WIST Quotations

Steele, Richard -- Essay (1711-10-22), The Spectator, No. 202

Dave — Mon, 19 Oct 2026 17:10:04 +0000

It is not only paying wages, and giving commands, that constitutes a master of a family; but prudence, equal behavior, with a readiness to protect and cherish them, is what entitles man to that character in their very hearts and sentiments.

Richard Steele (1672–1729) Anglo-Irish writer, journalist, playwright, politician
Essay (1711-10-22), The Spectator, No. 202

Parker, Dorothy -- (Attributed)

Dave — Wed, 10 Jun 2026 14:45:28 +0000

The best way to keep children home is to make it pleasant — and let the air out of the tires.

Dorothy Parker (1893–1967) American writer, poet, wit
(Attributed)

Frequently quoted, but no primary source found or referenced.

Jung, Carl -- Lecture (1929-06), “Paracelsus,” Literary Club of Zurich, Paracelsus House, Einsiedeln, Schwyz, Switzerland [tr. Hull (1966)]

Dave — Wed, 11 Mar 2026 19:50:28 +0000

Nothing exerts a stronger psychic effect upon the human environment, and especially upon children, than the life which the parents have not lived.

Carl Jung (1875–1961) Swiss psychologist
Lecture (1929-06), “Paracelsus,” Literary Club of Zurich, Paracelsus House, Einsiedeln, Schwyz, Switzerland [tr. Hull (1966)]

(Publication notes.) Collected in The Spirit in Man, Art, and Literature, Part 1, "Paracelsus," ¶ 3 (1929).

Pratchett, Terry -- Discworld No. 9, Eric (1990)

Dave — Fri, 20 Feb 2026 22:02:27 +0000

In the jungles of central Klatch there are, indeed, lost kingdoms of mysterious Amazonian princesses who capture male explorers for specifically masculine duties. These are indeed rigorous and exhausting and the luckless victims do not last long.*

^{* This is because wiring plugs, putting up shelves, sorting out the funny noises in attics, and mowing lawns can eventually reduce even the strongest constitution.}

Terry Pratchett (1948–2015) English author
Discworld No. 9, Eric (1990)

Austen, Jane -- Letter (1808-06-15) to Cassandra Austen

Dave — Wed, 24 Jul 2024 17:10:45 +0000

You know how interesting the purchase of a sponge-cake is to me.

Jane Austen (1775–1817) English author
Letter (1808-06-15) to Cassandra Austen

First recorded use of the term "sponge-cake" in English.

Chapin, Edwin Hubbell -- Living Words (1860)

Dave — Fri, 02 Oct 2020 15:26:04 +0000

There is no happiness in life, there is no misery, like that growing out of the dispositions which consecrate or desecrate a home.

Edwin Hubbell Chapin (1814–1880) American clergyman
Living Words (1860)

Stark, Freya Madeline -- The Freya Stark Story (1953)

Dave — Tue, 17 Oct 2017 21:19:33 +0000

Absence is one of the most useful ingredients of family life, and to do it rightly is an art like any other.

Freya Stark (1893–1993) Franco-British explorer, travel writer [Freya Madeline Stark]
The Freya Stark Story (1953)

See Propertius.

La Follette, Suzanne -- (Attributed)

Dave — Mon, 27 Feb 2017 16:10:57 +0000

Anyone who has not known that inestimable privilege can possibly realize what good fortune it is to grow up in a home where there are grandparents.

Suzanne La Follette (1893–1983) American journalist, author, feminist
(Attributed)

Kerr, Jean -- Essay (1959-03), “The Ten Worst Things About a Man,” McCall’s, Vol. 87, No. 6

Dave — Mon, 07 Sep 2015 16:36:23 +0000

Marrying a man is like buying something you’ve been admiring for a long time in a shop window. You may love it when you get it home, but it doesn’t always go with everything else in the house.

Jean Kerr (1922–2003) American author and playwright [b. Bridget Jean Collins]
Essay (1959-03), “The Ten Worst Things About a Man,” McCall’s, Vol. 87, No. 6

Collected in her The Snake Has All the Lines (1960).

Christie, Agatha -- (Attributed)

Dave — Wed, 01 Jul 2015 14:46:06 +0000

The best time for planning a book is while you’re doing the dishes.

Agatha Christie (1890–1976) English writer
(Attributed)

Stowe, Harriet Beecher -- Household Papers and Stories, Part 2, ch. 4 (1864)

Dave — Wed, 26 Mar 2014 11:56:37 +0000

True love ennobles and dignifies the material labors of life; and homely services rendered for love’s sake have in them a poetry that is immortal.

Harriet Beecher Stowe (1811–1896) American author
Household Papers and Stories, Part 2, ch. 4 (1864)

Montaigne, Michel de -- Essays, Book 3, ch. 2 (3.2), “Of Repentance [Du Repentir]” (1586) [tr. Frame (1943)]

Dave — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 13:35:15 +0000

Men have seemed miraculous to the world, in whom their wives and valets have never seen anything even worth noticing. Few men have been admired by their own households.

[Tel a esté miraculeux au monde, auquel sa femme & son valet n’ont rien veu seulement de remerquable. Peu d’hommes ont esté admirez par leurs domestiques.]

Michel de Montaigne (1533–1592) French essayist
Essays, Book 3, ch. 2 (3.2), “Of Repentance [Du Repentir]” (1586) [tr. Frame (1943)]

See Cornuel (1728) and Goethe (1805). For discussion on this and related quotes, see here.

(Source (French)). Other translations:

Some have beene admirable to the world, in whom nor his wife, nor his servant ever noted any thing remarkeable. Few men have beene admired of their familiers.
[tr. Florio (1603)]

Such a one has been a Miracle to the World, in whom neither his Wife nor Servant have ever seen any thing so much as remarkable. Few men have been admired by their own Domesticks.
[tr. Cotton (1686)]

Such a one has been a miracle to the world, in whom neither his wife nor servant has ever seen anything so much as remarkable; few men have been admired by their own domestics.
[tr. Cotton/Hazlitt (1877)]

A man may appear wonderful to the world, in whom his wife and his servant see nothing even remarkable; few men have been admired by their household.
[tr. Ives (1925)]

Many a man has been a wonder to the world, whose wife and valet have seen nothing in him that was even remarkable. Few have been admired by their servants.
[tr. Cohen (1958)]

A man may appear to the world as a marvel: yet his wife and his manservant see nothing remarkable about him. Few men have been wonders to their families.
[tr. Screech (1987)]

Roosevelt, Theodore -- Autobiography, ch. 9 “Outdoors and Indoors” (1913)

Dave — Tue, 17 Jul 2012 12:21:26 +0000

There are many kinds of success in life worth having. It is exceedingly interesting and attractive to be a successful business man, or railroad man, or farmer, or a successful lawyer or doctor; or a writer, or a President, or a ranchman, or the colonel of a fighting regiment, or to kill grizzly bears and lions. But for unflagging interest and enjoyment, a household of children, if things go reasonably well, certainly makes all other forms of success and achievement lose their importance by comparison.

Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919) American politician, statesman, conservationist, writer; US President (1901–09)
Autobiography, ch. 9 “Outdoors and Indoors” (1913)

Meredith, George -- The Ordeal of Richard Feveral, ch. 24 (1859)

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

Kissing don’t last: cookery do!

George Meredith (1828–1909) English novelist and poet
The Ordeal of Richard Feveral, ch. 24 (1859)