WIST Quotations

Homer -- The Odyssey [Ὀδύσσεια], Book 10, l. 575ff (10.575-576) [Odysseus] (c. 700 BC) [tr. Fitzgerald (1961)]

Dave — Tue, 23 Sep 2025 00:07:06 +0000

For who could see the passage of a goddess
Unless she wished his mortal eyes aware?

[τίς ἂν θεὸν οὐκ ἐθέλοντα
ὀφθαλμοῖσιν ἴδοιτ᾽ ἢ ἔνθ᾽ ἢ ἔνθα κιόντα]

Homer (fl. 7th-8th C. BC) Greek author
The Odyssey [Ὀδύσσεια], Book 10, l. 575ff (10.575-576) [Odysseus] (c. 700 BC) [tr. Fitzgerald (1961)]
(Source)

On Circe providing, unseen, a ram and ewe for sacrifice, tied to Odyseus' departing ship.

(Source (Greek)). Alternate translations:

For who would see God, loth to let us see,
This way or that bent; still his ways are free.
[tr. Chapman (1616)]

For Gods, but when they list, cannot be spied.
[tr. Hobbes (1675)]

The paths of gods what mortal can survey?
Who eyes their motion? who shall trace their way?
[tr. Pope (1725)]

For who hath eyes that can discern a God
Going or coming, if he shun the view?
[tr. Cowper (1792)]

For who with eyes may know
Against their will immortals moving to and fro?
[tr. Worsley (1861), st. 65]

Who could see a god
With his own eyes, if he should not be willing, --
Whether he hied him here, or hied him there?
[tr. Bigge-Wither (1869)]

Who may behold a god against his will, whether going to or fro?
[tr. Butcher/Lang (1879)]

For what man's eyes may see
A God that is loth to be looked on, whether here or there he be?
[tr. Morris (1887)]

When a god does not will, what man can spy him moving to and fro?
[tr. Palmer (1891)]

For who can see the comings and goings of a god, if the god does not wish to be seen?
[tr. Butler (1898), rev. Power/Nagy (1900)]

Who with his eyes could behold a god against his will, whether going to or fro?
[tr. Murray (1919)]

What mortal eye can see a God going up and down if He wills not to be seen?
[tr. Lawrence (1932)]

And when a god wishes to remain unseen, what eye can observe his coming or his going?
[tr. Rieu (1946)]

Whose eyes can follow the movement
of a god passing from place to place, unless the god wishes?
[tr. Lattimore (1965)]

How can
a man detect a god who comes and goes
if gods refuse to have their movements known?
[tr. Mandelbaum (1990)]

Who can glimpse a god
who wants to be invisible gliding here and there?
[tr. Fagles (1996)]

When a god wishes to remain unseen, what eye can observe his coming of going?
[tr. DCH Rieu (2002)]

For when a god does not wish to be observed who can cast an eye upon his going back and forth?
[tr. Verity (2016)]

Who can see the gods go by unless they wish to show themselves to us?
[tr. Wilson (2017)]

When the gods don't desire it, who can witness their passage, either coming or going?
[tr. Green (2018)]

For who can see a god move back and forth,
if she has no desire to be observed?
[tr. Johnston (2019)]

La Bruyere, Jean de -- The Characters [Les Caractères], ch. 2 “Of Personal Merit [Du Mérite Personnel],” § 42 (2.42) (1688) [tr. Van Laun (1885)]

Dave — Tue, 13 Aug 2024 20:41:53 +0000

False greatness is unsociable and inaccessible; as it is sensible of its weakness, it conceals itself, or at least does not show itself openly, and only allows just so much to be seen as will carry on the deceit, so as not to appear what it really is, namely, undoubtedly mean. True greatness, on the contrary, is free, gentle, familiar, and popular; it allows itself to be touched and handled, loses nothing by being seen closely, and is the more admired the better it is known.

[La fausse grandeur est farouche et inaccessible: comme elle sent son faible, elle se cache, ou du moins ne se montre pas de front, et ne se fait voir qu’autant qu’il faut pour imposer et ne paraître point ce qu’elle est, je veux dire une vraie petitesse. La véritable grandeur est libre, douce, familière, populaire; elle se laisse toucher et manier, elle ne perd rien à être vue de près; plus on la connaît, plus on l’admire.]

Jean de La Bruyère (1645-1696) French essayist, moralist
The Characters [Les Caractères], ch. 2 “Of Personal Merit [Du Mérite Personnel],” § 42 (2.42) (1688) [tr. Van Laun (1885)]
(Source)

(Source (French)). Alternate translations:

False Greatness is unsociable, inaccessible, as if 'twere sensible of its weakness, and strove to conceal it. 'Twill not be seen, except just so much, as may carry on the Deceit, but dares not shew its Face for fear of being discover'd: Discover'd how really little and mean it is. True Greatness, on the contrary, is free, complaisant, familiar, popular, suffers it self to be touch'd and handl'd, loses nothing by being view'd near at hand, is rather more known and admir'd for it.
[Bullord ed. (1696)]

False greatness is unsociable and remote: conscious of its own frailty, it hides, or at least averts its face, and reveals itself only enough to create an illusion and not be recognized as the meanness that it really is. True greatness is free, kind, familiar and popular; it lets itself be touched and handled, it loses nothing by being seen at close quarters; the better one knows it, the more one admires it.
[tr. Stewart (1970)]

Franklin, Benjamin -- Poor Richard (1734 ed.)

Dave — Mon, 25 Mar 2024 17:42:03 +0000

There have been as great Souls unknown to fame as any of the most famous.

Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) American statesman, scientist, philosopher, aphorist
Poor Richard (1734 ed.)
(Source)

See also Gray, Reade, Ecclesiasticus.

Carlyle, Thomas -- Essay (1837-12-06), “On Sir Walter Scott,” The London and Westminster Review, No. 12/55, Art. 2 (1838-01)

Dave — Fri, 12 Jan 2024 15:23:19 +0000

Under all speech that is good for anything there lies a silence that is better. Silence is deep as Eternity; speech is shallow as Time.

Thomas Carlyle (1795-1881) Scottish essayist and historian
Essay (1837-12-06), “On Sir Walter Scott,” The London and Westminster Review, No. 12/55, Art. 2 (1838-01)
(Source)

Review of J. G. Lockhart, Memoirs of the Life of Sir Walter Scott, Baronet, 6 vols. (1837). Collected in Carlyle, Critical and Miscellaneous Essays (1827-1855).

Holmes, Oliver Wendell, Sr. -- Poem (1858-01-18), “The Voiceless,” ll. 7-8.

Dave — Fri, 15 Sep 2023 16:36:36 +0000

Alas for those that never sing,
But die with all their music in them!

Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. (1809-1894) American poet, essayist, scholar
Poem (1858-01-18), “The Voiceless,” ll. 7-8.
(Source)

First read by Holmes (according to Longfellow) at a dinner that date of the Harvard Musical Association. Included in the 1858-10 installment of "Autocrat of the Breakfast-Table" (Atlantic Monthly, Vol. 2, No. 5), and the collected Autocrat of the Breakfast-Table, ch. 12 (1858). First published as poetry in Songs in Many Keys (1862).

Serling, Rod -- A Carol for Another Christmas [Ghost of Christmas Present] (1964)

Dave — Tue, 18 Oct 2022 15:01:23 +0000

You’re going to have to explain the logic of man to me, Mr. Grudge. For example, tell me how you come about your selective morality. This ease with which you strip off your conscience like an overcoat — and let your satisfied belch drown out the hunger cries that fill the air around you. How do you create the exact science whereby you disinvolve yourself from all the anguish of the world that doesn’t happen to be in your direct line of vision? That doesn’t take a special breed of man at all, Mr. Grudge. That is man in his normal condition.

Rod Serling (1924-1975) American screenwriter, playwright, television producer, narrator
A Carol for Another Christmas [Ghost of Christmas Present] (1964)
(Source)

Lec, Stanislaw -- More Unkempt Thoughts [Myśli nieuczesane nowe] (1964) [tr. Gałązka (1969)]

Dave — Tue, 01 Mar 2022 15:59:05 +0000

Politics: a Trojan horse race.

Stanislaw Lec (1909-1966) Polish aphorist, poet, satirist
More Unkempt Thoughts [Myśli nieuczesane nowe] (1964) [tr. Gałązka (1969)]
(Source)

Armstrong, Charlotte -- The Dream Walker (1955)

Dave — Thu, 11 Nov 2021 20:23:57 +0000

Coincidence means only a connection that’s not seen. Roots meet underground.

Charlotte Armstrong (1905-1969) American author [pseud. for Charlotte Armstrong Lewi, a.k.a. Jo Valentine]
The Dream Walker (1955)
(Source)

Bukowski, Charles -- “The Bluebird”

Dave — Wed, 27 Oct 2021 14:27:18 +0000

there’s a bluebird in my heart that
wants to get out
but I’m too tough for him,
I say, stay in there, I’m not going
to let anybody see
you.

Charles Bukowski (1920-1994) German-American author, poet
“The Bluebird”
(Source)

Cicero, Marcus Tullius -- De Officiis [On Duties; On Moral Duty; The Offices], Book 3, ch. 9 (3.9) / sec. 39 (44 BC) [tr. Miller (1913)]

Dave — Mon, 08 Feb 2021 17:03:54 +0000

If nobody were to know or even to suspect the truth, when you do anything to gain riches or power or sovereignty or sensual gratification — if your act should be hidden for ever from the knowledge of gods and men, would you do it? […] Should they answer that, if impunity were assured, they would do what was most to their selfish interest, that would be a confession that they are criminally minded; should they say that they would not do so, they would be granting that all things in and of themselves immoral should be avoided.

[Si nemo sciturus, nemo ne suspicaturus quidemn sit, curn aliquid divitiarum, potentiae, dominationis, libidinis causa feceris, si id dis hominibusque futurum sit semper ignotuml, sisne facturus. […] Si responderint se impunitate proposita facturos, quod expediat, facinorosos se esse fateantur, si negent, omnia turpia per se ipsa fugienda esse concedant.]

Marcus Tullius Cicero (106-43 BC) Roman orator, statesman, philosopher
De Officiis [On Duties; On Moral Duty; The Offices], Book 3, ch. 9 (3.9) / sec. 39 (44 BC) [tr. Miller (1913)]
(Source)

Attacking the Epicurean philosophy that people are deterred from evil acts, not because they are evil, but because they might be caught. (Source (Latin)). Alternate translations:

Suppose you could do any dishonest action, for the gratifying of a lustful, covetous, or ambitious desire, so as that no one living could either know or suspect it, but both gods and men must be kept perfectly in ignorance; whether in such case would you do it or no? [...] If they say they would gratify such desires on assurance of impunity, we may know them to be villains by their own confession; but if they deny it, they may be forced to grant that every base and dishonest action is barely as such to be shunned and detested.
[tr. Cockman (1699)]

If no man should know, or not even suspect, that you were any way engaged in the pursuit of wealth, power, or domination, or for the gratification of lust; and if it were to be forever unknown to gods and men; would you behave so? [...] If they answer, upon impunity being proposed, they would do what is profitable, they may confess themselves profligate, but if they refuse that they would follow such a course, they admit that every vice from its own nature ought to be avoided.
[tr. McCartney (1798)]

If nobody were to know, nobody even to suspect that you were doing anything for the sake of riches, power, domination, lust -- if it would be for ever unknown to gods and men, would you do it? [...] If they answer that they would do, if impunity were offered, what it was their interest to do, they must confess that they are wicked; if they deny that they would do so, they must admit that all base actions are to be shunned on their own account.
[tr. Edmonds (1865)]

If no one would ever know, if no one would ever suspect, when you performed some act for the sake of wealth, power, ascendency, lust, -- if it would remain forever unknown to gods and men, would you do it? [...] If they answer that they would do what seemed expedient if assured of impunity, they may confess themselves atrociously guilty; and if they make the contrary answer, that they may grant that whatever is wrong in itself ought to be shunned.
[tr. Peabody (1883)]

Would you gratify your desire for riches, power, dominion, or sensual pleasure, if you had no fear of detection or even of suspicion, and were certain that the act would for ever be unknown to gods and men? [...] If they replied that they would do what was best for themselves if assured of impunity, they would thereby admit their criminal intention ; if they said they would not, they would grant that every shameful act must be shunned on its own account.
[tr. Gardiner (1899)]

If no one were to know, if no one were even to suspect when you were about to commit a crime to gain wealth, power, ascendancy, or sexual satisfaction, if this fact were to remain unknown for lal time to the gods and to men, would you go ahead and do it? [...] If they replied that they would perform actions for their personal advantage if they had a guarantee of impunity, they would admit they were criminal types. If they said they would not, they would concede that all immortal acts must be avoided at all times.
[tr. Edinger (1974)]

Connolly, Cyril -- “Writers and Society, 1940-3” (1943), The Condemned Playground (1946)

Dave — Fri, 17 Jul 2020 19:37:03 +0000

In relation to his public, the artist of to-day […] walks at first with his companions, till one day he falls through a hole in the brambles, and from that moment is following the dark rapids of an underground river which may sometimes flow so near the surface that the laughing picnic parties are heard above, only to re-immerse itself in the solitude of the limestone and carry him along its winding tunnel, until it gushes out through the misty creeper-hung cave which he has always believed to exist, and sets him back in the sun.

Cyril Connolly (1903-1974) English intellectual, literary critic and writer.
“Writers and Society, 1940-3” (1943), The Condemned Playground (1946)
(Source)

Mauriac, Francois -- Second Thoughts: Reflections on Literature and on Life (1961) [tr. Foulke]

Dave — Mon, 23 Mar 2020 21:06:03 +0000

Most men resemble great deserted palaces: the owner occupies only a few rooms and has closed-off wings where he never ventures.

[Presque tous les hommes ressemblent à ces grands palais déserts dont le propriétaire n’habite que quelques pièces; et il ne pénètre jamais dans les ailes condamnées.]

François Mauriac (1885-1970) French author, critic, journalist
Second Thoughts: Reflections on Literature and on Life (1961) [tr. Foulke]

Johnson, George Clayton -- Twilight Zone, 3×16 “Nothing in the Dark”, closing narration (5 Jan 1962)

Dave — Mon, 19 Jun 2017 23:57:35 +0000

There is nothing in the dark that isn’t there when the lights are on.

George Clayton Johnson (1929-2015) American writer
Twilight Zone, 3×16 “Nothing in the Dark”, closing narration (5 Jan 1962)

Often attributed to Rod Serling, who read the narration and produced the show.

Kingsley, Charles -- The Good News of God, Sermon 6 “Worship [Isaiah 1:12-13]” (1881)

Dave — Wed, 07 Jun 2017 00:44:31 +0000

What do I believe after all? What manner of man am I after all? What sort of show would I make after all, if the people around me knew my heart and all my secret thoughts? What sort of show then do I already make in the sight of Almighty God, who sees every man exactly as he is?

Charles Kingsley (1819-1875) English clergyman, historian, essayist, novelist (pseud. "Parson Lot")
The Good News of God, Sermon 6 “Worship [Isaiah 1:12-13]” (1881)
(Source)

Lewis, C.S. -- Mere Christianity, “Let’s Pretend” (1952)

Dave — Tue, 22 Nov 2016 06:14:45 +0000

We begin to notice, besides our particular sinful acts, our sinfulness; begin to be alarmed not only about what we do, but about what we are. This may sound rather difficult, so I will try to make it clear from my own case. When I come to my evening prayers and try to reckon up the sins of the day, nine times out of ten the most obvious one is some sin against charity; I have sulked or snapped or sneered or snubbed or stormed. And the excuse that immediately springs to my mind is that the provocation was so sudden and unexpected; I was caught off my guard, I had not time to collect myself.

Now that may be an extenuating circumstance as regards those particular acts: they would obviously be worse if they had been deliberate and premeditated. On the other hand, surely what a man does when he is taken off his guard is the best evidence for what sort of a man he is? Surely what pops out before the man has time to put on a disguise is the truth? If there are rats in a cellar you are most likely to see them if you go in very suddenly. But the suddenness does not create the rats: it only prevents them from hiding. In the same way the suddenness of the provocation does not make me an ill-tempered man; it only shows me what an ill-tempered man I am. The rats are always there in the cellar, but if you go in shouting and noisily they will have taken cover before you switch on the light.

C. S. Lewis (1898-1963) English writer, literary scholar, lay theologian [Clive Staples Lewis]
Mere Christianity, “Let’s Pretend” (1952)
(Source)

Addison, Joseph -- Cato, Act 4, sc. 4, l. 139ff (1713)

Dave — Wed, 24 Aug 2016 00:18:21 +0000

CATO: Content thyself to be obscurely good.
When vice prevails, and impious men bear sway,
The post of honour is a private station.

Joseph Addison (1672-1719) English essayist, poet, statesman
Cato, Act 4, sc. 4, l. 139ff (1713)
(Source)

McEwan, Ian -- Amsterdam (1998)

Dave — Wed, 27 Jul 2016 00:06:41 +0000

We know so little about each other. We lie mostly submerged, like ice floes, with our visible social selves projecting only cool and white.

Ian McEwan (b. 1948) English novelist and screenwriter
Amsterdam (1998)

Chamfort, Nicolas -- (Attributed)

Dave — Wed, 27 Apr 2016 14:08:21 +0000

Many men and many women enjoy popular esteem, not because they are known, but because they are not.

Nicolas Chamfort (1741-1794) French writer, epigrammist (b. Nicolas-Sébastien Roch)
(Attributed)
(Source)

Attributed in Maturin M. Ballou, Notable Thoughts About Women, #3144 (1882). I have been unable to find an analog in various translations of Chamfort's Products of a Perfected Civilization or in any other primary source.

Richardson, James -- Vectors: Aphorisms and Ten-Second Essays (2001)

Dave — Fri, 23 Oct 2015 13:15:32 +0000

Laziness is the sin most willingly confessed to, since it implies talents greater than have yet appeared.

James Richardson (b. 1950) American poet
Vectors: Aphorisms and Ten-Second Essays (2001)

Franklin, Benjamin -- “A Dissertation on Liberty and Necessity” (1725)

Dave — Tue, 11 Aug 2015 16:04:46 +0000

In short, we can judge by nothing but Appearances, and they are very apt to deceive us. Some put on a gay chearful Outside, and appear to the World perfectly at Ease, tho’ even then, some inward Sting, some secret Pain imbitters all their Joys, and makes the Balance even: Others appear continually dejected and full of Sorrow; but even Grief itself is sometimes pleasant, and Tears are not always without their Sweetness: Besides, Some take a Satisfaction in being thought unhappy, (as others take a Pride in being thought humble,) these will paint their Misfortunes to others in the strongest Colours, and leave no Means unus’d to make you think them thoroughly miserable; so great a Pleasure it is to them to be pitied; Others retain the Form and outside Shew of Sorrow, long after the Thing itself, with its Cause, is remov’d from the Mind; it is a Habit they have acquir’d and cannot leave.

Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) American statesman, scientist, philosopher, aphorist
“A Dissertation on Liberty and Necessity” (1725)
(Source)

Eisenhower, Dwight David -- Speech, Associated Press luncheon, New York (24 Apr 1950)

Dave — Thu, 02 Jul 2015 19:21:29 +0000

Censorship, in my opinion, is a stupid and shallow way of approaching the solution to any problem. Though sometimes necessary, as witness a professional and technical secret that may have a bearing upon the welfare and very safety of this country, we should be very careful in the way we apply it, because in censorship always lurks the very great danger of working to the disadvantage of the American nation.

Dwight David Eisenhower (1890-1969) American general, US President (1953-61)
Speech, Associated Press luncheon, New York (24 Apr 1950)

Twain, Mark -- The Autobiography of Mark Twain, Vol. 1 (2010)

Dave — Wed, 11 Mar 2015 12:26:07 +0000

What a wee little part of a person’s life are his acts and his words! His real life is led in his head, and is known to none but himself. All day long, and every day, the mill of his brain is grinding, and his thoughts (which are but the mute articulation of his feelings,) not those other things, are his history. His acts and his words are merely the visible thin crust of his world, with its scarred snow summits and its vacant wastes of water — and they are so trifling a part of his bulk! a mere skin enveloping it. The mass of him is hidden — it and its volcanic fires that toss and boil, and never rest, night nor day. These are his life, and they are not written, and cannot be written. Every day would make a whole book of eighty thousand words — three hundred and sixty-five books a year. Biographies are but the clothes and buttons of the man — the biography of the man himself cannot be written.

Mark Twain (1835-1910) American writer [pseud. of Samuel Clemens]
The Autobiography of Mark Twain, Vol. 1 (2010)
(Source)

Brecht, Bertholt -- Die Dreigroschenoper [The Three-Penny Opera], Prologue, “The Ballad of Mackie the Knife” (1928)

Dave — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 14:53:29 +0000

Oh the shark has pretty teeth, dear,
And he shows them pearly white.
Just a jack-knife has MacHeath, dea,r
And he keeps it out of sight.

[Und der Haifisch, der had Zähne
Und die trägt er im Gesicht
Und MacHeath, der had ein Messer
Doch das Messer sieht man nicht.]

Bertolt Brecht (1898-1956) German poet, playwright, director, dramaturgist
Die Dreigroschenoper [The Three-Penny Opera], Prologue, “The Ballad of Mackie the Knife” (1928)

English lyrics to "The Ballad of Mack the Knife" (Weill, Kurt / Berthold Brecht / Marc Blitzstein)

Alt: translation: "And the shark he has his teeth and / There they are for all to see / And MacHeath he has his knife but / No one knows where it may be."

Tolkien, J.R.R. -- The Lord of the Rings, Vol. 1: The Fellowship of the Ring, Book 1, ch. 7 “Strider” (1954)

Dave — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 13:45:42 +0000

All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost.

From the ashes a fire shall be woken,
A light from the shadows shall spring;
Renewed shall be blade that was broken,
The crownless again shall be king.

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 1, ch. 7 “Strider” (1954)
(Source)

A poem by Bilbo, recorded in a letter from Gandalf to Frodo, referring to Aragorn. Bilbo later repeats the poem at the Council of Elrond.

See Herbert, Shakespeare.

Shakespeare, William -- Timon of Athens, Act 1, sc. 1, l. 28ff (1.1.28-29) (1606) [with Thomas Middleton]

Dave — Wed, 12 May 2004 19:39:24 +0000

POET: The fire i’the flint
Shows not till it be struck.

William Shakespeare (1564-1616) English dramatist and poet
Timon of Athens, Act 1, sc. 1, l. 28ff (1.1.28-29) (1606) [with Thomas Middleton]
(Source)

Shakespeare, William -- Henry V, Act 1, sc. 1, l. 63 (1.1.63) (1599)

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

BISHOP OF ELY: The strawberry grows underneath the nettle.

William Shakespeare (1564-1616) English dramatist and poet
Henry V, Act 1, sc. 1, l. 63 (1.1.63) (1599)
(Source)

Shakespeare, William -- Measure for Measure, Act 3, sc. 2, l. 271ff (3.2.271-272) (1604)

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

DUKE: O, what may man within him hide,
Though angel on the outward side!

William Shakespeare (1564-1616) English dramatist and poet
Measure for Measure, Act 3, sc. 2, l. 271ff (3.2.271-272) (1604)
(Source)

Gray, Thomas -- “Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard,” st. 14, l. 53ff (1751)

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

Full many a gem of purest ray serene
The dark, unfathomed caves of ocean bear;
Full many a flower is born to blush unseen,
And waste its sweetness on the desert air.

Thomas Gray (1716-1771) English poet
“Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard,” st. 14, l. 53ff (1751)
(Source)

Twain, Mark -- Following the Equator, ch. 66, epigraph (1897)

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

Everyone is a moon and has a dark side which he never shows to anybody.

Mark Twain (1835-1910) American writer [pseud. of Samuel Clemens]
Following the Equator, ch. 66, epigraph (1897)
(Source)

Horace -- Odes [Carmina], Book 4, # 9, l. 25ff (4.9.25-28) (23 BC) [tr. Marshall (1908)]

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

Oft before Agamemnon brave men warred;
But all unwept they lie in endless night,
Lacking, to deck their deeds with light,
Song of a heaven-taught bard.

[Vixere fortes ante Agamemnona
multi; sed omnes illacrimabiles
urgentur ignotique longa
nocte, carent quia vate sacro.]

Horace (65–8 BC) Roman poet, satirist, soldier, politician [Quintus Horatius Flaccus]
Odes [Carmina], Book 4, # 9, l. 25ff (4.9.25-28) (23 BC) [tr. Marshall (1908)]
(Source)

"To Lollius." See also Gray.

(Source (Latin)). Alternate translations:

Men slasht ere Diomed was made:
But all are in oblivion drown'd,
And put unmourn'd into the ground,
For lack of Sacred Poets aid.
[tr. Fanshawe; ed. Brome (1666)]

Before that Age a thousand liv'd,
And sent surprising Glories forth,
But none the silent Grave surviv'd;
In Night their Splendor's gone,
They fell, unmourn'd, unknown;
Because no Verse embalms their Worth.
[tr. Creech (1684)]

Vain was the Chief's, the Sage's pride!
They had no Poet, and they dy'd.
In vain they schem'd, in vain they bled!
They had no Poet, and are dead.
[tr. Pope (1733–38)]

Before Atrides men were brave:
But ah! oblivion, dark and long,
Has lock'd them in a tearless grave,
For lack of consecrating song.
[tr. Conington (1872)]

Many brave men lived before Agamemnon: but all of them, unlamented and unknown, are overwhelmed with endless obscurity, because they were destitute of a sacred bard.
[tr. Smart/Buckley (1853)]

Many, many have lived, who were valiant in fight,
Before Agamemnon; but all have gone down,
Unwept and unknown, in the darkness of night,
For lack of a poet to hymn their renown.
[tr. Martin (1864)]

Many brave men have lived long before Agamemnon,
But o’er them darkly presses the slumber eternal;
All unwept and unknown, wanting Him --
Everlastingly sacred -- the Bard!
[tr. Bulwer-Lytton (1870)]

Many brave men lived before Agamemnon, but all like crushed under eternal obvlivion, unknown to us and unwept by us, because no bard hath immortalized them.
[tr. Elgood (1893)]

Ere Agamemnon saw the light
There lived brave men: but tearless all,
Enfolded in eternal night,
For lack of sacred minstrels, fall.
[tr. Gladstone (1894)]

Brave men before the great Agamemnon's time
Liv'd many, but in tearless oblivion
And night, unknown and unlamented
Lie they, for want of a sacred poet
[tr. Phelps (1897)]

Prior to Agamemnon lived many who were brave,
But all unwept, unknown.
In endless night are plunged because
They lack a bard divine.v [tr. Garnsey (1907)]

Many heroes lived before Agamemnon ; but all are overwhelmed in unending night, unwept, unknown, because they lack a sacred bard.
[tr. Bennett (Loeb) (1912)]

Before the age of Agamemnon wight
Lived many a hero, but unwept, unknown,
Because no sacred bard hymned their renown,
They, one and all, lie whelmed in endless night.
[tr. Mills (1924)]

Many brave men lived before Agamemnon,
But all went down unmourned, unhouured, into the smothering darkness
For lack of a minstrel to be their glory-giver.
[tr. Michie (1963)]

There were heroes before Agamemnon
Was born -- but who knows them? Unmourned,
They lie buried in eternal darkness,
Sung by no sacred song.
[tr. Raffel (1983)]

Heroes have lived before Agamemnon lived,
But all of them are lost somewhere in the night,
Unwept, unknown, unless they had a poet
To tell what was their story.
[tr. Ferry (1997)]

Many brave men
Llived before Agamemnon.
But all of them, unwept and unknown,
are shrouded in eternal night
for lack of a sacred bard.
[tr. Alexander (1999)]

Many brave men lived before Agamemnon:
but all are imprisoned in unending night,
all of them are unwept and unknown,
because of the lack of a sacred bard.
[tr. Kline (2015)]

Eisenhower, Dwight David -- Commencement Speech, Dartmouth College (14 Jun 1953)

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

Don’t join the book burners. Don’t think you are going to conceal thoughts by concealing evidence that they ever existed. Don’t be afraid to go in your library and read every book, as long as that document does not offend your own ideas of decency. That should be the only censorship.

Dwight David Eisenhower (1890-1969) American general, US President (1953-61)
Commencement Speech, Dartmouth College (14 Jun 1953)