WIST Quotations

Bear, Elizabeth -- Bone and Jewel Creatures, ch. 4 [Bijou] (2010)

Dave — Fri, 31 Jul 2026 20:11:10 +0000

We claim the dignity of age, but the truth is, age leaves us without any dignity at all.

Elizabeth Bear (b. 1971) American author [pseud. for Sarah Bear Elizabeth Wishnevsky]
Bone and Jewel Creatures, ch. 4 [Bijou] (2010)
(Source)

Leadbeater, C. W. -- The Masters and the Path, ch. 14 (1925)

Dave — Fri, 24 Apr 2026 21:16:33 +0000

Sometimes people grieve when they find old age coming upon them, when they find their vehicles not so strong as they used to be. They desire the strength and the faculties that they once had. It is wise for them to repress that desire, to realize that their bodies have done good work, and if they can no longer do the same amount as of yore, they should do gently and peacefully what they can, but not worry themselves over the change. Presently they will have new bodies; and the way to ensure a good vehicle is to make such use as one can of the old one, but in any case to be serene and calm and unruffled. The only way to do that is to forget self, to let all selfish desires cease, and to turn the thought outward to the helping of others as far as one’s capabilities go.

C. W. Leadbeater (1846–1934) English clergyman, theosophist, author [Charles Webster Leadbeater]
The Masters and the Path, ch. 14 (1925)
(Source)

Martin, Judith -- Miss Manners’ Guide to Rearing Perfect Children, ch. 1 “Theory and Skills,” “For Auditors” (1984)

Dave — Mon, 28 Apr 2025 16:27:42 +0000

Only when the temporarily able-bodied come to accept disabilities as a common human condition will we have a truly civilized society.

Judith Martin (b. 1938) American author, journalist, etiquette expert [a.k.a. Miss Manners]
Miss Manners’ Guide to Rearing Perfect Children, ch. 1 “Theory and Skills,” “For Auditors” (1984)
(Source)

Beauvoir, Simone de -- The Second Sex [Le Deuxième Sexe], Vol. 2, Part 1, ch. 2 (1949) [tr. Borde/Malovany-Chevallier (2009)]

Dave — Mon, 24 Jul 2023 14:04:40 +0000

To lose confidence in one’s body is to lose confidence in oneself.

Simone de Beauvoir (1908–1986) French author, existentialist philosopher, feminist theorist
The Second Sex [Le Deuxième Sexe], Vol. 2, Part 1, ch. 2 (1949) [tr. Borde/Malovany-Chevallier (2009)]
(Source)

Antrim, Minna -- Don’ts for Bachelors and Old Maids (1908)

Dave — Fri, 29 Oct 2021 13:48:48 +0000

To jest at physical deformities is to prove Yourself Unfit to breathe the air of Decency.

Minna Antrim (1861–1950) American epigrammatist, writer
Don’ts for Bachelors and Old Maids (1908)
(Source)

Keyes, Daniel -- Flowers for Algernon (novel) (1966)

Dave — Mon, 09 Nov 2015 15:25:22 +0000

Even a feeble-minded man wants to be like other men.

Daniel F. Keyes (1927–2014) American author
Flowers for Algernon (novel) (1966)