WIST Quotations

Stevenson, Robert Louis -- Essay (1880-01/02?), “Reflections and Remarks on Human Life,” § 5 “Selfishness and Egoism”

Dave — Fri, 24 Apr 2026 17:47:33 +0000

An unconscious, easy, selfish person shocks less, and is more easily loved, than one who is laboriously and egotistically unselfish. There is at least no fuss about the first; but the other parades his sacrifices, and so sells his favours too dear.

Robert Louis Stevenson (1850–1894) Scottish essayist, novelist, poet
Essay (1880-01/02?), “Reflections and Remarks on Human Life,” § 5 “Selfishness and Egoism”
(Source)

A collection of aphorisms and musings, first published in the Edinburgh Edition of his Works, vol. 28 (1898).

Bible, Vol. 2. New Testament -- Book 1. Gospel of Matthew 6:16ff (Matt 6:16–18) (Jesus) [GNT (1966)]

Dave — Tue, 22 Apr 2025 16:06:11 +0000

And when you fast, do not put on a sad face as the hypocrites do. They neglect their appearance so that everyone will see that they are fasting. I assure you, they have already been paid in full. When you go without food, wash your face and comb your hair, so that others cannot know that you are fasting — only your Father, who is unseen, will know. And your Father, who sees what you do in private, will reward you.

[Ὅταν δὲ νηστεύητε, μὴ γίνεσθε ὡς οἱ ὑποκριταὶ σκυθρωποί, ἀφανίζουσιν γὰρ τὰ πρόσωπα αὐτῶν ὅπως φανῶσιν τοῖς ἀνθρώποις νηστεύοντες· ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν, ἀπέχουσιν τὸν μισθὸν αὐτῶν. σὺ δὲ νηστεύων ἄλειψαί σου τὴν κεφαλὴν καὶ τὸ πρόσωπόν σου νίψαι, ὅπως μὴ φανῇς τοῖς ἀνθρώποις νηστεύων ἀλλὰ τῷ πατρί σου τῷ ἐν τῷ κρυφαίῳ· καὶ ὁ πατήρ σου ὁ βλέπων ἐν τῷ κρυφαίῳ ἀποδώσει σοι.]

The Bible (The New Testament) (AD 1st - 2nd C) Christian sacred scripture
Book 1. Gospel of Matthew 6:16ff (Matt 6:16–18) (Jesus) [GNT (1966)]
(Source)

No Synoptic parallels.

(Source (Greek)). Alternate translations:

Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; that thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly. [KJV (1611)]

When you fast do not put on a gloomy look as the hypocrites do: they pull long faces to let men know they are fasting. I tell you solemnly, they have had their reward. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that no one will know you are fasting except your Father who sees all that is done in secret; and your Father who sees all that is done in secret will reward you. [JB (1966)]

When you are fasting, do not put on a gloomy look as the hypocrites do: they go about looking unsightly to let people know they are fasting. In truth I tell you, they have had their reward. But when you fast, put scent on your head and wash your face, so that no one will know you are fasting except your Father who sees all that is done in secret; and your Father who sees all that is done in secret will reward you.
[NJB (1985)]

And when you fast, don’t put on a sad face like the hypocrites. They distort their faces so people will know they are fasting. I assure you that they have their reward. When you fast, brush your hair and wash your face. Then you won’t look like you are fasting to people, but only to your Father who is present in that secret place. Your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
[CEB (2011)]

And whenever you fast, do not look somber, like the hypocrites, for they mark their faces to show others that they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that your fasting may be seen not by others but by your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
[NRSV (2021 ed.)]

The NRSV notes some early manuscripts have the Father rewarding you "openly," which the KJV uses.

Byron, George Gordon, Lord -- Marino Faliero, Doge of Venice, Act 2, sc. 2 [Israel Bertuccio] (1821)

Dave — Thu, 08 Jun 2023 14:40:44 +0000

They never fail who die
In a great cause.

George Gordon, Lord Byron (1788–1824) English poet
Marino Faliero, Doge of Venice, Act 2, sc. 2 [Israel Bertuccio] (1821)
(Source)

Kierkegaard, Soren -- Select Entries from Journals and Papers on On My Work as an Author and The Point of View for My Work as an Author, Paper IX B 63:13 373 [tr. Hong/Hong]

Dave — Wed, 16 Mar 2022 14:16:03 +0000

Then the tyrant dies, and his rule is over; the martyr dies, and his rule begins.

Søren Kierkegaard (1813–1855) Danish philosopher, theologian
Select Entries from Journals and Papers on On My Work as an Author and The Point of View for My Work as an Author, Paper IX B 63:13 373 [tr. Hong/Hong]

Kempton, Murray -- Part of Our Time: Some Ruins & Monuments of the Thirties, ch. 2 (1955)

Dave — Fri, 10 Jul 2020 17:52:25 +0000

It is not the least of a martyr’s scourges to be canonized by the persons who burned him.

Murray Kempton (1917–1997) American journalist.
Part of Our Time: Some Ruins & Monuments of the Thirties, ch. 2 (1955)
(Source)

Mencken, H. L. -- “What I Believe,” sec. 2, Forum and Century (Sep 1930)

Dave — Mon, 15 May 2017 15:05:22 +0000

The principle is surely not new in the world: everyone ought to know by this time that a mountebank, thinking only of tomorrow’s cakes, is far safer with power in his hands than a prophet and martyr, his eyes fixed frantically upon the rewards beyond the grave.

H. L. Mencken (1880–1956) American writer and journalist [Henry Lewis Mencken]
“What I Believe,” sec. 2, Forum and Century (Sep 1930)
(Source)

Roux, Joseph -- Meditations of a Parish Priest: Thoughts, ch. 5, #24 (1886)

Dave — Mon, 02 May 2016 17:38:07 +0000

Since unhappiness excites interest, many, in order to render themselves interesting, feign unhappiness.

Joseph Roux (1834–1886) French Catholic priest
Meditations of a Parish Priest: Thoughts, ch. 5, #24 (1886)
(Source)

Shaw, George Bernard -- A Treatise on Parents and Children (1910)

Dave — Thu, 14 Jan 2016 16:52:05 +0000

People become attached to their burdens sometimes more than the burdens are attached to them.

George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950) Irish playwright and critic
A Treatise on Parents and Children (1910)

Richardson, James -- Vectors: Aphorisms and Ten-Second Essays, # 52 (2001)

Dave — Fri, 04 Dec 2015 16:21:11 +0000

Value yourself according to the burdens you carry, and you will find everything a burden.

James Richardson (b. 1950) American poet
Vectors: Aphorisms and Ten-Second Essays, # 52 (2001)

Gandhi, Mohandas -- In Young India (25 Jun 1925)

Dave — Mon, 02 Feb 2015 13:01:16 +0000

No sacrifice is worth the name unless it is a joy. Sacrifice and a long face go ill together.

Mohandas Gandhi (1869–1948) Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist, political ethicist [Mahatma Gandhi]
In Young India (25 Jun 1925)

Lincoln, Abraham -- (Attributed) (1862)

Dave — Tue, 02 Dec 2014 13:15:32 +0000

Oh, if there is a man out of hell that suffers more than I do, I pity him.

Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865) American lawyer, politician, US President (1861–65)
(Attributed) (1862)

In Emmanuel Hertz, ed., Lincoln Talks: A Biography in Anecdote, "Father Abraham" (1939); a remark following the Army of the Potomac's defeat at Fredericksburg.

Socrates -- In Plato, Apology, sec. 29 [tr. Jowett (1894)]

Dave — Thu, 21 Aug 2014 12:48:40 +0000

Men of Athens, I honor and love you; but I shall obey God rather than you, and while I have life and strength I shall never cease from the practice and teaching of philosophy, exhorting anyone whom I meet and saying to him after my manner: You, my friend — a citizen of the great and mighty and wise city of Athens — are you not ashamed of heaping up the greatest amount of money and honor and reputation, and caring so little about wisdom and truth and the greatest improvements of the soul, which you never regard or heed at all?

Socrates (c.470–399 BC) Greek philosopher
In Plato, Apology, sec. 29 [tr. Jowett (1894)]

Tavris, Carol -- “Anger in an Unjust World,” Anger: The Misunderstood Emotion (1982)

Dave — Tue, 11 Mar 2014 12:44:44 +0000

Rebels and dissidents challenge the complacent belief in a just world, and, as the theory would predict, they are usually denigrated for their efforts. While they are alive, they may be called “cantankerous,” “crazy,” “hysterical,” “uppity,” or “duped.” Dead, some of them become saints and heroes, the sterling characters of history. It’s a matter of proportion. One angry rebel is crazy, three is a conspiracy, fifty is a movement.

Carol Tavris (b. 1944) American social psychologist and author
“Anger in an Unjust World,” Anger: The Misunderstood Emotion (1982)

Lenin, Vladimir Ilich -- The State and Revolution, 1.1 (1917)

Dave — Tue, 28 Jan 2014 12:57:58 +0000

During the lifetime of great revolutionaries, the oppressing classes constantly hounded them, received their theories with the most savage malice, the most furious hatred and the most unscrupulous campaigns of lies and slander. After their death, attempts are made to convert them into harmless icons, to canonize them, … and to hallow their names to a certain extent for the “consolation” of the oppressed classes and with the object of duping the latter, while at the same time robbing the revolutionary theory of its substance, blunting its revolutionary edge and vulgarizing it.

Vladimir Ilich Lenin (1870–1924) Russian politician, revolutionary, political theorist [b. Vladimir Ilich Ulyamov]
The State and Revolution, 1.1 (1917)

Jefferson, Thomas -- Letter (1811-08-04) to James Ogilvie

Dave — Thu, 29 Aug 2013 21:59:53 +0000

Nations, like individuals, wish to enjoy a fair reputation. It is therefore desireable for us that the slanders on our country, disseminated by hired or prejudiced travellers, should be corrected. But politics, like religion, hold up the torches of martyrdom to the reformers of error.

Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826) American political philosopher, polymath, statesman, US President (1801–09)
Letter (1811-08-04) to James Ogilvie
(Source)

Austen, Jane -- Pride and Prejudice, ch. 20 [Mrs. Bennet] (1813)

Dave — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 13:45:13 +0000

People who suffer as I do from nervous complaints can have no great inclination for talking. Nobody can tell what I suffer! — But it is always so. Those who do not complain are never pitied.

Jane Austen (1775–1817) English author
Pride and Prejudice, ch. 20 [Mrs. Bennet] (1813)
(Source)

Chamfort, Nicolas -- Products of Perfected Civilization [Produits de la Civilisation Perfectionée], Part 1 “Maxims and Thoughts [Maximes et Pensées],” ch. 5, ¶ 321 (1795) [tr. Parmée (2003), ¶ 205]

Dave — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 17:18:03 +0000

Education must be based on two things: ethics and prudence; ethics in order to develop your good qualities, prudence to protect you from other people’s bad ones. If you attach too great an importance to goodness, you produce credulous fools; if you’re too prudent, you produce self-serving, scheming rogues.

[L’Éducation doit porter sur deux bases, la morale et la prudence ; la morale, pour appuyer la vertu ; la prudence, pour vous défendre contre les vices d’autrui. En faisant pencher la balance du côté de la morale, vous ne faites que des dupes ou des martyrs; en la faisant pencher de l’autre côté, vous faites des calculateurs égoïstes.]

Nicolas Chamfort (1741–1794) French writer, epigrammist (b. Nicolas-Sébastien Roch)
Products of Perfected Civilization [Produits de la Civilisation Perfectionée], Part 1 “Maxims and Thoughts [Maximes et Pensées],” ch. 5, ¶ 321 (1795) [tr. Parmée (2003), ¶ 205]
(Source)

(Source (French)). Other translations:

Education must have two foundations -- morality as a support for virtue, prudence as a defence for self against the vices of others. By letting the balance incline to the side of morality, you only make dupes or martyrs; by letting it incline to the other, you make calculating egoists.
[tr. Hutchinson (1902)]

Education should rest on the dual support of moral philosophy and prudence, moral philosophy as the stay of virtue, and prudence as a shield against the vice in others. If you tip the scale on the moral side you will produce none but dupes and martyrs, and by tilting it in the other direction you will develop a quality of selfish calculation only.
[tr. Mathers (1926)]

Education should be constructed on two bases: morality and prudence. Morality in order to assist virtue, and prudence in order to defend you against the vices of others. In tipping the scales toward morality, you merely produce dupes and martyrs. In tipping it the other way, you produce egotistical schemers.
[tr. Merwin (1969)]

Education must have two foundations, morality and carefulness: morality to support virtue; carefulness to defend against others' vices. By inclining this balance to the side of morality, you only make dupes and martyrs; by inclining it to carefulness, you make calculating egoists.
[tr. Siniscalchi (1994)]

Ingersoll, Robert Green -- Lecture (1881-05-01) “The Great Infidels,” Booth’s Theater, New York

Dave — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 10:28:21 +0000

All the martyrs in the history of the world are not sufficient to establish the correctness of an opinion. Martyrdom, as a rule, establishes the sincerity of the martyr, — never the correctness of his thought. Things are true or false in themselves. Truth cannot be affected by opinions; it cannot be changed, established, or affected by martyrdom. An error cannot be believed sincerely enough to make it a truth.

Robert Green Ingersoll (1833–1899) American lawyer, freethinker, orator
Lecture (1881-05-01) “The Great Infidels,” Booth’s Theater, New York
(Source)

See also Colton (1820), Schnitzler (1927).

Colton, Charles Caleb -- Lacon: Or, Many Things in Few Words, Vol. 1, § 410 (1820)

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

He that dies a martyr proves that he is not a knave, but by no means that he is not a fool.

Charles Caleb "C. C." Colton (1780–1832) English cleric, writer, aphorist
Lacon: Or, Many Things in Few Words, Vol. 1, § 410 (1820)
(Source)

Schnitzler, Arthur -- Book of Thoughts and Sayings [Buch der Sprüche und Bedenken], “Hunches and Questions” No. 2 (1927)

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

Martyrdom has always been a proof of the intensity, never of the correctness, of a belief.

[Das Martyrium war immer nur ein Beweis für die Intensität, niemals für die Richtigkeit eines Glaubens.]

Arthur Schnitzler (1862–1931) Austrian physician, playwright, novelist
Book of Thoughts and Sayings [Buch der Sprüche und Bedenken], “Hunches and Questions” No. 2 (1927)
(Source)

(Source (German)). See Ingersoll (1881). This translation is common, but unattributed. Another translation:

Martyrdom was only ever a proof of the intensity, never of the correctness of a belief.
[E.g.]