WIST Quotations

Ivins, Molly -- Essay (2002-11-19), “Blast from the Past,” Creators Syndicate column

Dave — Wed, 15 Apr 2026 17:40:47 +0000

The way one solves problems obviously influences not only the outcome, but the kinds of problems one faces after the immediate problem is settled.

Molly Ivins (1944-2007) American writer, political columnist [Mary Tyler Ivins]
Essay (2002-11-19), “Blast from the Past,” Creators Syndicate column
(Source)

On use of war and military force to fight terrorism.

Belloc, Hilaire -- Poem (1923), “Epigram 45: On a Puritan,” Sonnets and Verse (1923 ed.)

Dave — Sat, 11 Apr 2026 20:53:38 +0000

He served his God so faithfully and well,
That now he sees him face to face, in hell.

Hilaire Belloc (1870-1953) Franco-British writer, historian [Joseph Hilaire Pierre René Belloc]
Poem (1923), “Epigram 45: On a Puritan,” Sonnets and Verse (1923 ed.)
(Source)

Ebner-Eschenbach, Marie von -- Aphorisms [Aphorismen], No. 97 (1880) [tr. Scrase/Mieder (1994)]

Dave — Thu, 11 Jul 2024 14:31:31 +0000

Much less evil would be done on earth if evil could not be done in the name of good.

[Es würde sehr wenig Böses auf Erden getan werden, wenn das Böse niemals im Namen des Guten getan werden könnte.]

Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach (1830-1916) Austrian writer
Aphorisms [Aphorismen], No. 97 (1880) [tr. Scrase/Mieder (1994)]
(Source)

(Source (German)). Alternate translation:

But little evil would be done in the world if evil could never be done in the name of good.
[tr. Wister (1883)]

Damon, Bertha -- A Sense of Humus, ch. 13 “Garden Sass” (1943)

Dave — Tue, 20 Feb 2024 00:22:38 +0000

Getting what you go after is success; but liking it while you are getting it is happiness.

Bertha Damon (1881-1975) American humorist, author, lecturer, editor [Bertha Clark Pope Damon]
A Sense of Humus, ch. 13 “Garden Sass” (1943)
(Source)

Steinem, Gloria -- Commencement address, Tufts University (1987-05-17)

Dave — Thu, 05 Oct 2023 05:55:13 +0000

When I was a student, we used to sit around discussing whether a particular end justified a particular means. On the assumption of everyone from Marx or Machiavelli, I thought that was the question. It took me twenty years to figure out that the means are the ends — and vice versa. Whatever means you use become an organic part of the ends you achieve.

Gloria Steinem (b. 1934) American feminist, journalist, activist
Commencement address, Tufts University (1987-05-17)
(Source)

Russell, Bertrand -- Interview by Woodrow Wyatt, BBC TV (1959)

Dave — Wed, 13 Sep 2023 20:10:12 +0000

There are a number of things that science can’t deal with. All questions of values. for example. Science won’t tell you what is good and what is bad — what is good or bad as an end, not just as a means.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Interview by Woodrow Wyatt, BBC TV (1959)
(Source)

Collected in Bertrand Russell's BBC Interviews (1959) [UK] and Bertrand Russell Speaks His Mind (1960) [US]. Reprinted (abridged) in The Humanist (1982-11/12), and in Russell Society News, #37 (1983-02).

Camus, Albert -- The Myth of Sisyphus, “Absurd Creation” (1942) [tr. O’Brien (1991)]

Dave — Wed, 06 Sep 2023 16:11:01 +0000

A man wants to earn money in order to be happy, and his whole effort and the best of a life are devoted to the earning of that money. Happiness is forgotten; the means are taken for the end.

Albert Camus (1913-1960) Algerian-French novelist, essayist, playwright
The Myth of Sisyphus, “Absurd Creation” (1942) [tr. O’Brien (1991)]
(Source)

Steinem, Gloria -- Moving Beyond Words, Part 6 “Doing Sixty” (1994)

Dave — Fri, 23 Jun 2023 14:24:52 +0000

Violent means are unlikely to reach a peaceful end … the ends and means are a seamless web.

Gloria Steinem (b. 1934) American feminist, journalist, activist
Moving Beyond Words, Part 6 “Doing Sixty” (1994)
(Source)

Regarding the Vietnam anti-war movement.

Tolkien, J.R.R. -- The Lord of the Rings, Vol. 1: The Fellowship of the Ring, Book 2, ch. 1 “The Council of Elrond” [Saruman to Gandalf] (1954)

Dave — Thu, 20 Oct 2022 15:11:33 +0000

A new Power is rising. Against it the old allies and policies will not avail us at all. There is no hope left in Elves or dying Númenor. This then is one choice before you, before us. We may join with that Power. It would be wise, Gandalf. There is hope that way. Its victory is at hand; and there will be rich reward for those that aided it. As the Power grows, its proved friends will also grow; and the Wise, such as you and I, may with patience come at last to direct its course, to control it. We can bide our time, we can keep our thoughts in our hearts, deploring maybe evils done by the way, but approving the high and ultimate purpose: Knowledge, Rule, Order; all the things that we have so far striven in vain to accomplish, hindered rather than helped by our weak or idle friends. There need not be, there would not be, any real change in our designs, only our means.

J.R.R. Tolkien (1892-1973) English writer, fabulist, philologist, academic [John Ronald Reuel Tolkien]
The Lord of the Rings, Vol. 1: The Fellowship of the Ring, Book 2, ch. 1 “The Council of Elrond” [Saruman to Gandalf] (1954)
(Source)

McLaughlin, Mignon -- The Neurotic’s Notebook, ch. 5 (1963)

Dave — Tue, 04 Oct 2022 20:31:20 +0000

From a wretched deed there is sometimes a good outcome, making penance even more unlikely than usual.

Mignon McLaughlin (1913-1983) American journalist and author
The Neurotic’s Notebook, ch. 5 (1963)
(Source)

Dyson, Freeman -- Disturbing the Universe, ch. 4 (1979)

Dave — Mon, 26 Sep 2022 14:43:53 +0000

A good cause can become bad if we fight for it with means that are indiscriminately murderous. A bad cause can become good if enough people fight for it in a spirit of comradeship and self-sacrifice. In the end it is how you fight, as much as why you fight, that makes your cause good or bad.

Freeman Dyson (1923-2020) English-American theoretical physicist, mathematician, futurist
Disturbing the Universe, ch. 4 (1979)
(Source)

Schieffer, Bob -- “Free Speech,” CBS Evening News (14 Sep 2006)

Dave — Tue, 23 Aug 2022 16:09:49 +0000

Democracies have no business running secret prisons. That’s what our enemies do. If we are in a battle for the hearts and minds of people around the world, as the administration says we are, I won’t feel very secure if the people around the world believe we are no different than our enemies. […] As Americans, we do believe our system offers a better way. But the only way to convince others of that is if we live by our values. Real security begins with remembering who we are. We gain nothing by adopting the methods of our enemies.

Bob Schieffer (b. 1937) American broadcast journalist
“Free Speech,” CBS Evening News (14 Sep 2006)
(Source)

Bulwer-Lytton, Edward George -- Richelieu, Act 3, sc. 1, ll. 49-50 [Richelieu] (1839)

Dave — Mon, 25 Jul 2022 15:22:41 +0000

I have wrought great use out of evil tools.

Edward George Bulwer-Lytton (1803-1873) English novelist and politician
Richelieu, Act 3, sc. 1, ll. 49-50 [Richelieu] (1839)
(Source)

Arendt, Hannah -- Essay (1969-02-27), “Reflections on Violence,” The New York Review of Books

Dave — Thu, 27 May 2021 15:45:58 +0000

Still, the danger of the practice of violence, even if it moves consciously within a non-extremist framework of short-term goals, will always be that the means overwhelm the end. If goals are not achieved rapidly, the result will not merely be defeat but the introduction of the practice of violence into the whole body politic. Action is irreversible, and a return to the status quo in case of defeat is always unlikely. The practice of violence, like all action, changes the world, but the most probable change is a more violent world.

Hannah Arendt (1906-1975) German-American philosopher, political theorist
Essay (1969-02-27), “Reflections on Violence,” The New York Review of Books
(Source)

Revised and collected in On Violence, ch. 3 (1970).

Orwell, George -- Essay (1945-05), “Notes on Nationalism,” Polemic Magazine (1945-10)

Dave — Tue, 06 Apr 2021 14:25:57 +0000

I think one must engage in politics — using the word in a wide sense — and that one must have preferences: that is, one must recognise that some causes are objectively better than others, even if they are advanced by equally bad means. As for the nationalistic loves and hatreds that I have spoken of, they are part of the make-up of most of us, whether we like it or not. Whether it is possible to get rid of them I do not know, but I do believe that it is possible to struggle against them, and that this is essentially a moral effort. It is a question first of all of discovering what one really is, what one’s own feelings really are, and then of making allowance for the inevitable bias.

George Orwell (1903-1950) English journalist, essayist, writer [pseud. of Eric Arthur Blair]
Essay (1945-05), “Notes on Nationalism,” Polemic Magazine (1945-10)
(Source)

Orwell, George -- Essay (1945-05), “Notes on Nationalism,” Polemic Magazine (1945-10)

Dave — Tue, 09 Mar 2021 16:43:25 +0000

History is thought of largely in nationalist terms, and such things as the Inquisition, the tortures of the Star Chamber, the exploits of the English buccaneers (Sir Francis Drake, for instance, who was given to sinking Spanish prisoners alive), the Reign of Terror, the heroes of the Mutiny blowing hundreds of Indians from the guns, or Cromwell’s soldiers slashing Irishwomen’s faces with razors, become morally neutral or even meritorious when it is felt that they were done in the “right” cause. If one looks back over the past quarter of a century, one finds that there was hardly a single year when atrocity stories were not being reported from some part of the world; and yet in not one single case were these atrocities — in Spain, Russia, China, Hungary, Mexico, Amritsar, Smyrna — believed in and disapproved of by the English intelligentsia as a whole. Whether such deeds were reprehensible, or even whether they happened, was always decided according to political predilection.

George Orwell (1903-1950) English journalist, essayist, writer [pseud. of Eric Arthur Blair]
Essay (1945-05), “Notes on Nationalism,” Polemic Magazine (1945-10)
(Source)

James, William -- Letter to E. L. Godkin (24 Dec 1895)

Dave — Thu, 29 Oct 2020 17:13:45 +0000

We are all ready to be savage in some cause. The difference between a good man and a bad one is the choice of the cause.

William James (1842-1910) American psychologist and philosopher
Letter to E. L. Godkin (24 Dec 1895)
(Source)

Sallust -- Bellum Catilinae [The War of Cateline], ch. 11, sent. 1-2 [tr. Murphy (1807)]

Dave — Tue, 27 Oct 2020 14:43:33 +0000

In this decline of all public virtue, ambition, and not avarice, was the passion that first possessed the minds of men; and this was natural. Ambition is a vice that borders on the confines of virtue; it implies a love of glory, of power, and pre-eminence; and these are objects that glitter alike in the eyes of the man of honour, and the most unprincipled: but the former pursues them by fair and honourable means, while the latter, who finds within himself no resources of talent, depends altogether upon intrigue and fallacy for his success.

[Sed primo magis ambitio quam avaritia animos hominum exercebat, quod tamen vitium propius virtutem erat. Nam gloriam, honorem, imperium bonus et ignavus aeque sibi exoptant; sed ille vera via nititur, huic quia bonae artes desunt, dolis atque fallaciis contendit.]

Sallust (c. 86-35 BC) Roman historian and politician [Gaius Sallustius Crispus]
Bellum Catilinae [The War of Cateline], ch. 11, sent. 1-2 [tr. Murphy (1807)]
(Source)

Also known as Catilinae Coniuratio [The Conspiracy of Cateline]. (Source (Latin)). Alternate translations:

At first, indeed, the minds of men were less influenced by avarice than ambition, a vice which has some affinity to virtue; for the desire of glory, power, and preferment is common to the worthy and the worthless; with this difference, that the one pursues them by direct means; the other, being void of merit, has recourse to fraud and subtlety.
[tr. Rose (1831)]

But at first ambition more than avarice influenced the minds of the Romans. Which vice however was the nearer to virtue. For glory, honour, command, the good and slothful equally wish for themselves. But the former strives by the right course; to the latter because good qualities are wanting, he works by tricks and deceits.
[Source (1841)]

At first, however, it was ambition, rather than avarice, that influenced the minds of men; a vice which approaches nearer to virtue than the other. For of glory, honor, and power, the worthy is as desirous as the worthless; but the one pursues them by just methods; the other, being destitute of honorable qualities, works with fraud and deceit.
[tr. Watson (1867)]

At first it was not so much avarice as ambition which spurred men's minds, a vice, indeed, but one akin to virtue. Glory, distinction, and power in the state are equally desired by good and bad, though the first strives to reach his goal by the path of honor, the second, in the lack of honest arts, uses the weapons of falsehood and deceit.
[tr. Pollard (1882)]

But at first men’s souls were actuated less by avarice than by ambitions -- a fault, it is true, but not so far removed from virtue; for the noble and the base alike long for glory, honour, and power, but the former mount by the true path, whereas the latter, being destitute of noble qualities, rely upon craft and deception.
[tr. Rolfe (1931)]

At first people's minds were taxed less by avarice than by ambition, which, though a fault, was nevertheless closer to prowess: for the good man and the base man have a similar personal craving for glory, honour, and command, but the former strives along the truth path, whereas the latter, because he lacks good qualities, presses forward by cunning and falsity.
[tr. Woodman (2007)]

Brault, Robert -- (Attributed)

Dave — Tue, 08 Sep 2020 21:36:10 +0000

Today I bent the truth to be kind, and I have no regret, for I am far surer of what is kind than I am of what is true.

Robert Brault (b. c. 1945) American aphorist, programmer
(Attributed)

~Other -- Mills E. Godwin, Governor of Virginia (Dec 1966)

Dave — Mon, 11 May 2020 17:18:38 +0000

Men of faith know that throughout history the crimes committed in liberty’s name have been exceeded only by those committed in God’s name.

(Other Authors and Sources)
Mills E. Godwin, Governor of Virginia (Dec 1966)

On KKK cross-burnings. Quoted in various papers of the time.

Emerson, Ralph Waldo -- Essay (1860), “Considerations by the Way,” The Conduct of Life, ch. 7

Dave — Tue, 21 Apr 2020 21:56:54 +0000

Most of the great results of history are brought about by discreditable means.

Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) American essayist, lecturer, poet
Essay (1860), “Considerations by the Way,” The Conduct of Life, ch. 7
(Source)

Based on a course of lectures by that name first delivered in Pittsburg (1851-03).

Walpole, Horace -- Memoirs of the Reign of King George III, Vol. 1, ch. 12 (1859)

Dave — Tue, 07 Jan 2020 22:44:35 +0000

Nations are most commonly saved by the worst men in them. The virtuous are too scrupulous to go to the lengths which are necessary to rouse the people against their tyrants.

Horace Walpole (1717-1797) English novelist, letter writer
Memoirs of the Reign of King George III, Vol. 1, ch. 12 (1859)
(Source)

Variants:

"The adventurer's career suggests the reflection that nations are usually saved by their worse men, since the virtuous are too scrupulous to go to the lengths needed to rouse the people against their tyrants." (Source)
"The virtuous are too scrupulous to go to the lengths that are necessary to rouse the people against their tyrants."
Modern paraphrase: "No great country was ever saved by good men because good men will not go to the lengths necessary to save it."
Modern paraphrase: "No great country was ever saved by good men, because good men may not go to the lengths that may be necessary."

Goldman, Emma -- My Disillusionment in Russia, ch. 12 (1920)

Dave — Sat, 27 Jul 2019 02:03:11 +0000

For the Bolsheviki the end to be achieved was the Communist State, or the so-called Dictatorship of the Proletariat. Everything which advanced that end was justifiable and revolutionary. The Lenins, Radeks, and Zorins were therefore quite consistent. Obsessed by the infallibility of their creed, giving of themselves to the fullest, they could be both heroic and despicable at the same time. They could work twenty hours a day, live on herring and tea, and order the slaughter of innocent men and women. Occasionally they sought to mask their killings by pretending a “misunderstanding,” for doesn’t the end justify all means? They could employ torture and deny the inquisition, they could lie and defame, and call themselves idealists. In short, they could make themselves and others believe that everything was legitimate and right from the revolutionary viewpoint; any other policy was weak, sentimental, or a betrayal of the Revolution.

Emma Goldman (1869-1940) Lithuanian-American anarchist, activist
My Disillusionment in Russia, ch. 12 (1920)
(Source)

Machiavelli, Niccolo -- The Prince, ch. 18 (1513) [tr. Marriott (1908)]

Dave — Thu, 07 Dec 2017 00:11:48 +0000

Every one sees what you appear to be, few really know what you are, and those few dare not oppose themselves to the opinion of the many, who have the majesty of the state to defend them; and in the actions of all men, and especially of princes, which it is not prudent to challenge, one judges by the result. For that reason, let a prince have the credit of conquering and holding his state, the means will always be considered honest, and he will be praised by everybody because the vulgar are always taken by what a thing seems to be and by what comes of it.

Niccolò Machiavelli (1469-1527) Italian politician, philosopher, political scientist
The Prince, ch. 18 (1513) [tr. Marriott (1908)]
(Source)

Origin of the paraphrase "The ends justify the means," which is generally attributed to Machiavelli.

Keynes, John Maynard -- (Attributed)

Dave — Tue, 28 Mar 2017 21:35:13 +0000

[Capitalism is] the astonishing belief that the nastiest motives of the nastiest men somehow or other work for the best results in the best of all possible worlds.

John Maynard Keynes (1883-1946) English economist
(Attributed)

Attributed by Sir George Schuster, Christianity and Human Relations in Industry (1951). Frequently quoted, but no direct citation found.

A common variant, also not found in Keynes' work (and also attributed, without citation, to John Kenneth Galbraith):

Capitalism is the astounding belief that the most wickedest of men will do the most wickedest of things for the greatest good of everyone.

E. A. G. Robinson was a close colleague of Galbraith, and in his book Monopoly (1941), he wrote:

The great merit of the capitalist system, it has been said, is that it succeeds in using the nastiest motives of nasty people for the ultimate benefit of society.

Another variant:

Capitalism is the extraordinary belief that the nastiest of men for the nastiest of motives will somehow work for the benefit of all.

More discussion and research into this quote:

Hitler, Adolph -- Table talk (1933)

Dave — Mon, 26 Dec 2016 19:03:34 +0000

Terror is the most effective political instrument. I shall not permit myself to be robbed of it simply because a lot of stupid, bourgeois mollycoddles choose to be offended by it.

Adolph Hitler (1889-1945) German leader
Table talk (1933)

Quoted in Hermann Rauschning, The Voice of Destruction, ch. 6 (1940). Note: I don't actually wish I'd said this, but it's a useful quotation for those who similarly think torture and terror are legitimate political tools to consider who their bedfellow is.

Browne, Thomas -- Religio Medici, Part 1, sec. 25 (1643)

Dave — Wed, 18 May 2016 14:15:54 +0000

This is a vice in them, that were a vertue in us; for obstinacy in a bad cause, is but constancy in a good.

Thomas Browne (1605-1682) English physician and author
Religio Medici, Part 1, sec. 25 (1643)
(Source)

Kempton, Murray -- “To Save a Nation,” America Comes of Age (1963)

Dave — Mon, 18 Apr 2016 16:06:38 +0000

There are things a man must not do even to save a nation.

Murray Kempton (1917-1997) American journalist.
“To Save a Nation,” America Comes of Age (1963)

La Rochefoucauld, Francois -- Réflexions ou sentences et maximes morales [Reflections; or Sentences and Moral Maxims] (1665-1678) [tr. Stanhope (1694), Part 4, ¶65]

Dave — Wed, 08 Apr 2015 12:44:38 +0000

Ambitious Men cheat themselves, when they fix upon any Ends for their Ambition; those Ends, when they are attained to, are converted into Means, subordinate to something farther.

François VI, duc de La Rochefoucauld (1613-1680) French epigrammatist, memoirist, noble
Réflexions ou sentences et maximes morales [Reflections; or Sentences and Moral Maxims] (1665-1678) [tr. Stanhope (1694), Part 4, ¶65]
(Source)

Reported in multiple translations, but no modern ones. I cannot find the analog for it, the French original, or the "official" number.

Appears in the 1706 (Powell) ed. of Stanhope as ¶711.

Alternate translations:

The ambitious deceive themselves in proposing an end to their ambition; for that end, when attained, becomes a means.
[pub. Donaldson (1783), ¶32]

When the ambitious propose an end to their ambition, they deceive themselves; for, when attained, the end becomes a mean.
[ed. Carville (1835), ¶29]

DeKnight, Steven S. -- Angel, 4×17 “Inside Out” (2 Apr 2003)

Dave — Fri, 22 Aug 2014 12:30:37 +0000

DARLA: You really think that safety can be plucked from the arms of an evil deed?

Steven S. DeKnight (b. 1964) American television screenwriter, producer
Angel, 4×17 “Inside Out” (2 Apr 2003)

Colton, Charles Caleb -- Lacon: Or, Many Things in Few Words, Vol. 1, § 148 (1820)

Dave — Mon, 28 Apr 2014 13:03:58 +0000

Ambition makes the same mistake concerning power, that avarice makes concerning wealth; she begins by accumulating power, as a mean to happiness, and she finishes by continuing to accumulate it, as an end.

Charles Caleb "C. C." Colton (1780-1832) English cleric, writer, aphorist
Lacon: Or, Many Things in Few Words, Vol. 1, § 148 (1820)
(Source)

Huxley, Aldous -- “Religion and Time,” in Christopher Isherwood, ed. Vedanta for the Western World (1945)

Dave — Tue, 14 Jan 2014 13:46:48 +0000

Nothing stands between the people’s miserable present and its glorious future, except a minority, perhaps a majority, of perverse or merely ignorant individuals. All that is necessary is to liquidate a few thousands, or it may be a few millions, of these living obstacles to progress, and then to coerce and propagandize the rest into acquiescence. When these unpleasant but necessary preliminaries are over, the governage will begin. Such is the theory that secular apocalypticism, which is the religion of the revolutionaries. But in practice, it is hardly necessary to say, the means employed positively guarantee that the end actually reached shall be profoundly different form that which the prophetic theorists envisage.

Aldous Huxley (1894-1963) English novelist, essayist and critic
“Religion and Time,” in Christopher Isherwood, ed. Vedanta for the Western World (1945)

Fromm, Erich -- The Art of Loving, ch. 5 (1956)

Dave — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 13:32:32 +0000

The lack of objectivity, as far as foreign nations are concerned, is notorious. From one day to another, another nation is made out to be utterly depraved and fiendish, while one’s own nation stands for everything that is good and noble. Every action of the enemy is judged by one standard — every action of oneself by another. Even good deeds by the enemy are considered a sign of particular devilishness, meant to deceive us and the world, while our bad deeds are necessary and justified by our noble goals, which they serve.

Erich Fromm (1900-1980) American psychoanalyst and social philosopher
The Art of Loving, ch. 5 (1956)
(Source)

Orwell, George -- “Arnold Koestler” (1944-09)

Dave — Mon, 10 Sep 2012 13:10:26 +0000

It is not merely that “power corrupts”; so also do the ways of attaining power.

George Orwell (1903-1950) English journalist, essayist, writer [pseud. of Eric Arthur Blair]
“Arnold Koestler” (1944-09)
(Source)

Originally written for Focus magazine. First published in Critical Essays (1946-02).

See Acton.

Roosevelt, Theodore -- Essay (1900-06), “Latitude and Longitude Among Reformers,” The Century Magazine, Vol. 60, No. 2

Dave — Tue, 04 Sep 2012 20:23:07 +0000

Nevertheless, the fact remains that exactly as true patriots should be especially jealous of any appeal to what is base under the guise of patriotism, so men who strive for honesty, and for the cleansing of what is corrupt in the dark places of our politics, should emphatically disassociate themselves from the men whose antics throw discredit upon the reforms they profess to advocate.

Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919) American politician, statesman, conservationist, writer, US President (1901–1909)
Essay (1900-06), “Latitude and Longitude Among Reformers,” The Century Magazine, Vol. 60, No. 2
(Source)

Collected in Roosevelt, The Strenuous Life: Essays and Addresses (1902).

Ivins, Molly -- Essay (1992-03-01), “Good morning, Fort Worth! Glad to be here,” Fort Worth Star-Telegram

Dave — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 15:52:54 +0000

Me, I think government is a tool, like a hammer. You can use a hammer to build with or you can use a hammer to destroy with. Whether government is good or bad depends on what you use it for and how well you use it. On the whole, it’s a poor idea to put people in charge of government who don’t believe in using it.

Molly Ivins (1944-2007) American writer, political columnist [Mary Tyler Ivins]
Essay (1992-03-01), “Good morning, Fort Worth! Glad to be here,” Fort Worth Star-Telegram
(Source)

Responding to Ronald Reagan's famous quip, "Government is not the solution; government is the problem." Collected in Nothin' But Good Times Ahead (1993).

Ivins used a similar comment in her essay, "Wiggy Republicans," Mother Jones (1992-09/10) (also collected in Nothin' but Good Times Ahead (1993)):

Government is just a tool, like a hammer. There’s nothing intrinsically good or evil about the hammer; it all depends on what it’s used for and the skill with which it is used.

She reworked this in the introduction to her book You Got to Dance with Them What Brung You, (1998):

Personally, I think government is a tool, like a hammer. You can use a hammer to build or you can use a hammer to destroy; there is nothing intrinsically good or evil about the hammer itself. It is the purposes to which it is put and the skill with which it is used that determine whether the hammer's work is good or bad.

Hoffer, Eric -- True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements, Part 1, ch. 1, § 5 (1951)

Dave — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 17:41:48 +0000

When hopes and dreams are loose in the streets, it is well for the timid to lock doors, shutter windows and lie low until the wrath has passed. For there is often a monstrous incongruity between the hopes, however noble and tender, and the action which follows them. It is as if ivied maidens and garlanded youths were to herald the four horsemen of the apocalypse.

Eric Hoffer (1902-1983) American writer, philosopher, longshoreman
True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements, Part 1, ch. 1, § 5 (1951)
(Source)

Arendt, Hannah -- Life of the Mind, Vol. 2 “Willing,” Part 2, ch. 7 “The Faculty of Choice” (1978)

Dave — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 17:20:51 +0000

The ultimate end of human acts is eudaimonia, happiness in the sense of “living well,” which all men desire; all acts are but different means chosen to arrive at it.

Hannah Arendt (1906-1975) German-American philosopher, political theorist
Life of the Mind, Vol. 2 “Willing,” Part 2, ch. 7 “The Faculty of Choice” (1978)
(Source)

Discussing Aristotle, noting he never addressed the moral issue of ends and means.

Serling, Rod -- Commencement Speech, Binghamton Central High School, Binghamton, New York (28 Jan 1968)

Dave — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 10:03:59 +0000

But if survival calls for the bearing of arms, bear them, you must. As we all have. Keep in mind only this, that province of combat is not the end, it is simply the means. And the most essential part of the challenge is for you to find another means that does not come with the killing of your fellow-man.

Rod Serling (1924-1975) American screenwriter, playwright, television producer, narrator
Commencement Speech, Binghamton Central High School, Binghamton, New York (28 Jan 1968)
(Source)

Sometimes paraphrased:

If survival calls for the bearing of arms, bear them you must. But the most important part of the challenge is for you to find another means that does not come with the killing of your fellow man.

Nietzsche, Friedrich -- Jenseits von Gut und Böse [Beyond Good and Evil], Aphorism 146 (1886) [tr. Hollingdale (1973, 1990)]

Dave — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 10:27:53 +0000

He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster. And when you gaze long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you.

[Wer mit Ungeheuern kämpft, mag zusehn, dass er nicht dabei zum Ungeheuer wird. Und wenn du lange in einen Abgrund blickst, blickt der Abgrund auch in dich hinein.]

Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) German philosopher and poet
Jenseits von Gut und Böse [Beyond Good and Evil], Aphorism 146 (1886) [tr. Hollingdale (1973, 1990)]
(Source)

Alternate translations:

He who fights with monsters should be careful lest he thereby becomes a monster. And if thou gaze long into an abyss, the abyss will also gaze into thee.
[tr. Zimmern (1906)]

Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And when you look long into an abyss, the abyss also looks into you.
[tr. Kaufmann (1966)]

Penn, William -- Fruits of Solitude, #537-539 (1682)

Dave — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 02:21:09 +0000

A good End cannot sanctifie evil Means; nor must we ever do Evil, that Good may come of it. Some Folks think they may Scold, Rail, Hate, Rob and Kill too; so it be but for God’s sake. But nothing in us unlike him, can please him.

William Penn (1644-1718) English writer, philosopher, politician, statesman
Fruits of Solitude, #537-539 (1682)
(Source)

Adams, John -- Letter (1776-07-03, p.m.) to Abigail Adams

Dave — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 02:05:17 +0000

I am well aware of the Toil and Blood and Treasure, that it will cost Us to maintain this Declaration, and support and defend these States. — Yet through all the Gloom I can see the Rays of ravishing Light and Glory. I can see that the End is more than worth all the Means. And that Posterity will tryumph in that Days Transaction, even altho We should rue it, which I trust in God We shall not.

John Adams (1735–1826) American lawyer, Founding Father, statesman, US President (1797–1801)
Letter (1776-07-03, p.m.) to Abigail Adams
(Source)

In the original draft, the ending lines read: "And that Posterity will tryumph altho you and I may rue it which I trust in God We shall not."

Early printings of this letter (and that of the morning) changed the recipient to an unnamed male friend. They were used by some (given the date on them and references elsewhere in them) to argue that Independence Day should be celebrated on July 2nd; others published versions with the dates modified to align with a July 4th date for the holiday. The record was not clarified until Charles Francis Adams (grandson of John and Abigail) published a record of his grandparents' correspondence in 1876.

For the record, Independence was voted on and approved by the Continental Congress on 1776-07-02, and the final text of the Declaration of Independence approved and signed on 1776-07-04. Adams was writing on the day in-between.

Jefferson, Thomas -- Letter (1810-09-20) to John B. Colvin

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

A strict observance of the written laws is doubtless one of the high duties of a good citizen: but it is not the highest. The laws of necessity, of self-preservation, of saving our country when in danger, are of higher obligation. To lose our country by a scrupulous adherence to written law, would be to lose the law itself, with life, liberty, property & all those who are enjoying them with us; thus absurdly sacrificing the end to the means.

Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) American political philosopher, polymath, statesman, US President (1801-09)
Letter (1810-09-20) to John B. Colvin
(Source)

La Rochefoucauld, Francois -- Réflexions ou sentences et maximes morales [Reflections; or Sentences and Moral Maxims], ¶157 (1665-1678) [tr. Tancock (1959)]

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

The glory of great men must always be measured against the means they have used to acquire it.

[La gloire des grands hommes se doit toujours mesurer aux moyens dont ils se sont servis pour l’acquérir.]

François VI, duc de La Rochefoucauld (1613-1680) French epigrammatist, memoirist, noble
Réflexions ou sentences et maximes morales [Reflections; or Sentences and Moral Maxims], ¶157 (1665-1678) [tr. Tancock (1959)]
(Source)

Appeared in the 1st edition (1665), reading "La gloire des grands hommes se doit mesurer aux moyens qu’ils ont eus pour l’acquérir."

(Source (French)). Other translations:

Great mens Honour ought always to be measured by the Methods they made use of for the attaining it.
[tr. Stanhope (1694), ¶158]

The glory of great men ought always to be rated according to the means used to acquire it.
[pub. Donaldson (1783), ¶191; ed. Lepoittevin-Lacroix (1797), ¶151]

The glory of great men is ever to be rated according to the means used to acquire it.
[ed. Carvill (1835), ¶159]

The glory of men should always be proportioned to the means they have employed to acquire it.
[ed. Gowens (1851), ¶161]

The fame of great men ought always to be estimated by the means used to acquire it.
[tr. Bund/Friswell (1871), ¶157]

Glory is measured by the means used to attain it.
[tr. Heard (1917), ¶157]

The fame of great men should always be measured by the means they employed to acquire it.
[tr. Stevens (1939), ¶157]

A great man's fame must always be measured against the means used to acquire it.
[tr. FitzGibbon (1957), ¶157]

The fame of great men should always be judged by the methods they employed to achieve it.
[tr. Kronenberger (1959), ¶157]

The glory of great men must always be measured according to the means by which they have acquired it.
[tr. Whichello (2016) ¶157]

Santayana, George -- The Life of Reason or The Phases of Human Progress, Introduction (1905-06)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 19:00:00 +0000

Fanaticism consists in redoubling your efforts when you have forgotten your aim.

George Santayana (1863-1952) Spanish-American poet and philosopher [Jorge Agustín Nicolás Ruíz de Santayana y Borrás]
The Life of Reason or The Phases of Human Progress, Introduction (1905-06)
(Source)

Goldwater, Barry -- Speech, accepting the GOP Presidential Nomination, San Francisco (16 Jul 1964)

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

I would remind you that extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice. And let me remind you also that moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue.

Barry Goldwater (1909-1998) American politician
Speech, accepting the GOP Presidential Nomination, San Francisco (16 Jul 1964)
(Source)

Goldwater believed the phrase originated in Cicero, though the source he used is questionable. Karl Hess was Goldwater's speech writer, and he said he derived the turn of phrase from Lincoln's "House Divided" speech. A closer match is this Thomas Paine passage.

More discussion of this quotation and its origins: On the Saying that "Extremism in Defense of Liberty is No Vice" - Niskanen Center