So, I’m pretty sure these two phrases come from some kind of litererary work, but I don’t know which ones.
The first is, “Never send a boy to do a man’s job.” I keep hearing this phrase and many other variations. As one example, I remember the deity Glory on Buffy the Vampire Slayer saying, “Never send a minion to do a goddess’ job.” So I encounter it a lot, but I have no idea what this phrase is a reference to.
The second phrase is longer: “One’s days are numbered, one’s hour is come, one’s race is run, one’s doom is sealed.” Where is that from? Sounds very poetic, and I want to see the rest. Is it Shakespeare?
Days are numbered, one’s - one’s life or existence is drawing to an end
This expression, in which numbered is used in its now rare meaning of ‘reduced to a definite (small) number’, has its origin in Wyclif’s translation (1380) of the Old Testamnet book of Daniel. This contains Daniel’s well-known interpretation of the writing on the wall: ‘God hath numbered thy reign and finished it’ (5:26).
I think your second phrase may actually be three separate phrases about death that end up listed together in Roget’s reference materials. http://poets.notredame.ac.jp/Roget/360.html
“One’s days are numbered” may derive from Psalm 90:12 “So teach us to number our days”
Oh, they’re different phrases? I encountered them in The Onion, actually: Best-Laid Plans Of Mice And Men Faulted In 747 Crash. It’s a rather amusing article, and those four things were listed together, so I assumed they were from the same source.
Anyway, thanks myles, that’s an interesting link.
But what about the other expression, “Never send a boy to do a man’s job”? I don’t know why, but I’m almost certain this is from a novel.