WIST Quotations

Carlyle, Thomas -- Lecture (1840-05-08), “The Hero as Prophet,” Home House, Portman Square, London

Dave — Thu, 05 Feb 2026 23:48:04 +0000

Enjoying things which are pleasant; that is not the evil: it is the reducing of our moral self to slavery by them that is.

Thomas Carlyle (1795-1881) Scottish essayist and historian
Lecture (1840-05-08), “The Hero as Prophet,” Home House, Portman Square, London
(Source)

The lecture notes were collected by Carlyle into On Heroes, Hero-Worship, & the Heroic in History, Lecture 2 (1841).

Walker, Alice -- The Color Purple [Celie] (1982)

Dave — Fri, 26 May 2023 18:30:14 +0000

You know a little drink now and then never hurt nobody, but when you can’t git started without asking the bottle, you in trouble.

Alice Walker (b. 1944) American writer, activist
The Color Purple [Celie] (1982)
(Source)

King, Martin Luther -- “Conquering Self-Centeredness,” sermon, Dexter Ave. Baptist Church, Montgomery, Ala. (11 Aug 1957)

Dave — Fri, 13 Jan 2023 17:35:15 +0000

We never get anywhere in this world without the forces of history and individual persons in the background helping us to get there.

Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929-1968) American clergyman, civil rights leader, social activist, preacher
“Conquering Self-Centeredness,” sermon, Dexter Ave. Baptist Church, Montgomery, Ala. (11 Aug 1957)
(Source)

Voltaire -- (Attributed)

Dave — Wed, 16 Mar 2022 17:09:26 +0000

The comfort of the rich depends upon an abundant supply of the poor.

Voltaire (1694-1778) French writer [pseud. of Francois-Marie Arouet]
(Attributed)

Richardson, James -- Vectors: Aphorisms and Ten-Second Essays, #387 (2001)

Dave — Tue, 10 Aug 2021 14:23:27 +0000

Why would we worry what others think of us if their opinions did not change us?

James Richardson (b. 1950) American poet
Vectors: Aphorisms and Ten-Second Essays, #387 (2001)

Friday, Nancy -- My Mother/My Self, ch. 2 (1977)

Dave — Tue, 20 Oct 2020 16:35:55 +0000

Blaming mother is just a negative way of clinging to her still.

Nancy Friday (1933-2017) American author and feminist
My Mother/My Self, ch. 2 (1977)
(Source)

Marcus Aurelius -- Meditations [To Himself; Τὰ εἰς ἑαυτόν], Book 6, ch. 54 (6.54) (AD 161-180) [tr. Rendall (1898)]

Dave — Fri, 17 Apr 2020 19:24:43 +0000

What is not good for the swarm is not good for the bee.

[Τὸ τῷ σμήνει μὴ συμφέρον οὐδὲ τῇ μελίσσῃ συμφέρει.]

Marcus Aurelius (AD 121-180) Roman emperor (161-180), Stoic philosopher
Meditations [To Himself; Τὰ εἰς ἑαυτόν], Book 6, ch. 54 (6.54) (AD 161-180) [tr. Rendall (1898)]
(Source)

(Source (Greek)). Alternate translations:

That which is not good for the beehive, cannot be good for the bee.
[tr. Casaubon (1634), 6.49]

That which is not for the Interest of the whole Swarm, is not for the Interest of a single Bee.
[tr. Collier (1701); Collier/Zimmern (1887)]

What is not the interest of the hive, is not the interest of the bee.
[tr. Hutcheson/Moor (1742)]

That which is not for the interest of the whole hive, cannot be so for any single bee.
[tr. Graves (1792), 6.48]

That which is not good for the swarm, neither is it good for the bee.
[tr. Long (1862)]

What profits not the swarm profits not the bee.
[tr. Hutcheson/Chrystal (1902)]

That which is not in the interests of the hive cannot be in the interests of the bee.
[tr. Haines (Loeb) (1916)]

What does not benefit the hive is no benefit to the bee.
[tr. Farquharson (1944)]

What is no good for the hive is no good for the bee.
[tr. Staniforth (1964)]

What brings no benefit to the hive brings none to the bee.
[tr. Hard (1997 ed.)]

What injures the hive injures the bee.
[tr. Hays (2003)]

What does not benefit the hive does not benefit the bee either.
[tr. Hammond (2006)]

What brings no benefit to the hive brings none to the bee.
[tr. Hard (2011 ed.)]

What does not benefit the hive does not benefit the bee.
[tr. Gill (2013)]

Keynes, John Maynard -- “Overseas Financial Policy in Stage III” (15 May 1945)

Dave — Wed, 21 Dec 2016 01:20:14 +0000

The old saying holds. Owe your banker £1000 and you are at his mercy; owe him £1 million and the position is reversed.

John Maynard Keynes (1883-1946) English economist
“Overseas Financial Policy in Stage III” (15 May 1945)

Unpublished memo distributed to the British Cabinet. Variant: "If you owe your bank a hundred pounds, you have a problem. But if you owe a million, it has."

Shaw, George Bernard -- A Treatise on Parents and Children (1910)

Dave — Thu, 14 Jan 2016 16:52:05 +0000

People become attached to their burdens sometimes more than the burdens are attached to them.

George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950) Irish playwright and critic
A Treatise on Parents and Children (1910)

Higginson, T. W. -- “A Plea for Culture,” Atlantic Essays (1871)

Dave — Wed, 28 Oct 2015 14:13:16 +0000

Great men are rarely isolated mountain peaks; they are the summits of ranges.

Thomas Wentworth Higginson (1823-1911) American minister, author, abolitionist, soldier
“A Plea for Culture,” Atlantic Essays (1871)

Brewster, Kingman -- Baccalaureate address, Yale (12 Jun 1966)

Dave — Mon, 19 Jan 2015 14:25:24 +0000

There is no greater challenge than to have someone relying upon you; no greater satisfaction than to vindicate his expectation.

Kingman Brewster, Jr. (1919-1988) American educator, diplomat
Baccalaureate address, Yale (12 Jun 1966)

Hlavaty, Arthur D. -- “Derogatory Reference” #100 (2002)

Dave — Wed, 27 Aug 2014 13:04:24 +0000

Depending on the kindness of strangers may not be as bad as depending on the competence of strangers.

Arthur D. Hlavaty (b. 1942) American writer, editor, publisher [a/k/a "Supergee"]
“Derogatory Reference” #100 (2002)
(Source)

Augustine of Hippo -- (Misattributed)

Dave — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 13:14:04 +0000

Pray as though everything depended on God. Work as though everything depended on you.

Augustine of Hippo (354-430) Christian church father, philosopher, saint [b. Aurelius Augustinus]
(Misattributed)

Also attributed to St. Benedict, and Brigham Young, Francis Cardinal Spellman (though it predates him). It most likely comes from St. Ignatius Loyola, though that is also subject to some debate.

Variant: "Work as if everything depends on you, and pray as if everything depends on God."

Einstein, Albert -- “What I Believe,” Forum and Century (Oct 1930)

Dave — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 09:35:27 +0000

Many times a day I realize how much my own outer and inner life is built upon the labors of my fellow men, both living and dead, and how earnestly I must exert myself in order to give in return as much as I have received. My peace of mind is often troubled by the depressing sense that I have borrowed too heavily from the work of other men.

Albert Einstein (1879-1955) German-American physicist
“What I Believe,” Forum and Century (Oct 1930)
(Source)

Einstein crafted and recrafted his credo multiple times in this period, and specifics are often muddled by differing translations and by his reuse of certain phrases in later writing. The Forum and Century entry appears to be the earliest. Some important variants:

A hundred times every day I remind myself that my inner and outer life are based on the labors of other men, living and dead, and that I must exert myself in order to give in the same measure as I have received and am still receiving. I am strongly drawn to a frugal life and am often oppressively aware that I am engrossing an undue amount of the labor of my fellow-men.

— "The World As I See It [Mein Weltbild]" [tr. Bargmann (1954)]

A hundred times every day I remind myself that my inner and outer life depend on the labours of other men, living and dead, and that I must exert myself in order to give in the same measure as I have received and am still receiving. I am strongly drawn to the simple life and am often oppressed by the feeling that I am engrossing an unnecessary amount of the labor of my fellowmen.

— "The World As I See It [Mein Weltbild]" [tr. Harris (1934)]

I am often troubled by the thought that my life is based to such a large extent on the work of my fellow human beings, and I am aware of my great indebtedness to them.

[Oft bedrückt mich der Gedanke, in welchem Maße mein Leben auf der Arbeit meiner Mitmenschen aufgebaut ist, und ich weiß, wie viel ich Ihnen schulde.]

— Reduced variant in "My Credo [Mein Glaubensbekenntnis]" (Aug 1932)

Orwell, George -- Essay (1945-05), “Notes on Nationalism,” Polemic Magazine (1945-10)

Dave — Fri, 14 May 2004 12:19:24 +0000

Those who “abjure” violence can only do so because others are committing violence on their behalf.

George Orwell (1903-1950) English journalist, essayist, writer [pseud. of Eric Arthur Blair]
Essay (1945-05), “Notes on Nationalism,” Polemic Magazine (1945-10)
(Source)

This seems to be the origin of the Orwell misattribution, "People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf." This is not found in Orwell's works (or in those of Winston Churchill, to whom the more colorful quote is sometimes attributed), but was a paraphrase of Orwell by Richard Grenier in his article "Perils of Passive Sex," Washington Times (1992-04-06).

For more discussion of this quotation, see:

Mandela, Nelson -- Letter from prison to Zindzi Mandela, given in Soweto speech (10 Feb 1985)

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

Only free men can negotiate; prisoners cannot enter into contracts. Your freedom and mine cannot be separated.

Nelson Mandela (1918-2013) South African revolutionary, politician, statesman
Letter from prison to Zindzi Mandela, given in Soweto speech (10 Feb 1985)

On refusing to bargain for freedom after 21 years in prison. Quoted in Time (25 Feb 1985).

~Other -- Timothy Jones

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

Give a man a fish, and you’ll feed him for a day. Give him a religion, and he’ll starve to death while praying for a fish.

(Other Authors and Sources)
Timothy Jones