WIST Quotations

Thoreau, Henry David -- Walden; or, Life in the Woods, ch. 1 “Economy” (1854)

Dave — Wed, 08 Jul 2026 23:17:01 +0000

There is no odor so bad as that which arises from goodness tainted. It is human, it is divine, carrion.

Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862) American philosopher and writer
Walden; or, Life in the Woods, ch. 1 “Economy” (1854)
(Source)

Berry, Wendell -- Essay (1997), “Watershed and Commonwealth,” Citizenship Papers (2003)

Dave — Mon, 23 Feb 2026 20:10:20 +0000

People who live at the lower ends of watersheds cannot be isolationists — or not for long. Pretty soon they will notice that water flows, and that will set them to thinking about the people upstream who either do or do not send down their silt and pollutants and garbage. Thinking about the people upstream out to cause further thinking about the people downstream. Such pondering on the facts of gravity and the fluidity of water shows us that the golden rule speaks to a condition of absolute interdependency and obligation. People who live on rivers — or, in fact, anywhere in a watershed — might rephrase the rule in this way: Do unto those downstream as you would have those upstream do unto you.

Wendell Berry (b. 1934) American farmer, educator, poet, conservationist
Essay (1997), “Watershed and Commonwealth,” Citizenship Papers (2003)
(Source)

See Matthew 7:12.

Gandhi, Mohandas -- Letter (1947-08-29) to Rajkumari Amrit Kaur

Dave — Mon, 03 Mar 2025 01:20:06 +0000

You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty.

Mohandas Gandhi (1869-1948) Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist, political ethicist [Mahatma Gandhi]
Letter (1947-08-29) to Rajkumari Amrit Kaur
(Source)

Quoted in Louis Fischer, Gandhi: His Life and Message for the World, ch. 31 (1954)

Chekhov, Anton -- Letter (1883-03-26) to A. N. Kanaev

Dave — Fri, 05 Apr 2024 15:10:11 +0000

A grimy fly can soil the entire wall and a small, dirty little act can ruin the entire proceedings.

Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (1860-1904) Russian playwright and writer
Letter (1883-03-26) to A. N. Kanaev

Widely attributed to Chekhov, with this citation, but I am unable to find a reference in various collections of Chekhov's letters.

Tarkovsky, Andrei -- Sculpting in Time (1986) [tr. Hunter-Blair]

Dave — Mon, 26 Sep 2022 20:32:47 +0000

The man who has stolen in order never to thieve again remains a thief. Nobody who has ever betrayed his principles can have a pure relationship with life. Therefore when a film-maker says he will produce a pot-boiler in order to give himself the strength and the means to make the film of his dreams — that is so much deception, or worse, self-deception. He will never now make his film.

Andrei Tarkovsky (1932-1986) Russian film director, screenwriter, film theorist [Андрей Арсеньевич Тарковский]
Sculpting in Time (1986) [tr. Hunter-Blair]
(Source)

Herbert, George -- Jacula Prudentum, or Outlandish Proverbs, Sentences, &c. (compiler), # 343 (1640 ed.)

Dave — Mon, 15 Oct 2012 11:32:01 +0000

Hee that lies with the dogs, riseth with fleas.

George Herbert (1593-1633) Welsh priest, orator, poet.
Jacula Prudentum, or Outlandish Proverbs, Sentences, &c. (compiler), # 343 (1640 ed.)
(Source)