WIST Quotations

Joubert, Joseph -- Pensées [Thoughts], 1805 entry [tr. Auster (1983)]

Dave — Mon, 25 Mar 2024 15:05:59 +0000

We are afraid of having and showing a small mind, and we are not afraid of having and showing a small heart.

Joseph Joubert (1754-1824) French moralist, philosopher, essayist, poet
Pensées [Thoughts], 1805 entry [tr. Auster (1983)]
(Source)

I could not find an analog in other translations of the Pensées.

McCarthy, Cormac -- Outer Dark, ch. 17 (1968)

Dave — Mon, 03 Feb 2020 17:21:22 +0000

I’ve seen the meanness of humans till I don’t know why God ain’t put out the sun and gone away.

Cormac McCarthy (1933-2023) American novelist, playwright, screenwriter
Outer Dark, ch. 17 (1968)
(Source)

Compton-Burnett, Ivy -- Daughters and Sons, ch. 6 (1937)

Dave — Fri, 10 Aug 2018 03:41:49 +0000

Being cruel to be kind is just ordinary cruelty with an excuse made for it.

Ivy Compton-Burnett (1884-1969) English novelist
Daughters and Sons, ch. 6 (1937)
(Source)

Prentice, George -- Prenticeana (1860)

Dave — Tue, 02 Jun 2015 13:24:25 +0000

Some old women and men grow bitter with age. The more their teeth drop out the more biting they get.

George D. Prentice (1802-1870) American newspaper editor
Prenticeana (1860)
(Source)

Burgh, James -- The Dignity of Human Nature, Sec. 5 “Miscellaneous Thoughts on Prudence in Conversation” (1754)

Dave — Thu, 31 Jul 2014 12:35:11 +0000

There is no occasion to trample upon the meanest reptile, nor to sneak to the greatest prince. Insolence and baseness are equally unmanly.

James Burgh (1714-1775) British politician and writer
The Dignity of Human Nature, Sec. 5 “Miscellaneous Thoughts on Prudence in Conversation” (1754)
(Source)

Cicero, Marcus Tullius -- De Officiis [On Duties; On Moral Duty; The Offices], Book 1, ch. 20 (1.20) / sec. 68 (44 BC) [tr. Miller (1913)]

Dave — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 16:58:20 +0000

For there is nothing so characteristic of narrowness and littleness of soul as the love of riches.

[Nihil enim est tam angusti animi tamque parvi quam amare divitias.]

Marcus Tullius Cicero (106-43 BC) Roman orator, statesman, philosopher
De Officiis [On Duties; On Moral Duty; The Offices], Book 1, ch. 20 (1.20) / sec. 68 (44 BC) [tr. Miller (1913)]
(Source)

(Source (Latin)). Alternate translations:

For nothing is a greater sign of a narrow, mean, and sordid spirit, than to dote on riches.
[tr. Cockman (1699)]

For there is not a greater symptom of a narrow and little mind, than the love of wealth.
[tr. McCartney (1798)]

For nothing so truly characterizes a narrow, grovelling disposition as to love riches.
[tr. Edmonds (1865)]

For nothing shows so narrow and small a mind as the love of riches.
[tr. Peabody (1883)]

Shun the love of money, for there is no surer sign of a narrow, grovelling spirit.
[tr. Gardiner (1899)]

Nothing is as good an index of a narrow and trivial spirit as the love of wealth.
[tr. Edinger (1974)]