WIST Quotations

Richardson, James -- Vectors: Aphorisms and Ten-Second Essays, # 20 (2001)

Dave — Fri, 11 Sep 2015 14:47:44 +0000

If a couple could see themselves twenty years later they might not recognize their love, but they would recognize their argument.

James Richardson (b. 1950) American poet
Vectors: Aphorisms and Ten-Second Essays, # 20 (2001)
(Source)

Lewis, C.S. -- Reflections on the Psalms (1964)

Dave — Fri, 15 Aug 2014 12:54:06 +0000

The very man who has argued you down, will sometimes be found, years later, to have been influenced by what you said.

C. S. Lewis (1898-1963) English writer, literary scholar, lay theologian [Clive Staples Lewis]
Reflections on the Psalms (1964)

~Proverbs and Sayings -- Lebanese proverb

Dave — Fri, 01 Aug 2014 13:18:04 +0000

Lower your voice and strengthen your argument.

Proverbs, Sayings, and Adages
Lebanese proverb

Clarke, Susanna -- Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell (2004)

Dave — Wed, 18 Jun 2014 12:36:06 +0000

In the end is it not futile to try and follow the course of a quarrel between husband and wife? Such a conversation is sure to meander more than any other. It draws in tributary arguments and grievances from years before — all quite incomprehensible to any but the two people they concern most nearly. Neither party is ever proved right or wrong in such a case, or, if they are, what does it signify?

Susanna Clarke (b. 1949) British author
Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell (2004)

Twain, Mark -- (Spurious)

Dave — Thu, 05 Jun 2014 14:50:56 +0000

Never argue with a fool; onlookers may not be able to tell the difference.

Mark Twain (1835-1910) American writer [pseud. of Samuel Clemens]
(Spurious)

Frequently attributed to Twain and also to Immanuel Kant (but never, in either case, with any citation). The phrase first makes recognizable (if anonymous) appearance in the late 19th Century; attributions to Twain begin in the late 1990s. See also Proverbs 26:4. For more discussion (and a shout-out to WIST) see here.

Gibbon, Edward -- (Attributed)

Dave — Fri, 30 May 2014 14:39:42 +0000

I never make the mistake of arguing with people for whose opinions I have no respect.

Edward Gibbon (1737-1794) English historian
(Attributed)

Quoted in The Fra (May 1913) and Elbert Hubbard's Scrap Book (1923).

~Proverbs and Sayings -- English proverb

Dave — Fri, 16 May 2014 13:16:24 +0000

If a donkey bray at you, don’t bray at him.

Proverbs, Sayings, and Adages
English proverb

Fuller, Thomas (1654) -- Introductio ad Prudentiam, Vol. 1, # 766 (1725)

Dave — Fri, 09 May 2014 14:46:26 +0000

In a Debate, rather pull to Pieces the Argument of thy Antagonist than offer him any of thy own; for thus thou wilt fight him in his own Country.

Thomas Fuller (1654-1734) English physician, preacher, aphorist, writer
Introductio ad Prudentiam, Vol. 1, # 766 (1725)
(Source)

Story, Joseph -- “Advice to a Young Lawyer”, The American Jurist and Law Magazine, Vol. 5 (1831)

Dave — Thu, 13 Feb 2014 14:29:24 +0000

Be brief, be pointed, let your matter stand
Lucid in order, solid and at hand;
Spend not your words on trifles but condense;
Strike with the mass of thought, not drops of sense;
Press to close with vigor, once begun,
And leave, (how hard the task!) leave off, when done.

Joseph Story (1779-1845) American lawyer, jurist, Supreme Court Justice (1811-1845)
“Advice to a Young Lawyer”, The American Jurist and Law Magazine, Vol. 5 (1831)

Carnegie, Dale -- How to Win Friends and Influence People (1936)

Dave — Fri, 31 Jan 2014 13:23:54 +0000

There is only one way under high heaven to get the best of an argument — and that is to avoid it.

Dale Carnegie (1888-1955) American writer, lecturer
How to Win Friends and Influence People (1936)

Euripides -- Protesilaus, fragment 656

Dave — Fri, 16 Aug 2013 12:29:16 +0000

Where two discourse, if the one’s anger rise,
The man who lets the contest fall is wise.

Euripides (485?-406? BC) Greek tragic dramatist
Protesilaus, fragment 656

Also attributed to Plutarch.