WIST Quotations

Colton, Charles Caleb -- Lacon: Or, Many Things in Few Words, Vol. 1, § 370 (1820)

Dave — Fri, 11 Jul 2025 22:37:26 +0000

There are some truths, the force and validity of which we readily admit, in all cases except our own; and there are other truths so self-evident that we dare not deny them, but so dreadful, that we dare not believe them.

Charles Caleb "C. C." Colton (1780-1832) English cleric, writer, aphorist
Lacon: Or, Many Things in Few Words, Vol. 1, § 370 (1820)
(Source)

McLaughlin, Mignon -- The Neurotic’s Notebook, ch. 10 (1963)

Dave — Mon, 16 Jun 2025 21:48:11 +0000

The past is rich in lessons from which we would greatly profit except that the present is always so full of Special Circumstances.

Mignon McLaughlin (1913-1983) American journalist and author
The Neurotic’s Notebook, ch. 10 (1963)
(Source)

Banksy -- Wall and Piece, “Cops” (2005)

Dave — Wed, 04 Jun 2025 15:40:34 +0000

There are no exceptions to the rule that everyone thinks they’re an exception to the rules.

Banksy (b. 1974?) England-based pseudonymous street artist, political activist, film director
Wall and Piece, “Cops” (2005)
(Source)

Martin, Judith -- Miss Manners’ Guide to Excruciatingly Correct Behavior, Part 2 “Intermediate Civilization,” “Procedure” (1983)

Dave — Mon, 28 Aug 2023 16:06:21 +0000

Miss Manners doubts that there is anything in the world like an elegantly dressed Bostonian lurching across the room and diving face first into a bowl of guacamole dip while simultaneously disengaging her bodice from her bosom. Therefore, Miss Manners has a wee bit of trouble preparing a general rule for dealing with this eventuality.

Judith Martin (b. 1938) American author, journalist, etiquette expert [a.k.a. Miss Manners]
Miss Manners’ Guide to Excruciatingly Correct Behavior, Part 2 “Intermediate Civilization,” “Procedure” (1983)
(Source)

Saroyan, William -- Interview with the Associated Press (16 Apr 1981)

Dave — Mon, 18 Jul 2022 20:07:38 +0000

Everybody has to die, but I always believed an exception would be made in my case. Now what?

William Saroyan (1908-1981) American writer
Interview with the Associated Press (16 Apr 1981)
(Source)

Saroyan called the AP five days before his collapse and subsequent death from cancer. The statement was intended to be released after his demise. The last two words are usually omitted.

Snyder, Timothy -- On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century, ch. 17 (2017)

Dave — Wed, 09 Jun 2021 12:57:57 +0000

The most intelligent of the Nazis, the legal theorist Carl Schmitt, explained in clear language the essence of fascist governance. The way to destroy all rules, he explained, was to focus on the idea of the exception. A Nazi leader outmaneuvers his opponents by manufacturing a general conviction that the present moment is exceptional, and then transforming that state of exception into a permanent emergency. Citizens then trade real freedom for fake safety.

Timothy Snyder (b. 1969) American historian, author
On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century, ch. 17 (2017)
(Source)

Pratchett, Terry -- Discworld No. 3, Equal Rites (1987)

Dave — Wed, 29 Apr 2015 11:50:20 +0000

She was already learning that if you ignore the rules people will, half the time, quietly rewrite them so that they don’t apply to you.

Terry Pratchett (1948-2015) English author
Discworld No. 3, Equal Rites (1987)
(Source)

Of the character Eskarina "Esk" Smith, modeled after Pratchett's daughter, Rhianna.

Bernard, Claude -- Leçons de Pathologie Expérimentale (1872)

Dave — Fri, 26 Dec 2014 17:20:55 +0000

Science admits no exceptions; otherwise there would be no determinism in science, or rather, there would be no science.

Claude Bernard (1813-1878) French physiologist, scientist
Leçons de Pathologie Expérimentale (1872)

Lorimer, George Horace -- Old Gorgon Graham: More Letters from a Self-Made Merchant to His Son, ch. 3 (1903)

Dave — Tue, 08 Jul 2014 12:42:56 +0000

Some men think that rules should be made of cast iron; I believe they should be made of rubber, so they can be stretched to fit any particular case and then spring back into shape again. The really important part of a rule is the exception to it.

George Horace Lorimer (1867-1937) American journalist, author, magazine editor
Old Gorgon Graham: More Letters from a Self-Made Merchant to His Son, ch. 3 (1903)
(Source)

Camus, Albert -- The Fall (1956) [tr. J. O’Brien]

Dave — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 10:20:56 +0000

We are all exceptional cases. We all want to appeal against something! Each of us insists on being innocent at all cost, even if has to accuse the whole human race and heaven itself!

Albert Camus (1913-1960) Algerian-French novelist, essayist, playwright
The Fall (1956) [tr. J. O’Brien]

Bronte, Anne -- The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, ch. 22 [Helen] (1848)

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

There is always a “but” in this imperfect world.

Anne Brontë (1820-1849) British novelist, poet [pseud. Acton Bell]
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, ch. 22 [Helen] (1848)

Twain, Mark -- The Autobiography of Mark Twain, Vol. 3, 3 July 1908 (2010)

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

A strange and vanity-devoured, detestable woman! I do not believe I could ever learn to like her except on a raft at sea with no other provisions in sight.

Mark Twain (1835-1910) American writer [pseud. of Samuel Clemens]
The Autobiography of Mark Twain, Vol. 3, 3 July 1908 (2010)
(Source)

Butler, Samuel -- The Note-Books of Samuel Butler (1912)

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

There are two great rules in life, the one general and the other particular. The first is that every one can in the end get what he wants if he only tries. This is the general rule. The particular rule is that every individual is more or less of an exception to the general rule.

Samuel Butler (1835-1902) English novelist, satirist, scholar
The Note-Books of Samuel Butler (1912)
(Source)