Keep thou from the Opportunity, and God will keep thee from the Sin.
Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) American statesman, scientist, philosopher, aphorist
Poor Richard (1744 ed.)
(Source)
Quotations about:
divine guidance
Note not all quotations have been tagged, so Search may find additional quotes on this topic.
Progress is the stride of God.
Victor Hugo (1802-1885) French writer
(Attributed)
Widely attributed to Hugo, but I cannot find a primary source for it. In a few places it is cited to his William Shakespeare (1864), but not in the two English translations I could find for it, nor could I identify it in the French.
The earliest attribution to Hugo I found was in Day's Collacon (1884), without citation. If this is a loose paraphrase of something in William Shakespeare, I have not tracked it down.
Variants:
- Progress is the stride of God himself.
- Progress is the stride of God, and God never takes a step backward.
The voice of the people is the voice of God.
[Vox populi, vox Dei.]
Alcuin of York (c. 735-804) Anglo-Latin scholar, clergyman, poet, teacher [Flaccus Albinus Alcuinus, Ealhwine, Alhwin, or Alchoin]
Letter (AD 798) to Charlemagne
Collected as Epistle 166, "Capitula quę tali convenit in tempore memorari," sec. 9 in various collections. (The epistle number varies.)
Alcuin did not actually invent the phrase -- though his use of it is one of the earliest recorded references. Ironically, while the phrase means that the popular will / voice / opinion is divine will, Alcuin used it while denying it:Nec audiendi qui solent dicere: Vox populi, vox Dei. Cum tumultuositas vulgi semper insaniæ proxima sit.
[And those people should not be listened to who keep saying the voice of the people is the voice of God, since the riotousness of the crowd is always very close to madness.
[Source]
[We should not listen to those who like to affirm that the voice of the people is the voice of God, for the tumult of the masses is truly close to madness.]
[Source]
There is also some question as to whether this is an authentic Alcuin quote. For more information about the phrase, see here.
Thy Godlike crime was to be kind,
To render with thy precepts less
The sum of human wretchedness,
And strengthen Man with his own mind.
I am approached with the most opposite opinions and advice, and that by religious men, who are equally certain that they represent the Divine will. I am sure that either the one or the other class is mistaken in the belief, and perhaps in some respects both. I hope it will not be irreverent for me to say that if it is probable that God would reveal his will to others, on a point so connected with my duty, it might be supposed he would reveal it directly to me; for, unless I am more deceived in myself than I often am, it is my earnest desire to know the will of Providence in this matter. And if I can learn what it is I will do it! These are not, however, the days of miracles, and I suppose it will be granted that I am not to expect a direct revelation. I must study the plain physical facts of the case, ascertain what is possible and learn what appears to be wise and right. The subject is difficult, and good men do not agree.
Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) American lawyer, politician, US President (1861-65)
Speech (1862-09-13) to the Emancipation Memorial presented by Chicago Christians of All Denominations.
(Source)
From a report of the delegation that presented Lincoln with a memorial in favor of national emancipation. The report, detailing Lincoln's comments and their replies, was presented to the sending parties on 1862-09-20, and released to newspapers over the following days.
I was asking myself these questions, weeping all the while with the most bitter sorrow in my heart, when all at once I heard the sing-song voice of a child in a nearby house. Whether it was the voice of a boy or a girl I cannot say, but again and again it repeated the refrain “Take it and read, take it and read.”
[Dicebam haec et flebam amarissima contritione cordis mei. Et ecce audio vocem de vicina domo cum cantu dicentis et crebro repetentis, quasi pueri an puellae, nescio: “tolle lege, tolle lege.”]
Augustine of Hippo (354-430) Christian church father, philosopher, saint [b. Aurelius Augustinus]
Confessions, Book 8, ch. 12 / ¶ 29 (8.12.29) (c. AD 398) [tr. Pine-Coffin (1961)]
(Source)
Augustine writes of being unable to break himself away from his life of carnal sin, until, at this moment, he gets what he deems an inspiration from God to open the Bible at random and, reading Romans 13:13-14, makes his full conversion to Christianity.
(Source (Latin)). Alternate translations:So was I speaking and weeping in the most bitter contrition of my heart, when, lo! I heard from a neighbouring house a voice, as of boy or girl, I know not, chanting, and oft repeating, "Take up and read; Take up and read."
[tr. Pusey (1838) and ed. Shedd (1860)]I was saying these things and weeping in the most bitter contrition of my heart, when, lo, I heard the voice as of a boy or girl, I know not which, coming from a neighbouring house, chanting, and oft repeating, “Take up and read; take up and read.
[tr. Pilkington (1876)]I spoke thus , and wept in the bitterest sorrow of my heart. And lo, I heard a voice as of a boy or girl from a neighbouring house, I know not which, chanting, and frequently repeating, "Take, read; take, read."
[tr. Hutchings (1890)]Thus I spoke, weeping in bitter contrition of heart, when, lo, I heard a voice from the neighbouring house. It seemed as if some boy or girl, I knew not which, was repeating in a kind of chant the words, "Take and read, take and read."
[tr. Bigg (1897)]Such things I said, weeping in the most bitter sorrow of my heart. And suddenly I heard a voice from some nearby house, a boy’s voice or a girl’s voice, I do not know: but it was a sort of sing-song, repeated again and again, “Take and read, take and read.”
[tr. Sheed (1943)]I was saying these things and weeping in the most bitter contrition of my heart, when suddenly I heard the voice of a boy or a girl -- I know not which -- coming from the neighboring house, chanting over and over again, “Pick it up, read it; pick it up, read it.”
[tr. Outler (1955)]Such words I spoke, and with most bitter contrition I wept within my heart. And lo, I heard from a nearby house, a voice like that of a boy or a girl, I know not which, chanting and repeating over and over, “Take up and read. Take up and read.”
[tr. Ryan (1960)]So I spoke, weeping in the bitter contrition of my heart. Suddenly a voice reaches my ears from a nearby house. It is the voice of a boy or a girl (I don’t know which) and in a kind of singsong the words are constantly repeated: “Take it and read it. Take it and read it.”
[tr. Warner (1963)]Such were my words and I wept in the bitter contrition of my heart. And, see, I heard a voice from a neighbouring house chanting repeatedly, whether a boy’s or a girl’s voice I do not know: "Pick it up and read it, pick it up and read it."
[tr. Blaiklock (1983)]
