WIST Quotations

Adams, John -- Letter (1816-02-02) to Thomas Jefferson

Dave — Mon, 27 Apr 2026 22:20:23 +0000

We must come to the Principles of Jesus. But, when will all Men and all Nations do as they would be done by? Forgive all Injuries and love their Enemies as themselves? I leave those profound Phylosophers whose Sagacity perceives the Perfectibility of Humane Nature, and those illuminated Theologians who expect the Apocalyptic Reign, to enjoy their transporting hopes; provided always that they will not engage us in Crusades and French Revolutions, nor burn us for doubting.

John Adams (1735–1826) American lawyer, Founder, statesman; US President (1797–1801)
Letter (1816-02-02) to Thomas Jefferson

Atwood, Margaret -- The Handmaid’s Tale, ch. 28 (1986)

Dave — Wed, 08 Apr 2026 21:04:05 +0000

No mother is ever, completely, a child’s idea of what a mother should be, and I suppose it works the other way around as well.

Margaret Atwood (b. 1939) Canadian writer, literary critic, environmental activist
The Handmaid’s Tale, ch. 28 (1986)

Lewis, C.S. -- The Screwtape Letters, Preface (1961 ed.)

Dave — Mon, 22 Dec 2025 15:58:04 +0000

At bottom, every ideal of style dictates not only how we should say things but what sort of things we may say.

C. S. Lewis (1898–1963) English writer, literary scholar, lay theologian [Clive Staples Lewis]
The Screwtape Letters, Preface (1961 ed.)

McLaughlin, Mignon -- The Second Neurotic’s Notebook, ch. 4 (1966)

Dave — Mon, 01 Dec 2025 19:24:50 +0000

Tough and funny and a little bit kind: that is as near to perfection as a human being can be.

Mignon McLaughlin (1913–1983) American journalist and author
The Second Neurotic’s Notebook, ch. 4 (1966)

Russell, Bertrand -- Conquest of Happiness, Part 1, ch. 1 “What Makes People Unhappy?” (1930)

Dave — Wed, 26 Mar 2025 15:13:18 +0000

When I speak of “the sinner,” I do not mean the man who commits sin: sins are committed by everyone or no one, according to our definition of the word. I mean the man who is absorbed in the consciousness of sin. This man is perpetually incurring his own disapproval, which, if he is religious, he interprets as the disapproval of God. He has an image of himself as he thinks he ought to be, which is in continual conflict with his knowledge of himself as he is.

Bertrand Russell (1872–1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Conquest of Happiness, Part 1, ch. 1 “What Makes People Unhappy?” (1930)

Rogers, Will -- Column (1929-02-03), “Weekly Article: Oklahoma Has Gone Zodiac!”

Dave — Fri, 07 Mar 2025 19:29:09 +0000

People love high Ideals. But they got to be about 33 percent plausible.

Will Rogers (1879–1935) American humorist
Column (1929-02-03), “Weekly Article: Oklahoma Has Gone Zodiac!”

Collected in Will Rogers' Weekly Articles, Vol. 3 "The Coolidge Years, 1927-1929," No. 319 (1980).

Peters, Ellis -- Cadfael Chronicles No. 21, Brother Cadfael’s Penance, ch. 1 (1994)

Dave — Thu, 06 Mar 2025 20:47:34 +0000

Radulfus had the wise man’s distant respect for perfection, but no great expectation of meeting it in the way.

Ellis Peters (1913–1995) English writer, translator [pseud. of Edith Mary Pargeter, who also wrote under the names John Redfern, Jolyon Carr, Peter Benedict]
Cadfael Chronicles No. 21, Brother Cadfael’s Penance, ch. 1 (1994)

Roosevelt, Franklin Delano -- Speech (1938-11-04), “The Election of Liberals” (radio broadcast)

Dave — Wed, 22 Jan 2025 21:45:36 +0000

Too many who prate about saving democracy are really only interested in saving things as they were. Democracy should concern itself also with things as they should be.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1882–1945) American lawyer, politician, statesman; US President (1933–45)
Speech (1938-11-04), “The Election of Liberals” (radio broadcast)

Bierce, Ambrose -- “Future,” The Cynic’s Word Book (1906)

Dave — Tue, 02 Jul 2024 14:29:47 +0000

FUTURE, n. That period of time in which our affairs prosper, our friends are true, and our happiness is assured.

Ambrose Bierce (1842–1914?) American writer and journalist
“Future,” The Cynic’s Word Book (1906)

Included in The Devil's Dictionary (1911). Originally published in the "Devil's Dictionary" column in the San Francisco Wasp (1885-02-21).

Lessing, Gotthold -- Laocoön, or the Limitations of Painting and Poetry [Laokoön oder Über die Grenzen der Malerei und Poesie], ch. 4 (1767) [tr. Phillimore (1874)]

Dave — Tue, 25 Jun 2024 17:22:56 +0000

We moderns do not believe in demigods, but our smallest hero we expect to feel and act as a demigod.

[Wir Neuern glauben keine Halbgötter, aber der geringste Held soll bei uns wie ein Halbgott empfinden, und handeln.]

Gotthold Lessing (1729–1781) German playwright, philosopher, dramaturg, writer
Laocoön, or the Limitations of Painting and Poetry [Laokoön oder Über die Grenzen der Malerei und Poesie], ch. 4 (1767) [tr. Phillimore (1874)]

(Source (German)). Another translation:

We moderns are no believers in demi-gods, yet the least important hero among us is expected to feel and act like one.
[tr. Ross (1836)]

Hazlitt, William -- “Thoughts on Taste,” Edinburgh Magazine (1819-07)

Dave — Fri, 09 Feb 2024 21:42:28 +0000

It is erroneous to tie down individual genius to ideal models. Each person should do that, not which is best in itself, even supposing this could be known, but that which he can do best, which he will find out if left to himself. Spenser could not have written Paradise Lost, nor Milton the Faerie Queene. Those who aim at faultless regularity will only produce mediocrity, and no one ever approaches perfection except by stealth, and unknown to themselves.

William Hazlitt (1778–1830) English writer
“Thoughts on Taste,” Edinburgh Magazine (1819-07)

Russell, Bertrand -- Interview by Woodrow Wyatt, BBC TV (1959)

Dave — Thu, 25 Jan 2024 21:18:55 +0000

Sometimes in a vision, I see a world of happy human beings, all vigorous, all intelligent, none of them oppressing, none of them oppressed. A world of human beings aware that their common interests outweigh those in which they compete, striving toward those really splendid possibilities that the human intellect and the human imagination make possible such a world as I was speaking of can exist if everyone chooses that it should. And if it does exist, if it does come to exist, we shall have a world very much more glorious, very much more splendid, more happy, more full of imagination and happy emotions, than any world that the world has ever known before.

Bertrand Russell (1872–1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Interview by Woodrow Wyatt, BBC TV (1959)

Collected in Bertrand Russell's BBC Interviews (1959) [UK] and Bertrand Russell Speaks His Mind (1960) [US]. Reprinted (abridged) in The Humanist (1982-11/12), and in Russell Society News, #37 (1983-02).

Senge, Peter -- The Fifth Discipline, Part 3, ch. 8 (1990)

Dave — Thu, 19 May 2022 17:58:05 +0000

Scratch the surface of most cynics and you find a frustrated idealist — someone who made the mistake of converting his ideals into expectations.

Peter Senge (b. 1947) American systems scientist, lecturer, academic
The Fifth Discipline, Part 3, ch. 8 (1990)

Tolkien, J.R.R. -- Letter to Edith Bratt (1913)

Dave — Thu, 17 Mar 2022 21:05:21 +0000

I do so dearly believe that no half-heartedness and no worldly fear must turn us aside from following the light unflinchingly.

J.R.R. Tolkien (1892–1973) English writer, fabulist, philologist, academic [John Ronald Reuel Tolkien]
Letter to Edith Bratt (1913)

Bratt was Tolkien's fiancee, who was apprehensive about the personal and social ramifications of converting to Catholicism. Tolkien's mother's conversion had been similarly difficult.

Frye, Northrop -- The Educated Imagination, Talk 3 “Giants in Time” (1963)

Dave — Mon, 10 Jan 2022 16:08:20 +0000

Experience is nearly always commonplace; the present is not romantic in the way the past is, and ideals and great visions have a way of becoming shoddy and squalid in practical life. Literature reverses this process.

Northrop Frye (1912–1991) Canadian literary critic and literary theorist
The Educated Imagination, Talk 3 “Giants in Time” (1963)

Richardson, James -- “Vectors: 56 Aphorisms and Ten-second Essays,” Michigan Quarterly Review, #11 (Spring 1999)

Dave — Tue, 16 Nov 2021 13:59:20 +0000

The world is not what anyone wished for, but it’s what everyone wished for.

James Richardson (b. 1950) American poet
“Vectors: 56 Aphorisms and Ten-second Essays,” Michigan Quarterly Review, #11 (Spring 1999)

Sarton, May -- Journal of a Solitude, “February 4th” (1973)

Dave — Tue, 19 Oct 2021 14:22:21 +0000

It occurs to me that there is a proper balance between not asking enough of oneself and asking or expecting too much. It may be that I set my sights too high and so repeatedly end a day in depression. Not easy to find the balance, for it one does not have wild dreams of achievement, there is no spur even to get the dishes washed. One must think like a hero to behave like a merely decent human being.

May Sarton (1912–1995) Belgian-American poet, novelist, memoirist [pen name of Eleanore Marie Sarton]
Journal of a Solitude, “February 4th” (1973)

Bellow, Saul -- The Adventures of Augie March (1953)

Dave — Wed, 14 Apr 2021 16:25:47 +0000

Boredom therefore can arise from the cessation of habitual functions, even though these may be boring too. It is also the shriek of unused capacities, the doom of serving no great end or design, or contributing to no master force.

Saul Bellow (1915–2005) Canadian-American writer
The Adventures of Augie March (1953)

Maugham, W. Somerset -- Cakes and Ale (1930)

Dave — Wed, 10 Feb 2021 21:48:51 +0000

The ideal has many names, and beauty is but one of them.

W. Somerset Maugham (1874–1965) English novelist and playwright [William Somerset Maugham]
Cakes and Ale (1930)

Voltaire -- Letter (1743-06-18) to the Duc de Richelieu

Dave — Fri, 05 Feb 2021 18:05:33 +0000

The best is the enemy of the good.

[Il meglio, è l’inimico del bene.]

Voltaire (1694–1778) French writer [pseud. of Francois-Marie Arouet]
Letter (1743-06-18) to the Duc de Richelieu

A signature phrase of Voltaire's, attributed (by him) to a wise or sage Italian. His French translation is "Le mieux est l’ennemi du bien." Other mentions include an entry on "Art Dramatique" in his Philosophical Dictionary (1764), and the poem "La Bégueule" (1772).

Lerner, Alan Jay -- “Finale Ultimo (Camelot Reprise)” [Arthur], Camelot(1960; 1967)

Dave — Tue, 02 Feb 2021 17:08:19 +0000

Don’t let it be forgot
That once there was a spot
For one brief shining moment that was known
As Camelot.

Alan Jay Lerner (1918–1986) American dramatist, lyricist, composer
“Finale Ultimo (Camelot Reprise)” [Arthur], Camelot(1960; 1967)

Based on T.H. White, The Once and Future King (1958).

Lerner, Alan Jay -- “Finale Ultimo (Camelot Reprise)” [Arthur], Camelot(1960; 1967)

Dave — Tue, 19 Jan 2021 16:26:05 +0000

Each evening, from December to December,
Before you drift to sleep upon your cot,
Think back on all the tales that you remember
Of Camelot.
Ask ev’ry person if he’s heard the story,
And tell it strong and clear if he has not,
That once there was a fleeting wisp of glory
Called Camelot.

Alan Jay Lerner (1918–1986) American dramatist, lyricist, composer
“Finale Ultimo (Camelot Reprise)” [Arthur], Camelot(1960; 1967)

Based on T.H. White, The Once and Future King (1958).

Jones, Laurie Beth -- Jesus, CEO, “He Was Willing to Do an End Run” (1995)

Dave — Thu, 14 Jan 2021 19:48:52 +0000

If you believe you have a just cause, an important message, or a key contribution to make, you will be just as innovative as a college freshman desperate to see his girlfriend six hundred miles away. You will get there any way you can.

Laurie Beth Jones (b. 1952) American author, motivational speaker, leadership coach
Jesus, CEO, “He Was Willing to Do an End Run” (1995)

Guest, Judith -- Ordinary People, ch. 1, opening lines (1980)

Dave — Tue, 14 Jul 2020 23:28:16 +0000

To have a reason to get up in the morning, it is necessary to possess a guiding principle. A belief of some kind. A bumper sticker, if you will.

Judith Guest (b. 1936) American novelist and screenwriter.
Ordinary People, ch. 1, opening lines (1980)

Suzuki, Shunryu -- Lecture in Los Altos, California (1 Sep 1967)

Dave — Thu, 02 Jul 2020 19:49:01 +0000

So it is not a matter of whether it is possible to attain Buddhahood, or if it is possible to make a tile a jewel. But just to work, just to live in this world with this understanding is the most important point, and that is our practice. That is true zazen.

Shunryū Suzuki (1905–1971) Japanese Zen Buddhist master
Lecture in Los Altos, California (1 Sep 1967)

Weil, Simone -- Gravity and Grace [La Pesanteur et la Grâce], “Beauty” (1947) [ed. Thibon] [tr. Crawford/von der Ruhr (1952)]

Dave — Thu, 28 May 2020 20:44:08 +0000

A work of art has an author and yet, when it is perfect, it has something which is essentially anonymous about it.

Simone Weil (1909–1943) French philosopher
Gravity and Grace [La Pesanteur et la Grâce], “Beauty” (1947) [ed. Thibon] [tr. Crawford/von der Ruhr (1952)]

Hart, Louise -- The Winning Family, ch. 1, epigraph (1987)

Dave — Wed, 22 Apr 2020 22:59:55 +0000

Our children give us the opportunity to become the parents we always wished we’d had.

Louise Hart (contemp.) American educator, psychologist, author, speaker
The Winning Family, ch. 1, epigraph (1987)

Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth -- “Table-Talk”

Dave — Sun, 09 Jun 2019 23:40:59 +0000

Every man is in some sort a failure to himself. No one ever reaches the heights to which he aspires.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807–1882) American poet
“Table-Talk”

Machen, Arthur -- The Hill of Dreams, ch. 5 (1907)

Dave — Sun, 27 Jan 2019 06:35:42 +0000

It was better, he thought, to fail in attempting exquisite things than to succeed in the department of the utterly contemptible.

Arthur Machen (1863–1947) Welsh author and mystic
The Hill of Dreams, ch. 5 (1907)

Gaiman, Neil -- “This Much I Know,” The Guardian (2017-08-05)

Dave — Mon, 18 Sep 2017 22:21:19 +0000

Ever since I had dinner with Lou Reed I’ve tried to avoid meeting the people who would make me feel starstruck. It was a great dinner but by the end of it Lou Reed was no longer my hero, and I don’t have many heroes. I resolutely avoided meeting David Bowie, which became harder when I became friends with Duncan Jones, his son, and then got even harder when I moved to Woodstock and he lived around the corner. But I love the fact that the Bowie that I have is the Bowie in my head: a strange, evolving, absolutely fictional Bowie who became my hero when I was 11.

Neil Gaiman (b. 1960) British author, screenwriter, fabulist
“This Much I Know,” The Guardian (2017-08-05)

Lyly, John -- Midas: A Comedy, Act 2, sc. 1 [Sophronia] (1592)

Dave — Wed, 23 Aug 2017 18:32:01 +0000

Ambition hath one heel nailed in hell, though she stretch her finger to touch the heavens.

John Lyly (c. 1553–1606) was an English writer [also Lilly or Lylie]
Midas: A Comedy, Act 2, sc. 1 [Sophronia] (1592)

Sometimes misquoted as "nailed in well." Sometimes misattributed to Lao-tzu.

Hurston, Zora Neale -- Dust Tracks on a Road, ch. 2 “My Folks” (1942)

Dave — Wed, 23 Aug 2017 18:31:48 +0000

Mama exhorted her children at every opportunity to “jump at de sun.” We might not land on the sun, but at least we would get off the ground.

Zora Neale Hurston (1891–1960) American writer, folklorist, anthropologist
Dust Tracks on a Road, ch. 2 “My Folks” (1942)

Beecher, Henry Ward -- Life Thoughts (1858)

Dave — Wed, 17 May 2017 15:35:13 +0000

A noble man compares and estimates himself by an idea which is higher than himself; and a mean man by one which is lower than himself. The one produces aspiration; the other, ambition. Ambition is the way in which a vulgar man aspires.

Henry Ward Beecher (1813–1887) American clergyman and orator
Life Thoughts (1858)

Sometimes misattributed to Marcus Aurelius.

Talmud -- Mishnah, Pirkei Avot [Ethics of the Fathers; פִּרְקֵי אָבוֹת] 2:16

Dave — Tue, 22 Nov 2016 06:16:36 +0000

It is not yours to finish the task, but neither are you free to set it aside.

לֹא עָלֶיךָ הַמְּלָאכָה לִגְמֹר, וְלֹא אַתָּה בֶן חוֹרִין לִבָּטֵל מִמֶּנָּה.

The Talmud (AD 200–500) Collection of Jewish rabbinical writings
Mishnah, Pirkei Avot [Ethics of the Fathers; פִּרְקֵי אָבוֹת] 2:16

In some editions cited as 2:15 or 2:21. Many of the references below ("E.g.") have no identified translator, nor is it clear whether the translations are from the surrounding writers or borrowed from elsewhere.

Quoting Rabbi Tarfon (c. AD 130). While literally speaking of studying the Torah, the passage is usually understood to imply solving the problems of the world.

(Source (Hebrew)). Other translations:

It is not for thee to finish the work, nor art thou free to desist therefrom.
[tr. Taylor (1897)]

It is not incumbent upon you to complete the work, but neither are you at liberty to desist from it.
[tr. Charles (1913); 2:21]

The work is not upon thee to finish nor art thou free to desist from it.
[tr. Herford (1929); 2:21]

It is not thy part to finish the task, yet thou art not free to desist from it.
[tr. Danby (1933)]

It is not up to you to complete the work; but neither are you free to desist from it.
[tr. Bokser (1989)]

It is not your responsibility to finish the work [of perfecting the world], but you are not free to desist from it either.
[tr. Telushkin (1991)?]

It is not your duty to finish the work, but neither are you at liberty to neglect it.
[tr. Kulp (2014?)]

The work is not yours to complete. [The Holy One Blessed be He did not hire you to complete all of it, in which instance you would lose your wage if you did not complete it.] And [lest you say: (In that case,) I will not learn and I will not take a wage] — you are not free to abstain from it. [Perforce the yoke is upon you to labor.]
[tr. Silverstein (2013?)]

It is not [incumbent] upon thee to finish the work, but neither art thou a free man so as to [be entitled to] refrain therefrom.
[Wikisource]

It is not your responsibility to finish the work, but neither are you free to desist from it.
[tr. Open Mishnah]

It is not your duty to finish the work, but neither are you free to desist from it.
[E.g.]

It is not incumbent upon you to finish the task, but neither are you free to absolve yourself from it.
[E.g.]

It is not up to you to finish the task, but you are not free to avoid it.
[E.g.]

You need not finish the work , but you are not free to stop working.
[E.g.]

Although I am not free to avoid doing the work, it is not always necessary that I finish the task.
[E.g.]

You are not obliged to complete the task, nor are you free to abandon it.
[E.g.]

You are not obligated to complete the work, but neither are you free to abandon it.
[E.g.]

It is not your duty to complete the work, but neither are you free to desist from it.
[E.g.]

It is not your obligation to finish the task, nor are you free to desist from it.
[E.g.]

It is not yours to finish the task, but neither are you free to desist from it.
[E.g.]

Asimov, Isaac -- Nightfall (1990) [with Robert Silverberg]

Dave — Mon, 18 Jan 2016 16:53:53 +0000

So the universe is not quite as you thought it was. You’d better rearrange your beliefs, then. Because you certainly can’t rearrange the universe.

Isaac Asimov (1920–1992) Russian-American author, polymath, biochemist
Nightfall (1990) [with Robert Silverberg]

Tarkington, Booth -- “The Hopeful Pessimist,” Looking Forward and Others (1926)

Dave — Tue, 29 Dec 2015 19:37:02 +0000

An ideal wife is any woman who has an ideal husband.

Booth Tarkington (1869–1946) American novelist and dramatist
“The Hopeful Pessimist,” Looking Forward and Others (1926)

Pratchett, Terry -- Discworld No. 32, A Hat Full of Sky [Miss Level] (2004)

Dave — Wed, 23 Sep 2015 13:15:09 +0000

There isn’t a way things should be. There’s just what happens, and what we do.

Terry Pratchett (1948–2015) English author
Discworld No. 32, A Hat Full of Sky [Miss Level] (2004)

Heinlein, Robert A. -- Friday [Brian] (1982)

Dave — Tue, 01 Sep 2015 12:34:51 +0000

In dealing with the law and with people I have found a vast difference between “should” and “is.”

Robert A. Heinlein (1907–1988) American writer
Friday [Brian] (1982)

Ericsson, Graham -- Journal (2015-07-13)

Dave — Mon, 13 Jul 2015 13:59:34 +0000

Heroism is a model. It is worthwhile to the extent that it is useful. Humans are all full of glory and garbage, and to dwell too long on one or the other robs us of that very humanity.

Graham Ericsson (b. 1961) American technologist, writer, aphorist
Journal (2015-07-13)

Tuchman, Barbara -- A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th Century, Foreward (1978)

Dave — Tue, 02 Jun 2015 13:12:28 +0000

When the gap between the ideal and real becomes too wide, the system breaks down.

Barbara W. Tuchman (1912–1989) American historian and author
A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th Century, Foreward (1978)

Adams, Douglas -- Dirk Gently No. 1, Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency, ch. 20 [Dirk] (1987)

Dave — Mon, 18 May 2015 12:26:48 +0000

Let us think the unthinkable, let us do the undoable, let us prepare to grapple with the ineffable itself, and see if we may not eff it after all.

Douglas Adams (1952–2001) English author, humorist, screenwriter
Dirk Gently No. 1, Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency, ch. 20 [Dirk] (1987)

Ackoff, Russell -- On Purposeful Systems, Vol. 6 (1972) [with R Lincoln and F Emery]

Dave — Thu, 26 Feb 2015 16:30:04 +0000

Man seeks objectives that enable him to convert the attainment of every goal into a means for the attainment of a new and more desirable goal. The ultimate objective in such a sequence cannot be obtainable; otherwise its attainment would put an end to the process. An end that satisfies these conditions is an ideal …. Thus the formulation and pursuit of ideals is a means by which to put meaning and significance into his life and into the history of which he is part.

Russell L. Ackoff (1919–2009) American organizational theorist, consultant, management scientist
On Purposeful Systems, Vol. 6 (1972) [with R Lincoln and F Emery]

Reagan, Ronald -- Speech (10 Aug 1988)

Dave — Wed, 28 Jan 2015 13:27:45 +0000

Blood that has soaked into the sands of a beach is all of one color. America stands unique in the world: the only country not founded on race but on a way, an ideal. Not in spite of but because of our polyglot background, we have had all the strength in the world. That is the American way.

Ronald Reagan (1911–2006) US President (1981–89), politician, actor
Speech (10 Aug 1988)

On signing a bill providing restitution to Japanese-Americans who had been put in internment camps during World War II. He originally spoke the words as an Army Captain in December 1945 at a "United America Day" rally for the posthumous awarding of the Distinguished Service Cross to Sgt. Kazuo Masuda.

Lippmann, Walter -- “The Grace of Humility,” New York Herald Tribune (24 Sep 1957)

Dave — Mon, 12 Jan 2015 12:55:21 +0000

Our faults and sins seem all the bigger when they are seen by the world against the excessively self-righteous picture that is our official version of ourselves.

Walter Lippmann (1889–1974) American journalist and author
“The Grace of Humility,” New York Herald Tribune (24 Sep 1957)

Roosevelt, Franklin Delano -- Quoted in Drew Pearson and Robert S. Allen, “How the President Works,” Harper’s Monthly Magazine, Vol. 173 (1936-06)

Dave — Tue, 09 Dec 2014 13:44:53 +0000

To accomplish almost anything worthwhile, it is necessary to compromise between the ideal and the practical.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1882–1945) American lawyer, politician, statesman; US President (1933–45)
Quoted in Drew Pearson and Robert S. Allen, “How the President Works,” Harper’s Monthly Magazine, Vol. 173 (1936-06)

Coolidge, Calvin -- “Speech on the Occasion of the 150th Anniversary of the Declaration of Independence” (5 Jul 1926)

Dave — Wed, 08 Oct 2014 09:17:27 +0000

In its main features the Declaration of Independence is a great spiritual document. It is a declaration not of material but of spiritual conceptions. Equality, liberty, popular sovereignty, the rights of man — these are not elements which we can see and touch. They are ideals. They have their source and their roots in the religious convictions. They belong to the unseen world. Unless the faith of the American people in these religious convictions is to endure, the principles of our Declaration will perish. We can not continue to enjoy the result if we neglect and abandon the cause.

Calvin Coolidge (1872–1933) American lawyer, politician, US President (1925–29)
“Speech on the Occasion of the 150th Anniversary of the Declaration of Independence” (5 Jul 1926)

Lowell, James Russell -- “Abraham Lincoln, 1864-1865” (1869)

Dave — Wed, 02 Jul 2014 12:49:02 +0000

Doubtless he had an ideal, but it was the ideal of a practical statesman, — to aim at the best, and to take the next best, if he is lucky enough to get even that.

James Russell Lowell (1819–1891) American diplomat, essayist, poet
“Abraham Lincoln, 1864-1865” (1869)

Printed in The North American Review, #222 (Jan 1869) under the title "Before and After." Sometimes given as "The idea of a practical statesman is to aim ...."

Butcher, Jim -- Turn Coat (2009)

Dave — Tue, 11 Mar 2014 12:40:41 +0000

There is the world that should be and the world that is. We live in one and must create the other.

Jim Butcher (b. 1971) American author
Turn Coat (2009)

Johnson, Lyndon -- Speech (1964-05-22), Graduation, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

Dave — Wed, 18 Sep 2013 12:49:00 +0000

But, most of all, the Great Society is not a safe harbor, a resting place, a final objective, a finished work. It is a challenge constantly renewed, beckoning us toward a destiny where the meaning of our lives matches the marvelous products of our labor.

Lyndon B. Johnson (1908–1973) American politician, educator, US President (1963–69)
Speech (1964-05-22), Graduation, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

Butler, Samuel -- “Ignorance”

Dave — Mon, 10 Dec 2012 14:13:01 +0000

All things […] are best to those who know no better.

Samuel Butler (1835–1902) English novelist, satirist, scholar
“Ignorance”

Full passage:

The less Judgment any Man ha's the Better he is perswaded of his owne abilities, because he is not capable of understanding anything beyond it, and all things how mean so ever, are best to those who know no better: for beside the naturall affection that he has for himself, which go's very farre, the less he is able to improve and mend his Judgment, the higher value he sets upon it, and can no more correct his own false opinions, when he is at his height, than outgrow his own Stature.

Hugo, Victor -- Les Misérables, Part 3 “Marius,” Book 1 “Paris in Microcosm,” ch. 12 (3.1.12) (1862) [tr. Wilbour/Fahnestock/MacAfee (1987)]

Dave — Fri, 31 Dec 2010 18:17:34 +0000

These bare feet, these naked arms, these rags, these shades of ignorance, depths of despair, the gloom can be used for the conquest of the ideal. Look through the medium of the people, and you will discern the truth. This lowly sand that you trample underfoot, if you throw it into the furnace and let it melt and seethe, will become sparkling crystal; and thanks to such as this a Galileo and a Newton will discover the stars.

[Ces pieds nus, ces bras nus, ces haillons, ces ignorances, ces abjections, ces ténèbres, peuvent être employés à la conquête de l’idéal. Regardez à travers le peuple et vous apercevrez la vérité. Ce vil sable que vous foulez aux pieds, qu’on le jette dans la fournaise, qu’il y fonde et qu’il y bouillonne, il deviendra cristal splendide, et c’est grâce à lui que Galilée et Newton découvriront les astres.]

Victor Hugo (1802–1885) French writer, journalist, human rights activist, politician
Les Misérables, Part 3 “Marius,” Book 1 “Paris in Microcosm,” ch. 12 (3.1.12) (1862) [tr. Wilbour/Fahnestock/MacAfee (1987)]

The author speaking, criticizing philosophers and scholars who dismiss the common people, or "mob."

(Source (French)). Other translations:

These bare feet, these naked arms, these rags, these shades of ignorance, these depths of abjectness, these abysses of gloom may be employed in the conquest of the ideal. This lowly sand which you trample beneath your feet, if you cast it into the furnace, and let it melt and seethe, shall become resplendent crystal, and by means of such as it a Galileo and a Newton shall discover stars.
[tr. Wilbour (1862)]

These bare feet, these naked arms, these rags, this ignorance, this abjectness, this darkness, may be employed for the conquest of the ideal. Look through the people, and you will perceive the truth; the vile sand which you trample under foot, when cast into the furnace and melted, will become splendid crystal, and by its aid Galileo and Newton discover stars.
[tr. Wraxall (1862)]

These bare feet, these bare arms, these rags, these ignorances, these abjectnesses, these darknesses, may be employed in the conquest of the ideal. Gaze past the people, and you will perceive truth. Let that vile sand which you trample under foot be cast into the furnace, let it melt and seethe there, it will become a splendid crystal, and it is thanks to it that Galileo and Newton will discover stars.
[tr. Hapgood (1887)]

Those bare feet and arms, the rags, the ignorance, the abjection, the dark places, all may be enlisted in the service of the ideal. Peer through the heart of the people and you will discover the truth. The common sand that you tread underfoot, let it be cast into the furnace to boil and melt and it will become a crystal as splendid as that through which Galileo and Newton discovered the stars.
[tr. Denny (1976)]

These bare feet, bare arms, rags, this benightedness, degradation, darkness may be used for the conquest of the ideal. Look through the populace and you will see the truth. This vile sand you trample underfoot -- let it be thrown into the furnace, let it melt and bubble there. It will turn into clear crystal, and it is thanks to this crystal that Galileo and newton will discover the stars.
[tr. Donougher (2013)]

Eldridge, Paul -- Maxims for a Modern Man, #1439 (1965)

Dave — Tue, 28 Dec 2010 17:37:48 +0000

The ideals men die for often become the prejudices their descendants kill for.

Paul Eldridge (1888–1982) American educator, novelist, poet
Maxims for a Modern Man, #1439 (1965)

Butler, Samuel -- Further Extracts from the Note-Books of Samuel Butler, ch. 1 (1934)

Dave — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 17:17:11 +0000

An honest God’s the noblest work of man.

Samuel Butler (1835–1902) English novelist, satirist, scholar
Further Extracts from the Note-Books of Samuel Butler, ch. 1 (1934)

See Pope.

Epictetus -- Fragment 144

Dave — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 12:37:11 +0000

Choose the best life; for habit will make it pleasant.

Epictetus (c. 55-c. 135 AD) Greek (Phrygian) Stoic philosopher [Ἐπίκτητος, Epíktētos]
Fragment 144

Sometimes attributed to Francis Bacon.

Twain, Mark -- Mark Twain’s Notebook, 1879 [ed. Paine (1935)]

Dave — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 11:57:48 +0000

Religion consists in a set of things which the average man thinks he believes and wishes he was certain of.

Mark Twain (1835–1910) American writer [pseud. of Samuel Clemens]
Mark Twain’s Notebook, 1879 [ed. Paine (1935)]

Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth -- “Elegiac Verse,” In the Harbor (1882)

Dave — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 10:45:11 +0000

If you would hit the mark, you must aim a little above it.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807–1882) American poet
“Elegiac Verse,” In the Harbor (1882)

See Emerson.

Ingersoll, Robert Green -- Lecture (1872-01-29), “The Gods,” epigraph, Fairbury Hall, Fairbury, Illinois

Dave — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 10:12:03 +0000

An honest God is the noblest work of man.

Robert Green Ingersoll (1833–1899) American lawyer, freethinker, orator
Lecture (1872-01-29), “The Gods,” epigraph, Fairbury Hall, Fairbury, Illinois

First given on the 135th birthday of Thomas Paine. Collected in The Gods and Other Lectures (1876).

See Pope and Butler.

Shakespeare, William -- Coriolanus, Act 3, sc. 2, l. 23ff (3.2.23-24) (c. 1607)

Dave — Fri, 14 Oct 2005 14:32:18 +0000

VOLUMNIA: You might have been enough the man you are
With striving less to be so.

William Shakespeare (1564–1616) English dramatist and poet
Coriolanus, Act 3, sc. 2, l. 23ff (3.2.23-24) (c. 1607)

Eliot, T. S. -- Preface to Transit of Venus: Poems by Harry Crosby (1931)

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

Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go.

T. S. Eliot (1888–1965) American-British poet, critic, playwright [Thomas Stearns Eliot]
Preface to Transit of Venus: Poems by Harry Crosby (1931)

Hand, Learned -- “The Spirit of Liberty,” speech, “I Am an American Day,” New York (1941-05-21)

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

I often wonder whether we do not rest our hopes too much upon constitutions, upon laws and upon courts. These are false hopes; believe me, these are false hopes. Liberty lies in the hearts of men and women; when it dies there, no constitution, no law, no court can even do much to help it. While it lies there it needs no constitution, no law, no court to save it.

Learned Hand (1872–1961) American jurist
“The Spirit of Liberty,” speech, “I Am an American Day,” New York (1941-05-21)

Eldridge, Paul -- Maxims for a Modern Man (1965)

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

The ideals men die for often become the prejudices their descendents kill for.

Paul Eldridge (1888–1982) American educator, novelist, poet
Maxims for a Modern Man (1965)

Hazlitt, William -- Lectures on the English Comic Writers, Lecture 1 “On Wit and Humour” (1819)

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

Man is the only animal that laughs and weeps, for he is the only animal that is struck with the difference between what things are, and what they ought to be.

William Hazlitt (1778–1830) English writer
Lectures on the English Comic Writers, Lecture 1 “On Wit and Humour” (1819)

Sometimes altered to end "... and what they might have been."

Bierce, Ambrose -- “Cynic,” The Cynic’s Word Book (1906)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 18:00:00 +0000

CYNIC, n. A blackguard whose faulty vision sees things the way they are, and not as they ought to be.

Ambrose Bierce (1842–1914?) American writer and journalist
“Cynic,” The Cynic’s Word Book (1906)

Included in The Devil's Dictionary (1911).

Originally appeared in his "The Cynic's Dictionary" column in the San Francisco Wasp (1881-10-28).

In his "Town Crier" column in the News Letter (1872-03-09), he wrapped up his personal philosophy so: "And, finally, most important of all, endeavor to see things as they are, not as they ought to be."

Chesterfield (Lord) -- Letter to his son, #226 (24 May 1750)

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

Aim at perfection in everything, though in most things it is unattainable; however, they who aim at it, and persevere, will come much nearer it than those whose laziness and despondency make them give it up as unattainable.

Lord Chesterfield (1694–1773) English statesman, wit [Philip Dormer Stanhope]
Letter to his son, #226 (24 May 1750)

Emerson, Ralph Waldo -- “Nature,” Essays: Second Series (1844)

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

We aim above the mark to hit the mark.

Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882) American essayist, lecturer, poet
“Nature,” Essays: Second Series (1844)

Thoreau, Henry David -- Walden; or, Life in the Woods, ch. 1 “Economy” (1854)

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

In the long run men hit only what they aim at. Therefore, though they should fail immediately, they had better aim at something high.

Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862) American philosopher and writer
Walden; or, Life in the Woods, ch. 1 “Economy” (1854)