WIST Quotations

Cicero, Marcus Tullius -- Pro Sestio [For Publius Sestius], ch. 68 / sec. 143 (56-02 BC) [tr. @sentantiq (2011)]

Dave — Thu, 09 Apr 2026 16:37:06 +0000

Let us spurn the rewards of today and look to future glory; let us deem best what is most honorable; let us hope for what we want, but bear what befalls us; finally, let us consider that even the bodies of brave men and great citizens are mortal; but that activity of the mind and the glory of virtue are for ever.

[Praesentis fructus neglegamus, posteritatis gloriae serviamus; id esse optimum putemus quod erit rectissimum; speremus quae volumus, sed quod acciderit feramus; cogitemus denique corpus virorum fortium magnorum hominum esse mortale, animi vero motus et virtutis gloriam sempiternam.]

Marcus Tullius Cicero (106–43 BC) Roman orator, statesman, philosopher
Pro Sestio [For Publius Sestius], ch. 68 / sec. 143 (56-02 BC) [tr. @sentantiq (2011)]
(Source)

(Source (Latin)). Other translations:

Let us disregard present gains, let us care only for the reputation we shall have with posterity; let us hope for that which we desire to have, but let us bear what shall have befallen us; lastly, let us reflect that the bodies of brave heroes and great men are mortal, but the emotions of the soul and the glory of their merits eternal.
[tr. Hickie (1888)]

Let us disregard present rewards, and fix our eyes on the glory which we shall receive from posterity. Let us think that the most desirable conduct, which is the most upright; let us hope for whatever we choose, but bear whatever befalls us, let us consider, lastly, that the bodies of brave men and great citizens are mortal, but that the impulses of the mind and the glory of virtue are everlasting.
[tr. Yonge (1891)]

Neglecting present gain, let us be in bondage to posterity; let us count best what is right; hoping to achieve our ends, let us nevertheless bear what may befall us; let us remember that the body of the great and brave is mortal, but the fame of their spirit and their virtues is eternal.
[tr. Rogers/Harley (1928)]

Let us disregard present advantages, let us work for glory in years to come; let us regard that as best which is most truly good ; let us hope for our wishes, but let us bear what comes. Lastly, let us remember, that if the body of a brave and great man is mortal, yet the impulses of the mind and the glory of virtue are eternal.
[tr. Gardner (Loeb) (1958)]

Dixon, Norman F. -- On the Psychology of Military Incompetence, Part 2, ch. 22 “Authoritarianism” (1976)

Dave — Wed, 25 Feb 2026 17:37:58 +0000

The values communicated by status-insecure parents are such that their children learn to put personal success and the acquisition of power above all else. They are taught to judge people for their usefulness rather than their likableness. Their friends, and even future marriage partners, are selected and used in the service of personal advancement; love and affection take second place to knowing the right people. They are taught to eschew weaknesses and passivity, to respect authority, and to despise those who have not made the socio-economic grade. Success is equated with social esteem and material advantage, rather than with more spiritual values.

Norman F. Dixon (1922–2013) British cognitive psychologist, author, military engineer
On the Psychology of Military Incompetence, Part 2, ch. 22 “Authoritarianism” (1976)
(Source)

McLaughlin, Mignon -- The Neurotic’s Notebook, ch. 7 (1963)

Dave — Mon, 06 Oct 2025 21:44:52 +0000

Life’s most painful condition: to be almost a celebrity.

Mignon McLaughlin (1913–1983) American journalist and author
The Neurotic’s Notebook, ch. 7 (1963)
(Source)

Carlin, George -- Book (1997), Brain Droppings, “Short Takes [Part 2]”

Dave — Wed, 01 Oct 2025 16:04:54 +0000

Some people see things that are and ask, Why? Some people dream of things that never were and ask, Why not? Some people have to go to work and don’t have time for all that shit.

George Carlin (1937–2008) American comedian
Book (1997), Brain Droppings, “Short Takes [Part 2]”
(Source)

See Shaw (1921).

Russell, Bertrand -- Conquest of Happiness, Part 1, ch. 3 “Competition” (1930)

Dave — Wed, 28 May 2025 15:35:50 +0000

For my part, the thing that I would wish to obtain from money would be leisure with security. But what the typical modern man desires to get with it is more money, with a view to ostentation, splendour, and the outshining of those who have hitherto been his equals.

Bertrand Russell (1872–1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Conquest of Happiness, Part 1, ch. 3 “Competition” (1930)
(Source)

Thoreau, Henry David -- Journal (1852-07-14)

Dave — Sat, 22 Mar 2025 19:34:29 +0000

The youth gets together his materials to build a bridge to the moon, or perchance a palace or temple on the earth, and at length the middle-aged man concludes to build a woodshed of them.

Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862) American philosopher and writer
Journal (1852-07-14)
(Source)

Martin, Judith -- “Miss Manners,” syndicated column (1983-12-31)

Dave — Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:43:07 +0000

When a society abandons its ideals just because most people can’t live up to them, behavior gets very ugly indeed.

Judith Martin (b. 1938) American author, journalist, etiquette expert [a.k.a. Miss Manners]
“Miss Manners,” syndicated column (1983-12-31)
(Source)

Collected in Miss Manners' Guide to Rearing Perfect Children, ch. 6 "Collegiate," "Undergraduate Romances" (1984).

Parker, Dorothy -- Interview (1956, Summer), “The Art of Fiction, No. 13,” by Marion Capron, The Paris Review, Issue 13

Dave — Wed, 23 Oct 2024 20:54:15 +0000

As for me, I’d like to have money. And I’d like to be a good writer. These two can come together, and I hope they will, but if that’s too adorable, I’d rather have the money. I hate almost all rich people, but I think I’d be darling at it.

Dorothy Parker (1893–1967) American writer, poet, wit
Interview (1956, Summer), “The Art of Fiction, No. 13,” by Marion Capron, The Paris Review, Issue 13
(Source)

Collected in Writers at Work: The Paris Review Interviews, First Series (1958).

Richter, Jean-Paul -- Titan, Jubilee 6, cycle 34, “Fifth” (1803) [tr. Brooks (1863)]

Dave — Fri, 19 Jul 2024 17:26:57 +0000

What makes old age so sad is, not that our joys, but that our hopes then cease.

[Das Alter ist nicht trübe weil darin unsere Freuden, sondern weil unsere Hoffnungen aufhören.]

Jean Paul Richter (1763–1825) German writer, art historian, philosopher, littérateur [Johann Paul Friedrich Richter; pseud. Jean Paul]
Titan, Jubilee 6, cycle 34, “Fifth” (1803) [tr. Brooks (1863)]
(Source)

(Source (German))

Ginott, Haim -- Teacher and Child, Preface (1972)

Dave — Fri, 16 Feb 2024 00:57:12 +0000

Teachers are expected to reach unattainable goals with inadequate tools. The miracle is that at times they accomplish this impossible task.

Haim Ginott (1922–1973) Israeli-American school teacher, child psychologist, psychotherapist [b. Haim Ginzburg]
Teacher and Child, Preface (1972)
(Source)

Young, Edward -- Poem (1743-12), “Night the 5th: The Relapse,” ll. 661-662, The Complaint: Or, Night Thoughts, Vol. 1 (1744)

Dave — Fri, 29 Dec 2023 21:51:23 +0000

Like our shadows,
Our wishes lengthen, as our sun declines.

Edward Young (1683–1765) English poet
Poem (1743-12), “Night the 5th: The Relapse,” ll. 661-662, The Complaint: Or, Night Thoughts, Vol. 1 (1744)
(Source)

Orwell, George -- Essay (1943-12-20), “Can Socialists Be Happy?” Tribune Newspaper [as John Freeman]

Dave — Wed, 07 Jul 2021 21:18:09 +0000

I suggest that the real objective of Socialism is not happiness. Happiness hitherto has been a by-product, and for all we know it may always remain so. The real objective of Socialism is human brotherhood. This is widely felt to be the case, though it is not usually said, or not said loudly enough. Men use up their lives in heart-breaking political struggles, or get themselves killed in civil wars, or tortured in the secret prisons of the Gestapo, not in order to establish some central-heated, air-conditioned, strip-lighted Paradise, but because they want a world in which human beings love one another instead of swindling and murdering one another. And they want that world as a first step. Where they go from there is not so certain, and the attempt to foresee it in detail merely confuses the issue.

George Orwell (1903–1950) English journalist, essayist, writer [pseud. of Eric Arthur Blair]
Essay (1943-12-20), “Can Socialists Be Happy?” Tribune Newspaper [as John Freeman]
(Source)

The date given for this article varies: the issue of Tribune it was published in was 1943-12-24, but Orwell apparently received a check for the work on 1943-12-20. Note this was not the regular "As I Please" column Blair (Orwell) did for Tribune, which he also wrote for that issue, but a special article written under a different alias for unconfirmed reasons.

The title is sometimes given as "Why Socialists Don't Believe in Fun."

Bergen, Edgar -- (Attributed)

Dave — Mon, 18 May 2020 17:03:19 +0000

CHARLIE MCCARTHY: Ambition is a poor excuse for not having sense enough to be lazy.

Edgar Bergen (1903–1978) American actor, radio performer, ventriloquist
(Attributed)

Angelou, Maya -- “The Art of Fiction,” Paris Review, #116, Interview with George Plimpton (1990)

Dave — Thu, 20 Feb 2020 19:46:31 +0000

Human beings are more alike than unalike. There’s no real mystique. Every human being, every Jew, Christian, back-slider, Muslim, Shintoist, Zen Buddhist, atheist, agnostic, every human being wants a nice place to live, a good place for the children to go to school, healthy children, somebody to love, the courage, the unmitigated gall, to accept love in return, some place to relax on Saturday or Sunday night, and some place to experience their God.

Maya Angelou (1928–2014) American poet, memoirist, activist [b. Marguerite Ann Johnson]
“The Art of Fiction,” Paris Review, #116, Interview with George Plimpton (1990)
(Source)

A similar passage, from a speech at Ohio Dominican College (9 Dec 1993): "Humans are wonderfully different and marvelously alike. Human being are more alike than unalike. Whether in Paris, Texas, or Paris, France, we all want to have good jobs where we are needed and respected and paid just a little more than we deserve. We want healthy children, safe streets, to be loved and have the unmitigated gall to accept love. If we are religious, we want a place to perpetuate God. If not, we want a good lecture every once in a while. And everyone wants someplace to party on Saturday nights."

Twain, Mark -- (Attributed)

Dave — Wed, 09 Dec 2015 15:53:22 +0000

Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great.

Mark Twain (1835–1910) American writer [pseud. of Samuel Clemens]
(Attributed)

Quoted in Gay Zenola MacLaren, Morally We Roll Along (1938). A recollection of something Twain said to the author when she was a child. For further discussion, see Quote Origin: Keep Away from People Who Try to Belittle Your Ambitions – Quote Investigator®.

Pratchett, Terry -- Discworld No. 30, The Wee Free Men (2003)

Dave — Fri, 13 Mar 2015 13:07:01 +0000

“Now … if you trust in yourself …”
“Yes?”
“… and believe in your dreams …”
“Yes?”
“… and follow your star …” Miss Tick went on.
“Yes?”
“… you’ll still be beaten by people who spent their time working hard and learning things and weren’t so lazy.”

Terry Pratchett (1948–2015) English author
Discworld No. 30, The Wee Free Men (2003)

Roosevelt, Eleanor -- Essay (1961-04), “What Has Happened to the American Dream?” Atlantic Monthly

Dave — Wed, 04 Feb 2015 14:35:45 +0000

The future will be determined by the young, and there is no more essential task today, it seems to me, than to bring before them once more, in all its brightness, in all its splendor and beauty, the American dream, lest we let it fade, too concerned with the ways of earning a living or impressing our neighbors or getting ahead or finding bigger and more potent ways of destroying the world and all that is in it.

Eleanor Roosevelt (1884–1962) First Lady of the US (1933–1945), politician, diplomat, activist
Essay (1961-04), “What Has Happened to the American Dream?” Atlantic Monthly
(Source)

(Source (Alternate))

Johnson, Lyndon -- Speech (1963-07-09), Women’s Meeting, Washington, D.C.

Dave — Wed, 31 Jul 2013 17:29:13 +0000

I taught school in the early days of my manhood and I think I know something about mothers. There is a thread of aspiration that runs strong in them. It is the fiber that has formed the most unselfish creatures who inhabit this earth. They want three things only; for their children to be fed, to be healthy, and to make the most of themselves.

Lyndon B. Johnson (1908–1973) American politician, educator, US President (1963–69)
Speech (1963-07-09), Women’s Meeting, Washington, D.C.

I have been unable to find a source for this quotation.

Joubert, Joseph -- Pensées [Thoughts], ch. 5 “Des Passions et des Affections de l’Âme [On the Soul],” ¶ 75 (1850 ed.) [tr. Calvert (1866)]

Dave — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 13:06:43 +0000

Good impulses are naught, unless they become good actions.

[Les bons mouvements ne sont rien, s’ils ne deviennent de bonnes actions.]

Joseph Joubert (1754–1824) French moralist, philosopher, essayist, poet
Pensées [Thoughts], ch. 5 “Des Passions et des Affections de l’Âme [On the Soul],” ¶ 75 (1850 ed.) [tr. Calvert (1866)]
(Source)

(Source (French))

Goethe, Johann von -- Sprüche in Prosa: Maximen und Reflexionen [Proverbs in Prose: Maxims and Reflections] (1833) [tr. Saunders (1893), “Literature and Art,” #500]

Dave — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 15:19:02 +0000

Higher aims are in themselves more valuable, even if unfulfilled, than lower ones quite attained.

[Die höheren Forderungen sind an sich schon schikbarer, auch unerfüllt, als niedrige, ganz erfüllte.]

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749–1832) German poet, statesman, scientist
Sprüche in Prosa: Maximen und Reflexionen [Proverbs in Prose: Maxims and Reflections] (1833) [tr. Saunders (1893), “Literature and Art,” #500]
(Source)

(Source (German)). Other translations:

Aims of a higher order, even though they be not fulfilled, are in themselves more valuable than lower ones entirely fulfilled.
[tr. Rönnfeldt (1900)]

Higher demands, even unfulfilled, are in themselves more worthy of esteem than lower demands completely fulfilled.
[tr. Stopp (1995), "Posthumous," #1085]

Jerome, Jerome K. -- “Dreams” (1886)

Dave — Thu, 01 Nov 2012 13:09:36 +0000

How dull, how impossible life would be without dreams — waking dreams, I mean — the dreams that we call “castles in the air,” built by the kindly hands of Hope! Were it not for the mirage of the oasis, drawing his footsteps ever onward, the weary traveler would lie down in the desert sand and die. It is the mirage of distant success, of happiness that, like the bunch of carrots fastened an inch beyond the donkey’s nose, seems always just within our reach, if only we will gallop fast enough, that makes us run so eagerly along the road of Life.

Jerome K. Jerome (1859–1927) English writer, humorist [Jerome Klapka Jerome]
“Dreams” (1886)
(Source)

Hoffer, Eric -- Passionate State of Mind, Aphorism 147 (1955)

Dave — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 14:31:02 +0000

The only index by which to judge a government or a way of life is by the quality of the people it acts upon. No matter how noble the objectives of a government, if it blurs decency and kindness, cheapens human life, and breeds ill will and suspicion — it is an evil government.

Eric Hoffer (1902–1983) American writer, philosopher, longshoreman
Passionate State of Mind, Aphorism 147 (1955)
(Source)

Alcott, Louisa May -- Work: A Story of Experience ch. 12 [Christie] (1875)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

Far away in the sunshine are my highest aspirations. I may not reach them, but I can look up and see the beauty, believe in them and try to follow where they lead.

Louisa May Alcott (1832–1888) American writer
Work: A Story of Experience ch. 12 [Christie] (1875)
(Source)

Thoreau, Henry David -- Walden; or, Life in the Woods, ch. 18 “Conclusion” (1854)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them.

Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862) American philosopher and writer
Walden; or, Life in the Woods, ch. 18 “Conclusion” (1854)
(Source)

Barrie, James -- The Little Minister, ch. 1 “The Love-Light” (1891)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

The life of every man is a diary in which he means to write one story and writes another, and his humblest hour is when he compares the volume as it is with what he vowed to make it.

J. M. Barrie (1860–1937) Scottish novelist and dramatist [James Matthew Barrie]
The Little Minister, ch. 1 “The Love-Light” (1891)
(Source)