WIST Quotations

Montesquieu -- Spirit of Laws [The Spirit of the Laws; De l’esprit des lois], Book 3, ch. 3 (3.3) (1748) [tr. Nugent (1750)]

Dave — Mon, 16 Mar 2026 22:23:36 +0000

When virtue is banished, ambition invades the hearts of those who are disposed to receive it, and avarice possesses the whole community.

[Lorsque cette vertu cesse, l’ambition entre dans les cœurs qui peuvent la recevoir, & l’avarice entre dans tous.]

Charles-Lewis de Secondat, Baron de Montesquieu (1689-1755) French political philosopher
Spirit of Laws [The Spirit of the Laws; De l’esprit des lois], Book 3, ch. 3 (3.3) (1748) [tr. Nugent (1750)]
(Source)

Speaking of republics. See notes here on Montesquieu's meaning of "virtue": political virtue of love of country and of equality.

(Source (French)). Other translations:

When that virtue ceases, ambition enters those hearts that can admit it, and avarice enters them all.
[tr. Cohler/Miller/Stone (1989)]

When that virtue ceases, ambition enters the hearts that can receive it, and avarice enters them all.
[tr. Stewart (2018)]

Thurber, James -- Essay (1958-12-07), “State of the Nation’s Humor: ‘On the Brink of Was,'” New York Times Magazine

Dave — Wed, 25 Feb 2026 17:08:39 +0000

The nation that complacently and fearfully allows its artists and writers to become suspected rather than respected is no longer regarded as a nation possessed with humor or depth.

James Thurber (1894-1961) American humorist, cartoonist, writer
Essay (1958-12-07), “State of the Nation’s Humor: ‘On the Brink of Was,'” New York Times Magazine
(Source)

Roosevelt, Theodore -- Speech (1903-09-07), “The Square Deal,” Labor Day, New York State Agricultural Association, New York State Fair, Syracuse

Dave — Thu, 22 Jan 2026 19:50:33 +0000

We must keep ever in mind that a republic such as ours can exist only by virtue of the orderly liberty which comes through the equal domination of the law over all men alike, and through its administration in such resolute and fearless fashion as shall teach all that no man is above it and no man below it.

Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919) American politician, statesman, conservationist, writer, US President (1901–1909)
Speech (1903-09-07), “The Square Deal,” Labor Day, New York State Agricultural Association, New York State Fair, Syracuse
(Source)

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

Dave — Fri, 16 Jan 2026 23:34:37 +0000

One cannot see the modern world as it is unless one recognises the overwhelming strength of patriotism, national loyalty. In certain circumstances it can break down, at certain levels of civilisation it does not exist, but as a positive force there is nothing to set beside it. Christianity and international Socialism are as weak as straw in comparison with it. Hitler and Mussolini rose to power in their own countries very largely because they could grasp this fact and their opponents could not.

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. 1, 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).

Pratchett, Terry -- Discworld No. 31, Monstrous Regiment [Vimes] (2003)

Dave — Mon, 05 Jan 2026 04:48:53 +0000

You take a bunch of people who don’t seem any different from you and me, but when you add them all together you get this sort of huge raving maniac with national borders and an anthem.

Terry Pratchett (1948-2015) English author
Discworld No. 31, Monstrous Regiment [Vimes] (2003)
(Source)

Roosevelt, Theodore -- Essay (1918-05), “Lincoln and Free Speech,” Metropolitan Magazine, Vol. 47, No. 6

Dave — Thu, 16 Oct 2025 18:02:06 +0000

One form of servility consists in a slavish attitude — of the kind incompatible with self-respecting manliness — toward any person who is powerful by reason of his office or position. Servility may be shown by a public servant toward the profiteering head of a large corporation, or toward the anti-American head of a big labor organization. It may also be shown in peculiarly noxious and un-American form by confounding the President or any other official with the country and shrieking “stand by the President” without regard to whether, by so acting, we do or do not stand by the country.

Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919) American politician, statesman, conservationist, writer, US President (1901–1909)
Essay (1918-05), “Lincoln and Free Speech,” Metropolitan Magazine, Vol. 47, No. 6
(Source)

On censorship actions by the Wilson Administration taken against critics of its handling of war efforts.

Reprinted in Appendix C of his The Great Adventure (1918), and as ch. 7 of that book in Vol. 21 of The Works of Theodore Roosevelt (1925), The Great Adventure

Mackay, Charles -- Memoirs of Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds, “The South-Sea Bubble” (1841)

Dave — Mon, 22 Sep 2025 15:37:57 +0000

Nations, like individuals, cannot become desperate gamblers with impunity. Punishment is sure to overtake them sooner or later.

Charles Mackay (1814-1889) Scottish poet, journalist, song writer
Memoirs of Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds, “The South-Sea Bubble” (1841)
(Source)

Hugo, Victor -- Les Misérables, Part 5 “Jean Valjean,” Book 1 “The War Between Four Walls,” ch. 21 (5.1.21) (1862) [tr. Hapgood (1887)]

Dave — Mon, 23 Jun 2025 22:29:58 +0000

Let the one fight for his flag, and the other for his ideal, and let both of them imagine that they are fighting for their country; the struggle will be colossal.

[Que l’un combatte pour son drapeau, et que l’autre combatte pour son idéal, et qu’ils s’imaginent tous les deux combattre pour la patrie; la lutte sera colossale.]

Victor Hugo (1802-1885) French writer
Les Misérables, Part 5 “Jean Valjean,” Book 1 “The War Between Four Walls,” ch. 21 (5.1.21) (1862) [tr. Hapgood (1887)]
(Source)

On soldiers and revolutionaries. (Source (French)). Alternate translations:

Let the one fight for his flag, and the other for his ideal, and let them both imagine that they are fighting for the country; the strife will be colossal.
[tr. Wilbour (1862)]

Let one fight for his flag and the other combat for his ideal, and let them both imagine that they are contending for their country, and the struggle will be colossal.
[tr. Wraxall (1862)]

Let the one fight for his flag, and the other for his ideal, and let them both imagine they are fighting for the country; the strife will be colossal.
[tr. Wilbour/Fahnestock/MacAfee (1987)]

Let the one fight for his flag and the other for his ideal, and let both imagine they are fighting for their country. The struggle will be tremendous.
[tr. Donougher (2013)]

Franklin, Benjamin -- Poor Richard (1740 ed.)

Dave — Thu, 12 Jun 2025 15:05:21 +0000

Happy that nation, fortunate that age, whose history is not diverting.

Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) American statesman, scientist, philosopher, aphorist
Poor Richard (1740 ed.)
(Source)

Vance, Jack -- The Languages of Pao, ch. 5, epigraph (1958)

Dave — Wed, 30 Apr 2025 18:28:01 +0000

Any collocation of persons, no matter how numerous, how scant, how even their homogeneity, how firmly they profess common doctrine, will presently reveal themselves to consist of smaller groups espousing variant versions of the common creed; and these sub-groups will manifest sub-sub-groups, and so to the final limit of the single individual, and even in this single person conflicting tendencies will express themselves.

Jack Vance (1916-2013) American writer [John Holbrook Vance]
The Languages of Pao, ch. 5, epigraph (1958)
(Source)

The epigraph is attributed to the fictional Adam Ostwald, in his book Human Society.

First published in Satellite Science Fiction magazine (1957-12).

Roosevelt, Franklin Delano -- Speech (1941-03-29), Jackson Day Radio Broadcast, U.S.S. Potomac

Dave — Wed, 16 Apr 2025 19:55:00 +0000

In dictatorships there can be no party divisions. For all men must think as they are told, speak as they are told, write as they are told, live — and die — as they are told. In those countries the Nation is not above the party, as with us; the party is above the Nation; the party is the Nation. Every common man and woman is forced to walk the straight and narrow path of the party line, not strictly speaking a party line, but rather a line drawn by the dictator himself, who owns the party.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1882–1945) American lawyer, politician, statesman, US President (1933–1945)
Speech (1941-03-29), Jackson Day Radio Broadcast, U.S.S. Potomac
(Source)

Lincoln, Abraham -- Speech (1863-11-19), “Dedication of the National Cemetery at Gettysburg [Gettysburg Address],” Pennsylvania

Dave — Thu, 13 Mar 2025 23:02:11 +0000

Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure.

Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) American lawyer, politician, US President (1861-65)
Speech (1863-11-19), “Dedication of the National Cemetery at Gettysburg [Gettysburg Address],” Pennsylvania
(Source)

Roosevelt, Theodore -- Speech (1910-04-23), “Citizenship in a Republic [The Man in the Arena],” Sorbonne, Paris

Dave — Thu, 06 Mar 2025 21:26:29 +0000

Self-restraint, self-mastery, common sense, the power of accepting individual responsibility and yet of acting in conjunction with others, courage and resolution — these are the qualities which mark a masterful people. Without them no people can control itself, or save itself from being controlled from the outside.

Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919) American politician, statesman, conservationist, writer, US President (1901–1909)
Speech (1910-04-23), “Citizenship in a Republic [The Man in the Arena],” Sorbonne, Paris
(Source)

Carlyle, Thomas -- Essay (1850-04-01), “Downing Street,” Latter-Day Pamphlets, No. 3

Dave — Thu, 06 Feb 2025 19:02:31 +0000

Tell me what kind of man governs a People, you tell me, with much exactness, what the net sum-total of social worth in that People has for some time been.

Thomas Carlyle (1795-1881) Scottish essayist and historian
Essay (1850-04-01), “Downing Street,” Latter-Day Pamphlets, No. 3
(Source)

Shakespeare, William -- Macbeth, Act 4, sc. 3, l. 49ff (4.3.49-51) (1606)

Dave — Mon, 16 Dec 2024 17:41:13 +0000

MALCOLM: I think our country sinks beneath the yoke.
It weeps, it bleeds, and each new day a gash
Is added to her wounds.

William Shakespeare (1564-1616) English dramatist and poet
Macbeth, Act 4, sc. 3, l. 49ff (4.3.49-51) (1606)
(Source)

Speaking with Macduff on the tyranny and bloodshed unleashed by Macbeth.

Maugham, W. Somerset -- Strictly Personal, § 30 (1941)

Dave — Tue, 05 Nov 2024 16:56:16 +0000

If a nation values anything more than freedom, it will lose its freedom; and the irony of it is that if it is comfort or money that it values more, it will lose that too. And when a nation has to fight for its freedom, it can only hope to win if it possesses certain qualities: honesty, courage, loyalty, vision and self-sacrifice. If it does not possess them, it has only itself to blame if it loses its freedom.

W. Somerset Maugham (1874-1965) English novelist and playwright [William Somerset Maugham]
Strictly Personal, § 30 (1941)
(Source)

On the fall of France to Nazi Germany. See Franklin.

McLaughlin, Mignon -- The Neurotic’s Notebook, ch. 5 (1963)

Dave — Wed, 11 Sep 2024 15:50:15 +0000

It’s impossible to be loyal to your family, your friends, your country, and your principles, all at the same time.

Mignon McLaughlin (1913-1983) American journalist and author
The Neurotic’s Notebook, ch. 5 (1963)
(Source)

Addison, Joseph -- Essay (1716-01-06), The Freeholder, No. 5

Dave — Mon, 26 Aug 2024 20:00:05 +0000

It may not therefore be unseasonable to recommend to this present Generation the Practice of that Virtue, for which their Ancestors were particularly famous, and which is called The Love of one’s Country. This Love to our Country, as a moral Virtue, is a fixed Disposition of Mind to promote the Safety; Welfare, and Reputation of the Community in which we are born, and of the Constitution under which we are protected.

Joseph Addison (1672-1719) English essayist, poet, statesman
Essay (1716-01-06), The Freeholder, No. 5
(Source)

Johnson, Lyndon -- Speech (1964-05-22), Graduation, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

Dave — Fri, 09 Aug 2024 16:45:54 +0000

The purpose of protecting the life of our Nation and preserving the liberty of our citizens is to pursue the happiness of our people. Our success in that pursuit is the test of our success as a Nation.

Lyndon B. Johnson (1908-1973) American politician, educator, US President (1963-69)
Speech (1964-05-22), Graduation, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
(Source)

Introducing his new Great Society policy agenda. See Jefferson.

Moyers, Bill -- Essay (2003-02-28), “Patriotism and the Flag,” NOW with Bill Moyers (PBS)

Dave — Fri, 29 Mar 2024 15:28:25 +0000

Standing up to your government can mean standing up for your country.

Bill Moyers (1934-2025) American journalist and public commentator
Essay (2003-02-28), “Patriotism and the Flag,” NOW with Bill Moyers (PBS)
(Source)

Regarding patriotism and opposition to the impending war in Iraq. Moyers quoted the comments a few years later in a speech to the National Conference for Media Reform (St Louis) (2005-05-15); the phrase is often cited to that occasion.

Carlyle, Thomas -- Essay (1829-06), “Signs of the Times,” Edinburgh Review No. 98, Art. 7

Dave — Thu, 08 Feb 2024 23:52:09 +0000

No solitary miscreant, scarcely any solitary maniac, would venture on such actions and imaginations, as large communities of sane men have, in such circumstances, entertained as sound wisdom.

Thomas Carlyle (1795-1881) Scottish essayist and historian
Essay (1829-06), “Signs of the Times,” Edinburgh Review No. 98, Art. 7
(Source)

Euripides -- Auge [Αὐγῃ], frag. 267 (c. 408 BC) [tr. @sentantiq (2014)]

Dave — Tue, 19 Dec 2023 20:20:56 +0000

The sick state is ingenious at discovering crimes.

[δεινὴ πόλις νοσοῦσ’ ἀνευρίσκειν κακά.]

Euripides (485?-406? BC) Greek tragic dramatist
Auge [Αὐγῃ], frag. 267 (c. 408 BC) [tr. @sentantiq (2014)]
(Source)

Nauck (TGF) fr. 267.

Rogers, Will -- Article (1932-03-12), “Letter of a Self-Made Diplomat to His President,” Saturday Evening Post

Dave — Thu, 07 Dec 2023 19:10:30 +0000

Cowardice or Bravery is never racial. You find both in every Country. No country has a monopoly on Bravery; great deeds of heroism is liable to break out in the most unexpected places.

Will Rogers (1879-1935) American humorist
Article (1932-03-12), “Letter of a Self-Made Diplomat to His President,” Saturday Evening Post

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

Confucius -- The Analects [論語, 论语, Lúnyǔ], Book 8, verse 13, sec. 3 (8.13.3) (6th C. BC – AD 3rd C.) [tr. Li (2020)]

Dave — Mon, 15 May 2023 16:27:10 +0000

People feel shameful to be poor and underprivileged in a well-run country. You should feel shameful if you are rich and aristocratic in a decadent and corrupt country.

[邦有道、貧且賤焉、恥也、邦無道、富且貴焉、恥也。]

Confucius (c. 551- c. 479 BC) Chinese philosopher, sage, politician [孔夫子 (Kǒng Fūzǐ, K'ung Fu-tzu, K'ung Fu Tse), 孔子 (Kǒngzǐ, Chungni), 孔丘 (Kǒng Qiū, K'ung Ch'iu)]
The Analects [論語, 论语, Lúnyǔ], Book 8, verse 13, sec. 3 (8.13.3) (6th C. BC – AD 3rd C.) [tr. Li (2020)]
(Source)

Brooks (below) says that this analect was added into Book 8 at the time of Book 14 being produced.

(Source (Chinese)). Alternate translations:

When a country is well-governed, poverty and a mean condition are things to be ashamed of. When a country is ill-governed, riches and honour are things to be ashamed of.
[tr. Legge (1861)]

Under a good government it will be a disgrace to him if he remain in poverty and low estate; under a bad one it would be equally disgraceful to him to hold riches and honours.
[tr. Jennings (1895)]

When there is justice and order in the government of his own country, he should be ashamed to be poor and without honour; but when there is no justice in the government of his own country he should be ashamed to be rich and honoured.
[tr. Ku Hung-Ming (1898)]

When law and order prevail in his State, he is ashamed to be needy and of no account. When law and order fail, he is ashamed to be in affluence and honour.
[tr. Soothill (1910)]

When a state is functioning, poverty and meanness are shameful; when a state is in chaos (ill governed) riches and honours are shameful. [Let us say: under a corrupt government.]
[tr. Pound (1933)]

When the Way prevails in your own land, count it a disgrace to be needy and obscure; when the Way does not prevail in your land, then count it a disgrace to be rich and honoured.
[tr. Waley (1938)]

If a state is following The Right Way, it is a disgrace to be in poverty and a low estate therein; if not, it is a disgrace to be rich and honored therein.
[tr. Ware (1950)]

It is a shameful matter to be poor and humble when the Way prevails in the state. Equally, it is a shameful matter to be rich and noble when the Way falls into disuse in the state.
[tr. Lau (1979)]

When the Way prevails in your own state, to be made poor and obscure by it is a disgrace; but when teh Way does not prevail in your own state, to be made rich and honourable by it is a disgrace.
[tr. Dawson (1993)]

In a country where the Way prevails, it is shameful to remain poor and obscure; in a country which has lost the Way, it is shameful to become rich and honored.
[tr. Leys (1997)]

When the state possesses the Way and you are poor and lowly, it is a shame; when the state loses the Way and you are rich and noble, it is also a shame.
[tr. Huang (1997)]

If the country is on the right way, it is the shame to be poor and low; If the country is not on the right way, it is the shame to be rich and honor.
[tr. Cai/Yu (1998), #201]

It is a disgrace to remain poor and without rank when the way prevails in the state; it is a disgrace to be wealthy and of noble rank when it does not.
[tr. Ames/Rosemont (1998)]

When the state has the Way, to be poor and humble in it is shameful; when the state has not the Way, to be wealthy and honored in it is shameful.
[tr. Brooks/Brooks (1998)]

When the Way rules in your country, there's shame in poverty and obscurity; when the Way's lost in your country, there's shame in wealth and renown.
[tr. Hinton (1998)]

In a state that has the Way, to be poor and of low status is a cause for shame; in a state that is without the Way, to be wealthy and honored is equally a cause for shame.
[tr. Slingerland (2003)]

When the state follows the Way, being poor and lowly is a cause for shame. When the state is without the Way, being rich and eminent is a cause for shame.
[tr. Watson (2007)]

When the moral way prevails in a state, being poor and lowly is a cause for shame. When the moral way does not prevail in the world, having wealth and position is a cause for shame.
[tr. Chin (2014)]

Child, Julia -- (Misattributed)

Dave — Thu, 04 May 2023 16:32:05 +0000

How can a nation be called great if its bread tastes like Kleenex?

Julia Child (1912-2004) American chef and writer
(Misattributed)
(Source)

Not found in Child's works, it appears to have been coined by Joan Barthel in an article about Child: "How to Avoid TV Dinners While Watching TV," New York Times Magazine (1966-08-07):

"The French Chef" [...] educational TV's answer to underground movies and pop-op cults -- the program that can be campier than "Batman," farther-out than "Lost in Space" and more penetrating than "Meet the Press" as it probes the question: Can a Society be Great if its bread tastes like Kleenex?"

The article is quoted in Noël Riley Fitch, Appetite for Life: The Biography of Julia Child (1997).

Bickel, Alexander -- The Least Dangerous Branch, ch. 2 (1962)

Dave — Tue, 20 Sep 2022 16:09:00 +0000

No society, certainly not a large and heterogeneous one, can fail in time to explode if it is deprived of the arts of compromise, if it knows no way of muddling through. No good society can be unprincipled; and no viable society can be principle-ridden.

Alexander M. Bickel (1924-1974) Romanian-American law professor, constitutional scholar
The Least Dangerous Branch, ch. 2 (1962)
(Source)

Beecher, Henry Ward -- Life Thoughts (1858) [ed. Proctor]

Dave — Thu, 18 Aug 2022 16:38:14 +0000

A conservative young man has wound up his life before it was unreeled. We expect old men to be conservative, but when a nation’s young men are conservatives, its funeral bell is already rung.

Henry Ward Beecher (1813-1887) American clergyman and orator
Life Thoughts (1858) [ed. Proctor]
(Source)

This was more succinctly summarized in Proverbs from Plymouth Pulpit, "Political" (1887) [ed. William Drysdale]:

When a nation’s young men are conservatives, its funeral bell is already rung.

Ingersoll, Robert Green -- Decoration Day Speech, Academy of Music, New York City (29 May 1882)

Dave — Fri, 15 Jul 2022 22:55:28 +0000

Mere politicians wish the country to do something for them; true patriots desire to do something for their country.

Robert Green Ingersoll (1833-1899) American lawyer, freethinker, orator
Decoration Day Speech, Academy of Music, New York City (29 May 1882)
(Source)

See Holmes, Harding, Kennedy.

Van Dyke, Henry -- “America’s Prosperity” (1 Oct 1916), The Red Flower: Poems Written in War Time (1917)

Dave — Mon, 11 Jul 2022 14:55:46 +0000

They tell me thou art rich, my country: gold
In glittering flood has poured into thy chest;
Thy flocks and herds increase, thy barns are pressed
With harvest, and thy stores can hardly hold
Their merchandise; unending trains are rolled
Along thy network rails of East and West;
Thy factories and forges never rest;
Thou art enriched in all things bought and sold!

But dost thou prosper? Better news I crave.
O dearest country, is it well with thee
Indeed, and is thy soul in health?
A nobler people, hearts more wisely brave,
And thoughts that lift men up and make them free, —
These are prosperity and vital wealth!

Henry Van Dyke (1852-1933) American clergyman and writer
“America’s Prosperity” (1 Oct 1916), The Red Flower: Poems Written in War Time (1917)
(Source)

Bell, Daniel -- The End of Ideology, Introduction (1961 ed.)

Dave — Mon, 05 Apr 2021 14:40:31 +0000

A society is most vigorous, and appealing, when both partisan and critic are legitimate voices in the permanent dialogue that is the testing of ideas and experience. One can be a critic of one’s country without being an enemy of its promise.

Daniel Bell (1919-2011) American sociologist, writer, editor, academic
The End of Ideology, Introduction (1961 ed.)
(Source)

Kennedy, John F. -- Speech, Liberal Party Nomination, New York (14 Sep 1960)

Dave — Fri, 30 Oct 2020 18:41:43 +0000

I believe in human dignity as the source of national purpose, in human liberty as the source of national action, and the human heart as the source of national compassion, and in the human mind as the source of our invention and our ideas. It is, I believe, this faith in our fellow citizens as individuals and as people that lies at the heart of the liberal faith, for liberalism is not so much a party creed or a set of fixed platform promises as it is an attitude of mind and heart, a faith in man’s ability through the experiences of his reason and judgment to increase for himself and his fellow men the amount of justice and freedom and brotherhood which all human life deserves.

John F. Kennedy (1917-1963) American politician, author, journalist, US President (1961–63)
Speech, Liberal Party Nomination, New York (14 Sep 1960)
(Source)

Cicero, Marcus Tullius -- (Spurious)

Dave — Mon, 24 Aug 2020 15:26:51 +0000

A nation can survive its fools, and even the ambitious. But it cannot survive treason from within. For the traitor appears not a traitor — he speaks in the accents familiar to his victims, and he appeals to the baseness that lies deep in the hearts of all men. He rots the soul of a nation — he works secretly and unknown in the night to undermine the pillars of the city — he infects the body politic so that it can no longer resist. A murderer is less to be feared. The traitor is the carrier of the plague. You have unbarred the gates of Rome to him.

Marcus Tullius Cicero (106-43 BC) Roman orator, statesman, philosopher
(Spurious)

This text, widely passed around on social media, was made up for Cicero in Taylor Caldwell, A Pillar of Iron (1965).

Paine, Thomas -- (Attributed)

Dave — Thu, 06 Aug 2020 22:58:23 +0000

The world is my country, all mankind are my brethren, and to do good is my religion.

Thomas Paine (1737-1809) American political philosopher and writer
(Attributed)

This is widely attributed to Paine, in respectable sources, and usually (when a source is given) from The Rights of Man (1791) or The Age of Reason (1795). But a search of the text of the latter shows none of the three clauses appear in it. In The Rights of Man, Paine did write, "My country is the world, and my religion is to do good," which is close but not the same (and is sometimes cited with the different word order of the subject quote).

The three clauses appear (with a fourth, "I believe in One God and no more") on the 1923 plaque at the location of Paine's last residence, on Grove St. in Greenwich Village, NY, but with no citation (though one is sometimes applied). But the attribution of this phrase to Paine (including citing it to The Age of Reason) predates the plaque (e.g., 1913). I've not been able to find a reliable citation for this quote.

Peel, Robert -- (Attributed)

Dave — Mon, 02 Apr 2018 15:39:39 +0000

Agitation is the marshalling of the conscience of a nation to mold its laws.

Robert Peel (1788-1850) British statesman, Prime Minister (1834-35, 1841-46)
(Attributed)
(Source)

Sometimes quoted as "conscience of a people." Widely quoted without source in the late 19th Century (earliest ref. 1881).

Tawney, R. H. -- The Acquisitive Century, ch. 2 “Rights and Functions” (1920)

Dave — Fri, 30 Dec 2016 01:39:01 +0000

The conception of men as united to each other, and of all mankind as united to God, by mutual obligations arising from their relation to a common end, which vaguely conceived and imperfectly realized, had been the keystone holding together the social fabric, ceased to be impressed upon men’s minds, when Church and State withdrew from the centre of social life to its circumference. What remained … was private rights and private interests, the materials of a society rather than a society itself.

R. H. Tawney (1880-1962) English writer, economist, historian, social critic [Richard Henry Tawney]
The Acquisitive Century, ch. 2 “Rights and Functions” (1920)

Harris, Sydney J. -- “Nations Should Submit to the Rule of Law,” Clearing the Ground (1986)

Dave — Tue, 20 Dec 2016 04:05:04 +0000

“Terrorism” is what we call the violence of the weak, and we condemn it; “war” is what we call the violence of the strong, and we glorify it.

Sydney J. Harris (1917-1986) Anglo-American columnist, journalist, author
“Nations Should Submit to the Rule of Law,” Clearing the Ground (1986)

Agar, Herbert -- (Attributed)

Dave — Thu, 24 Nov 2016 06:13:40 +0000

Every civilization rests on a set of promises: moral promises about how to behave toward each other, physical promises about how to use our economic system. If the promises are broken too often, the civilization dies, no matter how rich it may be, or how mechanically clever. Hope and faith depend upon promises; if hope and faith go, everything goes.

Herbert Agar (1897-1980) American journalist and historian
(Attributed)

Adams, John Quincy -- Letter to James Lloyd (1 Oct 1822)

Dave — Tue, 04 Oct 2016 00:48:30 +0000

Individual liberty is individual power, and as the power of a community is a mass compounded of individual powers, the nation which enjoys the most freedom must necessarily be in proportion to its numbers the most powerful nation.

John Quincy Adams (1767-1848) US President (1825-29)
Letter to James Lloyd (1 Oct 1822)

Emerson, Ralph Waldo -- “Politics,” Essays: Second Series (1844)

Dave — Fri, 05 Aug 2016 00:26:11 +0000

What the tender poetic youth dreams, and prays, and paints to-day, but shuns the ridicule of saying aloud, shall presently be the resolutions of public bodies, then shall be carried as grievance and bill of rights through conflict and war, and then shall be triumphant law and establishment for a hundred years, until it gives place, in turn, to new prayers and pictures.

Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) American essayist, lecturer, poet
“Politics,” Essays: Second Series (1844)
(Source)

This quotation is more often given as the paraphrase used by another speaker of the era, the abolitionist Wendell Phillips:

What the tender and poetic youth dreams to-day, and conjures up with inarticulate speech, is to-morrow the vociferated result of public opinion, and the day after is the charter of nations.

Phillips used this phrase, prefixed with, "As Emerson says," and in quotation marks, at least twice. First in his lecture "Harper's Ferry" (1 Nov 1859), Brooklyn. Second, in a different context, in "The Scholar in a Republic" (30 Jun 1881), a famous speech at the centennial of the Phi Beta Kappa society at Harvard University.

Emerson did not use this shorter phrasing, however, in any of his written works, and frequent attributions of it to him are in error.

McEwan, Ian -- Solar (2010)

Dave — Wed, 03 Aug 2016 00:59:54 +0000

Nations are never virtuous, though they might sometimes think they are.

Ian McEwan (b. 1948) English novelist and screenwriter
Solar (2010)

Howard, Robert E. -- Letter to Tevis Clyde Smith (Jul 1923)

Dave — Tue, 24 May 2016 13:45:03 +0000

When a nation forgets her skill in war, when her religion becomes a mockery, when the whole nation becomes a nation of money-grabbers, then the wild tribes, the barbarians drive in. … Who will our invaders be? From whence will they come?

Robert E. Howard (1906-1936) American author
Letter to Tevis Clyde Smith (Jul 1923)

Heinlein, Robert A. -- Friday [Dr. Baldwin] (1982)

Dave — Tue, 01 Dec 2015 14:59:02 +0000

What are the marks of a sick culture? It is a bad sign when the people of a country stop identifying themselves with the country and start identifying with a group. A racial group. Or a religion. Or a language. Anything, as long as it isn’t the whole population. A very bad sign. Particularism. It was once considered a Spanish vice but any country can fall sick with it.

Robert A. Heinlein (1907-1988) American writer
Friday [Dr. Baldwin] (1982)

Roosevelt, Franklin Delano -- Speech (1940-11-01), Campaign Address, Brooklyn Academy of Music, New York

Dave — Thu, 19 Nov 2015 15:35:44 +0000

We are a nation of many nationalities, many races, many religions — bound together by a single unity, the unity of freedom and equality. Whoever seeks to set one nationality against another, seeks to degrade all nationalities. Whoever seeks to set one race against another seeks to enslave all races. Whoever seeks to set one religion against another, seeks to destroy all religion.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1882–1945) American lawyer, politician, statesman, US President (1933–1945)
Speech (1940-11-01), Campaign Address, Brooklyn Academy of Music, New York
(Source)

Mencken, H. L. -- “On Being an American” (1), Prejudices: Third Series (1922)

Dave — Fri, 23 Oct 2015 12:58:32 +0000

The chief business of the nation, as a nation, is the setting up of heroes, mainly bogus.

H. L. Mencken (1880-1956) American writer and journalist [Henry Lewis Mencken]
“On Being an American” (1), Prejudices: Third Series (1922)

Roosevelt, Eleanor -- Tomorrow Is Now (1963)

Dave — Wed, 17 Jun 2015 12:26:36 +0000

I am stressing that it is the force of ideas rather than the impact of material things that made us a great nation. It is my conviction, too, that only the power of ideas, of enduring values, can keep us a great nation. For, where there is no vision the people perish.

Eleanor Roosevelt (1884–1962) First Lady of the US (1933–1945), politician, diplomat, activist
Tomorrow Is Now (1963)

Smith, Adam -- Letter to Sir John Sinclair of Ulbster

Dave — Thu, 26 Mar 2015 13:18:27 +0000

Be assured, my young friend, that there is a great deal of ruin in a nation.

Adam Smith (1723-1790) Scottish economist
Letter to Sir John Sinclair of Ulbster

When Sinclair had written him, after the Battle of Saratoga (Oct 1777), "If we go on at this rate, the nation must be ruined." In The Correspondence of Sir John Sinclair, Bt (1831).

Zappa, Frank -- The Real Frank Zappa Book, ch. 12 “America Drinks & Goes Marching” (1989) [with Peter Occhiogrosso]

Dave — Fri, 20 Feb 2015 17:40:37 +0000

Every major industrialized nation has A BEER (you can’t be a Real Country unless you have A BEER and an airline — it helps if you have some kind of a football team, or some nuclear weapons, but at the very least you need A BEER).

Frank Zappa (1940-1993) American singer-songwriter
The Real Frank Zappa Book, ch. 12 “America Drinks & Goes Marching” (1989) [with Peter Occhiogrosso]
(Source)

More discussion of this quotation: You Can’t Be a Real Country Unless You Have a Beer and an Airline – Quote Investigator

Shaw, George Bernard -- Remark (1940s)

Dave — Mon, 19 Jan 2015 14:13:43 +0000

A self-righteous country soon forgets its righteousness and remembers only the self.

George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950) Irish playwright and critic
Remark (1940s)

To the author, in Stephen Winsten, Days with Bernard Shaw, ch. 25 (1949)

Huxley, Aldous -- Ends and Means (1937)

Dave — Wed, 31 Dec 2014 18:24:19 +0000

So long as men worship the Caesars and Napoleons, Caesars and Napoleons will duly rise and make them miserable.

Aldous Huxley (1894-1963) English novelist, essayist and critic
Ends and Means (1937)

Solon -- (Attributed)

Dave — Wed, 18 Jun 2014 12:47:39 +0000

At a dinner given by Periander, tyrant of Corinth, to the Seven Wise Men, including Anacharsis, the question was asked, What is the ideal state, or most perfect form of popular government? The answers given by the philosophers were as follows:—

Solon: “That in which an injury done to the least of its citizens is an injury done to all.”
Bias: “Where the law has no superior.”
Thales: “Where the rich are neither too rich, nor the poor too poor.”
Anacharsis: “Where virtue is honored, and vice detested.”
Pittacus: “Where dignities are always conferred on the good, never on the bad.”
Cleobulus: “Where the citizens fear blame more than punishment.”
Chilo: “Where the laws are more regarded, and have more authority, than the orators.”
Goethe has asked, “What government is best? That which teaches us to govern ourselves.” At another time he said, “The best government is that which makes itself superfluous.”
“Good government,” says Confucius, “obtains when those who are near are made happy, and those who are far off are attracted.”

Solon (c. 638 BC - 558 BC) Athenian statesman, lawmaker, poet
(Attributed)
(Source)

In S.A. Bent, Familiar Short Sayings of Great Men, "Solon" (1887). Compare translations here.

Kennedy, John F. -- Speech, Amherst College (26 Oct 1963)

Dave — Mon, 12 May 2014 16:07:35 +0000

Our national strength matters, but the spirit which informs our strength matters just as much.

John F. Kennedy (1917-1963) American politician, author, journalist, US President (1961–63)
Speech, Amherst College (26 Oct 1963)

Twain, Mark -- Papers of the Adams Family, Part 6 “Two Fragments from a Suppressed Book Called ‘Glances at History’ or ‘Outlines of History'” (1939)

Dave — Fri, 28 Dec 2012 01:01:10 +0000

For in a republic, who is “the Country”? Is it the Government which is for the moment in the saddle? Why, the Government is merely a servant — merely a temporary servant; it cannot be its prerogative to determine what is right and what is wrong, and decide who is a patriot and who isn’t. Its function is to obey orders, not originate them. Who, then, is “the country?” Is it the newspaper? Is it the pulpit? Is it the school-superintendent? Why, these are mere parts of the country, not the whole of it; they have not command, they have only their little share in the command. They are but one in the thousand; it is in the thousand that command is lodged; they must determine what is right and what is wrong; they must decide who is a patriot and who isn’t.

Mark Twain (1835-1910) American writer [pseud. of Samuel Clemens]
Papers of the Adams Family, Part 6 “Two Fragments from a Suppressed Book Called ‘Glances at History’ or ‘Outlines of History'” (1939)

Twain, Mark -- Papers of the Adams Family, Part 6 “Two Fragments from a Suppressed Book Called ‘Glances at History’ or ‘Outlines of History'” (1939)

Dave — Thu, 20 Dec 2012 17:41:05 +0000

Against our traditions we are now entering upon an unjust and trivial war, a war against a helpless people, and for a base object — robbery. At first our citizens spoke out against this thing, by an impulse natural to their training. Today they have turned, and their voice is the other way. What caused the change? Merely a politician’s trick — a high-sounding phrase, a blood-stirring phrase which turned their uncritical heads: Our Country, right or wrong! An empty phrase, a silly phrase. It was shouted by every newspaper, it was thundered from the pulpit, the Superintendent of Public Instruction placarded it in every schoolhouse in the land, the War Department inscribed it upon the flag. And every man who failed to shout it or who was silent, was proclaimed a traitor — none but those others were patriots. To be a patriot, one had to say, and keep on saying, “Our Country, right or wrong,” and urge on the little war. Have you not perceived that that phrase is an insult to the nation?

Roosevelt, Theodore -- Speech (1910-08-31), “The New Nationalism,” John Brown Memorial Park dedication, Osawatomie, Kansas

Dave — Mon, 03 Sep 2012 16:31:51 +0000

No man can be a good citizen unless he has a wage more than sufficient to cover the bare cost of living, and hours of labor short enough so that after his day’s work is done he will have time and energy to bear his share in the management of the community, to help in carrying the general load. We keep countless men from being good citizens by the conditions of life with which we surround them.

Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919) American politician, statesman, conservationist, writer, US President (1901–1909)
Speech (1910-08-31), “The New Nationalism,” John Brown Memorial Park dedication, Osawatomie, Kansas
(Source)

Democritus -- Frag. 247 (Diels) [tr. Freeman (1948)]

Dave — Tue, 24 Jul 2012 12:52:15 +0000

To a wise man, the whole earth is open; for the native land of a good soul is the whole earth.

[Ἀνδρὶ σοφῶι πᾶσα γῆ βατή· ψυχῆς γὰρ ἀγαθῆς πατρὶς ὁ ξύμπας κόσμος.]

Democritus (c. 460 BC - c. 370 BC) Greek philosopher
Frag. 247 (Diels) [tr. Freeman (1948)]
(Source)

Diels citation: "247. (168 N.)"; collected in Joannes Stobaeus (Stobaios) Anthologium III, 40, 7. Alternate translations:

"To a wise man the whole earth is accessible; for the home country of a good soul is the whole world." [tr. Barnes (1987)]
"The whole earth is open to the wise person, for the entire universe is the country of a good soul." [@sentantiq (2019)]
"The whole world is home to a wise man with an upright spirit." [Source]
"The wise man belongs to all countries, for the home of a great soul is the whole world."

Schopenhauer, Arthur -- Parerga and Paralipomena, Vol. 1, “Aphorisms on the Wisdom of Life [Aphorismen zur Lebensweisheit],” ch. 4 “Position, or a Man’s Place in the Estimation of Others [Von dem, was einer vorstellt]” (1851) [tr. Saunders (1890), 4.2]

Dave — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 12:53:20 +0000

National character is only another name for the particular form which the littleness, perversity, and baseness of mankind take in every country. If we become disgusted with one, we praise another, until we get disgusted with this too. Every nation mocks at other nations, and all are right.

[Dem Nationalcharakter wird, da er von der Menge redet, nie viel Gutes ehrlicherweise nachzurühmen sein. Vielmehr erscheint nur die menschliche Beschränktheit, Verkehrtheit und Schlechtigkeit in jedem Lande in einer andern Form und diese nennt man den Nationalcharakter. Von einem derselben degoutirt loben wir den andern, bis es uns mit ihm eben so ergangen ist. — Jede Nation spottet über die andere, und alle haben recht.]

Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860) German philosopher
Parerga and Paralipomena, Vol. 1, “Aphorisms on the Wisdom of Life [Aphorismen zur Lebensweisheit],” ch. 4 “Position, or a Man’s Place in the Estimation of Others [Von dem, was einer vorstellt]” (1851) [tr. Saunders (1890), 4.2]
(Source)

(Source (German)). Alternate translation:

Since national character speaks of the crowd, not much good will ever be honestly said in its favour. On the contrary, we see in a different form in each country only human meanness, perversity, and depravity, and this is called national character. Having become disgusted with one of them, we praise another until we become just as disgusted with it. Every nation ridicules the rest and all are right.
[tr. Payne (1974), ch. 4 "What a Man Represents"]

Kennedy, John F. -- State of the Union address (1961-01-30)

Dave — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 14:29:58 +0000

I have pledged myself and my colleagues in the cabinet to a continuous encouragement of initiative, responsibility and energy in serving the public interest. Let every public servant know, whether his post is high or low, that a man’s rank and reputation in this Administration will be determined by the size of the job he does, and not by the size of his staff, his office or his budget. Let it be clear that this Administration recognizes the value of dissent and daring — that we greet healthy controversy as the hallmark of healthy change. Let the public service be a proud and lively career. And let every man and woman who works in any area of our national government, in any branch, at any level, be able to say with pride and with honor in future years: “I served the United States Government in that hour of our nation’s need.”

John F. Kennedy (1917-1963) American politician, author, journalist, US President (1961–63)
State of the Union address (1961-01-30)
(Source)

Twain, Mark -- Story (1905-02-02), “The Czar’s Soliloquy,” North American Review, Vol. 180, No. 580 (1905-03)

Dave — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 15:28:56 +0000

Remember this, take it to heart, live by it, die for it if necessary: that our patriotism is medieval, outworn, obsolete; that the modern patriotism, the true patriotism, the only rational patriotism is loyalty to the nation all the time, loyalty to the Government when it deserves it.

Mark Twain (1835-1910) American writer [pseud. of Samuel Clemens]
Story (1905-02-02), “The Czar’s Soliloquy,” North American Review, Vol. 180, No. 580 (1905-03)
(Source)

Advice that Russian mothers should be giving their children.

Sometimes paraphrased: "Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it."

Orwell, George -- Essay (1945-05), “Notes on Nationalism,” Polemic Magazine (1945-10)

Dave — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 14:05:39 +0000

By “nationalism” I mean first of all the habit of assuming that human beings can be classified like insects and that whole blocks of millions or tens of millions of people can be confidently labeled “good” or “bad.” But secondly — and this is much more important — I mean the habit of identifying oneself with a single nation or other unit, placing it beyond good and evil and recognizing no other duty than that of advancing its interests.

George Orwell (1903-1950) English journalist, essayist, writer [pseud. of Eric Arthur Blair]
Essay (1945-05), “Notes on Nationalism,” Polemic Magazine (1945-10)
(Source)

Lincoln, Abraham -- Message (1861-07-04) to Congress, Special Message, Washington, D. C.

Dave — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 15:10:37 +0000

Must a government, of necessity, be too strong for the liberties of its own people, or too weak to maintain its own existence?

Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) American lawyer, politician, US President (1861-65)
Message (1861-07-04) to Congress, Special Message, Washington, D. C.
(Source)

Lincoln's Special Message to Congress was to discuss the Civil War that had broken out, its origins, and how it represented this fundamental question about representative government.

Lincoln repeated this phrasing at the beginning of his speech (1864-11-10) responding to serenaders celebrating his re-election. Franklin Roosevelt quoted Lincoln during a pre-WW2 Jackson Day radio address (1941-03-29).

Brecht, Bertholt -- Life of Galileo [Leben des Galilei], sc. 13 (1939)

Dave — Mon, 31 May 2010 18:29:29 +0000

ANDREA: Unhappy the land that has no heroes! …
GALILEO: No, Unhappy the land that needs heroes.

[ANDREA: Unglücklich das Land, das keine Helden hat! …
GALILEO: Nein, Unglücklich das Land, das Helden nötig hat.]

Bertolt Brecht (1898-1956) German poet, playwright, director, dramaturgist
Life of Galileo [Leben des Galilei], sc. 13 (1939)

Alternate translation:
ANDREA: Unhappy the land that breeds no heroes.
GALILEO: No, Andrea: Unhappy is the land that needs a hero.
[tr. Laughton (1961); cited as sc. 12]

Swift, Jonathan -- Gulliver’s Travels, Part 4 “Voyage to the Land of the Houyhnhnms,” ch. 5 (1726)

Dave — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 12:38:29 +0000

Poor Nations are hungry, and rich Nations are proud, and Pride and Hunger will ever be at Variance.

Jonathan Swift (1667-1745) English writer and churchman
Gulliver’s Travels, Part 4 “Voyage to the Land of the Houyhnhnms,” ch. 5 (1726)
(Source)

Austen, Jane -- Mansfield Park, ch. 9 [Edmund Bertram] (1814)

Dave — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 12:43:47 +0000

It will, I believe, be everywhere found, that as the clergy are, or are not what they ought to be, so are the rest of the nation.

Jane Austen (1775-1817) English author
Mansfield Park, ch. 9 [Edmund Bertram] (1814)
(Source)

Montesquieu -- Considerations on the Causes of the Greatness of the Romans and Their Decline [Considérations sur les causes de la grandeur des Romains et de leur décadence], ch. 18 (1734, 1748 ed.) [tr. Baker (1882)]

Dave — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 17:25:27 +0000

An empire founded by arms needs to be sustained by arms.

[Un empire fondé par les armes a besoin de se soutenir par les armes.]

Charles-Lewis de Secondat, Baron de Montesquieu (1689-1755) French political philosopher
Considerations on the Causes of the Greatness of the Romans and Their Decline [Considérations sur les causes de la grandeur des Romains et de leur décadence], ch. 18 (1734, 1748 ed.) [tr. Baker (1882)]
(Source)

(Source (French)). Other translations:

An empire, founded by arms, must likewise have arms for its support.
[tr. B--- (1734)]

An Empire founded by Arms, must likewise have Arms for its Support.
[ed. Guterman (1963)]

An empire founded by war has to maintain itself by war.
[E.g. (1960)]

An empire founded by arms needs to be sustained by arms.
[tr. Lowenthal (1965)]

Lincoln, Abraham -- Speech (1861-03-04), Inaugural Address, Washington, D. C. (final paragraph)

Dave — Tue, 19 May 2009 12:12:25 +0000

I am loathe to close. We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave, to every living heart and hearthstone, all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature.

Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) American lawyer, politician, US President (1861-65)
Speech (1861-03-04), Inaugural Address, Washington, D. C. (final paragraph)
(Source)

William Seward, though a political rival of Lincoln's, was invited by him to review the draft address. Seward suggested, as an added ending paragraph, the following, which was then adapted by Lincoln into the above:

I close. We are not, we must not be aliens or enemies but fellow-countrymen. Although passion has strained our bonds of affection too hardly, they must not, I am sure they will not, be broken. The mystic chords which, proceeding from so many battle-fields, and so many patriot graves, pass through all the hearts and all the hearths in this broad continent of ours, will yet again harmonize in their ancient music when breathed upon by the guardian angel of the nation.

Holmes, Oliver Wendell, Jr. -- “In Our Youth Our Hearts Were Touched With Fire,” Memorial Day address, Keene, New Hampshire (30 May 1884)

Dave — Tue, 12 May 2009 12:42:24 +0000

It is now the moment when by common consent we pause to become conscious of our national life and to rejoice in it, to recall what our country has done for each of us, and to ask ourselves what we can do for our country in return.

Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. (1841-1935) American jurist, Supreme Court Justice
“In Our Youth Our Hearts Were Touched With Fire,” Memorial Day address, Keene, New Hampshire (30 May 1884)
(Source)

Speaking of what the Independence Day (Fourth of July) has become in the US, separated by time from the initial cause it celebrated.

See Harding and Kennedy.

Addison, Joseph -- Essay (1716-01-06), The Freeholder, No. 5

Dave — Tue, 05 May 2009 13:02:18 +0000

There is no greater Sign of a general Decay of Virtue in a Nation, than a Want of Zeal in its Inhabitants for the Good of their Countrey.

Joseph Addison (1672-1719) English essayist, poet, statesman
Essay (1716-01-06), The Freeholder, No. 5
(Source)

Harris, Sydney J. -- “What’s Wrong with Being Proud?” Pieces of Eight (1982)

Dave — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 10:54:51 +0000

Patriotism is proud of a country’s virtues and eager to correct its deficiencies; it also acknowledges the legitimate patriotism of other countries, with their own specific virtues. The pride of nationalism, however, trumpets its country’s virtues and denies its deficiencies, while it is contemptuous toward the virtues of other countries. It wants to be, and proclaims itself to be, “the greatest,” but greatness is not required of a country; only goodness is.

Sydney J. Harris (1917-1986) Anglo-American columnist, journalist, author
“What’s Wrong with Being Proud?” Pieces of Eight (1982)

Roosevelt, Theodore -- Speech (1903-09-07), “The Square Deal,” Labor Day, New York State Agricultural Association, New York State Fair, Syracuse

Dave — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 12:43:43 +0000

It is all-essential to the continuance of our healthy national life that we should recognize this community of interest among our people. The welfare of each of us is dependent fundamentally upon the welfare of all of us, and therefore in public life that man is the best representative of each of us who seeks to do good to each by doing good to all; in other words, whose endeavor it is not to represent any special class and promote merely that class’s selfish interests, but to represent all true and honest men of all sections and all classes and to work for their interests by working for our common country.

Smith, Sydney -- “Ireland,” The Edinburgh Review (1820-11)

Dave — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 10:20:05 +0000

Great men hallow a whole people and lift up all who live in their time.

Sydney Smith (1771-1845) English clergyman, essayist, wit
“Ireland,” The Edinburgh Review (1820-11)
(Source)

Review of Whitewlaw's History off the City of Dublin,, Curwein's Observations on the State of Ireland (1818), and Gamble's Views of Society in Ireland.

Speaking of his friend, Henry Grattan.

Adams, John -- Letter (1808-04-18) to Benjamin Rush

Dave — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 09:18:34 +0000

Our Obligations to our Country never cease but with our Lives.

John Adams (1735–1826) American lawyer, Founding Father, statesman, US President (1797–1801)
Letter (1808-04-18) to Benjamin Rush
(Source)

Carter, Jimmy -- Speech (1976-10-14), “Warm Hearts and Cool Heads,” Liberal Party of New York Dinner, New York City

Dave — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 12:31:38 +0000

A strong nation, like a strong person, can afford to be gentle, firm, thoughtful, and restrained. It can afford to extend a helping hand to others. It’s a weak nation, like a weak person, that must behave with bluster and boasting and rashness and other signs of insecurity.

Jimmy Carter (b. 1924) American politician, US President (1977-1981), Nobel laureate [James Earl Carter, Jr.]
Speech (1976-10-14), “Warm Hearts and Cool Heads,” Liberal Party of New York Dinner, New York City
(Source)

The title of the speech was from a phrase coined by Adlai Stevenson.

Burke, Edmund -- Reflections on the Revolution in France (1790)

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

A state without the means of some change is without the means of its conservation.

Edmund Burke (1729-1797) Anglo-Irish statesman, orator, philosopher
Reflections on the Revolution in France (1790)
(Source)

Mann, Abby -- Judgment at Nuremberg (1961)

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

HAYWOOD: There are those in our own country, too, who today speak of the protection of country, of survival. A decision must be made, in the life of every nation, at the very moment when the grasp of the enemy is at its throat, when it seems the only way to survive is to use the means of the enemy, to rest survival upon what is expedient. To look the other way. Only the answer to that is: Survival as what?

Abby Mann (1927-2008) American screenwriter, producer [a.k.a. Abraham Goodman, Ben Goodman]
Judgment at Nuremberg (1961)

WIST Quotations

Montesquieu -- Spirit of Laws [The Spirit of the Laws; De l’esprit des lois], Book 3, ch. 3 (3.3) (1748) [tr. Nugent (1750)]

Thurber, James -- Essay (1958-12-07), “State of the Nation’s Humor: ‘On the Brink of Was,'” New York Times Magazine

Roosevelt, Theodore -- Speech (1903-09-07), “The Square Deal,” Labor Day, New York State Agricultural Association, New York State Fair, Syracuse

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

Pratchett, Terry -- Discworld No. 31, Monstrous Regiment [Vimes] (2003)

Roosevelt, Theodore -- Essay (1918-05), “Lincoln and Free Speech,” Metropolitan Magazine, Vol. 47, No. 6

Mackay, Charles -- Memoirs of Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds, “The South-Sea Bubble” (1841)

Hugo, Victor -- Les Misérables, Part 5 “Jean Valjean,” Book 1 “The War Between Four Walls,” ch. 21 (5.1.21) (1862) [tr. Hapgood (1887)]

Franklin, Benjamin -- Poor Richard (1740 ed.)

Vance, Jack -- The Languages of Pao, ch. 5, epigraph (1958)

Roosevelt, Franklin Delano -- Speech (1941-03-29), Jackson Day Radio Broadcast, U.S.S. Potomac

Lincoln, Abraham -- Speech (1863-11-19), “Dedication of the National Cemetery at Gettysburg [Gettysburg Address],” Pennsylvania

Roosevelt, Theodore -- Speech (1910-04-23), “Citizenship in a Republic [The Man in the Arena],” Sorbonne, Paris

Carlyle, Thomas -- Essay (1850-04-01), “Downing Street,” Latter-Day Pamphlets, No. 3

Shakespeare, William -- Macbeth, Act 4, sc. 3, l. 49ff (4.3.49-51) (1606)

Maugham, W. Somerset -- Strictly Personal, § 30 (1941)

McLaughlin, Mignon -- The Neurotic’s Notebook, ch. 5 (1963)

Addison, Joseph -- Essay (1716-01-06), The Freeholder, No. 5

Johnson, Lyndon -- Speech (1964-05-22), Graduation, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

Moyers, Bill -- Essay (2003-02-28), “Patriotism and the Flag,” NOW with Bill Moyers (PBS)

Carlyle, Thomas -- Essay (1829-06), “Signs of the Times,” Edinburgh Review No. 98, Art. 7

Euripides -- Auge [Αὐγῃ], frag. 267 (c. 408 BC) [tr. @sentantiq (2014)]

Rogers, Will -- Article (1932-03-12), “Letter of a Self-Made Diplomat to His President,” Saturday Evening Post

Confucius -- The Analects [論語, 论语, Lúnyǔ], Book 8, verse 13, sec. 3 (8.13.3) (6th C. BC – AD 3rd C.) [tr. Li (2020)]

Child, Julia -- (Misattributed)

Bickel, Alexander -- The Least Dangerous Branch, ch. 2 (1962)

Beecher, Henry Ward -- Life Thoughts (1858) [ed. Proctor]

Ingersoll, Robert Green -- Decoration Day Speech, Academy of Music, New York City (29 May 1882)

Van Dyke, Henry -- “America’s Prosperity” (1 Oct 1916), The Red Flower: Poems Written in War Time (1917)

Bell, Daniel -- The End of Ideology, Introduction (1961 ed.)

Kennedy, John F. -- Speech, Liberal Party Nomination, New York (14 Sep 1960)

Cicero, Marcus Tullius -- (Spurious)

Paine, Thomas -- (Attributed)

Peel, Robert -- (Attributed)

Tawney, R. H. -- The Acquisitive Century, ch. 2 “Rights and Functions” (1920)

Harris, Sydney J. -- “Nations Should Submit to the Rule of Law,” Clearing the Ground (1986)

Agar, Herbert -- (Attributed)

Adams, John Quincy -- Letter to James Lloyd (1 Oct 1822)

Emerson, Ralph Waldo -- “Politics,” Essays: Second Series (1844)

McEwan, Ian -- Solar (2010)

Howard, Robert E. -- Letter to Tevis Clyde Smith (Jul 1923)﻿

Heinlein, Robert A. -- Friday [Dr. Baldwin] (1982)

Roosevelt, Franklin Delano -- Speech (1940-11-01), Campaign Address, Brooklyn Academy of Music, New York

Mencken, H. L. -- “On Being an American” (1), Prejudices: Third Series (1922)

Roosevelt, Eleanor -- Tomorrow Is Now (1963)

Smith, Adam -- Letter to Sir John Sinclair of Ulbster

Zappa, Frank -- The Real Frank Zappa Book, ch. 12 “America Drinks & Goes Marching” (1989) [with Peter Occhiogrosso]

Shaw, George Bernard -- Remark (1940s)

Huxley, Aldous -- Ends and Means (1937)

Solon -- (Attributed)

Kennedy, John F. -- Speech, Amherst College (26 Oct 1963)

Twain, Mark -- Papers of the Adams Family, Part 6 “Two Fragments from a Suppressed Book Called ‘Glances at History’ or ‘Outlines of History'” (1939)

Twain, Mark -- Papers of the Adams Family, Part 6 “Two Fragments from a Suppressed Book Called ‘Glances at History’ or ‘Outlines of History'” (1939)

Roosevelt, Theodore -- Speech (1910-08-31), “The New Nationalism,” John Brown Memorial Park dedication, Osawatomie, Kansas

Democritus -- Frag. 247 (Diels) [tr. Freeman (1948)]

Schopenhauer, Arthur -- Parerga and Paralipomena, Vol. 1, “Aphorisms on the Wisdom of Life [Aphorismen zur Lebensweisheit],” ch. 4 “Position, or a Man’s Place in the Estimation of Others [Von dem, was einer vorstellt]” (1851) [tr. Saunders (1890), 4.2]

Kennedy, John F. -- State of the Union address (1961-01-30)

Twain, Mark -- Story (1905-02-02), “The Czar’s Soliloquy,” North American Review, Vol. 180, No. 580 (1905-03)

Orwell, George -- Essay (1945-05), “Notes on Nationalism,” Polemic Magazine (1945-10)

Lincoln, Abraham -- Message (1861-07-04) to Congress, Special Message, Washington, D. C.

Brecht, Bertholt -- Life of Galileo [Leben des Galilei], sc. 13 (1939)

Swift, Jonathan -- Gulliver’s Travels, Part 4 “Voyage to the Land of the Houyhnhnms,” ch. 5 (1726)

Austen, Jane -- Mansfield Park, ch. 9 [Edmund Bertram] (1814)

Montesquieu -- Considerations on the Causes of the Greatness of the Romans and Their Decline [Considérations sur les causes de la grandeur des Romains et de leur décadence], ch. 18 (1734, 1748 ed.) [tr. Baker (1882)]

Lincoln, Abraham -- Speech (1861-03-04), Inaugural Address, Washington, D. C. (final paragraph)

Holmes, Oliver Wendell, Jr. -- “In Our Youth Our Hearts Were Touched With Fire,” Memorial Day address, Keene, New Hampshire (30 May 1884)

Addison, Joseph -- Essay (1716-01-06), The Freeholder, No. 5

Harris, Sydney J. -- “What’s Wrong with Being Proud?” Pieces of Eight (1982)

Roosevelt, Theodore -- Speech (1903-09-07), “The Square Deal,” Labor Day, New York State Agricultural Association, New York State Fair, Syracuse

Smith, Sydney -- “Ireland,” The Edinburgh Review (1820-11)

Adams, John -- Letter (1808-04-18) to Benjamin Rush

Carter, Jimmy -- Speech (1976-10-14), “Warm Hearts and Cool Heads,” Liberal Party of New York Dinner, New York City

Burke, Edmund -- Reflections on the Revolution in France (1790)

Mann, Abby -- Judgment at Nuremberg (1961)

Howard, Robert E. -- Letter to Tevis Clyde Smith (Jul 1923)