WIST Quotations

~Proverbs and Sayings -- Turkish Proverb

Dave — Sun, 21 Sep 2025 23:51:15 +0000

The forest was shrinking, but the trees kept voting for the axe because its handle was made of wood and they thought it was one of the them.

Proverbs, Sayings, and Adages
Turkish Proverb

While this particular phrasing is widely labeled online as a Turkish proverb, it is a fairly recent reformulation of a Talmudic or Turkish set of proverbs, and is not credited solely to the Turks.

The Babylonian Talmud (6th Century AD) includes a passage (Sanhedrin, Perek 4, 39B), indicating it was a common proverb:

As this is as people say: From and within the forest comes the ax to it, as the handle for the ax that chops the tree is from the forest itself.

As well as:

This is as people say: From and within the forest comes the ax to it, as King David was a descendant of Ruth the Moabite.

This phrase was brought into English in Rev. J. Ray's A Collection of English Proverbs (1678) as a "Hebrew Adage":

The axe goes to the wood, from whence it borrowed its helve: [the saying] is used against those who are injurious to those from whom they are derived, or from whom they have received their power.

Ray's work continued in reprint for over a century, well-establishing the phrase in English.

In a similar vein, Metin Yurtbaşı's Dictionary of Turkish Proverbs (1993) includes two such phrases, indexed under "Ingratitude". It attributes these back to Ebüzziya Tevfik, Durüb-ı, Emsâl-i Osmaniyye [Ottoman Proverbs] (1885). First:

They struck at the tree with an ax; and the tree said: “The handle is made from my body.”

[Ağaca balta vurmuşlar, “Sapı bedenimden” demiş.]

Second:

An ax went into the woods and its handle was of itself.

[Ormana (bir) balta girmiş sapı yine kendisinden (imiş).]

There are a variety of later uses, in books and then in social media, that further evolved the concept into the quotation that leads this entry, which was first tweeted by @mabarsayaaaaa (2018-02-24). In this more political form, it and further variants have also been credited as an African (Yoruba) proverb (often by African tweeters).

For more discussion of the background and origin of this quotation, see:

Rogers, Will -- Column (1932-11-07), “Daily Telegram”

Dave — Fri, 28 Mar 2025 17:54:32 +0000

And, when the votes are counted, let everybody, including the candidates, get into a good humor as quick as they got into a bad one.

Will Rogers (1879–1935) American humorist
Column (1932-11-07), “Daily Telegram”

On the elections to be held the following day, which included the presidential race between Herbert Hoover and Franklin Roosevelt.

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

Dave — Tue, 05 Nov 2024 14:19:54 +0000

If a public man tries to get your vote by saying that he will do something wrong in your interest, you can be absolutely certain that if ever it becomes worth his while he will do something wrong against your interest.

Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919) American politician, statesman, conservationist, writer; US President (1901–09)
Speech (1910-04-23), “Citizenship in a Republic [The Man in the Arena],” Sorbonne, Paris

Adams, Douglas -- Hitchhiker’s Guide No. 4, So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish, ch. 36 (1984)

Dave — Tue, 12 Oct 2021 23:29:01 +0000

“It comes from a very ancient democracy, you see ….”
“You mean, it comes from a world of lizards?”
“No,” said Ford, who by this time was a little more rational and coherent than he had been, having finally had the coffee forced down him, “nothing so simple. Nothing anything like so straightforward. On its world, the people are people. The leaders are lizards. The people hate the lizards and the lizards rule the people.”
“Odd,” said Arthur, “I thought you said it was a democracy.”
“I did,” said Ford. “It is.”
“So,” said Arthur, hoping he wasn’t sounding ridiculously obtuse, “why don’t the people get rid of the lizards?”
“It honestly doesn’t occur to them,” said Ford. “They’ve all got the vote, so they all pretty much assume that the government they’ve voted in more or less approximates to the government they want.”
“You mean they actually vote for the lizards?”
“Oh yes,” said Ford with a shrug, “of course.”
“But,” said Arthur, going for the big one again, “why?”
“Because if they didn’t vote for a lizard,” said Ford, “the wrong lizard might get in.”

Douglas Adams (1952–2001) English author, humorist, screenwriter
Hitchhiker’s Guide No. 4, So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish, ch. 36 (1984)

Butler, Octavia -- Parable of the Talents, ch. 11, epigraph (1998)

Dave — Thu, 26 Aug 2021 23:45:33 +0000

Choose your leaders
     with wisdom and forethought.
To be led by a coward
     is to be controlled
     by all that the coward fears.
To be led by a fool
     is to be led
     by the opportunists
     who control the fool.
To be led by a thief
     is to offer up
     your most precious treasures
     to be stolen.
To be led by a liar
     is to ask
     to be lied to.
To be led by a tyrant
     is to sell yourself
     and those you love
     into slavery.

Octavia Butler (1947–2006) American writer
Parable of the Talents, ch. 11, epigraph (1998)

The epigraph is cited to the in-fiction Earthseed: The Books of the Living.

Chomsky, Noam -- “An Eight Point Brief for LEV (Lesser Evil Voting)” (2016-06-15) [with John Halle]

Dave — Wed, 21 Oct 2020 15:16:51 +0000

Another point of disagreement [over Lesser Evil Voting] is not factual but involves the ethical/moral principle […] sometimes referred to as the “politics of moral witness.” Generally associated with the religious left, secular leftists implicitly invoke it when they reject LEV on the grounds that “a lesser of two evils is still evil.” Leaving aside the obvious rejoinder that this is exactly the point of lesser evil voting — i.e. to do less evil, what needs to be challenged is the assumption that voting should be seen a form of individual self-expression rather than as an act to be judged on its likely consequences. […] The basic moral principle at stake is simple: not only must we take responsibility for our actions, but the consequences of our actions for others are a far more important consideration than feeling good about ourselves.

Noam Chomsky (b. 1928) American linguist and activist
“An Eight Point Brief for LEV (Lesser Evil Voting)” (2016-06-15) [with John Halle]

Solnit, Rebecca -- Facebook (17 Oct 2016)

Dave — Wed, 14 Oct 2020 21:23:10 +0000

Build movements. Vote with your values, but vote strategically. Voting isn’t a Valentine. It’s a chess move.

Rebecca Solnit (b. 1961) American writer, historian, activist
Facebook (17 Oct 2016)

Solnit is credited with the core message of the last two sentences. She indicates (including from that Facebook post) that it was something she had said that was extracted and perhaps tweaked by May Boeve. E.g., "That 2016 aphorism that I sort of said and May Boeve made into this stand-alone slogan." (1 Nov 2018) "I said that off the cuff in 2016 and May Boeve caught it and it went on to have a nice life. It's also not the only chess move you get." (11 Aug 2020).

Variants:

"Voting is a chess move, not a valentine. And here's the joy of being politically engaged all year round every year; you get to work with a whole lot of chess pieces and players and strategies and long-term visions, so you don't agonize over whether this little hop with a pawn we call voting defines you. You get to define yourself by what you're passionately committed to, by who you align with, by your dreams and your visions, you get to move a lot of pieces a lot of times, you get heroic allies, and you play to win above, beyond, around elections. But you vote, because you know it matters too." (7 Nov 2016)
"I think of voting as a chess move, not a valentine. It’s just a little part of the picture of how we make the world." ("The 2000 Election Unleashed Disaster on the World. We Can’t Let that Happen Again in 2016," The Nation (3 Nov 2016))
"A vote is not a valentine. You are not confessing your love for the candidate. It's a chess move for the world you want to live in."
"Voting isn't a valentine, it's a chess move. Just one of many with one of your many pieces, if you're using what you've been given."

Antisthenes -- Fragment 103, in Diogenes Laertius, Lives of Eminent Philosophers, Book 6, sec. 11 [tr. @sentantiq]

Dave — Mon, 22 Jun 2020 17:22:03 +0000

He used to say that states fail when they cannot distinguish fools from serious men.

[τότ’ ἔφη τὰς πόλεις ἀπόλλυσθαι, ὅταν μὴ δύνωνται τοὺς φαύλους ἀπὸ τῶν σπουδαίων διακρίνειν.]

Antisthenes (c. 445 - c. 365 BC) Greek Cynic philosopher
Fragment 103, in Diogenes Laertius, Lives of Eminent Philosophers, Book 6, sec. 11 [tr. @sentantiq]

Alt. trans.:

"He used to say too, 'That cities were ruined when they were unable to distinguish worthless citizens from virtuous ones.'" [tr. Yonge (1853)]
"He said that cities are doomed when they cannot distinguish good men from bad." [tr. Mensch (2018), Book 6, sec. 5]

Schlesinger, Arthur -- The Age of Roosevelt, ch. 33, sec. 8 (1960)

Dave — Thu, 30 Apr 2020 19:57:02 +0000

Political campaigns tend to be exercises in progressive degeneration. The steady increase, week after week, in excitement and strain and weariness produces an oversimplification of issues, an over dramatization of alternatives, a growing susceptibility to extreme and catastrophic statements. Candidates find themselves shouting things in the fall that they would never dream of whispering in the summer.

Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr. (1917–2007) American historian, author, social critic
The Age of Roosevelt, ch. 33, sec. 8 (1960)

Adams, Franklin P. -- Nods and Becks, “Inside ‘Information, Please!'” (1944)

Dave — Tue, 23 Aug 2016 02:52:00 +0000

When the political columnists say “Every thinking man,” they mean themselves, and when candidates appeal to “Every intelligent voter,” they mean everybody who is going to vote for them.

Franklin Pierce Adams (1881–1960) American journalist and humorist ["F. P. A."]
Nods and Becks, “Inside ‘Information, Please!'” (1944)

Quay, Matthew -- (Attributed, 1886)

Dave — Fri, 01 Apr 2016 15:59:27 +0000

If you have a weak candidate and a weak platform, wrap yourself up in the American flag and talk about the Constitution.

Matthew Stanley Quay (1833–1904) American political boss, politician, US Senator
(Attributed, 1886)

Huxley, Aldous -- Brave New World Revisited (1958)

Dave — Fri, 25 Mar 2016 13:37:44 +0000

The methods now being used to merchandise the political candidate as though he were a deodorant positively guarantee the electorate against ever hearing the truth about anything.

Aldous Huxley (1894–1963) English novelist, essayist and critic
Brave New World Revisited (1958)

Dickens, Charles -- American Notes, ch. 18 (1842)

Dave — Wed, 19 Mar 2014 12:35:07 +0000

Any man who attains a high place among you, from the President downwards, may date his downfall from that moment; for any printed lie that any notorious villain pens, although it militate directly against the character and conduct of a life, appeals at once to your distrust, and is believed. You will strain at a gnat in the way of trustfulness and confidence, however fairly won and well deserved; but you will swallow a whole caravan of camels, if they be laden with unworthy doubts and mean suspicions. Is this well, think you, or likely to elevate the character of the governors or the governed among you?

Charles Dickens (1812–1870) English writer and social critic
American Notes, ch. 18 (1842)

Stevenson, Adlai -- Speech (1952-11-03), “The Good Fight,” Radio and TV Broadcast, Chicago

Dave — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 15:30:36 +0000

I have said what I meant and meant what I said. I have not done as well as I should like to have done, but I have done my best, frankly and forthrightly; no man can do more, and you are entitled to no less.

Adlai Stevenson II (1900–1965) American politician, diplomat, statesman
Speech (1952-11-03), “The Good Fight,” Radio and TV Broadcast, Chicago

Broadcast the night before the election.

Halifax, George Savile, Marquis of -- “Some Cautions Offered to the Consideration of Those Who Are to Choose Members to Serve in the Ensuing Parliament,” sec. 16 (1695)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 19:00:00 +0000

True merit, like a river, the deeper it is, the less noise it makes.

George Savile, Marquis of Halifax (1633–1695) English politician and essayist
“Some Cautions Offered to the Consideration of Those Who Are to Choose Members to Serve in the Ensuing Parliament,” sec. 16 (1695)