WIST Quotations

Ingersoll, Robert Green -- Lecture (1881-05-01) “The Great Infidels,” Booth’s Theater, New York

Dave — Fri, 14 Aug 2026 23:00:27 +0000

It was also believed [in barbarous times] that certain things must be accepted as true, no matter whether they were reasonable or not; that it was pleasing to God to believe a certain creed, especially if it happened to be the creed of the majority.

Robert Green Ingersoll (1833–1899) American lawyer, freethinker, orator
Lecture (1881-05-01) “The Great Infidels,” Booth’s Theater, New York
(Source)

Thoreau, Henry David -- Walden; or, Life in the Woods, ch. 1 “Economy” (1854)

Dave — Mon, 08 Jun 2026 16:03:56 +0000

It is never too late to give up our prejudices.

Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862) American philosopher and writer
Walden; or, Life in the Woods, ch. 1 “Economy” (1854)
(Source)

Roosevelt, Eleanor -- Essay (1951-12), “This I Believe: Growth that Starts from Thinking,” on Edward R. Murrow, This I Believe, CBS Radio

Dave — Wed, 04 Mar 2026 16:58:08 +0000

Perhaps that’s what we all had to do — think out for ourselves what we could believe and how we could live by it. And so I came to the conclusion that you had to use this life to develop the very best that you could develop.

Eleanor Roosevelt (1884–1962) First Lady of the US (1933–1945), politician, diplomat, activist
Essay (1951-12), “This I Believe: Growth that Starts from Thinking,” on Edward R. Murrow, This I Believe, CBS Radio
(Source)

(Source (Audio); start 1:54). The essay was read without a script. The official transcript gives "what we all must do," but the audio clearly says, "what we all had to do."

Collected in Edward P. Morgan (ed.), This I Believe (1952).

Adams, John -- Letter (1820-07-08) to Simon Miller

Dave — Mon, 09 Feb 2026 21:10:41 +0000

My opinions indeed on Religious Subjects ought not to be of any consequence to any but myself.

John Adams (1735–1826) American lawyer, Founding Father, statesman, US President (1797–1801)
Letter (1820-07-08) to Simon Miller
(Source)

Ivins, Molly -- Essay (1973-01), “Pitfalls of Reporting in the Lone Star State,” Houston Journalism Review

Dave — Wed, 23 Apr 2025 15:09:47 +0000

It’s a damn sight simpler to criticize other people’s ideas than it is to set forth your own. One is never in so much danger of making an ass of one’s self as when one is engaged in saying, “This I believe …”

Molly Ivins (1944–2007) American writer, political columnist [Mary Tyler Ivins]
Essay (1973-01), “Pitfalls of Reporting in the Lone Star State,” Houston Journalism Review
(Source)

Collected in Molly Ivins Can't Say That, Can She? (1991).

Santayana, George -- The Life of Reason, vol. 3 “Reason in Religion,” ch. 1 (1905)

Dave — Fri, 28 Feb 2025 00:52:48 +0000

What religion a man shall have is a historical accident, quite as much as what language he shall speak. In the rare circumstances where a choice is possible, he may, with some difficulty, make an exchange; but even then he is only adopting a new convention which may be more agreeable to his personal temper but which is essentially as arbitrary as the old.

George Santayana (1863–1952) Spanish-American poet and philosopher [Jorge Agustín Nicolás Ruíz de Santayana y Borrás]
The Life of Reason, vol. 3 “Reason in Religion,” ch. 1 (1905)
(Source)

Euripides -- Electra [Ἠλέκτρα], l. 584ff (c. 420 BC) [tr. Theodoridis (2006)]

Dave — Tue, 04 Feb 2025 17:35:34 +0000

ORESTES: Otherwise how can we believe in the gods, if injustice can triumph over justice?

[ὈΡΈΣΤΗΣ:ἢ χρὴ μηκέθ᾽ ἡγεῖσθαι θεούς,
εἰ τἄδικ᾽ ἔσται τῆς δίκης ὑπέρτερα.]

Euripides (485?-406? BC) Greek tragic dramatist
Electra [Ἠλέκτρα], l. 584ff (c. 420 BC) [tr. Theodoridis (2006)]
(Source)

(Source (Greek)). Alternate translations:

Else shall we cease to think that any Gods
Exist, if Villainy prevail o'er Justice.
[tr. Wodhull (1809); Electra speaking]

Else we must no longer believe in gods, if wrong is to be victorious over right.
[tr. Coleridge (1891)]

It behooves one no longer to think that there are Gods, if unjust deeds get the advantage of justice.
[tr. Buckley (1892)]

We must believe no more
In Gods, if wrong shall triumph over right.
[tr. Way (1896)]

Else men shall know there is no God, no light
In Heaven, if wrong to the end shall conquer right.
[tr. Murray (1905)]

Else must we cease to believe in gods, if wrong is to triumph o'er right.
[tr. Coleridge (1938 ed.)]

For if wrongful acts
triumph over justice, then no longer
should we put any of our faith in gods.
[tr. Johnston (2009), l. 699ff]

Carlyle, Thomas -- Essay (1829-06), “Signs of the Times,” Edinburgh Review No. 98, Art. 7

Dave — Thu, 08 Feb 2024 23:52:09 +0000

No solitary miscreant, scarcely any solitary maniac, would venture on such actions and imaginations, as large communities of sane men have, in such circumstances, entertained as sound wisdom.

Thomas Carlyle (1795–1881) Scottish essayist and historian
Essay (1829-06), “Signs of the Times,” Edinburgh Review No. 98, Art. 7
(Source)

Allen, Steve -- Vulgarians at the Gate (2001)

Dave — Fri, 05 Feb 2021 17:27:40 +0000

Religious believers of the world, you are free to continue to debate the simple, narrow question that divides you from atheists, but you have no right, in so doing, to treat the Humanists of the world with contempt. You owe them a deep debt of gratitude, for not only have they shed much light on a naturally dark world but they have very probably helped civilize your own specific religion.

Steve Allen (1922–2000) American composer, entertainer, and wit.
Vulgarians at the Gate (2001)
(Source)

Sinclair, Upton -- The Profits of Religion, Book 1 “The Church of Conquerors,” “The Priestly Lie” (1917)

Dave — Tue, 19 May 2020 19:33:34 +0000

There are a score of great religions in the world, each with scores or hundreds of sects, each with its priestly orders, its complicated creed and ritual, its heavens and hells. Each has its thousands or millions or hundreds of millions of “true believers”; each damns all the others with more or less heartiness — and each is a mighty fortress of Graft.

Upton Sinclair (1878–1968) American writer, journalist, activist, politician
The Profits of Religion, Book 1 “The Church of Conquerors,” “The Priestly Lie” (1917)
(Source)

Emerson, Ralph Waldo -- Essay (1860), “Worship,” The Conduct of Life, ch. 6

Dave — Mon, 30 Jan 2017 23:02:22 +0000

People seem not to see that their opinion of the world is also a confession of character. We can only see what we are, and if we misbehave we suspect others.

Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882) American essayist, lecturer, poet
Essay (1860), “Worship,” The Conduct of Life, ch. 6
(Source)

Based on a course of lectures, "The Conduct of Life," delivered in Pittsburg (1851-03).

Kissinger, Henry -- The White House Years, ch. 3 (1979)

Dave — Mon, 03 Aug 2015 13:05:19 +0000

The convictions that leaders have formed before reaching high office are the intellectual capital they will consume as long as they continue in office. There is little time for leaders to reflect. They are locked in an endless battle in which the urgent constantly gains on the important. The public life of every political figure is a continual struggle to rescue an element of choice from the pressure of circumstance.

Henry Kissinger (1923–2024) German-American diplomat
The White House Years, ch. 3 (1979)

Schopenhauer, Arthur -- Parerga and Paralipomena, Vol. 2, ch. 26 “Psychological Observations [Psychologische Bemerkungen],” § 344 (1851) [tr. Payne (1974)]

Dave — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 15:45:51 +0000

There is no absurdity, however palpable, which cannot be firmly implanted in the minds of all, if only one begins to inculcate it before the early age of six by constantly repeating it to them with an air of great solemnity.

[Es giebt keine Absurdität , die so handgreiflich wäre , daß man sie nicht allen Menden fest in den Kopf regen könnte, wenn man nur schon vor ihrem sechsten Jahre anfienge, sie ihnen einzuprägen, indem manunabläffig und mit feierlichstem Ernst sie ihnen vorsagte.]

Arthur Schopenhauer (1788–1860) German philosopher
Parerga and Paralipomena, Vol. 2, ch. 26 “Psychological Observations [Psychologische Bemerkungen],” § 344 (1851) [tr. Payne (1974)]
(Source)

(Source (German)). Other translations:

There is no absurdity so palpable but that it may be firmly planted in the human head if you only begin to inculcate it before the age of five, by constantly repeating it with an air of great solemnity.
[tr. Saunders (1851)]

There is no absurdity, however palpable it may be, which may not be fixed in the minds of all men, if it is inculcated before they are six years old by continual and earnest repetition.
[tr. Dircks(1897)]

Stevenson, Adlai -- Speech (1952-08-28), “Faith in Liberalism,” State Committee of the Liberal Party, New York City

Dave — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 13:01:00 +0000

Laws are never as effective as habits. The fight for equal rights must go on every day in our own souls and consciences, in our schools and our churches and our homes, in our factories and our offices — as well as in our city councils, our state legislatures and our national Congress.

Adlai Stevenson II (1900–1965) American politician, diplomat, statesman
Speech (1952-08-28), “Faith in Liberalism,” State Committee of the Liberal Party, New York City
(Source)

Barrie, James -- The Twelve-Pound Look (1910)

Dave — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 11:35:39 +0000

KATE: Oh, Harry, you and your sublime religion.

SIR HARRY: My religion? I never was one to talk about religion, but —

KATE. Pooh, Harry, you don’t even know what your religion was and is and will be till the day of your expensive funeral. One’s religion is whatever he is most interested in, and yours is Success.

J. M. Barrie (1860–1937) Scottish novelist and dramatist [James Matthew Barrie]
The Twelve-Pound Look (1910)
(Source)

Russell, John "jr" -- Belief-L

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

In my opinion, any faith that cannot withstand a little shaking isn’t constructed too well to begin with. Jesus built his church on a rock, not on swampland.

John Russell (contemp.) ("jr")
Belief-L