WIST Quotations

Montesquieu -- Persian Letters [Lettres Persanes], Letter 29, Rica to Ibben (1721) [tr. Mauldon (2008)]

Dave — Wed, 08 Dec 2021 17:05:32 +0000

I can consequently assure you that no kingdom has ever existed with as many civil wars as occur in the kingdom of Christ.

[Aussi puis-je t’assurer qu’il n’y a jamais eu de royaume où il y ait eu tant de guerres civiles que dans celui de Christ.]

Charles-Lewis de Secondat, Baron de Montesquieu (1689-1755) French political philosopher
Persian Letters [Lettres Persanes], Letter 29, Rica to Ibben (1721) [tr. Mauldon (2008)]
(Source)

(Source (French)). Alternate translations:

And accordingly I can assure thee there never was a Kingdom that had so many Civil Wars in it, as that of Christ.
[tr. Ozell (1736), Letter 27]

I can also affirm to thee that there never was a kingdom where there has been so many civil wars as in that of Christ.
[tr. Floyd (1762)]

I can also assure you that there never was a realm in which so many civil wars have broken out, as in the kingdom of Christ.
[tr. Davidson (1891)]

Consequently, I am able to assure you that there never has been a kingdom in which there have been so many civil wars as in that of Christ.
[tr. Betts (1897)]

I can also assure you that there has never been a realm so prone to civil wars as that of Christ.
[tr. Healy (1964)]

I assure you that no countries have had as many civil wars as those in the realm of Christ.
[tr. MacKenzie (2014)]

Du Bois, W.E.B. -- The Suppression of the African Slave-Trade to the United States of America, ch. 12, sec. 93 (1896)

Dave — Tue, 23 Nov 2021 18:53:30 +0000

There is always a certain glamour about the idea of a nation rising up to crush an evil simply because it is wrong. Unfortunately, this can seldom be realized in real life; for the very existence of the evil usually argues a moral weakness in the very place where extraordinary moral strength is called for.

W. E. B. Du Bois (1868-1963) American writer, historian, social reformer [William Edward Burghardt Du Bois]
The Suppression of the African Slave-Trade to the United States of America, ch. 12, sec. 93 (1896)
(Source)

Armstrong, Karen -- The Spiral Staircase: My Climb Out of Darkness (2004)

Dave — Mon, 12 Oct 2020 19:53:21 +0000

The one and only test of a valid religious idea, doctrinal statement, spiritual experience, or devotional practice was that it must lead directly to practical compassion. If your understanding of the divine made you kinder, more empathetic, and impelled you to express this sympathy in concrete acts of loving-kindness, this was good theology. But if your notion of God made you unkind, belligerent, cruel, or self-righteous, or if it led you to kill in God’s name, it was bad theology. Compassion was the litmus test for the prophets of Israel, for the rabbis of the Talmud, for Jesus, for Paul, and for Muhammad, not to mention Confucius, Lao-tsu, the Buddha, or the sages of the Upanishads.

Karen Armstrong (b. 1944) British author, comparative religion scholar
The Spiral Staircase: My Climb Out of Darkness (2004)
(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)

Cooke, Alistair -- Talk About America, ch. 6 (1981)

Dave — Tue, 02 Aug 2016 02:32:47 +0000

All presidents start out to run a crusade, but after a couple of years they find they are running something less heroic and much more intractable: namely, the presidency.

Alistair Cooke (1908-2004) Anglo-American essayist and journalist
Talk About America, ch. 6 (1981)

Welch, John -- Board of Education of Cincinnati v. Minor, Ohio Supreme Court (1872)

Dave — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 14:16:17 +0000

True Christianity asks no aid from the sword of civil authority. It began without the sword, and wherever it has taken the sword it has perished by the sword. To depend on civil authority for its enforcement is to acknowledge its own weakness, which it can never afford to do. It is able to fight its own battles. Its weapons are moral and spiritual, and not carnal. Armed with these, and these alone, it is not afraid or “ashamed” to be compared with other religions, and to withstand them single-handed.

John Welch (1805-1891) American politician, jurist
Board of Education of Cincinnati v. Minor, Ohio Supreme Court (1872)
(Source)

Hoffer, Eric -- True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements, Part 1, ch. 2, § 8 (1951)

Dave — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 12:43:18 +0000

Faith in a holy cause is to a considerable extent a substitute for the lost faith in ourselves.

Eric Hoffer (1902-1983) American writer, philosopher, longshoreman
True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements, Part 1, ch. 2, § 8 (1951)
(Source)

Roosevelt, Franklin Delano -- Speech (1932-07-02), Acceptance, Nomination for President, Democratic National Convention, Chicago

Dave — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 10:37:22 +0000

I pledge you, I pledge myself, to a new deal for the American people. Let us all here assembled constitute ourselves prophets of a new order of competence and of courage. This is more than a political campaign; it is a call to arms. Give me your help, not to win votes alone, but to win in this crusade to restore America to its own people.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1882–1945) American lawyer, politician, statesman, US President (1933–1945)
Speech (1932-07-02), Acceptance, Nomination for President, Democratic National Convention, Chicago
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(Source (Audio)). Concluding words of the speech.,