WIST Quotations

Ivins, Molly -- Essay (2002-11-19), “Blast from the Past,” Creators Syndicate column

Dave — Wed, 15 Apr 2026 17:40:47 +0000

The way one solves problems obviously influences not only the outcome, but the kinds of problems one faces after the immediate problem is settled.

Molly Ivins (1944-2007) American writer, political columnist [Mary Tyler Ivins]
Essay (2002-11-19), “Blast from the Past,” Creators Syndicate column
(Source)

On use of war and military force to fight terrorism.

McLaughlin, Mignon -- The Neurotic’s Notebook, ch. 4 (1963)

Dave — Mon, 24 Feb 2025 21:55:08 +0000

True remorse is never just a regret over consequence; it is a regret over motive.

Mignon McLaughlin (1913-1983) American journalist and author
The Neurotic’s Notebook, ch. 4 (1963)
(Source)

Fuller, Thomas (1654) -- Introductio ad Prudentiam, Vol. 1, # 15 (1725)

Dave — Wed, 08 Jan 2025 16:20:17 +0000

Of two Evils, always chuse the least.

Thomas Fuller (1654-1734) English physician, preacher, aphorist, writer
Introductio ad Prudentiam, Vol. 1, # 15 (1725)
(Source)

See Cicero, Thomas à Kempis, Spinoza.

Hartmann, Thom -- The Prophet’s Way: A Guide to Living in the Now, “The Hundredth Monkey” (1997)

Dave — Thu, 16 Jun 2022 15:11:01 +0000

Why have I always told you that the greatest way to change the world is to secretly commit little acts of compassion? It does not matter that people know what you are doing, but rather that you do it. When a large enough number of people finally do something, or something is done enough times, be it prayer or vegetarianism or whatever, it will then happen everywhere, to everyone. It will suddenly seem just normal. […] You must behave as if your every act, even the smallest, impacted a thousand people for a hundred generations. Because it does.

Thomas "Thom" Hartmann (b. 1951) American broadcaster, psychotherapist, businessman, political commentator
The Prophet’s Way: A Guide to Living in the Now, “The Hundredth Monkey” (1997)
(Source)

Often quoted as:

The most powerful way to change the world is to secretly commit little acts of compassion. You must behave as if your every act, even the smallest, impacted a thousand people for a hundred generations. Because it does.

Thomas a Kempis -- The Imitation of Christ [De Imitatione Christi], Book 3, ch. 12, v. 2 (3.12.2) (c. 1418-27) [tr. Knox-Oakley (1959)]

Dave — Mon, 21 Mar 2022 15:25:37 +0000

You should always choose the lesser of two evils.

[De duobus malis semper minus tamen est eligendum.]

Thomas à Kempis (c. 1380-1471) German-Dutch priest, author
The Imitation of Christ [De Imitatione Christi], Book 3, ch. 12, v. 2 (3.12.2) (c. 1418-27) [tr. Knox-Oakley (1959)]
(Source)

In this context, Thomas is speaking of the evil (suffering) of resisting temptation and losing out on fun times in this world, compared to the evil of eternal damnation, e.g.,

If thou say, that thou art not able to suffer much, how then wilt thou endure the fire hereafter? Of two evils the less is always to be chosen. That thou mayest therefore avoid the everlasting punishment, endeavour to endure present evils patiently for God's sake. [Anon. (1901)]

See also Cicero.

(Source (Latin)). Alternate translations:

Of two evils, the less evil is to be taken.
[tr. Whitford/Raynal (1530/1871)]

Of two evils, the lesser is to be chosen.
[tr. Whitford/Gardiner (1530/1955)]

Of two evils the lesse is alwaies to be chosen.
[tr. Page (1639), 3.12.5]

Nature, as well as Religion, teaches Men, of Two Evils to choose the less.
[tr. Stanhope (1696; 1706 ed.), 3.13]

Of two evils, the least is to be chosen.
[tr. Payne (1803), 3.9.4]

Of two evils the less is alway to be chosen.
[ed. Parker (1841)]

Of two evils, the least is to be chosen.
[tr. Dibdin (1851), 3.10.1]

Of two evils we ought always to choose the less.
[ed. Bagster (1860)]

Of two evils we should always choose the less.
[tr. Benham (1874)]

Of two evils the less is always to be chosen.
[tr. Anon. (1901)]

Of two evils, the lesser is always to be chosen.
[tr. Croft/Bolton (1940)]

Of two evils always choose the less.
[tr. Daplyn (1952)]

Of two evils, always choose the lesser.
[tr. Sherley-Price (1952)]

One must always choose the lesser of two evils.
[tr. Knott (1962)]

You must always choose the lesser of two evils.
[tr. Rooney (1979)]

Always choose the lesser of two evils.
[tr. Creasy (1989)]

Homer -- The Odyssey [Ὀδύσσεια], Book 1, l. 7ff (1.7) (c. 700 BC) [tr. Fagles (1996)]

Dave — Wed, 07 Apr 2021 17:25:09 +0000

The recklessness of their ways destroyed them all.

[Αὐτῶν γὰρ σφετέρῃσιν ἀτασθαλίῃσιν ὄλοντο.]

Homer (fl. 7th-8th C. BC) Greek author
The Odyssey [Ὀδύσσεια], Book 1, l. 7ff (1.7) (c. 700 BC) [tr. Fagles (1996)]
(Source)

Original Greek. Alternate translations:

"O men unwise, / They perish’d by their own impieties!" [tr. Chapman (1616)]
"They lost themselves by their own insolence." [tr. Hobbes (1675), l. 9]
"They perish’d self-destroy’d / By their own fault." [tr. Cowper (1792)]
"For they were slain in their own foolishness." [tr. Worsley (1861), st. 2]
"Destin'd as they were / In their mad arrogance to perish; fools!" [tr. Musgrave (1869)]
"For they in their own wilful folly perished." [tr. Bigge-Wither (1869)]
"For through the blindness of their own hearts they perished." [tr. Butcher/Lang (1879)]
"They died of their own souls' folly." [tr. Morris (1887)]
"For through their own perversity they perished." [tr. Palmer (1891)]
"For they perished through their own sheer folly." [tr. Butler (1898)]
"For they perished through their own deeds of sheer recklessness." [tr. Butler (1898), rev. Kim/McCray/Nagy/Power (2018)]
"For through their own blind folly they perished." [tr. Murray (1919)]
"For their own recklessness destroyed them all." [tr. Fitzgerald (1961)]
"They were destroyed by their own wild recklessness, / fools." [tr. Lattimore (1965)]
"Fools, they foiled themselves." [tr. Mendelbaum (1990)]
"By their own mad recklessness they were brought to destruction, childish fools." [tr. Merrill (2002)]
"It was their own transgression that brought them to their doom." [tr. DCH Rieu (2002)]
"It was through their own blind recklessness that they perished, / the fools." [tr. Green (2018)]
"They all died from their own stupidity, the fools." [tr. Johnston (2019)]

Allen, Steve -- More Steve Allen on the Bible, Religion, and Morality, “Authenticity of the Bible” (1993)

Dave — Fri, 26 Feb 2021 14:16:15 +0000

Ideas have consequences, and totally erroneous ideas are likely to have destructive consequences.

Steve Allen (1922-2000) American composer, entertainer, and wit.
More Steve Allen on the Bible, Religion, and Morality, “Authenticity of the Bible” (1993)
(Source)

Sowell, Thomas -- Compassion vs. Guilt, and Other Essays (1987)

Dave — Mon, 18 May 2020 15:31:06 +0000

Policies are judged by their consequences but crusades are judged by how good they make the crusaders feel.

Thomas Sowell (b. 1930) American economist and political commentator
Compassion vs. Guilt, and Other Essays (1987)
(Source)

~Proverbs and Sayings -- Danish Proverb

Dave — Wed, 05 Feb 2020 18:43:00 +0000

Better ask twice than lose your way once.

Proverbs, Sayings, and Adages
Danish Proverb

Eliot, George -- Middlemarch (1871-72)

Dave — Wed, 22 Jun 2016 13:50:15 +0000

Our deeds still travel with us from afar.
And what we have been makes us what we are.

George Eliot (1819-1880) English novelist [pseud. of Mary Ann Evans]
Middlemarch (1871-72)

Dante Alighieri -- The Divine Comedy [Divina Commedia], Book 3 “Paradiso,” Canto 1, l. 34 (1.34) (1320) [tr. Musa (1984)]

Dave — Wed, 01 Jun 2016 17:19:14 +0000

From one small spark can come a mighty blaze.

[Poca favilla gran fiamma seconda.]

Dante Alighieri (1265-1321) Italian poet
The Divine Comedy [Divina Commedia], Book 3 “Paradiso,” Canto 1, l. 34 (1.34) (1320) [tr. Musa (1984)]
(Source)

Dante, in a metaphorical prayer to Apollo, hoping his meager efforts describing Paradise will inspire better ones from future poets. The phrase has become proverbial in Italy.

(Source (Italian)). Alternate translations:

From a small spark
Great flame hath risen.
[tr. Cary (1814)]

The spark comes first, and then a mighty flame.
[tr. Bannerman (1850)]

A little spark is followed by great flame.
[tr. Longfellow (1867)]

A mighty flame follows a little spark.
[tr. Butler (1885)]

Great flame may follow from a spark but brief.
[tr. Minchin (1885)]

Great flame follows a little spark.
[tr. Norton (1892)]

A mighty flame followeth a tiny spark.
[tr. Wicksteed (1899)]

A great flame follows a little spark.
[tr. Sinclair (1939)]

A small spark kindles a great flame beyond.
[tr. Binyon (1943)]

From one small spark springs up a mighty flare.
[tr. Sayers/Reynolds (1962)]

Great flames are kindled where the small sparks fly.
[tr. Ciardi (1970)]

A great flame follows a little spark.
[tr. Singleton (1975)]

A little spark brings a great flame after it.
[tr. Sisson (1981)]

Great fire can follow a small spark.
[tr. Mandelbaum (1984)]

A tiny spark can result in a great flame.
[tr. Durling (2011)]

A great flame follows a tiny spark
[tr. Kline (2002)]

A minute spark precedes a towering flame.
[tr. Kirkpatrick (2007)]

Great fire leaps from the smallest spark.
[tr. Hollander/Hollander (2007)]

Tiny sparks can produce a noble flame.
[tr. Raffel (2010)]

A little spark, later a great flame.
[tr. Bang (2021)]

Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth -- Christus, pt. 2 “A Village Church” (1872)

Dave — Mon, 03 Aug 2015 13:09:55 +0000

No action, whether foul or fair,
Is ever done, but it leaves somewhere
A record, written by fingers ghostly,
As a blessing or a curse, and mostly
In the greater weakness or greater strength
Of the acts which follow it.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882) American poet
Christus, pt. 2 “A Village Church” (1872)

Huxley, Aldous -- Essay (1943-01/02), “Religion and Time,” Vedanta and the West Magazine

Dave — Wed, 10 Dec 2014 14:05:53 +0000

Happiness is not achieved by the conscious pursuit of happiness; it is generally the by-product of other activities.

Aldous Huxley (1894-1963) English novelist, essayist and critic
Essay (1943-01/02), “Religion and Time,” Vedanta and the West Magazine
(Source)

Collected in Christopher Isherwood (ed.), Vedanta for the Western World (1945)

This quotation is sometimes misattributed to Huxley's "Distractions I" essay, from the same source (and collection).

Tolkien, J.R.R. -- The Lord of the Rings, Vol. 2: The Two Towers, Book 4, ch. 1 “The Taming of Sméagol” (1954)

Dave — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 12:26:38 +0000

Deserves death! I daresay he does. Many that live deserve death. And some die that deserve life. Can you give that to them? Then be not too eager to deal out death in the name of justice, fearing for your own safety. Even the wise cannot see all ends.

J.R.R. Tolkien (1892-1973) English writer, fabulist, philologist, academic [John Ronald Reuel Tolkien]
The Lord of the Rings, Vol. 2: The Two Towers, Book 4, ch. 1 “The Taming of Sméagol” (1954)
(Source)

Frodo recalling the words of Gandalf (approximately) in The Fellowship of the Ring.

James, William -- The Principles of Psychology, Vol. 1, ch. 4 “Habit” (1890)

Dave — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 13:18:16 +0000

The hell to be endured hereafter, of which theology tells, is no worse than the hell we make for ourselves in this world by habitually fashioning our characters in the wrong way. Could the young but realize how soon they will become mere walking bundles of habits, they would give more heed to their conduct while in the plastic state. We are spinning our own fates, good or evil. Every smallest stroke of virtue or of vice leaves its never so little scar.

William James (1842-1910) American psychologist and philosopher
The Principles of Psychology, Vol. 1, ch. 4 “Habit” (1890)
(Source)

This chapter originally published in Popular Science Monthly (Feb 1887).

Adams, John Quincy -- (Attributed)

Dave — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 12:48:14 +0000

Idleness is sweet, and its consequences are cruel.

[La molesse est douce, et sa suite est cruelle.]

John Quincy Adams (1767-1848) US President (1825-29)
(Attributed)

Said to have been written in his diary, but unverified.

Emerson, Ralph Waldo -- Essay (1860), “Worship,” The Conduct of Life, ch. 6

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 18:00:00 +0000

Shallow men believe in luck, believe in circumstances — it was somebody’s name, or he happened to be there at the time, or it was so then, and another day would have been otherwise. Strong men believe in cause and effect.

Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) American essayist, lecturer, poet
Essay (1860), “Worship,” The Conduct of Life, ch. 6
(Source)

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

Ingersoll, Robert Green -- Essay (1881-11) “The Christian Religion,” “Part 2” North American Review, Vol. 133, No. 300

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

Happiness is not a reward — it is a consequence. Suffering is not a punishment — it is a result.

Robert Green Ingersoll (1833-1899) American lawyer, freethinker, orator
Essay (1881-11) “The Christian Religion,” “Part 2” North American Review, Vol. 133, No. 300
(Source)

See Lippmann (1929). Collected in Allen Thorndike Rice (ed.), The Christian Religion, ch. 3 (1882).

Tolkien, J.R.R. -- The Lord of the Rings, Vol. 1: The Fellowship of the Ring, Book 1, ch. 2 “The Shadow of the Past” [Gandalf] (1954)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 18:00:00 +0000

Deserves it! I daresay he does. Many that live deserve death. And some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them? then do not be too eager to deal out death in judgment. For even the very wise cannot see all ends.

J.R.R. Tolkien (1892-1973) English writer, fabulist, philologist, academic [John Ronald Reuel Tolkien]
The Lord of the Rings, Vol. 1: The Fellowship of the Ring, Book 1, ch. 2 “The Shadow of the Past” [Gandalf] (1954)
(Source)

Frodo later recounts these words (approximately) to Sam in The Two Towers.