WIST Quotations

Ingersoll, Robert Green -- Essay (1881-08) “The Christian Religion,” “Is All of the Bible Inspired?” ch. 3, North American Review, Vol. 133, No. 297

Dave — Fri, 29 May 2026 07:14:15 +0000

The dogmas of the past no longer reach the level of the highest thought, nor satisfy the hunger of the heart. While dusty faiths, embalmed and sepulchered in ancient texts, remain the same, the sympathies of men enlarge; the brain no longer kills its young; the happy lips give liberty to honest thoughts; the mental firmament expands and lifts; the broken clouds drift by; the hideous dreams, the foul, misshapen children of the monstrous night, dissolve and fade.

Robert Green Ingersoll (1833-1899) American lawyer, freethinker, orator
Essay (1881-08) “The Christian Religion,” “Is All of the Bible Inspired?” ch. 3, North American Review, Vol. 133, No. 297
(Source)

Collected in Allen Thorndike Rice (ed.), The Christian Religion, ch. 1 (1882).

Steinbeck, John -- East of Eden, ch. 34 (1952)

Dave — Wed, 27 May 2026 18:39:20 +0000

We have only one story. All novels, all poetry, are built on the never-ending contest in ourselves of good and evil. And it occurs to me that evil must constantly re-spawn, while good, while virtue, is immortal. Vice has always a new fresh young face, while virtue is venerable as nothing else in the world is.

John Steinbeck (1902-1968) American writer
East of Eden, ch. 34 (1952)
(Source)

Carlyle, Thomas -- Lecture (1840-05-05), “The Hero as Divinity,” Home House, Portman Square, London

Dave — Thu, 08 Jan 2026 22:39:04 +0000

In that strange island Iceland, — burst up, the geologists say, by fire from the bottom of the sea; a wild land of barrenness and lava; swallowed many months of every year in black tempests, yet with a wild gleaming beauty in summertime; towering up there, stern and grim, in the North Ocean with its snow jokuls, roaring geysers, sulphur-pools and horrid volcanic chasms, like the waste chaotic battle-field of Frost and Fire; — where of all places we least looked for Literature or written memorials, the record of these things was written down.

Thomas Carlyle (1795-1881) Scottish essayist and historian
Lecture (1840-05-05), “The Hero as Divinity,” Home House, Portman Square, London
(Source)

Speaking of the Eddas (e.g.).

The lecture notes were collected by Carlyle into On Heroes, Hero-Worship, & the Heroic in History, Lecture 1, (1841).

Watterson, Bill -- Calvin and Hobbes (1987-12-21)

Dave — Wed, 24 Dec 2025 21:58:32 +0000

CALVIN: This whole Santa Claus thing just doesn’t make sense. Why all the secrecy? Why all the mystery? If the guy exists, why doesn’t he ever show himself and prove it? And if he doesn’t exist, what’s the meaning of all this?

HOBBES: I dunno … isn’t this a religious holiday?

CALVIN: Yeah, but actually, I’ve got the same questions about God.

Bill Watterson (b. 1958) American cartoonist
Calvin and Hobbes (1987-12-21)
(Source)

Edda, Poetic -- Völuspá [Prophecy of the Völva; Prophecy of the Seeress], st. 59 (AD 961) [tr. Bellows (1936)]

Dave — Mon, 15 Dec 2025 16:35:39 +0000

Now do I see
the earth anew
Rise all green
from the waves again;
The cataracts fall,
and the eagle flies,
And fish he catches
beneath the cliffs.

[Sér hon upp koma
ǫðru sinni
jǫrð ór ægi,
iðjagrœna;
falla forsar,
flýgr ǫrn yfir,
sá er á fjalli
fiska veiðir.]

Poetic Edda (800-1100) Old Norse anonymous collection of poems
Völuspá [Prophecy of the Völva; Prophecy of the Seeress], st. 59 (AD 961) [tr. Bellows (1936)]
(Source)

The rebirth of the world after Ragnarok. Narrated by Heiðr.

(Source (Old Norse)), Other translations:

She sees at last emerge from the ocean,
An earth in every part flourishing.
The cataracts flow down;
The eagle flies aloft;
And hunt the fishes in the mountains.
[tr. Turner (1836); st. 46]

She sees arise, a second time, earth from ocean, beauteously green, waterfalls descending; the eagle flying over, which in the fell captures fish.
[tr. Thorpe (1866); st. 57]

She sees, coming up a second time,
Earth from the ocean, eternally green;
the waterfall plunges, an eagle soars over it,
hunting fish on the mountain.
[tr. Larrington (2014); st. 59]

She sees coming up for a second time
earth, green again, from the sea;
waterfalls tumble, an eagle flies above,
the one who hunts fish on the fell.
[tr. Pettit (2023); st. 57]

Euripides -- Electra [Ἠλέκτρα], l. 743ff, Antistrophe 2 (c. 420 BC) [tr. Wilson (2016)]

Dave — Tue, 31 Dec 2024 18:30:26 +0000

CHORUS: But fairy tales that scare us humans
are useful for religion.

[ΧΟΡΟΣ: φοβεροὶ δὲ βροτοῖσι μῦ-
θοι κέρδος πρὸς θεῶν θεραπεί-
αν.]

Euripides (485?-406? BC) Greek tragic dramatist
Electra [Ἠλέκτρα], l. 743ff, Antistrophe 2 (c. 420 BC) [tr. Wilson (2016)]
(Source)

Following recounting of a story in which Zeus made the sun move backwards in the sky to punish Thyestes for his treachery.

(Source (Greek)). Alternate translations:

Fresh strength is added to religion's base
By fables which man's breast with terror fill.
[tr. Wodhull (1809)]

But tales that frighten men are profitable for service to the gods.
[tr. Coleridge (1891)]

But stories terrible to mortals are a gain for the worship of the gods.
[tr. Buckley (1892)]

Yet it may be the tale liveth, soul-affraying,
To bow us to Godward in lowly obeying.
[tr. Way (1896)]

Once, men told the tale, and trembled;
Fearing God.
[tr. Murray (1905)]

Such shocking myths are for the good of men, to frighten them into believing in the gods.
[tr. Theodoridis (2006)]

But tales which terrify mankind
are profitable and serve the gods.
[tr. Johnston (2009)]

Martin, George R. R. -- Interview (2014-04-23) by Mikal Gilmore, “The Rolling Stone Interview,” Rolling Stone

Dave — Fri, 20 Dec 2024 22:11:48 +0000

The war that Tolkien wrote about was a war for the fate of civilization and the future of humanity, and that’s become the template. I’m not sure that it’s a good template, though. The Tolkien model led generations of fantasy writers to produce these endless series of dark lords and their evil minions who are all very ugly and wear black clothes. But the vast majority of wars throughout history are not like that.

George R. R. Martin (b. 1948) American author and screenwriter [George Raymond Richard Martin]
Interview (2014-04-23) by Mikal Gilmore, “The Rolling Stone Interview,” Rolling Stone
(Source)

Travers, P. L. -- Essay (1978-07-02), “I Never Wrote for Children,” New York Times

Dave — Thu, 19 Dec 2024 16:18:40 +0000

Nothing I had written before “Mary Poppins” had anything to do with children, and I have always assumed, when I thought about it at all, that she had come out of the same well of nothingness as the poetry, myth and legend that had absorbed me all my writing life. If I had been told while I was working on the book that I was doing it for children, I think I would have been terrified.

P. L. Travers (1899-1996) Australian-British writer [Pamela Lyndon Travers; b. Helen Lyndon Goff]
Essay (1978-07-02), “I Never Wrote for Children,” New York Times
(Source)

Rogers, Will -- Column (1933-10-29), “Weekly Articles: How Writers Write” [No. 566]

Dave — Fri, 15 Nov 2024 22:10:10 +0000

Trouble with a lot of these biographers is, they go and lower the moral of character with a lot of facts. Nothing will spoil a big man’s life like too much truth.

Will Rogers (1879-1935) American humorist
Column (1933-10-29), “Weekly Articles: How Writers Write” [No. 566]
(Source)

Orwell, George -- Essay (1941-02-19), “The Lion and the Unicorn: Socialism and the English Genius,” Part 1 “England Your England,” sec. 2, The Searchlight Books [ed. Fyvel and Orwell]

Dave — Mon, 16 Sep 2024 14:02:33 +0000

In England such concepts as justice, liberty and objective truth are still believed in. They may be illusions, but they are very powerful illusions.

George Orwell (1903-1950) English journalist, essayist, writer [pseud. of Eric Arthur Blair]
Essay (1941-02-19), “The Lion and the Unicorn: Socialism and the English Genius,” Part 1 “England Your England,” sec. 2, The Searchlight Books [ed. Fyvel and Orwell]
(Source)

Part of Part 1, "England Your England" with the title "The Ruling Class" was previously published in Horizon (1940-12).

Byron, George Gordon, Lord -- Don Juan, Canto 11, st. 37 (1823)

Dave — Wed, 07 Aug 2024 15:37:44 +0000

And, after all, what is a lie? ‘T is but
The truth in masquerade; and I defy
Historians, heroes, lawyers. priests, to put
A fact without some leaven of a lie.

George Gordon, Lord Byron (1788-1824) English poet
Don Juan, Canto 11, st. 37 (1823)
(Source)

McGinley, Phyllis -- “What Every Woman Knows,” Times Three (1960)

Dave — Fri, 19 Jul 2024 13:52:13 +0000

For little boys are rancorous
When robbed of any myth,
And spiteful and cantankerous
To all their kin and kith.
But little girls can draw conclusions
And profit from their lost illusions.

Phyllis McGinley (1905-1978) American author, poet
“What Every Woman Knows,” Times Three (1960)
(Source)

On when kids figure out that Santa Claus is not real.

Rogers, Will -- Article (1931-03-22), “Letter of a Self-Made Diplomat to His President,” Saturday Evening Post

Dave — Tue, 07 May 2024 15:07:55 +0000

History ain’t what it is; it’s what some Writer wanted it to be.

Will Rogers (1879-1935) American humorist
Article (1931-03-22), “Letter of a Self-Made Diplomat to His President,” Saturday Evening Post
(Source)

Collected in More Letters of a Self-Made Diplomat to His President (1928) [ed. Steven Gragert].

Warren, Robert Penn -- Brother to Dragons, Foreword (1953)

Dave — Mon, 05 Feb 2024 18:50:36 +0000

Historical sense and poetic sense should not, in the end, be contradictory, for if poetry is the little myth we make, history is the big myth we live, and in our living, constantly remake.

Robert Penn Warren (1905-1989) American poet, novelist, literary critic
Brother to Dragons, Foreword (1953)
(Source)

Nin, Anais -- Collages [Varna] (1964)

Dave — Thu, 14 Dec 2023 15:29:46 +0000

Nothing endures unless it has first been transposed into a myth, and the great advantage of myths is that they are ladies with portable roots.

Anaïs Nin (1903-1977) Catalan-Cuban-French author, diarist
Collages [Varna] (1964)
(Source)

Baudelaire, Charles -- Le Spleen de Paris (Petits Poèmes en Prose), No. 29 “The Generous Gambler [Le Joueur généreux]” (1869) [tr. Kaplan (1989)]

Dave — Tue, 03 Oct 2023 00:09:23 +0000

My dear brothers, when you hear the progress of enlightenment extolled, never forget that the devil’s cleverest trick is to persuade you that he does not exist!

[Mes chers frères, n’oubliez jamais, quand vous entendrez vanter le progrès des lumières, que la plus belle des ruses du diable est de vous persuader qu’il n’existe pas!]

Charles Baudelaire (1821-1867) French poet, essayist, art critic
Le Spleen de Paris (Petits Poèmes en Prose), No. 29 “The Generous Gambler [Le Joueur généreux]” (1869) [tr. Kaplan (1989)]
(Source)

A warning by a Parisian preacher, as reported by the Devil himself. Used in movie The Usual Suspects (1995) as "The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist."

(Source (French)). Alternate translations:

My dear brethren, never forget, when you hear the progress of wisdom vaunted, that the cleverest ruse of the Devil is to persuade you he does not exist!
[tr. Shipley (<1919) "The Generous Player"]

My dear brethren, never forget, when you hear boasts about the progress of enlightenment, that the finest ruse of the devil is to persuade you that he does not exist!
[tr. Hamburger (1946) "The Generous Gamester"]

My dear brothers, never forget when you hear people boast of our progress in enlightenment, that one of the devil's best ruses is to persuade you that he does not exist!
[tr. Varèse (1970)]

The Devil's subtlest ruse is to convince us that he doesn't exist.
[tr. McGowan (1993)]

Dear brethren, never forget that the finest of all the devil's tricks is to persuade you that he doesn't exist.
[tr. Lerner (2003)]

My dear brethren, do not ever forget, when you hear the progress of lights praised, that the loveliest trick of the Devil is to persuade you that he does not exist!
[Source]

Marston, William Moulton -- “Introducing Wonder Woman,” All Star Comics #8 (25 Oct 1941) [with artist Harry G. Peter]

Dave — Mon, 07 Aug 2023 17:39:17 +0000

Splash page of All Star Comics #8 (Dec/Jan 1941/42)

At last, in a world torn by the hatred and wars of men, appears a woman to whom the problems and feats of men are mere child’s play — a woman whose identity is known to none, but whose sensational feats are outstanding in a fast-moving world! With a hundred times the agility and strength of our best male athletes and strongest wrestlers, she appears as though from nowhere to avenge an injustice or right a wrong! As lovely as Aphrodite — as wise as Athena — with the speed of Mercury and the strength of Hercules — she is known only as Wonder Woman, but who she is, or whence she came, nobody knows!

William Moulton Marston (1893-1947) American psychologist, writer [pen name Charles Moulton]
“Introducing Wonder Woman,” All Star Comics #8 (25 Oct 1941) [with artist Harry G. Peter]

First appearance of the comic book character Wonder Woman.

Gladwell, Malcolm -- Outliers: The Story of Success, Part 2, ch. 9 (2008)

Dave — Mon, 03 Apr 2023 21:59:57 +0000

We are so caught in the myths of the best and the brightest and the self-made that we think outliers spring naturally from the earth. We look at the young Bill Gates and marvel that our world allowed that thirteen-year-old to become a fabulously successful entrepreneur. But that’s the wrong lesson. Our world only allowed one thirteen-year-old unlimited access to a time sharing terminal in 1968. If a million teenagers had been given the same opportunity, how many more Microsofts would we have today?

Malcolm Gladwell (b. 1963) Anglo-Canadian journalist, author, public speaker
Outliers: The Story of Success, Part 2, ch. 9 (2008)
(Source)

Byron, George Gordon, Lord -- Conversations of Lord Byron with Thomas Medwin, Vol. 2 (1832)

Dave — Thu, 23 Mar 2023 14:23:34 +0000

Who knows whether, when a comet shall approach this globe to destroy it, as it often has been and will be destroyed, men will not tear rocks from their foundations by means of steam, and hurl mountains, as the giants are said to have done, against the flaming mass? — and then we shall have traditions of Titans again, and of wars with Heaven.

George Gordon, Lord Byron (1788-1824) English poet
Conversations of Lord Byron with Thomas Medwin, Vol. 2 (1832)
(Source)

King, Martin Luther -- “The Three Evils,” Keynote Speech, National Conference for New Politics, Chicago (31 Aug 1967)

Dave — Tue, 07 Mar 2023 21:26:39 +0000

Again we have deluded ourselves into believing the myth that Capitalism grew and prospered out of the Protestant ethic of hard work and sacrifice. The fact is that Capitalism was built on the exploitation and suffering of black slaves, and continues to thrive on the exploitation of the poor, both black and white, both here and abroad.

Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929-1968) American clergyman, civil rights leader, social activist, preacher
“The Three Evils,” Keynote Speech, National Conference for New Politics, Chicago (31 Aug 1967)
(Source)

Goethe, Johann von -- Faust: a Tragedy [eine Tragödie], Part 1, sc. 9 “Witches’ Kitchen,” l. 2557ff [Mephistopheles] (1808-1829) [tr. Kaufmann (1961)]

Dave — Mon, 17 Oct 2022 21:21:06 +0000

It’s dated, called a fable; men are clever,
But they are just as badly off as ever:
The Evil One is gone, the evil ones remain.

[Er ist schon lang in Fabelbuch geschrieben;
Allein die Menschen sind nichts besser dran,
Den Bösen sind sie los, die Bösen sind geblieben.]

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832) German poet, statesman, scientist
Faust: a Tragedy [eine Tragödie], Part 1, sc. 9 “Witches’ Kitchen,” l. 2557ff [Mephistopheles] (1808-1829) [tr. Kaufmann (1961)]
(Source)

On humanity no longer believing in "Satan."

Some translations (and this site) include the Declaration, Prelude on the Stage, and Prologue in Heaven as individual scenes; others do not, leading to their Part 1 scenes being numbered three lower.

(Source (German)). Alternate translations:

This many a day 'tis written down a fable;
Yet men are nowise winners in the game.
They're rid of the Evil One, the Evil still are able.
[tr. Latham (1790)]

That's been known as a fable many a season;
But men have things no better for that reason.
Free are they from the Evil One; the evil are still here.
[tr. Priest (1808)]

It has been long written in story books; but men are not the better for that; they are rid of the wicked one, the wicked have remained.
[tr. Hayward (1831)]

To fable-books it now doth appertain;
But people from the change have nothing won.
Rid of the evil one, the evil ones remain.
[tr. Swanwick (1850)]

It has long since to fable-books been banished;
But men are none the better for it; true,
The wicked one, but not the wicked ones, has vanished.
[tr. Brooks (1868)]

It's long been written in the Book of Fable;
Yet, therefore, no whit better men we see:
The Evil One has left, the evil ones are stable.
[tr. Taylor (1870)]

That name has had its station long assigned
With Mother Bunch; and yet I cannot see
Men are much better for the want of me.
The wicked one is gone, the wicked stay behind.
[tr. Blackie (1880)]

It's now a name for fairy tales and fables;
the people are as miserable as ever --
the Evil One is gone, the evil ones remain.
[tr. Salm (1962)]

It's been consigned to storybooks for youngsters;
Mind you, men are no better off for that.
The Fiend is gone, the fiends are still amongst us.
[tr. Arndt (1976)]

The name has been a myth too long.
Not that man's any better off -- the Evil One
They're rid of, evil is still going strong.
[tr. Luke (1987)]

Since God knows when it belongs to mythology,
But that's hardly improved the temper of humanity.
The Evil One's no more, evil ones more than ever.
[tr. Greenberg (1992)]

It only comes in fairy stories nowadays.
But even so, humanity's no better off --
The Evil One has gone, they've kept their evil ways.
[tr. Williams (1999)]

It’s written in story books, always:
Men are no better for it, though:
The Evil One’s gone: the evil stays.
[tr. Kline (2003)]

Stanley, Jason -- How Fascism Works: The Politics of Us and Them, ch. 1 (2018)

Dave — Thu, 09 Dec 2021 15:05:38 +0000

Mussolini makes clear that the fascist mythic past is intentionally mythical. The function of the mythic past, in fascist politics, is to harness the emotion of nostalgia to the central tenets of fascist ideology — authoritarianism, hierarchy, purity, and struggle.

Jason Stanley (b. 1969) American philosopher, epistemologist, academic
How Fascism Works: The Politics of Us and Them, ch. 1 (2018)
(Source)

Stanley, Jason -- How Fascism Works: The Politics of Us and Them, ch. 4 (2018)

Dave — Fri, 03 Dec 2021 16:38:26 +0000

Representing the voices of all those whose existence has shaped and formed the world in which we live provides an essential protection against the fascist myth.

Jason Stanley (b. 1969) American philosopher, epistemologist, academic
How Fascism Works: The Politics of Us and Them, ch. 4 (2018)
(Source)

Stanley, Jason -- How Fascism Works: The Politics of Us and Them, ch. 1 (2018)

Dave — Thu, 11 Nov 2021 15:19:00 +0000

The strategic aim of these hierarchical constructions of history is to displace truth, and the invention of a glorious past includes the erasure of inconvenient realities.

Jason Stanley (b. 1969) American philosopher, epistemologist, academic
How Fascism Works: The Politics of Us and Them, ch. 1 (2018)
(Source)

Malamud, Bernard -- Dubin’s Lives, ch. 1 (1977)

Dave — Thu, 23 Sep 2021 15:12:29 +0000

The past exudes legend: one can’t make pure clay of time’s mud. There is no life that can be recaptured wholly; as it was. Which is to say that all biography is ultimately fiction.

Bernard Malamud (1914-1986) American author
Dubin’s Lives, ch. 1 (1977)
(Source)

Snyder, Timothy -- On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century (2017)

Dave — Wed, 30 Jun 2021 15:48:11 +0000

Fascists rejected reason in the name of will, denying objective truth in favor of a glorious myth articulated by leaders who claimed to give voice to the people.

Timothy Snyder (b. 1969) American historian, author
On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century (2017)

Pratchett, Terry -- Discworld No. 12, Witches Abroad (1991)

Dave — Tue, 15 Jun 2021 14:58:25 +0000

People think that stories are shaped by people. In fact, it’s the other way around.

Terry Pratchett (1948-2015) English author
Discworld No. 12, Witches Abroad (1991)
(Source)

Lerner, Alan Jay -- “Finale Ultimo (Camelot Reprise)” [Arthur], Camelot(1960; 1967)

Dave — Tue, 02 Feb 2021 17:08:19 +0000

Don’t let it be forgot
That once there was a spot
For one brief shining moment that was known
As Camelot.

Alan Jay Lerner (1918-1986) American dramatist, lyricist, composer
“Finale Ultimo (Camelot Reprise)” [Arthur], Camelot(1960; 1967)
(Source)

Based on T.H. White, The Once and Future King (1958).

Lerner, Alan Jay -- “Finale Ultimo (Camelot Reprise)” [Arthur], Camelot(1960; 1967)

Dave — Tue, 19 Jan 2021 16:26:05 +0000

Each evening, from December to December,
Before you drift to sleep upon your cot,
Think back on all the tales that you remember
Of Camelot.
Ask ev’ry person if he’s heard the story,
And tell it strong and clear if he has not,
That once there was a fleeting wisp of glory
Called Camelot.

Pratchett, Terry -- Discworld No. 20, Hogfather (1996)

Dave — Tue, 22 Dec 2020 20:49:34 +0000

“All right,” said Susan. “I’m not stupid. You’re saying humans need … fantasies to make life bearable.”
Really? As if it was some kind of pink pill? No. Humans need fantasy to be human. To be the place where the falling angel meets the rising ape.
“Tooth fairies? Hogfathers? Little –”
Yes. As practice. You have to start out learning to believe the little lies.
“So we can believe the big ones?”
Yes. Justice. Mercy. Duty. That sort of thing.
“They’re not the same at all!”
You think so? Then take the universe and grind it down to the finest powder and sieve it through the finest sieve and then show me one atom of justice, one molecule of mercy. And yet — Death waved a hand. And yet you act as if there is some ideal order in the world. As if there is some … some rightness in the universe by which it may be judged.
“Yes, but people have got to believe that, or what’s the point –”
My point exactly.

Terry Pratchett (1948-2015) English author
Discworld No. 20, Hogfather (1996)
(Source)

Inge, William Ralph -- “St. Paul” (1914), Outspoken Essays: First Series (1914)

Dave — Mon, 15 Jun 2020 21:57:04 +0000

With St. Paul it is quite different. He is a saint without a luminous halo. His personal characteristics are too distinct and too human to make idealisation easy. For this reason he has never been the object of popular devotion. Shadowy figures like St. Joseph and St. Anne have been divinised and surrounded with picturesque legends; but St. Paul has been spared the honour or the ignominy of being coaxed and wheedled by the piety of paganised Christianity. No tender fairy-tales are attached to his cult; he remains for us what he was in the flesh. It is even possible to feel an active dislike for him.

William Ralph Inge (1860-1954) English prelate [Dean Inge]
“St. Paul” (1914), Outspoken Essays: First Series (1914)
(Source)

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

Dave — Fri, 29 May 2020 21:54:16 +0000

The bearers of the myth of every decade seem to carry in their hands the ax and the spade to execute and inter the myth of the previous one.

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

Evans, Bergen -- The Natural History of Nonsense, ch. 1 “Adam’s Navel” (1946)

Dave — Wed, 13 May 2020 17:19:57 +0000

We may be through with the past, but the past is not through with us. Ideas of the Stone Age exist side by side with the latest scientific thought. Only a fraction of mankind has emerged from the Dark Ages, and in the most lucid brains, as Logan Pearsall Smith has said, we come upon “nests of woolly caterpillars.”

Bergen Evans (1904-1978) American educator, writer, lexicographer
The Natural History of Nonsense, ch. 1 “Adam’s Navel” (1946)

The Smith reference.

Godard, Jean-Luc -- (Attributed)

Dave — Wed, 11 Mar 2020 20:39:47 +0000

Sometimes reality is too complex. Stories give it form.

Jean-Luc Godard (b. 1930) French-Swiss film director, screenwriter, critic
(Attributed)

Gaiman, Neil -- “This Much I Know,” The Guardian (2017-08-05)

Dave — Mon, 18 Sep 2017 22:21:19 +0000

Ever since I had dinner with Lou Reed I’ve tried to avoid meeting the people who would make me feel starstruck. It was a great dinner but by the end of it Lou Reed was no longer my hero, and I don’t have many heroes. I resolutely avoided meeting David Bowie, which became harder when I became friends with Duncan Jones, his son, and then got even harder when I moved to Woodstock and he lived around the corner. But I love the fact that the Bowie that I have is the Bowie in my head: a strange, evolving, absolutely fictional Bowie who became my hero when I was 11.

Neil Gaiman (b. 1960) British author, screenwriter, fabulist
“This Much I Know,” The Guardian (2017-08-05)
(Source)

Adams, Douglas -- Hitchhiker’s Guide No. 1, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, ch. 16 (1979)

Dave — Wed, 14 Jun 2017 14:50:41 +0000

Isn’t it enough to see that a garden is beautiful without having to believe that there are fairies at the bottom of it too?

Douglas Adams (1952-2001) English author, humorist, screenwriter
Hitchhiker’s Guide No. 1, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, ch. 16 (1979)
(Source)

Musing by Ford Prefect as to Zaphod's overdramatization of their arrival at Magrathea. Not present in the BBC Radio production, where Magrathea is reached during Fit the 3rd.

Kipling, Rudyard -- A Book of Words, ch. 24 “Fiction” (1928)

Dave — Thu, 23 Feb 2017 17:00:47 +0000

For Fiction is Truth’s elder sister. Obviously. No one in the world knew what truth was till somebody had told a story.

Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936) English writer
A Book of Words, ch. 24 “Fiction” (1928)

Miller, Walter M. -- A Canticle for Leibowitz, “Fiat Homo,” ch. 6 (1959)

Dave — Mon, 30 Jan 2017 23:01:04 +0000

It was said that God, in order to test mankind which had become swelled with pride as in the time of Noah, had commanded the wise men of that age, among them the Blessed Leibowitz, to devise great engines of war such as had never before been upon the Earth, weapons of such might that they contained the very fires of Hell, and that God had suffered these magi to place the weapons in the hands of princes, and to say to each prince: “Only because the enemies have such a thing have we devised this for thee, in order that they may know that thou hast it also, and fear to strike. See to it, m’Lord, that thou fearest them as much as they shall now fear thee, that none may unleash this dread thing which we have wrought.” But the princes, putting the words of their wise men to naught, thought each to himself: If I but strike quickly enough, and in secret, I shall destroy these others in their sleep, and there will be none to fight back; the earth shall be mine.
Such was the folly of princes, and there followed the Flame Deluge.

Walter M. Miller Jr. (1923-1996) American writer
A Canticle for Leibowitz, “Fiat Homo,” ch. 6 (1959)

Adams, John -- Letter (1816-12-27) to François Adriaan Van der Kemp

Dave — Thu, 13 Oct 2016 01:16:03 +0000

But how has it happened that millions of fables, tales, legends have been blended with both Jewish and Christian revelation that have made them the most bloody religion that ever existed?

John Adams (1735–1826) American lawyer, Founding Father, statesman, US President (1797–1801)
Letter (1816-12-27) to François Adriaan Van der Kemp
(Source)

Gervais, Ricky -- Twitter (11 Sep 2012)

Dave — Fri, 19 Aug 2016 01:22:42 +0000

Your God is the best God.
In fact, he’s the only God.
All other Gods are ridiculous, made up rubbish.
Not yours though. Yours is real.

Ricky Gervais (b. 1961) English comedian, actor, director, writer
Twitter (11 Sep 2012)
(Source)

Gaiman, Neil -- Coraline (2002)

Dave — Thu, 30 Oct 2014 12:30:17 +0000

Fairy tales are more than true: not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten.

Neil Gaiman (b. 1960) British author, screenwriter, fabulist
Coraline (2002)

Paraphrase by Gaiman of G. K. Chesterton. Gaiman included it as an epigraph, attributed to Chesterton, but without looking up the exact wording.

Chesterton, Gilbert Keith -- Tremendous Trifles, “The Red Angel” (1909)

Dave — Wed, 29 Oct 2014 12:25:18 +0000

The timidity of the child or the savage is entirely reasonable; they are alarmed at this world, because this world is a very alarming place. They dislike being alone because it is verily and indeed an awful idea to be alone. Barbarians fear the unknown for the same reason that Agnostics worship it — because it is a fact. Fairy tales, then, are not responsible for producing in children fear, or any of the shapes of fear; fairy tales do not give the child the idea of the evil or the ugly; that is in the child already, because it is in the world already. Fairy tales do not give the child his first idea of bogey. What fairy tales give the child is his first clear idea of the possible defeat of bogey. The baby has known the dragon intimately ever since he had an imagination. What the fairy tale provides for him is a St. George to kill the dragon.

Gilbert Keith Chesterton (1874-1936) English journalist and writer
Tremendous Trifles, “The Red Angel” (1909)

Stoppard, Tom -- Travesties. Act 1 (1974)

Dave — Fri, 03 Oct 2014 11:41:23 +0000

JOYCE: An artist is the magician put among men to gratify — capriciously — their urge for immortality. The temples are built and brought down around him, continuously and contiguously, from Troy to the fields of Flanders. If there is any meaning in any of it, it is in what survives as art, yes even in the celebration of tyrants, yes even in the celebration of nonentities. What now of the Trojan War if it had been passed over by the artist’s touch? Dust. A forgotten expedition prompted by Greek merchants looking for new markets. A minor redistribution of broken pots. But it is we who stand enriched, by a tale of heroes, of a golden apple, a wooden horse, a face that launched a thousand ships —– and above all, of Ulysses, the wanderer, the most human, the most complete of all heroes — husband, father, son, lover, farmer, soldier, pacifist, politician, inventor and adventurer.

Tom Stoppard (1937-2025) Czech-English playwright and screenwriter
Travesties. Act 1 (1974)

Stoppard called this "the most important" speech in the play.

Kipling, Rudyard -- Something of Myself, ch. 15 (1937)

Dave — Wed, 11 Sep 2013 12:49:32 +0000

Every nation, like every individual, walks in a vain show — else it could not live with itself — but I never got over the wonder of a people who, having extirpated the aboriginals of their continent more completely than any modern race had ever done, honestly believed that they were a godly little New England community, setting examples to brutal mankind.

Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936) English writer
Something of Myself, ch. 15 (1937)

Johnson, Lyndon -- Editorial (1929-07-17), Southwest Texas State Teachers College College Star, San Marcos

Dave — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 16:45:46 +0000

Down with the debunking biographer. It now seems to be quite a thing to pull down the mighty from their seats and roll them in the mire. This practice deserves pronounced condemnation. Hero worship is a tremendous force in uplifting and strengthening. Humanity, let us have our heroes. Let us continue to believe that some have been truly great; that it lies within human ability to overcome temptations and trials; that it is sublime to suffer and be strong. Petty biographers with inferior souls and jealous hearts would rob us of these happy privileges. Sensationalism is alright for yellow journalism, but in biography we wish to see our famous men and women as they were and feel the power of the strength and beauty of their lives. Down with the debunking biographer.

Lyndon B. Johnson (1908-1973) American politician, educator, US President (1963-69)
Editorial (1929-07-17), Southwest Texas State Teachers College College Star, San Marcos

Quoted, in parts, in William C. Pool, Emmie Craddock, David Eugene Conrad, Lyndon Baines Johnson: The Formative Years, ch. 6 (1965) and Doris Kearns Goodwin, Lyndon Johnson and the American Dream, ch. 2 (1976).

Jefferson, Thomas -- Letter (1771-08-03) to Robert Skipwith

Dave — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 13:41:04 +0000

Considering history as a moral exercise, her lessons would be too unfrequent if confined to real life. Of those recorded by historians few incidents have been attended with such circumstances as to excite in any high degree this sympathetic emotion of virtue. We are therefore wisely framed to be as warmly interested for a fictitious as for a real personage. The spacious field of imagination is thus laid open to our use, and lessons may be formed to illustrate and carry home to the mind every moral rule of life. Thus a lively and lasting sense of filial duty is more effectually impressed on the mind of a son or daughter by reading King Lear, than by all the dry volumes of ethics and divinity that ever were written.

Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) American political philosopher, polymath, statesman, US President (1801-09)
Letter (1771-08-03) to Robert Skipwith
(Source)

Jefferson, Thomas -- Letter (1823-04-11) to John Adams

Dave — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 12:46:45 +0000

And the day will come when the mystical generation of Jesus, by the supreme being as his father in the womb of a virgin will be classed with the fable of the generation of Minerva in the brain of Jupiter. But may we hope that the dawn of reason and freedom of thought in these United States will do away with this artificial scaffolding, and restore to us the primitive and genuine doctrines of this most venerated reformer of human errors.

Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) American political philosopher, polymath, statesman, US President (1801-09)
Letter (1823-04-11) to John Adams
(Source)

Bierce, Ambrose -- “History,” The Devil’s Dictionary (1911)

Dave — Fri, 07 Jan 2011 15:06:04 +0000

HISTORY, n. An account mostly false, of events mostly unimportant, which are brought about by rulers mostly knaves, and soldiers mostly fools.

Ambrose Bierce (1842-1914?) American writer and journalist
“History,” The Devil’s Dictionary (1911)
(Source)

Originally published in the "Devil's Dictionary" column in the San Francisco Wasp (1885-05-23).

Butler, Samuel -- Further Extracts from the Note-Books of Samuel Butler, ch. 1 (1934)

Dave — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 17:17:11 +0000

An honest God’s the noblest work of man.

Samuel Butler (1835-1902) English novelist, satirist, scholar
Further Extracts from the Note-Books of Samuel Butler, ch. 1 (1934)

See Pope.

Bacon, Francis -- “Of Atheism,” Essays, No. 16 (1625)

Dave — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 13:18:06 +0000

I had rather believe all the fables in the legends and the Talmud and the Alcoran, than that this universal frame is without a mind.

Francis Bacon (1561-1626) English philosopher, scientist, author, statesman
“Of Atheism,” Essays, No. 16 (1625)
(Source)

Ingersoll, Robert Green -- Lecture (1872-01-29), “The Gods,” Fairbury Hall, Fairbury, Illinois

Dave — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 10:36:15 +0000

Each nation has created a god, and the god has always resembled his creators. He hated and loved what they hated and loved, and he was invariably found on the side of those in power. Each god was intensely patriotic, and detested all nations but his own. All these gods demanded praise, flattery, and worship. Most of them were pleased with sacrifice, and the smell of innocent blood has ever been considered a divine perfume. All these gods have insisted upon having a vast number of priests, and the priests have always insisted upon being supported by the people, and the principal business of these priests has been to boast about their god, and to insist that he could easily vanquish all the other gods put together.

Robert Green Ingersoll (1833-1899) American lawyer, freethinker, orator
Lecture (1872-01-29), “The Gods,” Fairbury Hall, Fairbury, Illinois
(Source)

Sometimes misquoted, "Nearly every people have created a god ..."

See Voltaire and Voltaire.

First given on the 135th birthday of Thomas Paine. Collected in The Gods and Other Lectures (1876).

Ingersoll, Robert Green -- Lecture (1872-01-29), “The Gods,” epigraph, Fairbury Hall, Fairbury, Illinois

Dave — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 10:12:03 +0000

An honest God is the noblest work of man.

Robert Green Ingersoll (1833-1899) American lawyer, freethinker, orator
Lecture (1872-01-29), “The Gods,” epigraph, Fairbury Hall, Fairbury, Illinois
(Source)

First given on the 135th birthday of Thomas Paine. Collected in The Gods and Other Lectures (1876).

See Pope and Butler.

Kennedy, John F. -- Commencement Address, Yale University (1962-06-11)

Dave — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 12:26:19 +0000

For the great enemy of truth is very often not the lie — deliberate, contrived and dishonest — but the myth — persistent, persuasive, and unrealistic. Too often we hold fast to the cliches of our forebears. We subject all facts to a prefabricated set of interpretations. We enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought.

John F. Kennedy (1917-1963) American politician, author, journalist, US President (1961–63)
Commencement Address, Yale University (1962-06-11)
(Source)

Atkinson, Brooks -- Once Around the Sun, “February 2” (1951)

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

People everywhere enjoy believing things that they know are not true. It spares them the ordeal of thinking for themselves and taking the responsibility for what they know.

Brooks Atkinson (1894-1984) American drama critic and journalist
Once Around the Sun, “February 2” (1951)
(Source)

~Other -- Timothy Jones

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

Give a man a fish, and you’ll feed him for a day. Give him a religion, and he’ll starve to death while praying for a fish.

(Other Authors and Sources)
Timothy Jones