WIST Quotations

Addison, Joseph -- The Drummer, Act 5, sc. 1 (1716)

Dave — Mon, 19 Jan 2026 19:12:53 +0000

VELLUM: There is nothing more requisite in business than dispatch.

Joseph Addison (1672-1719) English essayist, poet, statesman
The Drummer, Act 5, sc. 1 (1716)
(Source)

Adams, John -- Letter (1776-04-16) to Mercy Otis Warren

Dave — Mon, 12 Jan 2026 23:25:18 +0000

The Spirit of Commerce, Madam, which even insinuates itself into Families, and influences holy Matrimony, and thereby corrupts the Morals of Families as well as destroys their Happiness, it is much to be feared is incompatible with that purity of Heart, and Greatness of soul which is necessary for an happy Republic.

John Adams (1735–1826) American lawyer, Founding Father, statesman, US President (1797–1801)
Letter (1776-04-16) to Mercy Otis Warren
(Source)

Berry, Wendell -- Speech (2005-05-14), Commencement, Lindsey Wilson College, Columbia, Kentucky

Dave — Mon, 15 Dec 2025 21:01:31 +0000

We are living, it seems, into the culmination of a long warfare — at first merely commercial and then industrial, always unabashedly violent — against human beings and other creatures, and of course against the earth itself. The purpose of this warfare has been to render the real goods of the world into various forms of abstract wealth: money, gold, shares, etc.

Wendell Berry (b. 1934) American farmer, educator, poet, conservationist
Speech (2005-05-14), Commencement, Lindsey Wilson College, Columbia, Kentucky
(Source)

This was either excerpted from, or included in, his undated essay "Letter to Daniel Kemmis," collected in The Way of Ignorance and Other Essays, Part 2 (2005).

Spillane, Mickey -- In Garrison Keillor, post (2012-03-09), Writers Almanac, American Public Media

Dave — Sun, 19 Oct 2025 18:00:40 +0000

The critics panned Spillane, but he didn’t care. He said, “Those big-shot writers could never dig the fact that there are more salted peanuts consumed than caviar.” He said he never had a character who drank cognac or had a mustache, because he didn’t know how to spell those words. He said, “I have no fans. You know what I got? Customers. And customers are your friends.”

Mickey Spillane (1918-2006) American crime novelist [Frank Morrison Spillane]
In Garrison Keillor, post (2012-03-09), Writers Almanac, American Public Media
(Source)

Billings, Josh -- Everybody’s Friend, Or; Josh Billing’s Encyclopedia and Proverbial Philosophy of Wit and Humor, ch. 150 “Affurisms: Parboils” (1874)

Dave — Tue, 26 Nov 2024 14:39:23 +0000

Everything on this earth iz bought and sold, except air and water, and they would be if a kind Creator had not made the supply too grate for the demand.

[Everything on this earth is bought and sold, except air and water, and they would be if a kind Creator had not made the supply too great for the demand.]

Josh Billings (1818-1885) American humorist, aphorist [pseud. of Henry Wheeler Shaw]
Everybody’s Friend, Or; Josh Billing’s Encyclopedia and Proverbial Philosophy of Wit and Humor, ch. 150 “Affurisms: Parboils” (1874)
(Source)

Baudelaire, Charles -- Journaux Intimes [Intimate Journals], “Mon cœur mis à nu [My Heart Laid Bare],” § 47 (1864–1867; pub. 1887) [tr. Isherwood (1930)]

Dave — Mon, 06 Nov 2023 22:52:41 +0000

The least vile of all merchants is he who says: “Let us be virtuous, since, thus, we shall gain much more money than the fools who are dishonest.” For the merchant, even honesty is a financial speculation.

[Le moins infâme de tous les commerçants, c’est celui qui dit: Soyons vertueux pour gagner beaucoup plus d’argent que les sots qui sont vicieux. — Pour le commerçant, l’honnêteté elle-même est une spéculation de lucre.]

Charles Baudelaire (1821-1867) French poet, essayist, art critic
Journaux Intimes [Intimate Journals], “Mon cœur mis à nu [My Heart Laid Bare],” § 47 (1864–1867; pub. 1887) [tr. Isherwood (1930)]
(Source)

(Source (French)). Alternate translation:

The least despicable of merchants is the one who says: Let us be virtuous so that we can make far more money than those vice-ridden fools. -- For the merchant, even honesty offers a money-making opportunity.
[tr. Sieburth (2022)]

Van Dyke, Henry -- “America’s Prosperity” (1 Oct 1916), The Red Flower: Poems Written in War Time (1917)

Dave — Mon, 11 Jul 2022 14:55:46 +0000

They tell me thou art rich, my country: gold
In glittering flood has poured into thy chest;
Thy flocks and herds increase, thy barns are pressed
With harvest, and thy stores can hardly hold
Their merchandise; unending trains are rolled
Along thy network rails of East and West;
Thy factories and forges never rest;
Thou art enriched in all things bought and sold!

But dost thou prosper? Better news I crave.
O dearest country, is it well with thee
Indeed, and is thy soul in health?
A nobler people, hearts more wisely brave,
And thoughts that lift men up and make them free, —
These are prosperity and vital wealth!

Henry Van Dyke (1852-1933) American clergyman and writer
“America’s Prosperity” (1 Oct 1916), The Red Flower: Poems Written in War Time (1917)
(Source)

Molnar, Ferenc -- Quoted in George Jean Nathan, Intimate Notebooks (1932)

Dave — Fri, 26 Jun 2020 17:27:02 +0000

Writing is like prostitution. First you do it for the love of it, then you do it for a few friends, and finally you do it for money.

Ferenc Molnár (1878-1952) Hungarian-American author, stage director, dramatist [a.k.a. Franz Molnar]
Quoted in George Jean Nathan, Intimate Notebooks (1932)
(Source)

Common form of a quote often misattributed to Molière. It original version actually appears to have originated with Molnar, who, when asked how he regarded his writing, answered (according to Nathan):

Like a whore. First, I did it for my own pleasure. Then I did it for the pleasure of my friends. And now -- I do it for money.

There are many variants by different creators who have referenced the quip, sometimes causing it to be attributed to them instead. More discussion on this quotation's origins and variations: Quote Origin: I Did It For My Own Pleasure. Then I Did It For My Friends. Now I Do It For Money – Quote Investigator®.