WIST Quotations

Pratchett, Terry -- Discworld No. 14, Lords and Ladies (1992)

Dave — Fri, 07 Aug 2026 20:04:22 +0000

“I don’t hold with paddlin’ with the occult,” said Granny firmly. “Once you start paddlin’ with the occult you start believing in spirits, and when you start believing in spirits you start believing in demons, and then before you know where you are you’re believing in gods. And then you’re in trouble.”
“But all them things exist,” said Nanny Ogg.
“That’s no call to go around believing in them. It only encourages ’em.”

Terry Pratchett (1948–2015) English author
Discworld No. 14, Lords and Ladies (1992)

Marlowe, Christopher -- The Tragicall History of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus, Act 5, sc. 2 (sc. 19), l. 1498ff (1594; 1604 “A” text)

Dave — Wed, 15 Apr 2026 23:00:16 +0000

FAUSTUS: No, Faustus, curse thyself, curse Lucifer,
That hath deprived thee of the joys of heaven.
(The clock striketh twelve.)
O, it strikes, it strikes! Now, body, turn to air,
Or Lucifer will bear thee quick to hell.
(Thunder and lightning.)
O soul, be changed into little water drops,
And fall into the ocean, ne’er be found!
My God, my God, look not so fierce on me!
(Enter Devils.)
Adders, and serpents, let me breathe a while!
Ugly hell, gape not. Come not Lucifer!
I’ll burn my books! Ah, Mephistophilis!
(Exeunt Devils with Faustus.)

Christopher "Kit" Marlowe (1564–1593) English dramatist and poet
The Tragicall History of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus, Act 5, sc. 2 (sc. 19), l. 1498ff (1594; 1604 “A” text)

The B-Text (1594; 1616), l. 2081ff, is largely the same, with minor punctuation changes, except that rather than cry "My God, my God," Faustus cries "O mercy, heaven!"

Shakespeare, William -- Tempest, Act 1, sc. 2, l. 246ff (1.2.246-253) (1611)

Dave — Mon, 07 Jul 2025 16:22:03 +0000

ARIEL:Not a soul
But felt a fever of the mad, and played
Some tricks of desperation. All but mariners
Plunged in the foaming brine and quit the vessel,
Then all afire with me. The King’s son, Ferdinand,
With hair up-staring — then like reeds, not hair —
Was the first man that leaped; cried “Hell is empty,
And all the devils are here.”

William Shakespeare (1564–1616) English dramatist and poet
Tempest, Act 1, sc. 2, l. 246ff (1.2.246-253) (1611)

Ariel telling Prospero of the effects of the conjured tempest, and Ariel's tricks, on the crew of the ship.

Tidyman, Ernest -- High Plains Drifter (film) (1973)

Dave — Tue, 14 Jul 2015 15:02:07 +0000

It’s what people know about themselves inside that makes them afraid.

Ernest Tidyman (1928–1984) American author and screenwriter
High Plains Drifter (film) (1973)

Bible, Vol. 2. New Testament -- Book 10. Letter to the Ephesians 6:12 (Eph 6:12) [KJV (1611)]

Dave — Tue, 09 Sep 2014 12:50:46 +0000

For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

[ὅτι οὐκ ἔστιν ἡμῖν ἡ πάλη πρὸς αἷμα καὶ σάρκα ἀλλὰ πρὸς τὰς ἀρχάς πρὸς τὰς ἐξουσίας πρὸς τοὺς κοσμοκράτορας τοῦ σκότους τούτου πρὸς τὰ πνευματικὰ τῆς πονηρίας ἐν τοῖς ἐπουρανίοις.]

The Bible (The New Testament) (AD 1st - 2nd C) Christian sacred scripture
Book 10. Letter to the Ephesians 6:12 (Eph 6:12) [KJV (1611)]

(Source (Greek)). Other translations:

For it is not against human enemies that we have to struggle, but against the Sovereignties and the Powers who originate the darkness in this world, the spiritual army of evil in the heavens.
[JB (1966)]

For we are not fighting against human beings but against the wicked spiritual forces in the heavenly world, the rulers, authorities, and cosmic powers of this dark age.
[GNT (1976)]

For it is not against human enemies that we have to struggle, but against the principalities and the ruling forces who are masters of the darkness in this world, the spirits of evil in the heavens.
[NJB (1985)]

We aren’t fighting against human enemies but against rulers, authorities, forces of cosmic darkness, and spiritual powers of evil in the heavens.
[CEB (2011)]

For our struggle is not against blood and flesh but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
[NRSV (2011 ed.)]

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
[NIV (2011 ed.)]

Flaubert, Gustave -- Letter to Louise Colet (25 Nov 1853)

Dave — Tue, 22 Apr 2014 13:08:20 +0000

Do not imagine you can exorcise what oppresses you in life by giving vent to it in art.

Gustave Flaubert (1821–1880) French writer, novelist
Letter to Louise Colet (25 Nov 1853)