WIST Quotations

Ingersoll, Robert Green -- Decoration Day Speech, Academy of Music, New York City (29 May 1882)

Dave — Wed, 06 Jul 2022 20:39:07 +0000

Patriotism without principle is the prejudice of birth — the animal attachment to place.

Robert Green Ingersoll (1833-1899) American lawyer, freethinker, orator
Decoration Day Speech, Academy of Music, New York City (29 May 1882)
(Source)

King, Martin Luther -- “Rediscovering Lost Values,” sermon, Second Baptist Church, Detroit (28 Feb 1954)

Dave — Fri, 24 Feb 2017 19:42:06 +0000

The real problem is that through our scientific genius we’ve made of the world a neighborhood, but through our moral and spiritual genius we’ve failed to make of it a brotherhood.

Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929-1968) American clergyman, civil rights leader, social activist, preacher
“Rediscovering Lost Values,” sermon, Second Baptist Church, Detroit (28 Feb 1954)
(Source)

Carroll, Lewis -- Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, ch. 9 “The Mock Turtle’s Story” (1865)

Dave — Wed, 30 Oct 2013 13:53:28 +0000

“Reeling and Writhing, of course, to begin with,” the Mock Turtle replied: “and then the different branches of Arithmetic — Ambition, Distraction, Uglification, and Derision.”
“I never heard of ‘Uglification,'” Alice ventured to say. “What is it?”
The Gryphon lifted up both its paws in surprise. “Never heard of uglifying!” it exclaimed. “You know what to beautify is, I suppose?”
“Yes,” said Alice, doubtfully: “it means — to — make — anything — prettier.”
“Well then,” the Gryphon went on, “if you don’t know what to uglify is, you are a simpleton.”
Alice did not feel encouraged to ask any more questions about it, so she turned to the Mock Turtle, and said, “What else had you to learn?”
“Well, there was Mystery,” the Mock Turtle replied, counting off the subjects on his flappers, — “Mystery, ancient and modern, with Seaography: then Drawling — the Drawling-master was an old conger-eel, that used to come once a week: he taught us Drawling, Stretching, and Fainting in Coils.”

Lewis Carroll (1832-1898) English writer and mathematician [pseud. of Rev. Charles Lutwidge Dodgson]
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, ch. 9 “The Mock Turtle’s Story” (1865)
(Source)

Describing the "regular course" at the school he attended.

Rodriguez, Paul -- Comic Relief (1987)

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

Sometimes I think war is God’s way of teaching us geography.

Paul Rodriguez (b. 1955) Mexican-American comedian
Comic Relief (1987)

Earlier variations exist. Often attributed to Ambrose Bierce, but unverified. Rodriguez citation in the LA Times. Further discussion and citation here, here, and here.