WIST Quotations

Adams, John Quincy -- Letter (1809-06-22) to William Eustis

Dave — Mon, 08 Jun 2026 14:17:15 +0000

I have, and must have, confidence in the possible virtue of human nature; and although in entertaining this idea, a man must, and will sometimes, be disappointed, yet if it is coupled with a sound judgment and close observations, I believe he could make fewer great mistakes, than one whose principle is the universal rascality of the species.

John Quincy Adams (1767-1848) US President (1825-29)
Letter (1809-06-22) to William Eustis
(Source)

Fuller, Thomas (1654) -- Introductio ad Prudentiam, Vol. 2, # 1858 (1727)

Dave — Wed, 21 May 2025 15:15:35 +0000

If thou wouldest be provident of thy Time; make choice of good Company, and good Books.

Thomas Fuller (1654-1734) English physician, preacher, aphorist, writer
Introductio ad Prudentiam, Vol. 2, # 1858 (1727)
(Source)

Gandhi, Mohandas -- Letter (1947-08-29) to Rajkumari Amrit Kaur

Dave — Mon, 03 Mar 2025 01:20:06 +0000

You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty.

Mohandas Gandhi (1869-1948) Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist, political ethicist [Mahatma Gandhi]
Letter (1947-08-29) to Rajkumari Amrit Kaur
(Source)

Quoted in Louis Fischer, Gandhi: His Life and Message for the World, ch. 31 (1954)

Holmes, Oliver Wendell, Sr. -- Article (1859-05), “The Professor at the Breakfast-Table,” Atlantic Monthly

Dave — Mon, 02 Dec 2024 19:23:11 +0000

Of a hundred people of each of the different leading religious sects, about the same proportion will be safe and pleasant persons to deal and to live with.

Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. (1809-1894) American poet, essayist, scholar
Article (1859-05), “The Professor at the Breakfast-Table,” Atlantic Monthly
(Source)

Collected in The Professor at the Breakfast-Table, ch. 5 (1859).

Billings, Josh -- Everybody’s Friend, Or; Josh Billing’s Encyclopedia and Proverbial Philosophy of Wit and Humor, ch. 150 “Affurisms: Parboils” (1874)

Dave — Thu, 14 Nov 2024 22:23:55 +0000

He whom the good praize and wicked hate ought tew be satisfied with hiz reputashun.

[He whom the good praise and the wicked hate ought to be satisfied with his reputation.]

Josh Billings (1818-1885) American humorist, aphorist [pseud. of Henry Wheeler Shaw]
Everybody’s Friend, Or; Josh Billing’s Encyclopedia and Proverbial Philosophy of Wit and Humor, ch. 150 “Affurisms: Parboils” (1874)
(Source)

Herbert, George -- Jacula Prudentum, or Outlandish Proverbs, Sentences, &c. (compiler), # 120 (1640 ed.)

Dave — Fri, 24 May 2024 14:05:28 +0000

Keepe good men company, and you shall be of the number.

George Herbert (1593-1633) Welsh priest, orator, poet.
Jacula Prudentum, or Outlandish Proverbs, Sentences, &c. (compiler), # 120 (1640 ed.)
(Source)

Chamfort, Nicolas -- Products of Perfected Civilization [Produits de la Civilisation Perfectionée], Part 1 “Maxims and Thoughts [Maximes et Pensées],” ch. 2, ¶ 122 (1795) [tr. Merwin (1969)]

Dave — Mon, 07 Aug 2023 21:40:09 +0000

The malevolent at times commit good actions, as though they wanted to see whether in fact they afford as much pleasure as good people pretend.

[Les méchans font quelquefois de bonnes actions. On dirait qu’ils veulent voir s’il est vrai que cela fasse autant de plaisir que le prétendent les honnêtes gens.]

Nicolas Chamfort (1741-1794) French writer, epigrammist (b. Nicolas-Sébastien Roch)
Products of Perfected Civilization [Produits de la Civilisation Perfectionée], Part 1 “Maxims and Thoughts [Maximes et Pensées],” ch. 2, ¶ 122 (1795) [tr. Merwin (1969)]
(Source)

(Source (French)). Alternate translations:

Wicked people sometimes perform good actions. I suppose they wish to see if this gives as great a feeling of pleasure as the virtuous claim for it.
[tr. Mathers (1926)]

The wicked sometimes perform good actions. One might say they wish to see whether it is true that they engender as much pleasure as respectable folk maintain they do.
[tr. Pearson (1973)]

Euripides -- Ægeus [Αἰγέως], frag. 7 (TGF) [tr. Morgan]

Dave — Tue, 26 Jul 2022 20:57:56 +0000

The company of just and righteous men is better
than wealth and a rich estate.

[κρεῖσσον δὲ πλούτου καὶ βαϑυσπόρου χϑονὸς
ἀνδρῶν δικαίων χἀγαϑῶν ὁμιλίαι]

Euripides (485?-406? BC) Greek tragic dramatist
Ægeus [Αἰγέως], frag. 7 (TGF) [tr. Morgan]
(Source)

(Source (Greek))

Cicero, Marcus Tullius -- Laelius De Amicitia [Laelius on Friendship], ch. 5, part 3 (5.3) / sec. 19 (44 BC) [tr. Falconer (1923)]

Dave — Mon, 19 Apr 2021 16:00:50 +0000

Those who so act and so live as to give proof of loyalty and uprightness, of fairness and generosity; who are free from all passion, caprice, and insolence, and have great strength of character — men like those just mentioned — such men let us consider good, as they were accounted good in life, and also entitled to be called by that term because, in as far as that is possible for man, they follow Nature, who is the best guide to good living.

[Qui ita se gerunt, ita vivunt, ut eorum probetur fides integritas aequitas1 liberalitas, nec sit in eis ulla cupiditas libido audacia, sintque magna constantia, ut ei fuerunt, modo quos nominavi, hos viros bonos, ut habiti sunt, sic etiam appellandos putemus, quia sequantur, quantum homines possunt, naturam optimam bene vivendi ducem.]

Marcus Tullius Cicero (106-43 BC) Roman orator, statesman, philosopher
Laelius De Amicitia [Laelius on Friendship], ch. 5, part 3 (5.3) / sec. 19 (44 BC) [tr. Falconer (1923)]
(Source)

Original Latin. Alternate translations:

Those who so conduct themselves, and so live that their honor, their integrity, their justice, and liberality are approved; so that there is not in them any covetousness, or licentiousness, or boldness; and that they are of great consistency, as those men whom I have mentioned above; -- let us consider these worthy of the appellation of good men, as they have been accounted such because they follow (as far as men are able) nature, which is the best guide of a good life.
[tr. Edmonds (1871)]

Those who so conduct themselves, so live, that their good faith, integrity, equity, and kindness win approval, who are entirely free from avarice, lust, and the infirmities of a hasty temper, and in whom there is perfect consistency of character; in fine, men like those whom I have named, while they are regarded as good, ought to be so called, because to the utmost of human capacity they follow Nature, who is the best guide in living well.
[tr. Peabody (1887)]

We mean then by the "good" those whose actions and lives leave no question as to their honour, purity, equity, and liberality; who are free from greed, lust, and violence; and who have the courage of their convictions. The men I have just named may serve as examples. Such men as these being generally accounted “good,” let us agree to call them so, on the ground that to the best of human ability they follow nature as the most perfect guide to a good life.
[tr. Shuckburgh (1909)]

Those who comport themselves in such a way, who live in such a way that their loyalty, integrity, fairness and generosity are proven, such that there is no desire, lust, and insolence in them, and such that they have great steadfastness of character (like those whom I named just before), we consider ought indeed to be called good men (as is customary), because they follow (as much as humans can) nature -- the best leader in proper living.
[Source]

Cicero, Marcus Tullius -- Laelius De Amicitia [Laelius on Friendship], ch. 5 / sec. 18 (44 BC) [tr. Shuckburgh (1909)]

Dave — Mon, 12 Apr 2021 20:39:22 +0000

But I must at the very beginning lay down this principle — friendship can only exist between good men.

[Sed hoc primum sentio, nisi in bonis amicitiam esse non posse]

Marcus Tullius Cicero (106-43 BC) Roman orator, statesman, philosopher
Laelius De Amicitia [Laelius on Friendship], ch. 5 / sec. 18 (44 BC) [tr. Shuckburgh (1909)]
(Source)

Original Latin. Alternate translations:

"But first of all, I am of opinion, that except among the virtuous, friendship cannot exist." [tr. Edmonds (1871)]
"But I consider this as a first principle, -- that friendship can exist only between good men." [tr. Peabody (1887)]
"This, however, I do feel first of all -- that friendship cannot exist except among good men." [tr. Falconer (1923)]
"But first of all, I think this: except among good people, friendship cannot exist." [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)

Forster, E. M. -- “What I Believe,” The Nation (1938-07-16)

Dave — Wed, 05 Feb 2020 18:39:03 +0000

I believe in aristocracy, though — if that is the right word, and if a democrat may use it. Not an aristocracy of power, based upon rank and influence, but an aristocracy of the sensitive, the considerate and the plucky. Its members are to be found in all nations and classes, and all through the ages, and there is a secret understanding between them when they meet. They represent the true human tradition, the one permanent victory of our queer race over cruelty and chaos. Thousands of them perish in obscurity, a few are great names. They are sensitive for others as well as for themselves, they are considerate without being fussy, their pluck is not swankiness but the power to endure, and they can take a joke.

E. M. Forster (1879-1970) English novelist, essayist, critic, librettist [Edward Morgan Forster]
“What I Believe,” The Nation (1938-07-16)
(Source)

Collected in Two Cheers for Democracy (1951).

Zinn, Howard -- Essay (2004-09-02), “The Optimism of Uncertainty,” The Nation

Dave — Tue, 29 Nov 2016 05:33:08 +0000

An optimist isn’t necessarily a blithe, slightly sappy whistler in the dark of our time. To be hopeful in bad times is not just foolishly romantic. It is based on the fact that human history is a history not only of cruelty, but also of compassion, sacriﬁce, courage, kindness. What we choose to emphasize in this complex history will determine our lives. If we see only the worst, it destroys our capacity to do something. If we remember those times and places — and there are so many — where people have behaved magniﬁcently, this gives us the energy to act, and at least the possibility of sending this spinning top of a world in a different direction.
And if we do act, in however small a way, we don’t have to wait for some grand utopian future. The future is an inﬁnite succession of presents, and to live now as we think human beings should live, in deﬁance of all that is bad around us, is itself a marvelous victory.

Howard Zinn (1922-2010) American historian, academic, author, social activist
Essay (2004-09-02), “The Optimism of Uncertainty,” The Nation
(Source)

Adopted from Zinn's essay of the same name in Paul Loeb (ed.), The Impossible Will Take a Little While (2004). See also Zinn, "A Marvelous Victory" (2004-02-23).

Keillor, Garrison -- “The Meaning of Life,” We Are Still Married (1989)

Dave — Thu, 20 Nov 2014 13:43:30 +0000

Even in a time of elephantine vanity and greed, one never has to look far to see the campfires of gentle people.

Garrison Keillor (b. 1942) American entertainer, author
“The Meaning of Life,” We Are Still Married (1989)

Adams, John -- Letter (1820-07-08) to Simon Miller

Dave — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 12:26:59 +0000

I believe with Justin Martyr, that all good men are Christians, and I believe there have been, and are, good men in all nations, sincere and conscientious.

John Adams (1735–1826) American lawyer, Founding Father, statesman, US President (1797–1801)
Letter (1820-07-08) to Simon Miller
(Source)

Justin Martyr (c. AD 95–165) was an early Christian apologist and philosopher. He argued that many historical Greek philosophers, including Socrates and Plato, taught Christian virtues and were thus unknowingly Christian.

Wordsworth, William -- “Lines Composed a few Miles above Tintern Abbey” (13 Jul 1798)

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

That best portion of a good man’s life,
His little, nameless, unremembered acts
Of kindness and love.

William Wordsworth (1770-1850) English poet
“Lines Composed a few Miles above Tintern Abbey” (13 Jul 1798)
(Source)

Often paraphrased into a sentence, e.g., "The best portion of a good man's life is his little, nameless, unremembered acts of kindness and of love."

Wilde, Oscar -- Lady Windemere’s Fan, Act 1 [Lord Darlington] (1892)

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

It is absurd to divide people into good and bad. People are either charming or tedious.

Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) Irish poet, wit, dramatist
Lady Windemere’s Fan, Act 1 [Lord Darlington] (1892)
(Source)