WIST Quotations

Shakespeare, William -- Macbeth, Act 5, sc. 8, l. 38ff (5.8.38-39) (1606)

Dave — Mon, 06 Jan 2025 17:26:31 +0000

MACBETH: Lay on, Macduff,
And damned be him that first cries “Hold! Enough!”

William Shakespeare (1564-1616) English dramatist and poet
Macbeth, Act 5, sc. 8, l. 38ff (5.8.38-39) (1606)
(Source)

Umebinyuo, Ijeoma -- “Start now” (27 Sep 2014)

Dave — Wed, 03 Feb 2016 15:42:30 +0000

Start now. Start where you are. Start with fear. Start with pain. Start with doubt. Start with hands shaking. Start with voice trembling but start. Start and don’t stop. Start where you are, with what you have. Just … start.

Ijeoma Umebinyuo (contemp.) Nigerian poet
“Start now” (27 Sep 2014)
(Source)

Horace -- Epistles [Epistularum, Letters], Book 1, ep. 2 “To Lollius,” l. 40ff (1.2.40-41) (20 BC) [tr. Fairclough (Loeb) (1926)]

Dave — Thu, 28 Jan 2016 17:21:44 +0000

Well begun is half done; dare to be wise; begin!

[Dimidium facti qui coepit habet; sapere aude;
incipe!]

Horace (65–8 BC) Roman poet, satirist, soldier, politician [Quintus Horatius Flaccus]
Epistles [Epistularum, Letters], Book 1, ep. 2 “To Lollius,” l. 40ff (1.2.40-41) (20 BC) [tr. Fairclough (Loeb) (1926)]
(Source)

See Aristotle.

(Source (Latin)). Other translations:

The facte begun, to one halfe is done, be wyse and take good harte:
Begin.
[tr. Drant (1567)]

Begin, be bold, and venture to be wise.
[tr. Cowley (17th C)]

Set forth, thou'rt half thy way.
Dare to be wise: Begin.
[tr. Fanshawe; ed. Brome (1666)]

Begin: 'tis half the work: assume the power
To live: expect not for a fairer hower.
[tr. "Dr. W."; ed. Brome (1666)]

He that hath once begun a good design,
Hath finish't half; dare to be wise, begin.
[tr. Creech (1684)]

Dare to be wise; begin; for, once begun,
Your task is easy; half the work is done.
[tr. Francis (1747)]

In virtue's race to start is half to win;
Come then, be wise -- take courage and begin!
[tr. Howes (1845)]

He has half the deed done, who has made a beginning. Boldly undertake the study of true wisdom: begin it forthwith.
[tr. Smart/Buckley (1853)]

Come now, have courage to be wise: begin:
You're halfway over when you once plunge in.
[tr. Conington (1874)]

Make a good start, and you are sure to win.
So, then, have courage to be wise! Begin!
[tr. Martin (1881)]

Whoever has begun a deed, by so doing has accomplished half of it. Dare to be wise. Begin.
[tr. Elgood (1893)]

Well begun
Is half done. Dare to be wise. Get under way!
[tr. Palmer Bovie (1959)]

Once you start, it's nearly done. Be brave and wise:
Begin.
[tr. Fuchs (1977)]

To begin a job is half the labor: be brave
Enough to be wise: begin!
[tr. Raffel (1983)]

Get yourself going and you'll be halfway there;
Dare to be wise; get started.
[tr. Ferry (2001)]

Well begun is half done. Dare to be wise.
Start now.
[tr. Rudd (2005 ed.)]

Who’s started has half finished: dare to be wise: begin!
[tr. Kline (2015)]

He who has begun has half done. Dare to be wise; begin!
[Bartlett's]

Rossetti, Christina -- Time Flies: A Reading Diary, “January 5” (1886)

Dave — Fri, 05 Jun 2015 22:59:04 +0000

Can anything be sadder than work left unfinished? Yes: work never begun.

Christina Rossetti (1830-1894) English poet
Time Flies: A Reading Diary, “January 5” (1886)
(Source)

Hill, Napoleon -- Think and Grow Rich (1937)

Dave — Thu, 21 May 2015 12:04:54 +0000

The starting point of all achievement is desire.

Napoleon Hill (1883-1970) American author, motivational writer
Think and Grow Rich (1937)

Du Deffand, Marie -- Letter to Horace Walpole (6 Jun 1767)

Dave — Mon, 05 Jan 2015 15:05:45 +0000

The distance is nothing; it is only the first step that costs.

Marie Anne de Vichy-Chamrond, Marquise du Deffand (1697-1780) French hostess and patron of the arts [Madame du Deffand].
Letter to Horace Walpole (6 Jun 1767)

Carroll, Lewis -- Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, ch. 12 (1865)

Dave — Mon, 15 Dec 2014 13:09:24 +0000

‘Where shall I begin, please your Majesty?’ he asked.

‘Begin at the beginning,’ the King said, gravely, ‘and go on till you come to the end: then stop.’

Lewis Carroll (1832-1898) English writer and mathematician [pseud. of Rev. Charles Lutwidge Dodgson]
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, ch. 12 (1865)

Paine, Thomas -- Common Sense (14 Feb 1776)

Dave — Fri, 18 May 2012 20:41:51 +0000

We have it in our power to begin the world over again.

Thomas Paine (1737-1809) American political philosopher and writer
Common Sense (14 Feb 1776)

Fuller, Thomas (1654) -- Gnomologia: Adages and Proverbs (compiler), # 2353 (1732)

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

He that will not sail till all Dangers are over, must never put out to Sea.

Thomas Fuller (1654-1734) English physician, preacher, aphorist, writer
Gnomologia: Adages and Proverbs (compiler), # 2353 (1732)
(Source)