True Patriotism, it seems to me, is based on tolerance and a large measure of humility.
Adlai Stevenson (1900-1965) American diplomat, statesman
Speech, American Legion convention, New York City (27 Aug 1952)
There will be no loyalty, except loyalty toward the Party. There will be no love, except the love of Big Brother. There will be no laughter, except the laugh of triumph over a defeated enemy. … Always, at every moment, there will be the thrill of victory, the sensation of trampling on an enemy who is helpless. If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face — forever.
George Orwell (1903-1950) English writer [pseud. of Eric Arthur Blair]
Nineteen Eighty-Four, 3.3 (1949)
We hear the wail of the remorseful winds
In their strange penance. And this wretched orb
Knows not the taste of rest; a maniac world,
Homeless and sobbing through the deep she goes.
I want death to find me planting my cabbages.
Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592) French essayist
“That to Philosophize Is to Learn to Die,” Essays (1588) [tr. D. Frame (1958)]
One may say the eternal mystery of the world is its comprehensibility.
Albert Einstein (1879-1955) German-American physicist
“Physics and Reality” Journal of the Franklin Institute (Mar 1936)
(Source)
We can often endure an extra pound of pain far more easily than we can suffer the withdrawal of an ounce of accustomed pleasure.
Sydney J. Harris (1917-1986) Anglo-American columnist, journalist, author
(Attributed)
There is a theory which states that if anybody ever discovers exactly what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable. There is another theory which states that this has already happened.
Douglas Adams (1952-2001) English writer
The Restaurant at the End of the Universe, Epigraph (1980)
HAMLET:Who would fardels bear,
To grunt and sweat under a weary life,
But that the dread of something after death,
The undiscovered country from whose bourn
No traveler returns, puzzles the will
And makes us rather bear those ills we have
Than fly to others that we know not of?William Shakespeare (1564-1616) English dramatist and poet
Hamlet, Act 3, sc. 1, l. 84ff (3.1.84-90) (c. 1600)
(Source)
"Fardels" = "burdens"
Ther’s few things in this life that equal th’ sensation o’ bein’ paid up.
Frank McKinney "Kin" Hubbard (1868-1930) American caricaturist and humorist
Abe Martin’s Back Country Sayings (1917)
The crowd demands a god before everything else.
Gustave LeBon (1841-1931) German psychologist
The Crowd: A Study of the Popular Mind, 1.4 (1895)
It seems to me that if you or I must choose between two courses of thought or action, we should remember our dying and try so to live that our death brings no pleasure on the world.
John Steinbeck (1902-1968) American writer
East of Eden (1952)
I’m going to make a common-sense, intellectually honest campaign. It will be a novelty and it will win.
Harry S Truman (1884-1972) US President (1945-1953)
Diary (1948-07-16)
Quoted in W. Hillman, Mr. President, Part III, ch. 2 (1952)
From the day I was born, I began to learn my lessons. I learned it is possible to be a Christian and a white southerner simultaneously; to be a gentlewoman and an arrogant callous creature in the same moment; to pray at night and ride a Jim Crow car the next morning and to feel comfortable doing both. I learned to believe in freedom, to glow when the word democracy was used, and to practice slavery from morning to night. I learned it the way all of my southern people learn it: by closing door after door until one’s mind and heart and conscience are blocked off from each other and from reality.
Lillian Smith (1897-1966) American author
Killers of the Dream, ch. 1 “When I Was a Child” (1949)
The worst evil of all is to leave the ranks of the living before one dies.
Seneca the Younger (c. 4 BC-AD 65) Roman statesman, philosopher, playwright [Lucius Annaeus Seneca]
Minor Dialogues, “Of Peace of Mind” [tr. A. Steart (1889)]
All professions are conspiracies against the laity.
George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950) British playwright and critic
The Doctor’s Dilemma, Act I (1911)
The emotion of love, in spite of the romantics, is not self-sustaining; it endures only when the lovers love many things together and not merely each other.
Walter Lippmann (1889-1974) American journalist and author
A Preface to Morals, Part III, ch. 14 “Love in the Great Society” (1929)
Usually elided as "Love endures only when ..." Full text.
One of the pleasant things those of us who write or paint do is to have the daily miracle. It does come.
G. B. Stern (1890-1973) British writer [Gladys Bronwyn Stern]
Paris France, Part I (1940)
Take heed: Most Men will cheat without Scruple where they can do it without Fear.
Thomas Fuller (1654-1734) English physician, preacher, aphorist, writer
Introductio ad Prudentiam, # 525 (1725)
(Source)
SEÑOR SENIOR, SR.: World-class villains are defined by disproportionate revenge!
(Other Authors and Sources)
Kim Possible, “Animal Attraction,” (10 Jan 2003) [w. Robin Riordan, Gary Sperling]
No decision has been made unless carrying it out in specific steps has become someone’s work assignment and responsibility.
Peter F. Drucker (1909-2005) Austrian-American business consultant
The Effective Executive, 4.2.4 (1967)
Great thoughts reduced to practice become great acts.
William Hazlitt (1778-1830) English writer
Table Talk: Essays on Men and Manners, “On the Knowledge of character” (1821-1822)
Full text.
Man is never honestly the fatalist, nor even the stoic. He fights his fate, often desperately. He is forever entering bold exceptions to the rulings of the bench of gods. This fighting, no doubt, makes for human progress, for it favors the strong and the brave. It also makes for beauty, for lesser men try to escape from a hopeless and intolerable world by creating a more lovely one of their own.
H. L. Mencken (1880-1956) American writer and journalist [Henry Lewis Mencken]
(Attributed)
I swore to never be silent whenever and wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation. We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim; silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.
Elie Wiesel (1928-2016) Romanian-American novelist, professor, political activist, Nobel Laureate.
Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech (10 Dec 1986)
(Source)
Men are so simple and so ready to obey present necessities, that one who deceives will always find those who allow themselves to be deceived.
Niccolò Machiavelli (1469-1527) Italian politician, philosopher, political scientist
The Prince, ch. 18 (1513) [tr. L. Ricci (1903)]
She fitted into my biggest armchair as if it had been built round her by someone who knew they were wearing armchairs tight about the hips that season.
P. G. Wodehouse (1881-1975) Anglo-American humorist, playwright and lyricist [Pelham Grenville Wodehouse]
Very Good, Jeeves (1930)
Men who have offered their lives for their country know that patriotism is not the fear of something; it is the love of something.
Adlai Stevenson (1900-1965) American diplomat, statesman
Speech, American Legion convention, New York City (27 Aug 1952)
Whenever the devil harasses you, seek the company of men or drink more, or joke and talk nonsense, or do some other merry thing. Sometimes we must drink more, sport, recreate ourselves, aye, and even sin a little to spite the devil, so that we leave him no place for troubling our consciences with trifles. We are conquered if we try too conscientiously not to sin at all. So when the devil says to you: “Do not drink,” answer him: “I will drink, and right freely, just because you tell me not to.” One must always do what Satan forbids.
Martin Luther (1483-1546) German religious reformer
Letter to Jerome Weller (Jul 1530)
(Source)
Alt. trans.: "We are soon defeated if we try too hard not to sin. So when the devil says ‘Do not drink’ answer him: ‘I shall drink, and right freely, just because you tell me not to!’"
My grandfather once told me that there were two kinds of people: those who do the work and those who take the credit. He told me to try to be in the first group; there was much less competition.
Indira Gandhi (1917-1984) Indian politician
(Attributed)
A small loan makes a debtor; a great one, an enemy.
Publilius Syrus (d. 42 BC) Assyrian slave, writer, philosopher [less correctly Publius Syrus]
Sententiae [Moral Sayings], # 12 [tr. Lyman (1862)]
My religiosity consists in a humble admiration of the infinitely superior spirit that reveals itself in the little that we, with our weak and transitory understanding, can comprehend of reality. Morality is of the highest importance — but for us, not for God.
Albert Einstein (1879-1955) German-American physicist
Letter, unsent (1927)
Written (in German) on a letter from a Colorado banker (5 Aug 1927), asking about the question of God. Quoted in H. Dukas, B. Hoffman (eds.), Albert Einstein: The Human Side (1981).
Enemies, as well as lovers, come to resemble each other over a period of time.
Sydney J. Harris (1917-1986) Anglo-American columnist, journalist, author
(Attributed)
Administrivia: Quote-by-Email / RSS Feed problems: solved
I’ve fixed the feed problems I introduced with the WordPress upgrade. All feeds — including the quotes-by-email from FeedBurner — should be working properly now. It not, please let me know.
For more info on the feeds here, you can choose the “Subscribe” link at the top of the page.
For a Westerner to trash Western culture is like criticizing our nitrogen/oxygen atmosphere on the grounds that it sometimes gets windy, and besides, Jupiter’s is much prettier. You may not realize its advantages until you’re trying to breathe liquid methane.
Neal Stephenson (b. 1959) American novelist
“In the Kindom of Mao Bell”, Wired, #2.02 (Feb 1994)
Full text.
Administrivia: Quote-by-Email / RSS Feed problems
Apologies to WIST followers via RSS or Atom feeds (or “Quotes of the Day” email people). During a recent upgrade to WordPress (10 July), I failed to reinstall / recreate the feed code that juggles includes the person who actually gave the quote, so that info has been missing.
I’m going to work on getting that back running today, so you may see some additional quotes passing through as I test it.
The greatest thing in family life is to take a hint when a hint is intended — and not to take a hint when a hint isn’t intended.
Robert Frost (1874-1963) American poet
Vogue (15 Mar 1963)
And if you’re going to criticize me for not finishing the whole thing and tying it up in a bow for you, why, do us both a favor and write your own damn book, only have the decency to call it a romance instead of a history, because history’s got no bows on it, only frayed ends of ribbons and knots that can’t be untied. It ain’t a pretty package, but then it’s not your birthday that I know of so I’m under no obligation to give you a gift.
The arousing of faith — whether religious, political, or social, whether faith in a work, in a person, or in an idea — has always been the function of the great leaders of crowds. … To endow a man with faith is to multiply his strength tenfold.
Gustave LeBon (1841-1931) German psychologist
The Crowd: A Study of the Popular Mind, 2.3.1 (1895)
The writer must believe that what he is doing is the most important thing in the world. And he must hold to this illusion even when he knows it is not true.
John Steinbeck (1902-1968) American writer
New York Times (2 Jun 1969)
Such things will cease to be written when men perceive that truth is the only merit that gives dignity and worth to history.
John Dalberg, Lord Acton (1834-1902) British historian
“The Massacre of St Bartholomew,” North British Review (Oct 1869)
Referencing Catholic denial and revisionism over the St Bartholomew's Day Massacre. Usually elided to start with "Truth is ..."
Collected in The History of Freedom and Other Essays (1907)
It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.
William Ernest Henley (1849-1903) English poet, critic, editor
“Invictus” (1875)
There is only one religion, though there are a hundred versions of it.
George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950) British playwright and critic
Plays: Pleasant and Unpleasant, Vol. II, Preface (1898)
Full text.
It is better for a leader to make a mistake in forgiving than to make a mistake in punishing.
Muhammad (570-632) Arabian merchant, prophet, founder of Islam [Mohammed]
Al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 1011
When one is on a tight rope, the most dangerous course is to stop.
Henry Kissinger (b. 1923) German-American diplomat
White House Years, ch. 32 (1979)
Every artist was first an amateur.
Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) American essayist, lecturer, poet
“Progress of Culture,” Letters and Social Aims (1876)
Full text.
The purpose of having an open mind is the same as having an open mouth, the object being eventually to close it on something solid. But one should never close either mind or mouth until the general circumstances of the moment make it reasonable to do so.
Steve Allen (1922-2000) American composer, entertainer, and wit.
(Attributed)
I love those who never preach but live the life according to their lights. Their lives are silent, yet most effective, testimonies. Therefore I cannot say what to preach, but I can say that a life of service and uttermost simplicity is the best preaching. A rose does not need to preach. It simply spreads its fragrance. The fragrance is its own sermon. If it had human understanding and if it could engage a number of preachers, the preachers would not be able to sell more rose than the fragrance itself could do. The fragrance of religious and spiritual life is much finer and subtler than that of the rose.
Mohandas Gandhi (1869-1948) Indian philosopher and nationalist [Mahatma Gandhi]
Harijan (29 Mar 1935)
Full text.
Indolence is a delightful but distressing state; we must be doing something to be happy.
William Hazlitt (1778-1830) English writer
Table Talk: Essays On Men And Manners, “On the Pleasure of Painting” (1821-1822)
Full text.
Men are idolaters and want something to look at and kiss and hug, or throw themselves down before; they always did, they always will; and if you don’t make it out of wood, you must make it out of words.
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. (1809-1894) American poet, essayist, scholar
The Poet at the Breakfast Table (1872 )
If falsehood, like truth, had but one face, we should be better off, for we should take for certain the contrary of what the liar said. But the opposite of truth has a hundred thousand shapes and a limitless field.
[Si comme la verité, le mensonge n’avoit qu’un visage, nous serions en meilleurs termes : car nous prendrions pour certain l’opposé de ce que diroit le menteur. Mais le revers de la verité a cent mille figures, et un champ indefiny.]
Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592) French essayist
Essays, Book 1, ch. 9 “On Liars [Des Menteurs]” (1572) (1.9) (1595) [tr. Ives (1925)]
(Source)
(Source (French)). Alternate translations:
If a lie had no more faces but one, as truth hath; we should be in farre better termes then we are: For, whatsoever a lier should say, we would take it in a contrarie sense. But the opposite of truth hath many-many shapes, and an undefinite field.
[tr. Florio (1603)]
If Falshood had, like Truth, but one Face only, we should be upon better Terms; for we should then take the contrary to what the Lyer says for certain Truth; but the Reverse of Truth has a hundred thousand Figures, and a Field indefinite without Bound or Limit.
[tr. Cotton (1686)]
If Falsehood had, like Truth, only one face, we should be upon better terms; for we should then take the contrary of what the liar should say for certain truth; but the reverse of truth has a hundred thousand forms, and a field without limits.
[tr. Friswell (1868)]
If falsehood had, like truth, but one face only, we should be upon better terms; for we should then take for certain the contrary to what the liar says: but the reverse of truth has a hundred thousand forms, and a field indefinite, without bound or limit.
[tr. Cotton/Hazlitt (1877)]
If falsehood, like truth, had only one face, we would be in better shape. For we would take as certain the opposite of what the liar said. But the reverse of truth has a hundred thousand shapes and a limitless field.
[tr. Frame (1943)]
If a lie, like truth, had only one face we could be on better terms, for certainty would be the reverse of what the liar said. But the reverse side of truth has a hundred thousand shapes and no defined limits.
[tr. Screech (1987)]
If, like truth, falsehood had only one face, we would be better off. We could trust that the opposite of whatever a liar says is true. But the flip side of the truth is endless and has a hundred thousand faces.
[tr. HyperEssays (2023)]
“From now on I’m thinking only of me.”
Major Danby replied indulgently with a superior smile: “But, Yossarian, suppose everyone felt that way?”
“Then,” said Yossarian, “I’d certainly be a damned fool to feel any other way, wouldn’t I?”
Joseph Heller (1923-1999) American novelist
Catch-22 (1961)
A certain critic — for such men, I regret to say, do exist — made the nasty remark about my last novel that it contained ‘all the old Wodehouse characters under different names’. He has probably now been eaten by bears, like the children who made mock of the prophet Elisha: but if he still survives he will not be able to make a similar charge against Summer Lightning. With my superior intelligence, I have outgeneralled this man by putting in all the old Wodehouse characters under the same names. Pretty silly it will make him feel, I rather fancy.
P. G. Wodehouse (1881-1975) Anglo-American humorist, playwright and lyricist [Pelham Grenville Wodehouse]
Summer Lightning, Preface (1929)
A hungry man is not a free man.
Adlai Stevenson (1900-1965) American diplomat, statesman
Speech, Kasson, Minnesota (6 Sep 1952)
The truth is the kindest thing we can give folks in the end.
Harriet Beecher Stowe (1811-1896) American author
The Pearl of Orr’s Island, ch. 36 [Aunt Roxy] (1869)
(Source)
A humane and generous concern for every individual, his health and his fulfillment, will do more to soothe the savage heart than the fear of state-inflicted death, which chiefly serves to remind us how close we remain to the jungle.
Ramsey Clark (1927-2021) American lawyer, bureaucrat, statesman
Testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee, New York Times (3 Jul 1968)
