WIST Quotations

Asimov, Isaac -- Foundation and Empire, ch. 22 (1952)

Dave — Thu, 28 Oct 2021 19:33:54 +0000

Boasts are wind and deeds are hard.

Isaac Asimov (1920–1992) Russian-American author, polymath, biochemist
Foundation and Empire, ch. 22 (1952)
(Source)

Steinbeck, John -- East of Eden, ch. 1 (1952)

Dave — Mon, 13 Jul 2020 23:46:11 +0000

You can boast about anything if it’s all you have. Maybe the less you have, the more you are required to boast.

John Steinbeck (1902–1968) American writer
East of Eden, ch. 1 (1952)
(Source)

Heller, Joseph -- Catch-22 [Col. Korn] (1961)

Dave — Mon, 22 Jun 2020 16:46:05 +0000

You know, that might be the answer — to act boastfully about something we ought to be ashamed of. That’s a trick that never seems to fail.

Joseph Heller (1923–1999) American novelist
Catch-22 [Col. Korn] (1961)
(Source)

Pascal, Blaise -- Pensées, # 4 (1670)

Dave — Wed, 17 Feb 2016 15:32:44 +0000

Do you wish people to think well of you? Don’t speak well of your-self.

[Voulez-vous qu’on croie du bien de vous? N’en dites point.]

Blaise Pascal (1623–1662) French scientist and philosopher
Pensées, # 4 (1670)

Alt. trans.:

"If you want people to think well of you, do not speak well of yourself."
"Do you want people to think well of you? Don't say a word about it."

Roux, Joseph -- Meditations of a Parish Priest: Thoughts, Part 5 “Joy, Suffering, Fortune,” #22 (1886) [tr. Hapgood]

Dave — Wed, 03 Feb 2016 15:08:28 +0000

Say nothing good of yourself, you will be distrusted; say nothing bad of yourself, you will be taken at your word.

Joseph Roux (1834–1886) French Catholic priest
Meditations of a Parish Priest: Thoughts, Part 5 “Joy, Suffering, Fortune,” #22 (1886) [tr. Hapgood]
(Source)

Mencken, H. L. -- The New York Evening Mail (15 Nov 1917)

Dave — Wed, 13 Jan 2016 14:12:05 +0000

Man is always looking for someone to boast to; woman is always looking for someone to complain to.

H. L. Mencken (1880–1956) American writer and journalist [Henry Lewis Mencken]
The New York Evening Mail (15 Nov 1917)

A year later he wrote: "Man is always looking for someone to boast to; woman is always looking for a shoulder to put her head on." [In Defense of Women (1918)]

Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth -- The Song of Hiawatha (1855)

Dave — Mon, 27 Jul 2015 13:23:43 +0000

Deeds are better things than words are,
Actions mightier than boastings.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807–1882) American poet
The Song of Hiawatha (1855)

Shakespeare, William -- Henry IV, Part 1, Act 3, sc. 1, l. 55ff (3.1.55-57) (1597)

Dave — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 14:24:28 +0000

GLENDOWER: I can call spirits from the vasty deep.

HOTSPUR: Why, so can I, or so can any man;
But will they come when you do call for them?

William Shakespeare (1564–1616) English dramatist and poet
Henry IV, Part 1, Act 3, sc. 1, l. 55ff (3.1.55-57) (1597)
(Source)