WIST Quotations

Kafka, Franz -- Letter (1922-07-05) to Max Brod

Dave — Tue, 21 Oct 2025 15:31:01 +0000

Writing is a sweet and marvelous reward, but a reward for what? In the course of the night it became clear to me, as plain as a children’s show-and-tell lesson, that it is a reward for serving the devil. This descent down to the dark powers, this unleashing of ghosts by nature bound, these questionable embraces and whatever else may be going on down there, none of it remembered as one writes stories in the sunlight up above. Perhaps there are also different ways of writing, but I only know this one; at night, when fear keeps me from sleeping, I only know this one.

Franz Kafka (1883-1924) Czech-Austrian Jewish writer
Letter (1922-07-05) to Max Brod
(Source)

Bach, Richard -- Messiah’s Handbook: Reminders for the Advanced Soul (2004)

Dave — Thu, 21 Apr 2022 00:40:46 +0000

Before you’ll change, something important must be at risk.

Richard Bach (b. 1936) American writer
Messiah’s Handbook: Reminders for the Advanced Soul (2004)
(Source)

Nightingale, Florence -- Cassandra (1860)

Dave — Thu, 09 Sep 2021 15:48:06 +0000

Were there none who were discontented with what they have, the world would never reach anything better.

Florence Nightingale (1820-1910) English social reformer, statistician, founder of modern nursing
Cassandra (1860)
(Source)

Chesterfield (Lord) -- Letter to his son, #205 (5 Dec 1749)

Dave — Thu, 25 Mar 2021 21:46:18 +0000

Such closet politicians never fail to assign the deepest motives for the most trifling actions; instead of often ascribing the greatest actions to the most trifling causes, in which they would be much seldomer mistaken. They read and write of kings, heroes, and statesmen, as never doing any thing but upon the deepest principles of sound policy. But those who see and observe kings, heroes and statesmen, discover that they have headaches, indigestions, humours, and passions, just like other people; every one of which, in their turns, determine their wills, in defiance of their reason.

Lord Chesterfield (1694-1773) English statesman, wit [Philip Dormer Stanhope]
Letter to his son, #205 (5 Dec 1749)
(Source)

Hill, Napoleon -- Think and Grow Rich (1937)

Dave — Thu, 21 May 2015 12:04:54 +0000

The starting point of all achievement is desire.

Napoleon Hill (1883-1970) American author, motivational writer
Think and Grow Rich (1937)