WIST Quotations

Nash, Ogden -- “First Child … Second Child,” Versus (1949)

Dave — Fri, 23 Oct 2020 14:29:59 +0000

FIRST …
Let the rockets flash and the cannon thunder,
This child is a marvel, a matchless wonder.
A staggering child, a child astounding,
Dazzling, diaperless, dumbfounding,
Stupendous, miraculous, unsurpassed,
A child to stagger and flabbergast,
Bright as a button, sharp as a thorn,
And the only perfect one ever born.

SECOND
Arrived this evening at half-past nine.
Everybody is doing fine.
Is it a boy, or quite the reverse?
You can call in the morning and ask the nurse.

Ogden Nash (1902-1971) American poet
“First Child … Second Child,” Versus (1949)
(Source)

Apuleius -- On the God of Socrates [De Deo Socratis]

Dave — Wed, 08 Jul 2020 20:35:31 +0000

Familiarity breeds contempt, while rarity wins admiration.

[Parit enim conversatio contemptum; raritas conciliat admirationem.]

Apuleius (AD c. 124 - c. 170) Numidian Roman writer, philosopher, rhetorician [Lucius Apuleius Madaurensis]
On the God of Socrates [De Deo Socratis]
(Source)

First recorded passage with this phrase. Discussing why the gods do not mingle with humanity. Alternate translations:

"Familiarity produces contempt, but infrequency conciliates admiration."
[tr. Taylor (1822)]
"Familiarity breeds contempt, but privacy gains admiration." [
Works of Apuleius (1853)]
"Familiarity breeds contempt, but concealment excites interest."
[National Review (1858-04)]

The first part of the phrase is also used as the modern moral the English translation of Aesop's "The Fox and the Lion." Applying this proverb to Aesop seems to have first happened in 1820; in classic Greek sources, the moral was more along the line that "acquaintance overcomes fear."

Chaplin, Charlie -- My Autobiography, ch. 22 (1964)

Dave — Wed, 08 Jan 2020 17:21:24 +0000

The saddest thing I can imagine is to get used to luxury.

Charlie Chaplin (1889-1977) English comic actor, film director, composer
My Autobiography, ch. 22 (1964)
(Source)

Home, Henry -- Introduction to the Art of Thinking, ch. 4 (1761)

Dave — Thu, 12 Feb 2015 14:59:35 +0000

Beauty loses its relish; the Graces, never: After the longest acquaintance, they are no less agreeable than at first.

Henry Home, Lord Kames (1696-1782) Scottish jurist, agriculturalist, philosopher, writer
Introduction to the Art of Thinking, ch. 4 (1761)
(Source)