WIST Quotations

Oliver, Andrew -- Speech (1774?)

Dave — Thu, 18 Jun 2026 17:29:59 +0000

Politics is the most hazardous of all professions. There is not another in which a man can hope to do so much good to his fellow creatures; neither is there any in which by a mere loss of nerve he may do such widespread harm. Nor is there another in which he may so easily lose his own soul; nor is there another in which a positive and strict veracity is so difficult. But danger is the inseparable companion of honor. With all the temptations and degradations that beset it, politics is still the noblest career any man can choose.

Andrew Oliver (1706-1774) American Colonial merchant, politician, government official
Speech (1774?)
(Source)

I cannot find an original source for this. It shows up frequently in the US Congressional Record, especially after it was used by Adlai Stevenson in a 1952 campaign speech.

It is also attributed to his same-named son (1731-1799), who founded the Political Journal.

Lincoln, Abraham -- Speech (1850), Notes for a Law Lecture (fragment)

Dave — Wed, 22 Apr 2026 01:16:38 +0000

There is a vague popular belief that lawyers are necessarily dishonest. I say vague, because when we consider to what extent confidence and honors are reposed in and conferred upon lawyers by the people, it appears improbable that their impression of dishonesty is very distinct and vivid. Yet the impression is common, almost universal. Let no young man choosing the law for a calling for a moment yield to the popular belief — resolve to be honest at all events; and if in your own judgment you cannot be an honest lawyer, resolve to be honest without being a lawyer. Choose some other occupation, rather than one in the choosing of which you do, in advance, consent to be a knave.

Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) American lawyer, politician, US President (1861-65)
Speech (1850), Notes for a Law Lecture (fragment)
(Source)

No lecture of the sort given by Lincoln has been recorded. The date was assigned by Nicolay and Hay, with nothing concrete to contradict it. The lecture notes might well have been written several years later.

Roosevelt, Eleanor -- Essay (1961-04), “What Has Happened to the American Dream?” Atlantic Monthly

Dave — Wed, 15 Apr 2026 16:05:08 +0000

Perhaps the older generation is often to blame with its cautious warning: “Take a job that will give you security, not adventure.” But I say to the young: “Do not stop thinking of life as an adventure. You have no security unless you can live bravely, excitingly, and imaginatively; unless you can choose a challenge instead of a competence.”

Eleanor Roosevelt (1884–1962) First Lady of the US (1933–1945), politician, diplomat, activist
Essay (1961-04), “What Has Happened to the American Dream?” Atlantic Monthly
(Source)

(Source (Alternate)).

Stevenson, Robert Louis -- Essay (1888-09), “A Letter to a Young Gentleman Who Proposes to Embrace the Career of Art,” Scribner’s Magazine, Vol. 4, No. 3

Dave — Fri, 27 Mar 2026 15:30:34 +0000

If you adopt an art to be your trade, weed your mind at the outset of all desire of money. What you may decently expect, if you have some talent and much industry, is such an income as a clerk will earn with a tenth or perhaps a twentieth of your nervous output. Nor have you the right to look for more; in the wages of the life, not in the wages of the trade, lies your reward; the work is here the wages.

Robert Louis Stevenson (1850–1894) Scottish essayist, novelist, poet
Essay (1888-09), “A Letter to a Young Gentleman Who Proposes to Embrace the Career of Art,” Scribner’s Magazine, Vol. 4, No. 3
(Source)

Collected in Across the Plains, ch. 10 (1892).

Taleb, Nassim Nicholas -- The Bed of Procrustes: Philosophical and Practical Aphorisms, “Preludes” (2010)

Dave — Tue, 19 Nov 2024 15:30:49 +0000

Work destroys your soul by stealthily invading your brain during the hours not officially spent working; be selective about professions.

Nassim Nicholas Taleb (b. 1960) Lebanese-American essayist, statistician, risk analyst, aphorist
The Bed of Procrustes: Philosophical and Practical Aphorisms, “Preludes” (2010)
(Source)

Carlyle, Thomas -- Essay (1850-05-01), “Stump-Orator,” Latter-Day Pamphlets, No. 5

Dave — Thu, 30 May 2024 14:33:19 +0000

If the young aspirant is not rich enough for Parliament, and is deterred by the basilisks or otherwise from entering on Law or Church, and cannot altogether reduce his human intellect to the beaverish condition, or satisfy himself with the prospect of making money, — what becomes of him in such case, which is naturally the case of very many, and ever of more? In such case there remains but one outlet for him, and notably enough that too is a talking one: the outlet of Literature, of trying to write Books.

Thomas Carlyle (1795-1881) Scottish essayist and historian
Essay (1850-05-01), “Stump-Orator,” Latter-Day Pamphlets, No. 5
(Source)

Vonnegut, Kurt, Jr. -- Man Without a Country, ch. 3 “Here Is a Lesson in Creative Writing” (2005)

Dave — Thu, 08 Jun 2023 16:21:22 +0000

If you want to really hurt your parents, and you don’t have the nerve to be gay, the least you can do is go into the arts. I’m not kidding. The arts are not a way of making a living. They are a very human way of making life more bearable.

Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. (1922-2007) American novelist, journalist
Man Without a Country, ch. 3 “Here Is a Lesson in Creative Writing” (2005)
(Source)

Martial -- Epigrams [Epigrammata], Book 11, epigram 108 (11.108) (AD 96) [tr. Pott & Wright (1921), “A Hint”]

Dave — Fri, 05 Aug 2022 20:46:52 +0000

Though so lengthy a book should your taste satisfy,
You have asked me for more: but my household will cry
For some food, and the usurer’s drained me quite dry;
So reader … you see what I mean to imply?
You are silent and don’t understand me? Good bye!

[Quamvis tam longo possis satur esse libello,
Lector, adhuc a me disticha pauca petis.
Sed Lupus usuram puerique diaria poscunt.
Lector, solve. Taces dissimulasque? Vale.]

Martial (AD c.39-c.103) Spanish Roman poet, satirist, epigrammatist [Marcus Valerius Martialis]
Epigrams [Epigrammata], Book 11, epigram 108 (11.108) (AD 96) [tr. Pott & Wright (1921), “A Hint”]
(Source)

"To the Reader." (Source (Latin)). Alternate translations:

With my long book thou well may'st glutted be,
Yet thou more epigrams exact'st of me:
But Lupus calls for use, servants for pay,
Discharge them, reader. Now thou'st nought to say,
Dissemblest, as my words thou could'st not spell.
No riddle thou'rt to me, reader, farewell.
[tr. Killigrew (1695)]

Although, reader, you may well be tired of so long a book, you still want a few more distichs from me. But Lupus demands his interest; and my copyists their wages. Pay, reader. You are silent; do you pretend not to hear? Then, goodbye.
[tr. Bohn's Classical (1859)]

Although with so long a book you may well be sated, reader, yiou still ask for a few distichs from me. But Lupus requires his interest, and my slaves their rations. Reader, pay me. Do you say nothing, and pretend yuo don't understand? Good bye!
[tr. Ker (1919)]

Contented reader -- I had thought to say,
But something's wanting? Then perhaps you'll pay.
My bailiff's broke, my lads for victuals cry;
What? Silent? Can't afford it? Then good-bye.
[tr. Francis & Tatum (1924), ep. 639, "A Postscript"]

I should have thought you'd had your fill
By now -- this book's too long -- yet still
You clamour for couplets. You forget,
My slaves need rations, I'm in debt,
The interest's due ... Dear reader, pay
My creditors for me. Silent, eh?
The puzzled innocent? Good-day!
[tr. Michie (1972)]

Reader, although you might well be satisfied with so long a little book, you ask me for a few couplets more. But Lupus demands his interest and the boys their rations. Pay up, reader. You say nothing and pretend not to hear? Good-bye.
[tr. Shackleton Bailey (1993)]

Reader, so long a book should satisfy you,
yet still "a few more couplets," you reply.
But boys want food and Lupus wants his interest.
Pay up! You're silent, playing deaf? Goodbye.
[tr. McLean (2014)]

A little book this long could satisfy your appetite, reader, but still you ask me for a few couplets more; but Lupus wants his interest, and my boys, their rations. Reader, clear my slate. Nothing to say? Pretending you're deaf? Get lost!
[tr. Nisbet (2015)]

Woolf, Virginia -- “A Room of One’s Own,” ch. 6 (1929)

Dave — Fri, 04 Dec 2020 20:26:11 +0000

So long as you write what you wish to write, that is all that matters; and whether it matters for ages or only for hours, nobody can say.

Virginia Woolf (1882-1941) English modernist writer [b. Adeline Virginia Stephen]
“A Room of One’s Own,” ch. 6 (1929)
(Source)

De Stael, Germaine -- Reflections on Suicide (1813)

Dave — Tue, 22 Aug 2017 00:46:03 +0000

I believe that happiness consists in having a destiny in keeping with our abilities. Our desires are things of the moment, often harmful even to ourselves; but our abilities are permanent, and their demands never cease.

Germaine de Staël (1766-1817) Swiss-French writer, woman of letters, critic, salonist [Anne Louise Germaine de Staël-Holstein, Madame de Staël, Madame Necker]
Reflections on Suicide (1813)
(Source)

Kennedy, Florynce -- (Attributed)

Dave — Tue, 18 Jul 2017 04:16:26 +0000

People always ask if a woman can be a wife and mother and have a career at the same time. Why don’t they ask if she can be a hostess, chauffeur, cook, gardener, nurse, seamstress, social secretary, purchasing agent, baby machine, and courtesan — and a wife and a mother, too?

Florynce "Flo" Kennedy (1916-2000) American lawyer, feminist, civil rights activist
(Attributed)

Quoted in Gloria Steinem, "The Verbal Karate of Florynce R. Kennedy, Esq.," Ms. (Mar 1973).

De Stael, Germaine -- Corinne, Book 14, ch. 1 (1807)

Dave — Tue, 09 Feb 2016 14:33:44 +0000

Ought not every woman, like every man, to follow the bent of her own talents?

Germaine de Staël (1766-1817) Swiss-French writer, woman of letters, critic, salonist [Anne Louise Germaine de Staël-Holstein, Madame de Staël, Madame Necker]
Corinne, Book 14, ch. 1 (1807)

Chesterfield (Lord) -- Letter to his son, #113 (9 Oct 1746)

Dave — Thu, 07 May 2015 12:10:59 +0000

I am very sure that any man of common understanding may, by proper culture, care, attention and labor, make himself whatever he pleases, except a great poet.

Lord Chesterfield (1694-1773) English statesman, wit [Philip Dormer Stanhope]
Letter to his son, #113 (9 Oct 1746)
(Source)

Mizner, Wilson -- In Alva Johnston, The Legendary Mizners, ch. 4 (1953)

Dave — Thu, 23 Apr 2015 12:32:49 +0000

Be nice to people on your way up because you’ll meet them on your way down.

Wilson Mizner (1876-1933) American screenwriter and wit
In Alva Johnston, The Legendary Mizners, ch. 4 (1953)

Also quoted in Evan Esar, The Dictionary of Humorous Quotations (1949). Often attributed to Walter Winchell, who frequently quoted Mizner.

Cantor, Eddie -- (Attributed)

Dave — Fri, 05 Dec 2014 14:47:34 +0000

It took me twenty years to become an overnight success.

Eddie Cantor (1892-1964) American comedian, dancer, singer, actor, songwriter [b. Isidore Itzkowitz]
(Attributed)

Though most often attributed to Cantor, the phrase is also associated with Danny Thomas and many others. Sometimes given as "It takes twenty years to become an overnight success" (or sometimes ten years). More here.

Taylor, Tell -- “You’re in the Army Now” (1917) [with Ole Olsen]

Dave — Wed, 21 May 2014 12:01:02 +0000

You’re in the Army now,
You’re not behind a plow;
You’ll never get rich
A-diggin’ a ditch,
You’re in the Army now.

William "Tell" Taylor (1876-1937) American vaudevillian, singer, playwright, composer, lyricist
“You’re in the Army Now” (1917) [with Ole Olsen]

Emerson, Ralph Waldo -- Essay (1860), “Wealth,” The Conduct of Life, ch. 3

Dave — Mon, 21 Apr 2014 22:28:07 +0000

Art is a jealous mistress, and, if a man have a genius for painting, poetry, music, architecture, or philosophy, he makes a bad husband and an ill provider.

Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) American essayist, lecturer, poet
Essay (1860), “Wealth,” The Conduct of Life, ch. 3
(Source)

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

Watterson, Bill -- Commencement Address, Kenyon College (20 May 1990)

Dave — Thu, 21 Nov 2013 13:54:24 +0000

I tell you all this because it’s worth recognizing that there is no such thing as an overnight success. You will do well to cultivate the resources in yourself that bring you happiness outside of success or failure. The truth is, most of us discover where we are headed when we arrive. At that time, we turn around and say, yes, this is obviously where I was going all along. It’s a good idea to try to enjoy the scenery on the detours, because you’ll probably take a few.

Bill Watterson (b. 1958) American cartoonist
Commencement Address, Kenyon College (20 May 1990)
(Source)

Jobs, Steve -- Commencement Address, Stanford University (2005)

Dave — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 14:07:21 +0000

Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking. Don’t settle.

Steve Jobs (1955-2011) American computer inventor, entrepreneur
Commencement Address, Stanford University (2005)
(Source)

Jobs, Steve -- Commencement Address, Stanford University (2005)

Dave — Thu, 27 Dec 2012 23:35:41 +0000

When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: “If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you’ll most certainly be right.” It made an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: “If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?” And whenever the answer has been “No” for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.

Steve Jobs (1955-2011) American computer inventor, entrepreneur
Commencement Address, Stanford University (2005)
(Source)

Bacon, Francis -- “Of Great Place,” Essays, No. 11 (1625)

Dave — Fri, 11 Feb 2011 13:28:00 +0000

All rising to a great place is by a winding stair.

Francis Bacon (1561-1626) English philosopher, scientist, author, statesman
“Of Great Place,” Essays, No. 11 (1625)
(Source)

Stewart, Jon -- Commencement Address, College of William & Mary (2004-05-20)

Dave — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 14:20:54 +0000

Love what you do. Get good at it. Competence is a rare commodity in this day and age. And let the chips fall where they may.

Jon Stewart (b. 1962) American satirist, comedian, and television host. [b. Jonathan Stuart Leibowitz]
Commencement Address, College of William & Mary (2004-05-20)
(Source)

Barry, Dave -- “25 Things I Have Learned In 50 Years,” #20 (1997)

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

You should not confuse your career with your life.

Dave Barry (b. 1947) American humorist, author, columnist
“25 Things I Have Learned In 50 Years,” #20 (1997)

Bolt, Robert -- A Man for All Seasons, play, Act 1 (1960)

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

MORE: Why not be a teacher? You’d be a fine teacher. Perhaps even a great one.

RICH: And if I was who would know it?

MORE: You, your pupils, your friends, God. Not a bad public, that.

Robert Bolt (1924-1995) English dramatist
A Man for All Seasons, play, Act 1 (1960)
(Source)

More trying to convince Rich not to seek a public or political office (because of the corrupting influences he would face).

Rendered almost identically into the 1966 film adaptation.

MORE: Why not be a teacher? You’d be a fine teacher, perhaps a great one.
RICH: And if I was who would know it?
MORE: You. Your pupils. Your friends. God. Not a bad public, that.