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)
I am not altogether on anybody’s side, because nobody is altogether on my side, if you understand me.
J.R.R. Tolkien (1892-1973) English writer, fabulist, philologist, academic [John Ronald Reuel Tolkien]
The Lord of the Rings, Vol. 2: The Two Towers, Book 3, ch. 4 “Treebeard” [Treebeard] (1954)
(Source)
I believe in Spinoza’s God, Who reveals Himself in the lawful harmony of the world, not in a God Who concerns Himself with the fate and the doings of mankind.
[Ich glaube an Spinozas Gott der sich in gesetzlicher Harmonie des Seienden offenbart, nicht an Gott der Sich mit Schicksalen und Handlungen der Menschen abgibt.]
Albert Einstein (1879-1955) German-American physicist
Correspondence with Rabbi Herbert S. Goldstein (1929)
(Source)
Response to Goldstein's telegram asking, "Do you believe in God?" following attacks on Einstein as being an atheist. Reported in the New York Times (25 Apr 1929).
Our dilemma is that we hate change and love it at the same time; what we really want is for things to remain the same but get better.
Sydney J. Harris (1917-1986) Anglo-American columnist, journalist, author
(Attributed)
One should forgive one’s enemies, but not before they are hanged.
Heinrich Heine (1797-1856) German poet and critic
(Attributed, 1848)
Alt trans: "One must forgive one's enemies, but not before they are hanged."
For every man who lives without freedom, the rest of us must face the guilt.
Lillian Hellman (1905-1984) American playwright, screenwriter
The Watch on the Rhine (1941)
In a crowd every sentiment and act is contagious, and contagious to such a degree that an individual readily sacrifices his personal interest to the collective interest.
Gustave LeBon (1841-1931) German psychologist
The Crowd: A Study of the Popular Mind, 1.1 (1895)
A journey is like marriage. The certain way to be wrong is to think you control it.
John Steinbeck (1902-1968) American writer
Travels With Charley: In Search of America, Part 1 (1962)
Cautious, careful people, always casting about to preserve their reputation and social standing, never can bring about a reform. Those who are really in earnest must be willing to be anything or nothing in the world’s estimation, and publicly and privately, in season and out, avow their sympathy with despised and persecuted ideas and their advocates, and bear the consequences.
Susan B. Anthony (1820-1906) American reformer, aboltionist, sufferagist
“On the Campaign for Divorce Law Reform” (1860)
Charity and loving-kindness are powerful defenses on the Day of Judgment.
The Talmud (AD 200-500) Collection of Jewish rabbinical writings
(Unreferenced)
JANE: I once went on holiday and pretended to be twins. It was amazing fun. I invented this mad, glamorous sister and went around really annoying everybody. And d’you know, I could get away with anything when I was my crazy twin Jane.
SALLY: But you’re Jane.
JANE: Kinda stuck. It’s a long story.
Steven Moffat (b. 1961) Scottish television writer, producer
Coupling, Ep. 2.9 “The Other End of the Line” (29 Oct 2001)
Nothing ever is done in this world until men are prepared to kill one another if it is not done.
George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950) British playwright and critic
Major Barbara, Act III [Undershaft] (1905)
Full text.
He has honor if he holds himself to an ideal of conduct though it is inconvenient, unprofitable, or dangerous to do so.
Gold was opposed to segregation and equally opposed to integration. Certainly he did not believe that women or homosexuals should suffer persecution or discrimination. On the other hand, he was privately opposed to all equal rights amendments, for he certainly did not want members of either group associating with him on levels of equality or familiarity.
Joseph Heller (1923-1999) American novelist
Good as Gold (1976)
Nothing, of course, begins at the time you think it did.
Lillian Hellman (1905-1984) American playwright, screenwriter
An Unfinished Woman (1969)
What with your exercises, some reading, and a great deal of company, your day is, I confess, extremely taken up; but the day, if well employed, is long enough for everything; and I am sure you will not slattern away one moment of it in inaction.
Lord Chesterfield (1694-1773) English statesman, wit [Philip Dormer Stanhope]
Letter to his son, #238 (8 Jan 1751)
(Source)
The golden rule of conduct, therefore, is mutual toleration, seeing that we will never all think alike and we shall see Truth in fragment and from different angles of vision. Conscience is not the same thing for all. Whilst, therefore, it is a good guide for individual conduct, imposition of that conduct upon all will be an insufferable interference with everybody’s freedom of conscience.
Mohandas Gandhi (1869-1948) Indian philosopher and nationalist [Mahatma Gandhi]
Young India (23 Sep 1926)
Full text.
All that is worth remembering in life, is the poetry of it.
William Hazlitt (1778-1830) English writer
Lectures on English Poets, #1 “On Poetry in General” (1818)
Full text.
I am now more proud of the title of American than I have ever been. […] We have shed our blood in the glorious cause in which we are engaged; and we are ready to shed the last drop in its defense. Nothing is above our courage, except only (with shame I speak it) except the courage to TAX ourselves.
James Madison (1751-1836) American statesman, political theorist, US President (1809-17)
Letter, Philadelphia (9 Jun 1782)
There’s a generous current in the American spirit. And if we can simply give voice to that once in a while, I think it’s a good message.
Fred Rogers (1928-2003) American educator, minister, songwriter, television host ["Mister Rogers"]
AP Interview
We, the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
(Other Authors and Sources)
Constitution of the United States, preamble (17 Sep 1787)
The love of liberty is the love of others; the love of power is the love of ourselves.
William Hazlitt (1778-1830) English writer
“The Times Newspaper” Political Essays (1819)
We talk a great deal about patriotism. What do we mean by patriotism in the context of our times? I venture to suggest that what we mean is a sense of national responsibility which will enable America to remain master of her power — to walk with it in serenity and wisdom, with self-respect and the respect of all mankind; a patriotism that puts country ahead of self; a patriotism which is not short, frenzied outbursts of emotion, but the tranquil and steady dedication of a lifetime. The dedication of a lifetime — these are words that are easy to utter, but this is a mighty assignment. For it is often easier to fight for principles than to live up to them.
Adlai Stevenson (1900-1965) American diplomat, statesman
Speech, American Legion convention, New York City (27 Aug 1952)
It is impossible to enjoy idling thoroughly unless one has plenty of work to do. There is no fun in doing nothing when you have nothing to do. Wasting time is merely an occupation then, and a most exhausting one. Idleness, like kisses, to be sweet must be stolen.
Jerome K. Jerome (1859-1927) English writer, humorist [Jerome Klapka Jerome]
“On Being Idle,” Idle Thoughts of an Idle Fellow (1886)
(Source)
So long as you are a slave to the opinions of the many you have not yet approached freedom or tasted its nectar … But I do not mean by this that we ought to be shameless before all men and to do what we ought not; but all that we refrain from and all that we do, let us not do or refrain from merely because it seems to the multitude somehow honorable or base, but because it is forbidden by reason and the god within us.
Julian II (AD 331-363), Emperor of Rome (355-363) [Flavius Claudius Julianus; Julian the Apostate; Julian the Philosopher]
Oration VI, “To the Uneducated Cynics” (AD 362)
(Source)
Sometimes attributed to Marcus Aurelius.
SALLY: It’s a scientific fact that if you say “naked” three or more times, to any man, he has to cross his legs.
Steven Moffat (b. 1961) Scottish television writer, producer
Coupling, Ep. 2.8 “Naked” (22 Oct 2001)
I have come to believe that a great teacher is a great artist and that there are as few as there are any other great artists. It might even be the greatest of the arts since the medium is the human mind and spirit.
John Steinbeck (1902-1968) American writer
“…like captured fireflies” (1955)
Without courage we cannot practice any other virtue with consistency. We can’t be kind, true, merciful, generous, or honest.
Maya Angelou (1928-2014) American poet, memoirist, activist [b. Marguerite Ann Johnson]
Quoted USA Today (5 Mar 1988)
The idea is like the seed corn; it grows imperceptibly in secret. When I have invented or discovered the beginning of a song …, I shut up the book and go for a walk or take up something else; I think no more of it for perhaps half a year. Nothing is lost, though. When I come back to it again, it has unconsciously taken a new shape, and is ready for me to begin working at it.
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) German composer and pianist
Conversation with George Henschel
(Source)
Quoted in a letter to Herr and Frau von Herzogenberg in Max Kalbeck, ed., the Brahms-Gesellschaft collection of correspondence, Vol. 2 [tr. Bryant (1909)], as cited in John Alexander Fuller-Maitland, Brahms, ch. 3 (1911).
If you can keep your head when about you are losing theirs, it’s just possible you haven’t grasped the situation.
Jean Kerr (1922-2003) American author and playwright [b. Bridget Jean Collins]
Please Don’t Eat the Daisies, Introduction (1957)
We often stand in need of hearing what we know full well.
Walter Savage Landor (1775–1864) English writer and poet
Imaginary Conversations, “Lord Bacon and Richard Hooker” (1824-53)
‘Yes, sir,’ said Jeeves in a low, cold voice, as if he had been bitten in the leg by a personal friend.
P. G. Wodehouse (1881-1975) Anglo-American humorist, playwright and lyricist [Pelham Grenville Wodehouse]
Carry On, Jeeves (1925)
Laws are never as effective as habits.
Adlai Stevenson (1900-1965) American diplomat, statesman
Speech, New York City (28 Aug 1952)
If the people raise a great howl against my barbarity and cruelty, I will answer that war is war, and not popularity-seeking. If they want peace, they and their relatives must stop the war.
William Tecumseh Sherman (1820-1891) American military leader and author
Letter to Gen. Henry W. Halleck (4 Sep 1864)
True consistency, that of the prudent and the wise, is to act in conformity with circumstance.
John C. Calhoun (1782-1850) American Vice President, politician, statesman
Speech, Senate (16 Mar 1848)
Spare me through Your mercy, do not punish me through Your justice.
Anselm of Canterbury (1033-1109) British monk, theologian, archbishop, saint.
Proslogion
I’ve been rich and I’ve been poor. It’s better to be rich.
Gertrude Stein (1874-1946) American expatriate author, feminist
(Attributed)
They are the only honest hypocrites. Their life is a voluntary dream; a studied madness.
William Hazlitt (1778-1830) English writer
“On Actors and Acting,” “The Round Table” column, The Examiner (5 Jan 1817)
The modern world seems to have no notion of preserving different things side by side, of allowing its proper and proportionate place to each, of saving the whole varied heritage of culture. It has no notion except that of simplifying something by destroying nearly everything.
Gilbert Keith Chesterton (1874-1936) English journalist and writer
“Holding on to Romanticism,” The Illustrated London News (2 May 1931)
Gratitude, like love, is never a dependable international emotion.
Joseph R. Alsop, Jr. (1910-1989) American journalist
In The Observer (30 Nov 1952)
He that can have patience can have what he will.
Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) American statesman, scientist, philosopher, aphorist
Poor Richard’s Almanack (1736)
Full text.
Boyhood, like measles, is one of those complaints which a man should catch young and have done with, for when it comes in middle life it is apt to be serious.
P. G. Wodehouse (1881-1975) Anglo-American humorist, playwright and lyricist [Pelham Grenville Wodehouse]
The Adventures of Sally (1922)
The whole notion of loyalty inquisitions is a national characteristic of the police state, not of democracy. The history of Soviet Russia is a modern example of this ancient practice. I must, in good conscience, protest against any unnecessary suppression of our rights as free men. We must not burn down the house to kill the rats.
Adlai Stevenson (1900-1965) American diplomat, statesman
Speech, Opposing the McCarran Internal Security Act (1950)
There is no top. There are always further heights to reach.
Jascha Heifetz (1901-1987) Lithuanian-American violinist
(Attributed)
[I change my mind] in accordance with the circumstances and not, like you people, because of a weak character.
Leotychidas (c. 545–469 BC) Spartan king [Leotychides, Latychidas]
In Plutarch, “Sayings of the Spartans: Leotychidas,” Plutarch on Sparta [tr. R. Talbert (1988)]
I think that modern physics has definitely decided in favor of Plato. In fact the smallest units of matter are not physical objects in the ordinary sense; they are forms, ideas which can be expressed unambiguously only in mathematical language.
Werner Heisenberg (1901-1976) German physicist
(Attributed)
Quoted in The New York Times Book Review (8 Mar 1992)
All civilization has from time to time become a thin crust over a volcano of revolution.
Havelock Ellis (1859-1939) British sexologist, physician, social reformer [Henry Havelock Ellis]
“The Individual and the Race,” Little Essays of Love and Virtue (1922)
(Source)
In a passage describing the cost of population growth under the Biblical commandment of "Be ye fruitful and multiply." The above is only a fraction of the sentence, which reads in full:
It has meant that all civilisation has from time to time become a thin crust over a volcano of revolution, and the human race has gone on lightly dancing there, striving to forget that ancient warning from a soul of things even deeper than the voice of Jehovah: "At the hand of man will I require the life of man."
The remarkable thing about Shakespeare is that he is really very good — in spite of all the people who say he is very good.
Robert Graves (1895-1985) English poet, novelist, critic
In The Observer (6 Dec 1964)
People seldom speak ill of themselves, but when they have a good chance of being contradicted.
Fulke Greville (1554-1628) 1st Baron Brooke; Elizabethan poet, dramatist, and statesman
Maxims, Characters, and Reflections (1756)
While opinions were arguable, convictions needed shooting to be cured.
T. E. Lawrence (1888–1935) British officer, diplomat, linguist, memoirist, writer [Thomas Edward Lawrence, "Lawrence of Arabia"]
Seven Pillars of Wisdom: A Triumph, ch. 33 (1926)
There is nothing so pitiful as a young cynic because he has gone from knowing nothing to believing nothing.
Maya Angelou (1928-2014) American poet, memoirist, activist [b. Marguerite Ann Johnson]
(Attributed)
It’s not the honors and the prizes and the fancy outsides of life which ultimately nourish our souls. It’s the knowing that we can be trusted, that we never have to fear the truth, that the bedrock of our very being is good stuff.
Fred Rogers (1928-2003) American educator, minister, songwriter, television host ["Mister Rogers"]
Commencement Address, Middlebury College (May 2001)
(Source)
Love is like quicksilver in the hand, Sylvie. Leave the fingers open and it stays in the palm; clutch it, and it darts away.
Dorothy Parker (1893-1967) American writer
“Advice to the Little Peyton Girl,” Modern Story (Oct 1935)
Man is the religious animal. He is the only religious animal. He is the only animal that has the True Religion — several of them. He is the only animal that loves his neighbor as himself and cuts his throat, if his theology isn’t straight. He has made a graveyard of the globe in trying his honest best to smooth his brother’s path to happiness and heaven.
Mark Twain (1835-1910) American writer [pseud. of Samuel Clemens]
Letters from Earth (1939)
