WIST Quotations

Commager, Henry Steele -- Essay (1953-02-21), “Is Freedom Really Necessary?” Saturday Review

Dave — Wed, 02 Feb 2022 15:26:25 +0000

A nation that silences or intimidates original minds is left only with unoriginal minds and cannot hope to hold its own in the competition of peace or of war.

Henry Steele Commager (1902-1998) American historian, writer, activist
Essay (1953-02-21), “Is Freedom Really Necessary?” Saturday Review
(Source)

Based on a discussion by the American Round Table, New York City (1951). Collected as "Free Enterprise in Ideas," Freedom, Loyalty and Dissent (1954).

Brown, Rita Mae -- Venus Envy, ch. 21 (1993)

Dave — Mon, 23 Oct 2017 23:22:16 +0000

Normal is the average of deviance.

Rita Mae Brown (b. 1944) American author, playwright
Venus Envy, ch. 21 (1993)
(Source)

Milligan, Spike -- (Attributed)

Dave — Thu, 16 Jul 2015 13:16:38 +0000

We haven’t got a plan, so nothing can go wrong!

Terence Alan "Spike" Milligan (1918-2002) Anglo-Irish comedian, writer, actor
(Attributed)

Variants:

"We don't have a plan, so nothing can go wrong!"
"We haven't any plan, so nothing can go wrong!"

Aristotle -- On the Heavens [De Caelo, Περὶ οὐρανοῦ], Book 1, ch. 5 (1.5) / 271b.9-10 (350 BC) [tr. Stock (1922)]

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

The least initial deviation from the truth is multiplied later a thousandfold.

Aristotle (384-322 BC) Greek philosopher
On the Heavens [De Caelo, Περὶ οὐρανοῦ], Book 1, ch. 5 (1.5) / 271b.9-10 (350 BC) [tr. Stock (1922)]
(Source)

Alternate translation:

A small deviation from the truth at the beginning multiplies itself ten thousand-fold.
[tr. Hankinson (2004)]

Zappa, Frank -- A Day with Frank Zappa, Part 5, documentary, dir. Roelof Kiers, VPRO-TV (1971-02-11)

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

Without deviation from the norm, progress is not possible.

Frank Zappa (1940-1993) American singer-songwriter
A Day with Frank Zappa, Part 5, documentary, dir. Roelof Kiers, VPRO-TV (1971-02-11)

Widely attributed to Zappa in various forms, but with very few actual citations.

The Kiers documentary gave the quotation twice. First (Source, Video):

Well I think that progress is not possible without deviation. And I think that it's important that people be aware of some of the creative ways in which some of their fellow men are deviating from the norm, because in some instances they might find these deviations inspiring and might suggest further deviations which might cause progress, you never know.

Second (Source, Video):

KIERS: What kind of influence did the Mothers [of Invention] have, you think?
ZAPPA: Well, we had some, but not very much, because of the size of our audience was so small.
KIERS: But, what kind of influence?
ZAPPA: Well, I think we perhaps inspired some of the people who liked what we do to get a little bit looser and a little bit more devious, and as I said before about progress not being possible without some sort of deviation. We need a few deviants.

A variant of this quote shows up in a photo essay titled "A Quarter Century of Gay Life in New York," New York Magazine (1994-06-20). It is attributed to Zappa (who had died the previous December), and is dated (without citation) to 1966:

My attitude toward anybody's sexual persuasion is this: without deviation from the norm, progress is not possible.

The quotation also shows up in Leigh Rutledge, The Gay Book of Lists (1987) and his Unnatural Quotations (1988).

Rosemary Silva's Lesbian Quotations (1993) mentions this latter Rudtledge book as a citation, but gives a date on the quote as 1980.

I have not been able to find an earlier source of this variant.

Another use by Zappa can be found in his autobiography, The Real Frank Zappa Book, ch. 8 "All About Music" [with Peter Occhiogrosso] (1989):

One of the things I've said before in interviews is: "Without deviation (from the norm), 'progress' is not possible."
In order for one to deviate successfully, one has to have at least a passing acquaintance with whatever norm one expects to deviate from.

The section this text begins is titled "Deviation from the Norm" -- Zappa is speaking here about music, "radio music norms," and enjoying "nuking those norms" when prepping touring arrangements. (He also gives a lengthy critique of the classical / symphonic music realm and their rigid adherence to their norms).

See also Shaw (1903).