing at least one line, and to this steady industry owed his great success. The words were adopted as his motto by Anthony Trollope.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “no day without its line” mean?
A saying attributed by Pliny to the Greek artist Apelles (nulla dies sine lined) , who said he never passed a day without doing at least one line, and to this steady industry owed his great success. The words were adopted as his motto by Anthony Trollope.
Is “no day without its line” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.