WIST Quotations

Mackay, Charles -- Poem (1884), “No Enemies”, Interludes and Undertones, Poem 121

Dave — Mon, 01 Sep 2025 18:13:43 +0000

You have no enemies, you say?
Alas, my friend, the boast is poor;
He, who has mingled in the fray
Of duty that the brave endure,
Must have made foes! If you have none,
Small is the work that you have done,
You’ve hit no traitor on the hip,
You’ve dashed no cup from perjured lip,
You’ve never turned the wrong to right,
You’ve been a coward in the fight.

Charles Mackay (1814–1889) Scottish poet, journalist, song writer
Poem (1884), “No Enemies”, Interludes and Undertones, Poem 121
(Source)

The hitting on the hip is an allusion to Genesis 32:35.

A third-person version of the poem, titled "Not In It," was "Selected" as filler in The Medical and Surgical Reporter, Vol. 69, No. 19 (1893-11-04), uncredited:

He has no enemies, you say.
My friend, your boast is poor.
He who hath mingled in the fray
Of duty that the brave endure
Must have made foes.
If he has none,
Small is the work that he has done.
He has hit no fraud upon the hip;
He has shook no cup from perjured lip;
He has never turned the wrong to right;
He has been a coward in the fight.

Carlyle, Thomas -- Sartor Resartus, Book 3, ch. 7 (1834)

Dave — Thu, 07 Aug 2025 21:32:20 +0000

It is a mathematical fact that the casting of this pebble from my hand alters the center of gravity of the Universe.

Thomas Carlyle (1795–1881) Scottish essayist and historian
Sartor Resartus, Book 3, ch. 7 (1834)
(Source)

Quoting Herr Teufelsdröckh. This chapter first appeared in Fraser's Magazine for Town and Country, Vol. 10, No. 55 (1834-07).

Knebel, Fletcher -- Seven Days in May, “Tuesday Afternoon” [Lyman] (1962)[with Charles W. Bailey II]

Dave — Thu, 05 Jun 2025 16:29:54 +0000

But a democracy is different. Each of us has got to feel that we can influence events, no matter how slight the influence. When people start believing they can’t they get frustrated, and angry. They feel helpless and they start going to extremes.

Fletcher Knebel (1911–1993) American author
Seven Days in May, “Tuesday Afternoon” [Lyman] (1962)[with Charles W. Bailey II]
(Source)

Taylor, Barbara Brown -- Sermon (1995), “Waiting in the Dark,” Gospel Medicine

Dave — Tue, 25 Mar 2025 19:09:04 +0000

Our waiting is not nothing. It is something — a very big something — because people tend to be shaped by whatever it is they are waiting for.

Barbara Brown Taylor (b. 1951) American minister, academic, author
Sermon (1995), “Waiting in the Dark,” Gospel Medicine
(Source)

Hand, Learned -- Speech (1955-01-29), “A Fanfare for Prometheus,” American Jewish Committee annual dinner, New York City

Dave — Thu, 13 Jun 2024 15:45:57 +0000

By some happy fortuity, man is a projector, a designer, a builder, a craftsman; it is among his most dependable joys to impose upon the flux that passes before him some mark of himself, aware though he always must be of the odds against him. His reward is not so much in the work as in its making; not so much in the prize as in the race. We may win when we lose, if we have done what we can; for by so doing we have made real at least some part of that finished product in whose fabrication we are most concerned: ourselves.

Learned Hand (1872–1961) American jurist
Speech (1955-01-29), “A Fanfare for Prometheus,” American Jewish Committee annual dinner, New York City
(Source)

Eberhardt, Isabelle -- The Passionate Nomad: The Diary of Isabelle Eberhardt , “26 November 1901” (1987)[tr. de Voogd]

Dave — Fri, 12 May 2023 13:27:10 +0000

Oh, if at every moment of our lives we could know the consequences of some of the utterings, thoughts and deeds that seem so trivial and unimportant at the time! And should we not conclude from such examples that there is no such thing in life as unimportant moments devoid of meaning for the future?

Isabelle Eberhardt (1877–1904) Swiss-Russian explorer and author [Si Mahmoud Saadi]
The Passionate Nomad: The Diary of Isabelle Eberhardt , “26 November 1901” (1987)[tr. de Voogd]
(Source)

Sarton, May -- Journal of a Solitude, “September 16th” (1973)

Dave — Tue, 02 Nov 2021 14:17:52 +0000

The more articulate one is, the more dangerous words become.

May Sarton (1912–1995) Belgian-American poet, novelist, memoirist [pen name of Eleanore Marie Sarton]
Journal of a Solitude, “September 16th” (1973)
(Source)

See Howell (1659).

Bentham, Jeremy -- “Principles of the Penal Code,” ch. 3, Theory of Legislation (1802)

Dave — Thu, 18 Mar 2021 20:32:51 +0000

As to the evil which results from a censorship, it is impossible to measure it, because it is impossible to tell where it ends.

Jeremy Bentham (1748–1832) English jurist and philosopher
“Principles of the Penal Code,” ch. 3, Theory of Legislation (1802)
(Source)

Hobbes, Thomas -- Leviathan, Part 1, ch. 11 (1651)

Dave — Fri, 06 Nov 2020 20:50:39 +0000

Ignorance of remote causes disposeth men to attribute all events to the causes immediate and instrumental: for these are all the causes they perceive.

Thomas Hobbes (1588–1679) English philosopher
Leviathan, Part 1, ch. 11 (1651)
(Source)

Franklin, Benjamin -- Letter to Josiah and Abiah Franklin (13 Apr 1738)

Dave — Tue, 15 Sep 2020 16:02:42 +0000

You both seem concern’d lest I have imbib’d some erroneous Opinions. Doubtless I have my Share, and when the natural Weakness and Imperfection of Human Understanding is considered, with the unavoidable Influences of Education, Custom, Books and Company, upon our Ways of thinking, I imagine a Man must have a good deal of Vanity who believes, and a good deal of Boldness who affirms, that all the Doctrines he holds, are true; and all he rejects, are false. And perhaps the same may be justly said of every Sect, Church and Society of men when they assume to themselves that Infallibility which they deny to the Popes and Councils. I think Opinions should be judg’d of by their Influences and Effects; and if a Man holds none that tend to make him less Virtuous or more vicious, it may be concluded he holds none that are dangerous; which I hope is the Case with me.

Benjamin Franklin (1706–1790) American statesman, scientist, philosopher, aphorist
Letter to Josiah and Abiah Franklin (13 Apr 1738)
(Source)

His parents.

Coleridge, Samuel Taylor -- Aids to Reflection, “Prudential Aphorisms II” (1831 ed.)

Dave — Mon, 31 Aug 2020 23:08:26 +0000

If it be true, that men are miserable because they are wicked, it is likewise true, that many are wicked because they are miserable.

Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772–1834) English poet and critic
Aids to Reflection, “Prudential Aphorisms II” (1831 ed.)
(Source)

Taylor, A. J. P. -- The Origins of the Second World War, ch. 10 “The War of Nerves” (1961)

Dave — Wed, 15 Apr 2020 23:09:42 +0000

Human blunders, however, usually do more to shape history than human wickedness.

A. J. P. Taylor (1906–1990) British historian, journalist, broadcaster [Alan John Percivale Taylor]
The Origins of the Second World War, ch. 10 “The War of Nerves” (1961)

Emerson, Ralph Waldo -- Essay (1860), “Wealth,” The Conduct of Life, ch. 3

Dave — Tue, 07 Apr 2020 16:51:00 +0000

Every man is a consumer, and ought to be a producer. He fails to make his place good in the world, unless he not only pays his debt, but also adds something to the common wealth.

Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882) American essayist, lecturer, poet
Essay (1860), “Wealth,” The Conduct of Life, ch. 3
(Source)

Based on a course of lectures, "The Conduct of Life," delivered in Pittsburg (1851-03).

Aristippus of Cyrene -- (Attributed)

Dave — Tue, 18 Jul 2017 04:23:16 +0000

Native ability without education is like a tree which bears no fruit.

Aristippus of Cyrene (c. 435 – c. 356 BC) Cyrenaic philosopher, Hedonist
(Attributed)

Quoted in Edward Parsons Day, Day’s Collacon: An Encyclopaedia of Prose Quotations (1884). Not found in original source material.

Berry, Wendell -- Essay (1985), “Wallace Stegner and the Great Community,” What Are People For? (1990)

Dave — Fri, 19 May 2017 22:33:12 +0000

There is, thank God, no teacher-meter, and there is never going to be one. A teacher’s major contribution may pop out anonymously in the life of some ex-student’s grandchild. A teacher, finally, has nothing to go on but faith, a student nothing to offer in return but testimony.

Wendell Berry (b. 1934) American farmer, educator, poet, conservationist
Essay (1985), “Wallace Stegner and the Great Community,” What Are People For? (1990)
(Source)

Hugo, Victor -- (Attributed)

Dave — Wed, 13 Jul 2016 15:38:33 +0000

Our acts make or mar us, we are the children of our own deeds.

Victor Hugo (1802–1885) French writer, journalist, human rights activist, politician
(Attributed)

Not confirmed or found in Hugo's writings.

The most common citation is is used in Henry Southgate, Things A Lady Would Like To Know, "November 18," epigraph (1875). However, I found a number of earlier references:

1874: Eugene Crowell, The Identity of Primitive Christianity and Modern Spiritualism (no attribution to Hugo).
1873: Maria Westmoreland, Clifford Troup: A Georgia Story, ch. 23.
1872-05-09: Massillon Independent, Vol. 9, No. 49 (column filler, no attribution to Hugo).
1872: Maturin Ballou, Treasury of Thought.

A similar quotation, attributed (similarly without citation) to Miguel de Cervantes or Jean Paul Richter, reads: "Good actions ennoble us, and we are sons of our own deeds."

Eliot, George -- Middlemarch (1871-72)

Dave — Wed, 22 Jun 2016 13:50:15 +0000

Our deeds still travel with us from afar.
And what we have been makes us what we are.

George Eliot (1819–1880) English novelist [pseud. of Mary Ann Evans]
Middlemarch (1871-72)

Wilcox, Ella Wheeler -- Poem (1896), “You Never Can Tell,” ll. 9-12, Custer And Other Poems

Dave — Mon, 21 Sep 2015 13:56:25 +0000

You never can tell when you do an act
Just what the result will be;
But with every deed you are sowing a seed,
Though the harvest you may not see.

Ella Wheeler Wilcox (1850–1919) American author, poet, temperance advocate, spiritualist
Poem (1896), “You Never Can Tell,” ll. 9-12, Custer And Other Poems
(Source)

Gandhi, Mohandas -- In Harijan (6 Feb 1939)

Dave — Fri, 17 Jul 2015 17:04:11 +0000

If one takes care of the means, the end will take care of itself.

Mohandas Gandhi (1869–1948) Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist, political ethicist [Mahatma Gandhi]
In Harijan (6 Feb 1939)

Colton, Charles Caleb -- Lacon: Or, Many Things in Few Words, Vol. 1, § 52 (1820)

Dave — Mon, 11 May 2015 12:44:30 +0000

The only things in which we can be said to have any property are our actions. Our thoughts may be bad, yet produce no poison; they may be good, yet produce no fruit. Our riches may be taken away from us by misfortune, our reputation by malice, our spirits by calamity, our health by disease, our friends by death. But our actions must follow us beyond the grave; with respect to them alone, we can not say that we shall carry nothing with us when we die, neither that we shall go naked out of the world.

Charles Caleb "C. C." Colton (1780–1832) English cleric, writer, aphorist
Lacon: Or, Many Things in Few Words, Vol. 1, § 52 (1820)
(Source)

Burgh, James -- The Dignity of Human Nature, Book 1, sec. 5 “Miscellaneous Thoughts on Prudence in Conversation” (1754)

Dave — Thu, 11 Sep 2014 13:26:25 +0000

Be sure of the fact before you lose time in searching for a cause.

James Burgh (1714–1775) British politician and writer
The Dignity of Human Nature, Book 1, sec. 5 “Miscellaneous Thoughts on Prudence in Conversation” (1754)
(Source)

Sometimes misattributed to Horace Mann.

Johnson, Lyndon -- Proclamation 3489, “Commemoration of the Beginnings of the Office of the Presidency of the United States” (1964-04-30)

Dave — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 17:02:46 +0000

The presidency has made every man who occupied it, no matter how small, bigger than he was; and no matter how big, not big enough for its demands.

Lyndon B. Johnson (1908–1973) American politician, educator, US President (1963–69)
Proclamation 3489, “Commemoration of the Beginnings of the Office of the Presidency of the United States” (1964-04-30)
(Source)

On the 175th anniversary of George Washington taking the first oath of office as President.

Holmes, Oliver Wendell, Sr. -- Article (1859-11), “The Professor at the Breakfast-Table,” Atlantic Monthly

Dave — Tue, 09 Nov 2010 14:10:05 +0000

The sound of a kiss is not so loud as that of a cannon, but its echo lasts a deal longer.

Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. (1809–1894) American poet, essayist, scholar
Article (1859-11), “The Professor at the Breakfast-Table,” Atlantic Monthly
(Source)

Collected in The Professor at the Breakfast-Table, ch. 11 (1859).

James, William -- The Principles of Psychology, Vol. 1, ch. 4 “Habit” (1890)

Dave — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 13:18:16 +0000

The hell to be endured hereafter, of which theology tells, is no worse than the hell we make for ourselves in this world by habitually fashioning our characters in the wrong way. Could the young but realize how soon they will become mere walking bundles of habits, they would give more heed to their conduct while in the plastic state. We are spinning our own fates, good or evil. Every smallest stroke of virtue or of vice leaves its never so little scar.

William James (1842–1910) American psychologist and philosopher
The Principles of Psychology, Vol. 1, ch. 4 “Habit” (1890)
(Source)

This chapter originally published in Popular Science Monthly (Feb 1887).

Spengler, Oswald -- The Decline of the West, “Cities and Peoples” (1918-22) [tr. Atkinson (1962)]

Dave — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 14:35:53 +0000

Every act alters the soul of the doer.

Oswald Spengler (1880–1936), German author
The Decline of the West, “Cities and Peoples” (1918-22) [tr. Atkinson (1962)]

Emerson, Ralph Waldo -- Essay (1841), “Self-Reliance,” Essays: First Series, No. 2

Dave — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 13:57:43 +0000

Cause and Effect, the chancellors of God.

Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882) American essayist, lecturer, poet
Essay (1841), “Self-Reliance,” Essays: First Series, No. 2
(Source)

This essay was inspired by his reading of Walter Savage Landor in 1833, with passages pulled from his lecture "Individualism," last in his course on "The Philosophy of History" (1836–1837), with other passages from the lectures "School," "Genius," and "Duty" in his course on "Human Life" (1838–1839).

Bradbury, Ray -- Fahrenheit 451, ch. 3 [Granger] (1953)

Dave — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 10:26:53 +0000

Everyone must leave something behind when he dies, my grandfather said. A child or a book or a painting or a house or a wall built or a pair of shoes made. Or a garden planted. Something your hand touched some way so your soul has somewhere to go when you die, and when people look at that tree or that flower you planted, you’re there. It doesn’t matter what you do, he said, so as long as you change something from the way it was before you touched it into something that’s like you after you take your hands away.

Ray Bradbury (1920–2012) American writer, futurist, fabulist
Fahrenheit 451, ch. 3 [Granger] (1953)
(Source)

Kierkegaard, Soren -- Works of Love (1847)

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

Prayer does not change God, but changes him who prays.

Søren Kierkegaard (1813–1855) Danish philosopher, theologian
Works of Love (1847)