WIST Quotations

Paine, Thomas -- (Attributed)

Dave — Thu, 06 Aug 2020 22:58:23 +0000

The world is my country, all mankind are my brethren, and to do good is my religion.

Thomas Paine (1737–1809) American political philosopher and writer
(Attributed)

This is widely attributed to Paine, in respectable sources, and usually (when a source is given) from The Rights of Man (1791) or The Age of Reason (1795). But a search of the text of the latter shows none of the three clauses appear in it. In The Rights of Man, Paine did write, "My country is the world, and my religion is to do good," which is close but not the same (and is sometimes cited with the different word order of the subject quote).

The three clauses appear (with a fourth, "I believe in One God and no more") on the 1923 plaque at the location of Paine's last residence, on Grove St. in Greenwich Village, NY, but with no citation (though one is sometimes applied). But the attribution of this phrase to Paine (including citing it to The Age of Reason) predates the plaque (e.g., 1913). I've not been able to find a reliable citation for this quote.

Forster, E. M. -- “The Unsung Virtue of Tolerance,” radio broadcast (Jul 1941)

Dave — Wed, 11 Mar 2020 15:36:48 +0000

I have no more faith in positive militant ideals; they can so seldom be carried out without thousands of human beings getting maimed or imprisoned. Phrases like “I will purge this nation,” “I will clean up this city,” terrify and disgust me. They might not have mattered so much when the world was emptier: they are horrifying now, when one nation is mixed up with another, when one city cannot be organically separated from its neighbours.

E. M. Forster (1879–1970) English novelist, essayist, critic, librettist [Edward Morgan Forster]
“The Unsung Virtue of Tolerance,” radio broadcast (Jul 1941)
(Source)

Published as "Tolerance," Two Cheers for Democracy (1951).

Democritus -- Frag. 247 (Diels) [tr. Freeman (1948)]

Dave — Tue, 24 Jul 2012 12:52:15 +0000

To a wise man, the whole earth is open; for the native land of a good soul is the whole earth.

[Ἀνδρὶ σοφῶι πᾶσα γῆ βατή· ψυχῆς γὰρ ἀγαθῆς πατρὶς ὁ ξύμπας κόσμος.]

Democritus (c. 460 BC - c. 370 BC) Greek philosopher
Frag. 247 (Diels) [tr. Freeman (1948)]
(Source)

Diels citation: "247. (168 N.)"; collected in Joannes Stobaeus (Stobaios) Anthologium III, 40, 7. Other translations:

"To a wise man the whole earth is accessible; for the home country of a good soul is the whole world." [tr. Barnes (1987)]
"The whole earth is open to the wise person, for the entire universe is the country of a good soul." [@sentantiq (2019)]
"The whole world is home to a wise man with an upright spirit." [Source]
"The wise man belongs to all countries, for the home of a great soul is the whole world."