WIST Quotations

Rousseau, Jean-Jacques -- Emile, ch. 4 (1762) [tr. Foxley (1911)]

Dave — Tue, 19 Jan 2016 14:18:28 +0000

By doing good we become good.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712–1778) French philosopher and writer
Emile, ch. 4 (1762) [tr. Foxley (1911)]

Fuller, Thomas (1654) -- Gnomologia: Adages and Proverbs (compiler), # 2382 (1732)

Dave — Tue, 03 Nov 2015 14:40:37 +0000

He who fasteth and doth no Good, saveth his Bread but loseth his Soul.

Thomas Fuller (1654–1734) English physician, preacher, aphorist, writer
Gnomologia: Adages and Proverbs (compiler), # 2382 (1732)
(Source)

Muhammad -- (Attributed)

Dave — Mon, 24 Aug 2015 14:41:45 +0000

Every good act is charity. A man’s true wealth hereafter is the good that he does in this world to his fellows.

Muhammad (AD c. 570–632) Arab religious, military, and political leader; founder of Islam [Mohammed, مُحَمَّد]
(Attributed)
(Source)

Attributed in Rev. James Wood (ed.) Dictionary of Quotations from Ancient and Modern, English and Foreign Sources (1893). Also sometimes attributed to Moliere.

Lowell, James Russell -- “Rousseau And The Sentimentalists,” North American Review (Jul 1867)

Dave — Mon, 10 Aug 2015 14:45:11 +0000

It is when the sentimentalist turns preacher of morals that we investigate his character, and are justified in so doing. He may express as many and as delicate shades of feeling as he likes, — for this the sensibility of his organization perfectly fits him, no other person could do it so well, — but the moment he undertakes to establish his feeling as a rule of conduct, we ask at once how far are his own life and deed in accordance with what he preaches? For every man feels instinctively that all the beautiful sentiments in the world weigh less than a single lovely action; and that while tenderness of feeling and susceptibility to generous emotions are accidents of temperament, goodness is an achievement of the will and a quality of the life. Fine words, says our homely old proverb, butter no parsnips; and if the question be how to render those vegetables palatable, an ounce of butter would be worth more than all the orations of Cicero. The only conclusive evidence of a man’s sincerity is that he give himself for a principle. Words, money, all things else, are comparatively easy to give away; but when a man makes a gift of his daily life and practice, it is plain that the truth, whatever it may be, has taken possession of him.

James Russell Lowell (1819–1891) American diplomat, essayist, poet
“Rousseau And The Sentimentalists,” North American Review (Jul 1867)
(Source)

Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth -- The Song of Hiawatha (1855)

Dave — Mon, 27 Jul 2015 13:23:43 +0000

Deeds are better things than words are,
Actions mightier than boastings.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807–1882) American poet
The Song of Hiawatha (1855)

Twain, Mark -- The Autobiography of Mark Twain, Vol. 1 (2010)

Dave — Wed, 11 Mar 2015 12:26:07 +0000

What a wee little part of a person’s life are his acts and his words! His real life is led in his head, and is known to none but himself. All day long, and every day, the mill of his brain is grinding, and his thoughts (which are but the mute articulation of his feelings,) not those other things, are his history. His acts and his words are merely the visible thin crust of his world, with its scarred snow summits and its vacant wastes of water — and they are so trifling a part of his bulk! a mere skin enveloping it. The mass of him is hidden — it and its volcanic fires that toss and boil, and never rest, night nor day. These are his life, and they are not written, and cannot be written. Every day would make a whole book of eighty thousand words — three hundred and sixty-five books a year. Biographies are but the clothes and buttons of the man — the biography of the man himself cannot be written.

Mark Twain (1835–1910) American writer [pseud. of Samuel Clemens]
The Autobiography of Mark Twain, Vol. 1 (2010)
(Source)

Milton, John -- Observations upon the Articles of Peace with the Irish Rebels (1649)

Dave — Wed, 17 Sep 2014 14:03:14 +0000

Just deeds are the best answer to injurious words.

John Milton (1608–1674) English poet
Observations upon the Articles of Peace with the Irish Rebels (1649)

Kennedy, A. L. -- In “Ten Rules for Writing Fiction,” The Guardian (20 Feb 2010)

Dave — Thu, 10 Jul 2014 13:03:36 +0000

Write. No amount of self-inflicted misery, altered states, black pullovers or being publicly obnoxious will ever add up to your being a writer. Writers write. On you go.

Alison Louise "A. L." Kennedy (b. 1965) Scottish writer and comedian
In “Ten Rules for Writing Fiction,” The Guardian (20 Feb 2010)
(Source)

Fielding, Henry -- A History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, Book 4, ch. 12 (1749)

Dave — Fri, 23 May 2014 18:14:00 +0000

Handsome is that handsome does.

Henry Fielding (1707–1754) English novelist, dramatist, satirist
A History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, Book 4, ch. 12 (1749)

Ingersoll, Robert Green -- “What Must We Do To Be Saved?” sec. 11 (1880)

Dave — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 14:54:54 +0000

I propose good fellowship — good friends all around. No matter what we believe, shake hands and let it go. That is your opinion; this is mine: let us be friends. Science makes friends; religion, superstition, makes enemies. They say: Belief is important. I say: No, actions are important. Judge by deed, not by creed. Good fellowship — good friends — sincere men and women — mutual forbearance, born of mutual respect.

Robert Green Ingersoll (1833–1899) American lawyer, freethinker, orator
“What Must We Do To Be Saved?” sec. 11 (1880)
(Source)

Tolkien, J.R.R. -- The Lord of the Rings, Vol. 3: The Return of the King, Book 5, ch. 2 “The Passing of the Grey Company” [Aragorn and Eowyn] (1955)

Dave — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 12:39:34 +0000

“What do you fear, lady?” he asked.
“A cage,” she said. “To stay behind bars, until use and old age accept them, and all chance of doing great deeds is gone beyond recall or desire.”

J.R.R. Tolkien (1892–1973) English writer, fabulist, philologist, academic [John Ronald Reuel Tolkien]
The Lord of the Rings, Vol. 3: The Return of the King, Book 5, ch. 2 “The Passing of the Grey Company” [Aragorn and Eowyn] (1955)
(Source)

Talmud -- (Unreferenced)

Dave — Sat, 28 May 2011 05:35:23 +0000

Deeds of kindness are equal in weight to all the commandments.

The Talmud (AD 200–500) Collection of Jewish rabbinical writings
(Unreferenced)

In Louis I. Newman, comp., The Talmudic Anthology, #177 (1945)