WIST Quotations

Shakespeare, William -- Twelfth Night, Act 2, sc. 4, l. 7 (2.4.7) (1601)

Dave — Mon, 03 Aug 2026 17:11:21 +0000

ORSINO: These most brisk and giddy-pacèd times.

William Shakespeare (1564–1616) English dramatist and poet
Twelfth Night, Act 2, sc. 4, l. 7 (2.4.7) (1601)

Colton, Charles Caleb -- Lacon: Or, Many Things in Few Words, Vol. 1, § 558 (1820)

Dave — Fri, 05 Dec 2025 19:44:00 +0000

Habit will reconcile us to every thing but change, and even to change, if it recur not too quickly.

Charles Caleb "C. C." Colton (1780–1832) English cleric, writer, aphorist
Lacon: Or, Many Things in Few Words, Vol. 1, § 558 (1820)

Stanley, Jason -- How Fascism Works: The Politics of Us and Them (2018)

Dave — Wed, 04 May 2022 15:22:21 +0000

Fascist politics lures its audiences with the temptation of freedom from democratic norms while masking the fact that the alternative proposed is not a form of freedom that can sustain a stable nation state and can scarcely guarantee liberty.

Jason Stanley (b. 1969) American philosopher, epistemologist, academic
How Fascism Works: The Politics of Us and Them (2018)

Asimov, Isaac -- Foundation’s Edge, Part 1, ch. 1 (1982)

Dave — Thu, 22 Jul 2021 16:28:05 +0000

At odd and unpredictable times, we cling in fright to the past.

Isaac Asimov (1920–1992) Russian-American author, polymath, biochemist
Foundation’s Edge, Part 1, ch. 1 (1982)

Dewey, John -- Experience and Nature, ch. 6 “Nature, Mind and the Subject” (1929)

Dave — Wed, 30 Dec 2020 22:13:14 +0000

Let us admit the case of the conservative. If we once start thinking, no one can guarantee what will be the outcome, except that many objects, ends, and institutions will be surely doomed. Every thinker puts some portion of an apparently stable world in peril, and no one can wholly predict what will emerge in its place.

John Dewey (1859–1952) American teacher and philosopher
Experience and Nature, ch. 6 “Nature, Mind and the Subject” (1929)

Book form of the inaugural Paul Carus lectures, given by Dewey in 1925.

Pratchett, Terry -- Discworld No. 2, The Light Fantastic (1986)

Dave — Tue, 29 Sep 2020 15:53:55 +0000

“Inside every sane person there’s a madman struggling to get out,” said the shopkeeper. “That’s what I’ve always thought. No one goes mad quicker than a totally sane person.”

Terry Pratchett (1948–2015) English author
Discworld No. 2, The Light Fantastic (1986)

Adams, John -- Letter (1814-12-17) to John Taylor

Dave — Thu, 08 Sep 2016 00:34:48 +0000

I do not say that Democracy has been more pernicious, on the whole, and in the long run, than Monarchy or Aristocracy. Democracy has never been and never can be so durable as Aristocracy or Monarchy. But while it lasts it is more bloody than either. […] Remember Democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes exhausts and murders itself. There never was a Democracy Yet, that did not commit suicide.

John Adams (1735–1826) American lawyer, Founder, statesman; US President (1797–1801)
Letter (1814-12-17) to John Taylor

Pratchett, Terry -- Discworld No. 29, Night Watch [Vimes] (2002)

Dave — Wed, 09 Sep 2015 14:46:27 +0000

Here’s some advice boy. Don’t put your trust in revolutions. They always come around again. That’s why they’re called revolutions.

Terry Pratchett (1948–2015) English author
Discworld No. 29, Night Watch [Vimes] (2002)