WIST Quotations

McGinley, Phyllis -- “What Every Woman Knows,” Times Three (1960)

Dave — Fri, 19 Jul 2024 13:52:13 +0000

For little boys are rancorous
When robbed of any myth,
And spiteful and cantankerous
To all their kin and kith.
But little girls can draw conclusions
And profit from their lost illusions.

Phyllis McGinley (1905-1978) American author, poet
“What Every Woman Knows,” Times Three (1960)
(Source)

On when kids figure out that Santa Claus is not real.

Clark, Kenneth -- Civilization: A Personal View, ch. 13 “Heroic Materialism” (1969)

Dave — Wed, 24 Aug 2022 18:15:05 +0000

It is lack of confidence, more than anything else, that kills a civilization. We can destroy ourselves by cynicism and disillusion, just as effectively as by bombs.

Kenneth Clark (1903-1983) British art historian, museum director, broadcaster
Civilization: A Personal View, ch. 13 “Heroic Materialism” (1969)
(Source)

Bell, Daniel -- “First Love and Early Sorrows,” Partisan Review (Dec 1981)

Dave — Mon, 29 Mar 2021 14:43:05 +0000

I am too weary to listen, too angry to hear.

Daniel Bell (1919-2011) American sociologist, writer, editor, academic
“First Love and Early Sorrows,” Partisan Review (Dec 1981)
(Source)

Bell, Daniel -- The Cultural Contradictions of Capitalism, ch. 6 “The Public Household” (1976)

Dave — Mon, 22 Feb 2021 14:01:40 +0000

Once a faith is shattered, it takes a long time to grow again — for its soil is experience — and to become effective again.

Daniel Bell (1919-2011) American sociologist, writer, editor, academic
The Cultural Contradictions of Capitalism, ch. 6 “The Public Household” (1976)

King, Martin Luther -- Playboy interview (Jan 1965)

Dave — Fri, 28 Dec 2018 20:17:43 +0000

My personal disillusionment with the church began when I was thrust into the leadership of the bus protest in Montgomery. I was confident that the white ministers, priests and rabbis of the South would prove strong allies in our just cause. But some became open adversaries, some cautiously shrank from the issue, and others hid behind silence. My optimism about help from the white church was shattered; and on too many occasions since, my hopes for the white church have been dashed. There are many signs that the judgment of God is upon the church as never before. Unless the early sacrificial spirit is recaptured, I am very much afraid that today’s Christian church will lose its authenticity, forfeit the loyalty of millions, and we will see the Christian church dismissed as a social club with no meaning or effectiveness for our time, as a form without substance, as salt without savor. The real tragedy, though, is not Martin Luther King’s disillusionment with the church — for I am sustained by its spiritual blessings as a minister of the gospel with a lifelong commitment: The tragedy is that in my travels, I meet young people of all races whose disenchantment with the church has soured into outright disgust.

Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929-1968) American clergyman, civil rights leader, social activist, preacher
Playboy interview (Jan 1965)
(Source)

King, Martin Luther -- Playboy interview (Jan 1965)

Dave — Fri, 06 Apr 2018 18:24:40 +0000

There are many signs that the judgment of God is upon the church as never before. Unless the early sacrificial spirit is recaptured, I am very much afraid that today’s Christian church will lose its authenticity, forfeit the loyalty of millions, and we will see the Christian church dismissed as a social club with no meaning or effectiveness for our time, as a form without substance, as salt without savor. The real tragedy, though, is not Martin Luther King’s disillusionment with the church — for I am sustained by its spiritual blessings as a minister of the gospel with a lifelong commitment. The tragedy is that in my travels, I meet young people of all races whose disenchantment with the church has soured into outright disgust.

Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929-1968) American clergyman, civil rights leader, social activist, preacher
Playboy interview (Jan 1965)
(Source)

Miller, Arthur -- “The Year It Came Apart,” New York Magazine (30 Dec 1974)

Dave — Fri, 29 Jul 2016 02:30:43 +0000

An era can be said to end when its basic illusions are exhausted.

Arthur Miller (1915–2005) American playwright and essayist
“The Year It Came Apart,” New York Magazine (30 Dec 1974)

Leacock, Stephen -- The Lot of the Schoolmaster (1916)

Dave — Wed, 20 Jan 2016 14:24:09 +0000

The parent who could see his boy as he really is would shake his head and say: ‘Willy is no good: I’ll sell him.’

Stephen Leacock (1869-1944) Canadian economist, writer and humorist
The Lot of the Schoolmaster (1916)

Miller, Henry -- Letter to Anaïs Nin (24 May 1933)

Dave — Tue, 26 May 2015 13:19:10 +0000

I don’t want to be bitter about life — about love and friendship and all the human emotional entanglements. I’ve had more than my share of human disappointments, deprivations, disillusionment. I want to love people and life above all; I want to be able to say always, “if you feel bitter or disillusioned, there is something wrong with yourself, not with people, not with life.”

Henry Miller (1891-1980) American novelist
Letter to Anaïs Nin (24 May 1933)

Roux, Joseph -- Meditations of a Parish Priest: Thoughts, Part 4, #28 [tr. Hapgood (1886)]

Dave — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 13:14:31 +0000

Our experience is composed rather of illusions lost than of wisdom acquired.

Joseph Roux (1834-1886) French Catholic priest
Meditations of a Parish Priest: Thoughts, Part 4, #28 [tr. Hapgood (1886)]

Maugham, W. Somerset -- The Summing Up, ch. 23 (1938)

Dave — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 17:23:27 +0000

It is dangerous to let the public behind the scenes. They are easily disillusioned and then they are angry with you, for it was the illusion they loved.

W. Somerset Maugham (1874-1965) English novelist and playwright [William Somerset Maugham]
The Summing Up, ch. 23 (1938)
(Source)