WIST Quotations

Dante Alighieri -- The Divine Comedy [Divina Commedia], Book 1 “Inferno,” Canto 15, l. 99ff (15.99) (1309) [tr. James (2013)]

Dave — Fri, 28 Apr 2023 21:27:07 +0000

He listens well
Who takes notes.

[Bene ascolta chi la nota.]

Dante Alighieri (1265-1321) Italian poet
The Divine Comedy [Divina Commedia], Book 1 “Inferno,” Canto 15, l. 99ff (15.99) (1309) [tr. James (2013)]
(Source)

Virgil either warning Dante to consider all the predictions / warnings he's receiving from the damned about "future" political troubles, or else praising him for appearing to have remembered them (interpretations vary).

(Source (Italian)). Alternate translations:

He listens well, who what he hears remarks.
[tr. Rogers (1782), l. 96]

"Unhappy is the man," exclaim'd my Guide,
"From whose weak mind the words of wisdom glide."
[tr. Boyd (1802), st. 18]

He listens to good purpose who takes note.
[tr. Cary (1814)]

Well doth he hear, who marks what he hath heard.
[tr. Dayman (1843)]

He listens well who notes it.
[tr. Carlyle (1849)]

He listens well who notes.
[tr. Bannerman (1850)]

He listens well who noteth well.
[tr. Johnston (1867)]

He listeneth well who noteth it.
[tr. Longfellow (1867)]

Well listens he who marks it.
[tr. Butler (1885)]

Who noteth well, he well doth hear.
[tr. Minchin (1885)]

He listens well who notes it.
[tr. Norton (1892)]

He listeneth well that layeth it to heart.
[tr. Sullivan (1893)]

He listens well who notes the matter.
[tr. Griffith (1908)]

He is a good listener who takes note.
[tr. Sinclair (1939)]

He listens well who noteth well the word.
[tr. Binyon (1943)]

Well-heeded is well-heard.
[tr. Sayers (1949)]

Well heeded is well heard.
[tr. Ciardi (1954)]

He who notes it listens well.
[tr. Singleton (1970)]

He listens well who notes well what he hears.
[tr. Musa (1971)]

He who takes note of this has listened well.
[tr. Mandelbaum (1980)]

Those are the words of a good listener!
[tr. Sisson (1981)]

He who has listened well will understand.
[tr. Pinsky (1994)]

He listens well who takes note.
[tr. Durling (1996)]

He listens closely, who notes it.
[tr. Kline (2002)]

"Those listen well," he said, "who take good note."
[tr. Kirkpatrick (2006)]

He listens well who takes in what he hears.
[tr. Hollander/Hollander (2007)]

It's good
To hear such words, for they are truly profound.
[tr. Raffel (2010)]

Cicero, Marcus Tullius -- De Oratore [On the Orator, On Oratory], Book 1, ch. 28 (1.28) / sec. 129 (55 BC) [tr. Sutton/Rackham (1940)]

Dave — Mon, 10 Aug 2020 21:07:09 +0000

For nothing stands out so conspicuously, or remains so firmly fixed in the memory, as something in which you have blundered.

[Nihil est enim tam insigne, nec tam ad diuturnitatem memoriae stabile, quam id, in quo aliquid offenderis.]

Marcus Tullius Cicero (106-43 BC) Roman orator, statesman, philosopher
De Oratore [On the Orator, On Oratory], Book 1, ch. 28 (1.28) / sec. 129 (55 BC) [tr. Sutton/Rackham (1940)]
(Source)

(Source (Latin)). Alternate translations:

For nothing makes so remarkable, so deep an impression upon the memory as a miscarriage.
[tr. Guthrie (1755)]

For nothing makes so remarkable, so deep an impression upon the memory as a defect.
[Source (1808)]

Nothing, indeed, is so much noticed, or makes an impression of such lasting continuance on the memory, as that in which you give any sort of offense.
[tr. Watson (1860)]

For nothing so immediately attracts attention, or clings so tenaciously to the memory, as any defect.
[tr. Calvert (1870)]

For nothing, we know, strikes us so forcibly or makes such an indelible impression on the memory as that which somehow offends our taste.
[tr. Moor (1892)]

Nothing attracts so much attention, or retains such a hold upon men's memories, as the occasion when you have made a mistake.
[ed. Harbottle (1906)]

For nothing is so conspicuous or so indelibly imprinted on the memory as something that annoys you in any way.
[tr. May/Wisse (2001)]

Reade, Charles -- The Cloister and the Hearth, ch. 1 (1861)

Dave — Wed, 25 Nov 2015 17:10:04 +0000

Not a day passes over the earth but men and women of no note do great deeds, speak great words, and suffer noble sorrows.

Charles Reade (1814-1884) English novelist and dramatist
The Cloister and the Hearth, ch. 1 (1861)