WIST Quotations

Berry, Wendell -- Speech (1968-02-10), “A Statement Against the War in Vietnam,” Kentucky Conference on the War and the Draft, University of Kentucky

Dave — Mon, 20 Oct 2025 16:55:56 +0000

Surely the idea of a “limited war” is one of the most dangerously self-deceiving verbal gimmicks ever invented. For though war makes use of reason, as a weapon, it is not reasonable in nature. Its nature is the nature of pride and anger. It follows the brute logic of violent emotion, which points directly toward the use of the greatest available power.

Wendell Berry (b. 1934) American farmer, educator, poet, conservationist
Speech (1968-02-10), “A Statement Against the War in Vietnam,” Kentucky Conference on the War and the Draft, University of Kentucky
(Source)

Collected in The Long-Legged House, Part 2 (1969).

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

Dave — Sat, 11 Oct 2025 20:55:50 +0000

Quimby was eventually killed by a disgruntled poet during an experiment conducted in the palace grounds to prove the disputed accuracy of the proverb “The pen is mightier than the sword,” and in his memory it was amended to include the phrase “only if the sword is very small and the pen is very sharp.”

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

See Bulwer-Lytton (1839).

Carlyle, Thomas -- Sartor Resartus, Book 2, ch. 8 (1834)

Dave — Thu, 11 Sep 2025 17:42:50 +0000

Such I hold to be the genuine use of Gunpowder: that it makes all men tall.

Thomas Carlyle (1795-1881) Scottish essayist and historian
Sartor Resartus, Book 2, ch. 8 (1834)
(Source)

Quoting Herr Teufelsdröckh.

This passage first appeared in Fraser's Magazine for Town and Country, Vol. 9, No. 52 (1834-04).

Adams, Douglas -- Last Chance to See, ch. 2 (1990) [with Mark Carwardine]

Dave — Mon, 06 Jul 2015 16:39:59 +0000

“So what do we do if we get bitten by something deadly, then?” I asked.
He blinked at me as if I were stupid.
“Well what do you think you do?” he said. “You die of course. That’s what deadly means.”

Douglas Adams (1952-2001) English author, humorist, screenwriter
Last Chance to See, ch. 2 (1990) [with Mark Carwardine]
(Source)

Talking to a herpetologist before traveling to Komodo, Indonesia.

The source BBC Radio documentary (1989-11-01) can no longer be played at the BBC site. Adams reading the 1992 audiobook can be heard here.

Pratchett, Terry -- Discworld No. 10, Moving Pictures (1990)

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

People who used magic without knowing what they were doing usually came to a sticky end.
All over the entire room, sometimes.

Terry Pratchett (1948-2015) English author
Discworld No. 10, Moving Pictures (1990)
(Source)