WIST Quotations

Roosevelt, Theodore -- Speech (1910-04-23), “Citizenship in a Republic [The Man in the Arena],” Sorbonne, Paris

Dave — Sun, 23 Mar 2025 22:29:02 +0000

That is why I decline to recognize the mere multimillionaire, the man of mere wealth, as an asset of value to any country, and especially as not an asset to my own country. If he has earned or uses his wealth in a way that makes him of real benefit, of real use — and such is often the case — why, then he does become an asset of worth. But it is the way in which it has been earned or used, and not the mere fact of wealth, that entitles him to the credit.

Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919) American politician, statesman, conservationist, writer, US President (1901–1909)
Speech (1910-04-23), “Citizenship in a Republic [The Man in the Arena],” Sorbonne, Paris
(Source)

Franklin, Benjamin -- Poor Richard (1747 ed.)

Dave — Tue, 07 Feb 2023 16:46:44 +0000

Write Injuries in Dust, Benefits in Marble.

Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) American statesman, scientist, philosopher, aphorist
Poor Richard (1747 ed.)
(Source)

As with so much else of Franklin's, this phrase is not without earlier forms, e.g.: Thomas More, History of King Richard III (1513):

For men use, if they have an evil turn, to write it in marble; and whosoever does us a good turn, we write it in dust.

Or see Shakespeare, Henry VIII 4.2.45-46 (1613):

Men's evil manners live in brass, their virtues
We write in water.

Variants include "but kindnesses in marble" or "but kindness in marble."

This also shows up as a French saying in various forms:

"Ecrivez les injures sur le sable, mais les bienfaits sur le marbre."
"Écrivez les injures sur le sable, gravez les bienfaits sur le marbre."

Rogers, Will -- Radio broadcast (1935-04-07)

Dave — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 22:56:03 +0000

Well, we cuss the lawmakers. But I notice we’re always perfectly willin’ to share in any of the sums of money that they might distribute.

Will Rogers (1879-1935) American humorist
Radio broadcast (1935-04-07)
(Source)

Gladwell, Malcolm -- Outliers: The Story of Success, ch. 1 “The Matthew Effect,” sec. 5 (2008)

Dave — Mon, 16 Jan 2023 19:57:24 +0000

It is those who are successful, in other words, who are most likely to be given the kinds of special opportunities that lead to further success. It’s the rich who get the biggest tax breaks. It’s the best students who get the best teaching and most attention. And it’s the biggest nine- and ten-year-olds who get the most coaching and practice. Success is the result of what sociologists like to call “accumulative advantage.”

Malcolm Gladwell (b. 1963) Anglo-Canadian journalist, author, public speaker
Outliers: The Story of Success, ch. 1 “The Matthew Effect,” sec. 5 (2008)
(Source)

Euripides -- Antiope [Αντιοπη], frag. 205 (Kannicht) (c. 410 BC) [tr. @sentantiq (2015)]

Dave — Tue, 20 Sep 2022 15:27:27 +0000

I know that I suffer and this is no small pain:
Not to know, now that brings some pleasure to
The troubled — ignorance is an advantage amid grief.

[φρονῶ δ’ ὃ πάσχω, καὶ τόδ’ οὐ σμικρὸν κακόν·
τὸ μὴ εἰδέναι γὰρ ἡδονὴν ἔχει τινὰ
νοσοῦντα, κέρδος δ’ ἐν κακοῖς ἀγνωσία.]

Euripides (485?-406? BC) Greek tragic dramatist
Antiope [Αντιοπη], frag. 205 (Kannicht) (c. 410 BC) [tr. @sentantiq (2015)]
(Source)

A source for the phrase, "Ignorance is bliss." (Source (Greek); see also TGF frag 204). Alternate translation:

I understand what I endure, and this
Is no small evil; for to the diseas'd
There is a kind of pleasure in not knowing
Their malady; such ignorance is gain
To those who labor under grievous woes.
[tr. Wodhall (1809); Barnes 23, Musgrave 24]

I understand what I suffer, and this is not a small evil:
for not to know that one is ailing has some pleasure,
in misery ignorance is an advantage.
[tr. Will (2015)]

Cicero, Marcus Tullius -- De Officiis [On Duties; On Moral Duty; The Offices], Book 3, ch. 1 (3.1) / sec. 3 (44 BC) [tr. Miller (1913)]

Dave — Thu, 24 Feb 2022 19:09:25 +0000

But I have learned from philosophers that among evils one ought not only to choose the least, but also to extract even from these any element of good that they may contain.

[Sed quia sic ab hominibus doctis accepimus, non solum ex malis eligere minima oportere, sed etiam excerpere ex his ipsis, si quid inesset boni ….]

Marcus Tullius Cicero (106-43 BC) Roman orator, statesman, philosopher
De Officiis [On Duties; On Moral Duty; The Offices], Book 3, ch. 1 (3.1) / sec. 3 (44 BC) [tr. Miller (1913)]
(Source)

(Source (Latin)). Alternate translation:

This is given us for a rule by the learned, that when several evils are threatening us at once, we should not only choose to undergo the least, but extract some advantage out of them, if it be possible.
[tr. Cockman (1699)]

We have been taught by learned men, not only that we ought to choose the least of evils, but also to extract from them, whatever good they contain.
[tr. McCartney (1798)]

We have bene taught by learned men, that out of evils it is fit not only to choose the least, but also from those very evils to gather whatever good is in them.
[tr. Edmonds (1865)]

Philosophers say that one ought not only of evils to choose the least, but from even these least evils to extract whatever of good there may be in them.
[tr. Peabody (1883)]

Having been taught by philosophers not only to choose the lesser evil but even to extract whatever good is in it.
[tr. Gardiner (1899)]

Learned men have taught us that not only with a choice of evils we should choose the least, but that from the evil we should endeavor to extract some good.
[Harbottle, Dictionary of Quotations (Classical) (1906 ed.)]

Philosophers have taught me not only that one ought to choose the lesser evils but also that even from them one ought to gather whatever good they might contain.
[tr. Edinger (1974)]

Bastiat, Frederic -- Harmonies of Political Economy, ch. 4, para. 110 (1850)

Dave — Thu, 01 Jul 2021 15:56:47 +0000

By virtue of exchange, one man’s prosperity is beneficial to all others.

Frédéric Bastiat (1801-1850) French philosopher, economist, politician
Harmonies of Political Economy, ch. 4, para. 110 (1850)
(Source)

Alternate translation: "In consequence of Exchange, the gain of each is the gain of all." [tr. Stirling]

Fish, Stanley -- There’s No Such Thing as Free Speech, And It’s A Good Thing, Too, Part 1, ch. 5 (1994)

Dave — Fri, 04 Jun 2021 22:42:47 +0000

Fairness for everyone would be possible only if everyone’s interests were the same, if everyone were in agreement as to what baseline considerations must be in place for a procedure to be labeled “fair.” But if that were the case, the question of fairness would never be raised. It is raised precisely because everyone’s interests are not the same, and since different interests will generate different notions of fairness (the debate between those who call for equality of access and those who call of equality of opportunity is an example), any regime of fairness will always be unfair in the eyes of those for whom it was not designed.

Stanley Fish (b. 1938) American literary theorist, legal scholar, author
There’s No Such Thing as Free Speech, And It’s A Good Thing, Too, Part 1, ch. 5 (1994)
(Source)

Ruskin, John -- The Stones of Venice, ch. 2 “The Virtues of Architecture,” sec. 17 (1851)

Dave — Wed, 24 Feb 2021 16:41:50 +0000

Remember that the most beautiful things in the world are the most useless; peacocks and lilies for instance; at least I suppose this quill I hold in my hand writes better than a peacock’s would, and the peasants of Vevay, whose fields in spring time are as white with lilies as the Dent du Midi is with its snow, told me the hay was none the better for them.

John Ruskin (1819-1900) English art critic, painter, writer, social thinker
The Stones of Venice, ch. 2 “The Virtues of Architecture,” sec. 17 (1851)
(Source)

Galbraith, John Kenneth -- Money: Whence It Came, Where It Went, ch. 9 (1975)

Dave — Tue, 12 Jan 2021 18:43:47 +0000

The ability of the rich and their acolytes to see social virtue in what serves their interest and convenience and to depict as ridiculous or foolish what does not was never better manifested than in their support of gold and their condemnation of paper money.

John Kenneth Galbraith (1908-2006) Canadian-American economist, diplomat, author
Money: Whence It Came, Where It Went, ch. 9 (1975)
(Source)

Frame, Janet -- Faces in the Water, ch. 4 (1961)

Dave — Mon, 11 May 2020 18:19:08 +0000

“For your own good” is a persuasive argument that will eventually make a man agree to his own destruction.

Janet Frame (1924-2004) New Zealand author [pen name of Nene Janet Paterson Clutha]
Faces in the Water, ch. 4 (1961)

Marcus Aurelius -- Meditations [To Himself; Τὰ εἰς ἑαυτόν], Book 6, ch. 54 (6.54) (AD 161-180) [tr. Rendall (1898)]

Dave — Fri, 17 Apr 2020 19:24:43 +0000

What is not good for the swarm is not good for the bee.

[Τὸ τῷ σμήνει μὴ συμφέρον οὐδὲ τῇ μελίσσῃ συμφέρει.]

Marcus Aurelius (AD 121-180) Roman emperor (161-180), Stoic philosopher
Meditations [To Himself; Τὰ εἰς ἑαυτόν], Book 6, ch. 54 (6.54) (AD 161-180) [tr. Rendall (1898)]
(Source)

(Source (Greek)). Alternate translations:

That which is not good for the beehive, cannot be good for the bee.
[tr. Casaubon (1634), 6.49]

That which is not for the Interest of the whole Swarm, is not for the Interest of a single Bee.
[tr. Collier (1701); Collier/Zimmern (1887)]

What is not the interest of the hive, is not the interest of the bee.
[tr. Hutcheson/Moor (1742)]

That which is not for the interest of the whole hive, cannot be so for any single bee.
[tr. Graves (1792), 6.48]

That which is not good for the swarm, neither is it good for the bee.
[tr. Long (1862)]

What profits not the swarm profits not the bee.
[tr. Hutcheson/Chrystal (1902)]

That which is not in the interests of the hive cannot be in the interests of the bee.
[tr. Haines (Loeb) (1916)]

What does not benefit the hive is no benefit to the bee.
[tr. Farquharson (1944)]

What is no good for the hive is no good for the bee.
[tr. Staniforth (1964)]

What brings no benefit to the hive brings none to the bee.
[tr. Hard (1997 ed.)]

What injures the hive injures the bee.
[tr. Hays (2003)]

What does not benefit the hive does not benefit the bee either.
[tr. Hammond (2006)]

What brings no benefit to the hive brings none to the bee.
[tr. Hard (2011 ed.)]

What does not benefit the hive does not benefit the bee.
[tr. Gill (2013)]

Gladstone, William -- “The Workman’s Opportunities,” speech, Saltney (26 Oct 1889)

Dave — Fri, 21 Oct 2016 05:44:21 +0000

Books are a delightful society. If you go into a room filled with books, even without taking them down from their shelves, they seem to speak to you, to welcome you, to tell you that they have something inside their covers that will be good for you, and that they are willing and desirous to impart it to you.

William Gladstone (1809-1898) English Liberal politician, Prime Minister (1868-74, 1880-85, 1886, 1892-94)
“The Workman’s Opportunities,” speech, Saltney (26 Oct 1889)
(Source)

Emerson, Ralph Waldo -- Journal (1838-08-27)

Dave — Tue, 11 Oct 2016 03:05:48 +0000

The meaning of good & bad, of better & worse, is simply helping or hurting.

Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) American essayist, lecturer, poet
Journal (1838-08-27)
(Source)

Lewis, C.S. -- “The Weight of Glory,” sermon, Oxford University Church of St Mary the Virgin (8 Jun 1941)

Dave — Fri, 08 Jul 2016 18:23:23 +0000

If you asked twenty good men today what they thought the highest of the virtues, nineteen of them would reply, Unselfishness. But if you asked almost any of the great Christians of old he would have replied, Love. You see what has happened? A negative term has been substituted for a positive, and this is of more than philological importance. The negative ideal of Unselfishness carries with it the suggestion not primarily of securing good things for others, but of going without them ourselves, as if our abstinence and not their happiness was the important point. I do not think this is the Christian virtue of Love.

C. S. Lewis (1898-1963) English writer, literary scholar, lay theologian [Clive Staples Lewis]
“The Weight of Glory,” sermon, Oxford University Church of St Mary the Virgin (8 Jun 1941)

Nash, Ogden -- In The Selected Verse of Ogden Nash (1945)

Dave — Fri, 01 Jul 2016 17:53:25 +0000

He without benefit of scruples
His fun and money soon quadruples.

Ogden Nash (1902-1971) American poet
In The Selected Verse of Ogden Nash (1945)

Camus, Albert -- “Homage to an Exile” (1955)

Dave — Mon, 05 Jan 2015 14:53:13 +0000

The welfare of the people in particular has always been the alibi of tyrants, and it provides the further advantage of giving the servants of tyranny a good conscience. It would be easy, however, to destroy that good conscience by shouting to them: if you want the happiness of the people, let them speak out and tell what kind of happiness they want and what kind they don’t want! But, in truth, the very ones who make use of such alibis know they are lies; they leave to their intellectuals on duty the chore of believing in them and of proving that religion, patriotism, and justice need for their survival the sacrifice of freedom.

Albert Camus (1913-1960) Algerian-French novelist, essayist, playwright
“Homage to an Exile” (1955)

Published as an essay in Actuelles III, originally a speech (7 Dec 1955) at a banquet in honor of President Eduardo Santos, editor of El Tiempo, driven out of Columbia by a dictatorship". Reprinted in Resistance, Rebellion, and Death (1960).

Johnson, Lyndon -- (Attributed)

Dave — Wed, 05 Jun 2013 12:18:00 +0000

Don’t spit in the soup. We’ve all got to eat.

Lyndon B. Johnson (1908-1973) American politician, educator, US President (1963-69)
(Attributed)

A favorite political comment of Johnson's, going back at least as far as when he was US Senate majority leader. It's sometimes labeled as an old adage from Texas politics.

The core metaphor of "spitting in the soup" (ruining/sabotaging something) long predates Johnson; the phrase's application to politics ("don't make things so toxic or failed that you hurt your colleagues and the political institution itself") seems more applicable than ever.

The connection to Johnson seems to have solidified with its inclusion in Jack Shepherd, Christopher Wren, eds., Quotations from Chairman LBJ, Epigraph (1968).

As a verbal comment, and given folk wanting to elicit (or mock) Johnson's Texas accent, variants include "we all got to eat," "we've all gotta eat," etc.

Kaunda, Kenneth -- Quoted in the Observer (London) (1982-09-05)

Dave — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 00:39:29 +0000

When you go in search of honey you must expect to be stung by bees.

Kenneth Kaunda (1924-2021) Zambian teacher, revolutionary, politician
Quoted in the Observer (London) (1982-09-05)
(Source)

Sometimes attributed to Joseph Joubert, but not found in his works.

Herbert, George -- Jacula Prudentum, or Outlandish Proverbs, Sentences, &c. (compiler), # 232 (1640 ed.)

Dave — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 13:06:44 +0000

Honour and profit lie not in one sacke.

George Herbert (1593-1633) Welsh priest, orator, poet.
Jacula Prudentum, or Outlandish Proverbs, Sentences, &c. (compiler), # 232 (1640 ed.)
(Source)

Hubbard, Elbert -- The Roycroft Dictionary (1914)

Dave — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 14:07:24 +0000

Failure: A man who has blundered but is not able to cash in on the experience.

Elbert Hubbard (1856-1915) American writer, businessman, philosopher
The Roycroft Dictionary (1914)
(Source)

Knuth, Donald E. -- Essay (1974-12), “Structured Programming with go to Statements,” ACM Computing Surveys, Vol. 6

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

There is no doubt that the “grail” of efficiency leads to abuse. Programmers waste enormous amounts of time thinking about, or worrying about, the speed of noncritical parts of their programs, and these attempts at efficiency actually have a strong negative impact when debugging and maintenance are considered. We should forget about small efficiencies, say about 97% of the time: premature optimization is the root of all evil.

Donald E. Knuth (b. 1938) American computer scientist, mathematician, academic
Essay (1974-12), “Structured Programming with go to Statements,” ACM Computing Surveys, Vol. 6
(Source)

Marcus Aurelius -- Meditations [To Himself; Τὰ εἰς ἑαυτόν], Book 3, ch. 7 (3.7) [tr. Hays (2003)]

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

Never regard something as doing you good if it makes you betray a trust, or lose your sense of shame, or makes you show hatred, suspicion, ill will, or hypocrisy, or a desire for things best done behind closed doors.

[Μὴ τιμήσῃς ποτὲ ὡς συμφέρον σεαυτοῦ, ὃ ἀναγκάσει σέ ποτε τὴν πίστιν παραβῆναι, τὴν αἰδῶ ἐγκαταλιπεῖν, μισῆσαί τινα, ὑποπτεῦσαι, καταράσασθαι, ὑποκρίνασθαι, ἐπιθυμῆσαί τινος τοίχων καὶ παραπετασμάτων δεομένου.]

Marcus Aurelius (AD 121-180) Roman emperor (161-180), Stoic philosopher
Meditations [To Himself; Τὰ εἰς ἑαυτόν], Book 3, ch. 7 (3.7) [tr. Hays (2003)]
(Source)

(Source (Greek)). Alternate translations:

Never esteem of anything as profitable, which shall ever constrain thee either to break thy faith, or to lose thy modesty; to hate any man, to suspect, to curse, to dissemble, to lust after anything, that requireth the secret of walls or veils.
[tr. Casaubon (1634), ch. 8]

Don't be fond of any Thing, or think that for your Interest, which makes you break your Word, quit your Modesty, be of a Dissembling, Suspicious, or Outragious Humour; which puts you upon Hating any Person, and enclines you to any Practice, which wont bear the Light, and look the World in the Face.
[tr. Collier (1701)]

Never value that as advantageous, which may force you to break your faith; to quit your modesty, or sense of honour; to hate, suspect, or imprecate evil on any one; to dissemble; or to desire any of these things which need walls or curtains to conceal them.
[tr. Hutcheson/Moor (1742)]

Never adopt any measure as conducing to your interest, which lays you under a necessity of violating your honour or your modesty; or may excite your hatred or your suspicion, or provoke you to execrate any one, or to practice dissimulation; or, in short, to entertain a wish which will not bear the light, but must be concealed from the world by walls and curtains.
[tr. Graves (1792)]

Never value anything as profitable to thyself which shall compel thee to break thy promise, to lose thy self-respect, to hate any man, to suspect, to curse, to act the hypocrite, to desire anything which needs walls and curtains.
[tr. Long (1862)]

Think nothing for your interest which makes you break your word, quit your modesty, hate, suspect, or curse any person, or inclines you to any practice which will not bear the light and look the world in the face.
[tr. Collier/Zimmern (1887)]

Never esteem anything as of advantage to thee that shall make thee break thy word or lose thy self-respect.
[tr. Morgan, in Bartlett's (1894)]

Never prize anything as self-advantage, which will compel you to break faith, to forfeit self-respect, to suspect or hate or execrate another, to play false, to desire anything which requires screens or veils.
[tr. Rendall (1898)]

Never esteem aught of advantage which will oblige you to break your faith, or to desert your honour; to hate, to suspect, or to execrate any man; to play a part; or to set your mind on anything that needs to be hidden by wall or curtain.
[tr. Hutcheson/Chrystal (1902)]

Prize not anything as being to thine interest that shall ever force thee to break thy troth, to surrender thine honour, to hate, suspect, or curse anyone, to play the hypocrite, to lust after anything that needs walls and curtains.
[tr. Haines (Loeb) (1916)]

Never value as an advantage to yourself what will force you one day to break your word, to abandon self-respect, to hate, suspect, execrate another, to act a part, to covet anything that calls for walls or coverings to conceal it.
[tr. Farquharson (1944)]

Never value the advantages derived from anything involving breach of faith, loss of self-respect, hatred, suspicion, or execration of others, insincerity, or the desire for something which hast to be veiled and curtained.
[tr. Staniforth (1964)]

Never prize as advantageous to yourself anything that will compel you some day to break your word, to offend against propriety, to hate, suspect or curse another, to dissemble, or to desire anything that needs to be veiled behind walls and curtains.
[tr. Hard (1997 ed.)]

Never regard as a benefit to yourself anything which will force you at some point to break your faith, to leave integrity behind, to hate, suspect, or curse another, to dissemble, to covet anything needing the secrecy of walls and drapes.
[tr. Hammond (2006)]

Never consider anything to be beneficial to you, which could ever compel you to violate your faith in yourself, to abandon your modesty, to hate anybody, to be overly suspicious, cursing, disingenuous, or to lust after anything which must be hidden behind walls or veils.
[tr. Needleman/Piazza (2008)]

Never prize as advantageous to yourself anything that will compel you some day to break your word, to offend against propriety, to hate, suspect, or curse another, to pretend, or to desire anything that needs to be veiled behind walls and curtains.
[tr. Hard (2011 ed.)]

Never value as beneficial to yourself something that will force you one day to break your word, abandon your sense of shame, hate, suspect, or curse someone else, pretend, or desire something that needs the secrecy of walls or curtains.
[tr. Gill (2013)]

Value nothing which compels you to break your promise, to abandon your honor, to hate, suspect or curse anyone, to be a hypocrite, or to lust after anything which needs walls or decorations.
[tr. @sentantiq (2019)]

Never value anything you find profitable, to the extent that you have to break a promise, lose your self-respect, hate any person or act the hypocrite.
[tr. McNeill (2019)]

Some causes will force you to betray faith, abandon shame, hate or suspect another person, call down curses, put forward explanations, or desire something that requires walls and fences. Do not regard these causes as necessary or beneficial to yourself.
[Source]

Lincoln, Abraham -- (Attributed)

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

I care not for a man’s religion whose dog or cat are not the better for it.

Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) American lawyer, politician, US President (1861-65)
(Attributed)

Frequently attributed to Lincoln without citation, it's actually a variant of "I would give nothing for that man's religion, whose very dog and cat are not the better for it," by Rowland Hill (1744-1833), an English preacher, attributed in George Seaton Bowes, Illustrative Gatherings, or, Preachers and Teachers (1860). Lincoln may have used the line.

Shakespeare, William -- Henry VI, Part 3, Act 2, sc. 5, l. 55 (2.5.55) (1591)

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

SON: Ill blows the wind that profits nobody.

William Shakespeare (1564-1616) English dramatist and poet
Henry VI, Part 3, Act 2, sc. 5, l. 55 (2.5.55) (1591)
(Source)

Shakespeare, William -- Henry V, Act 4, sc. 1, l. 3ff (4.1.3-12) (1599)

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

HENRY: God almighty,
There is some soul of goodness in things evil,
Would men observingly distill it out.
For our bad neighbor makes us early stirrers,
Which is both healthful and good husbandry.
Besides, they are our outward consciences
And preachers to us all, admonishing
That we should dress us fairly for our end.
Thus may we gather honey from the weed
And make a moral of the devil himself.

William Shakespeare (1564-1616) English dramatist and poet
Henry V, Act 4, sc. 1, l. 3ff (4.1.3-12) (1599)
(Source)

See Spencer.