WIST Quotations

Thoreau, Henry David -- Walden; or, Life in the Woods, ch. 18 “Conclusion” (1854)

Dave — Tue, 08 Nov 2016 05:14:17 +0000

If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away.

Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862) American philosopher and writer
Walden; or, Life in the Woods, ch. 18 “Conclusion” (1854)

Lorde, Audre -- “The Master’s Tools Will Never Dismantle the Master’s House” (1979)

Dave — Mon, 21 Dec 2015 20:27:12 +0000

Difference must be not merely tolerated, but seen as a fund of necessary polarities between which our creativity can spark like a dialectic. Only then does the necessity for interdependency become unthreatening. Only within that interdependency of different strengths, acknowledged and equal, can the power to seek new ways of being in the world generate, as well as the courage and sustenance to act where there are no charters.

Audre Lorde (1934–1992) American writer, feminist, civil rights activist
“The Master’s Tools Will Never Dismantle the Master’s House” (1979)

Clarke, James F. -- (Attributed)

Dave — Fri, 17 Oct 2014 13:37:50 +0000

Let us not torment each other because we are not all alike, but believe that God knew best what He was doing in making us so different. So will the best harmony come out of seeming discords, the best affection out of differences, the best life out of struggle, and the best work will be done when each does his own work, and lets every one else do and be what God made him for.

James Freeman Clarke (1810–1888) American theologian and author
(Attributed)

Quoted in Josiah Hotchkiss Gilbert, Dictionary of Burning Words of Brilliant Writers (1895).

Hawthorne, Nathaniel -- The Scarlet Letter, “Introduction: The Custom-House” (1850)

Dave — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 12:00:15 +0000

It contributes greatly towards a man’s moral and intellectual health, to be brought into habits of companionship with individuals unlike himself, who care little for his pursuits, and whose sphere and abilities he must go out of himself to appreciate.

Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804–1864) American writer
The Scarlet Letter, “Introduction: The Custom-House” (1850)