WIST Quotations

Marlowe, Christopher -- The Tragicall History of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus, Act 5, sc. 2 (sc. 14), l. 1451ff (1594; 1604 “A” text)

Dave — Wed, 08 Apr 2026 22:08:17 +0000

FAUSTUS. Ah, Faustus,
Now hast thou but one bare hour to live,
And then thou must be damn’d perpetually!
Stand still, you ever-moving Spheres of Heaven,
That time may cease, and midnight never come;
Fair Nature’s eye, rise, rise again, and make
Perpetual day; or let this hour be but
A year, a month, a week, a natural day,
That Faustus may repent and save his soul!

Christopher "Kit" Marlowe (1564-1593) English dramatist and poet
The Tragicall History of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus, Act 5, sc. 2 (sc. 14), l. 1451ff (1594; 1604 “A” text)
(Source)

The same text appears in the 1594 (1616) "B" text, in sc. 19, l. 2036ff, except it begins "O Faustus ...."

Kerr, Jean -- Essay (1955-08-01), “Greenwich, Anyone?” Vogue Magazine

Dave — Mon, 30 Mar 2026 17:02:10 +0000

Oftentimes, in the evening after they have finished spreading the fertilizer, the writer and his wife sit on the fence — with a wonderful sense of “togetherness” — and listen to the magic symphony of the crickets.
I can understand that. Around our house, we’re pretty busy, and of course we’re not the least bit integrated, but nevertheless my husband and I often sit together in the deepening twilight and listen to the sweet, gentle slosh-click, slosh-click of the dishwasher. He smiles and I smile. Oh, it’s a golden moment.

Jean Kerr (1922-2003) American author and playwright [b. Bridget Jean Collins]
Essay (1955-08-01), “Greenwich, Anyone?” Vogue Magazine
(Source)

Collected in Please Don't Eat the Daisies (1957).

Smith, Sydney -- Essay (1843-07), “Parisian Morals and Manners,” Edinburgh Review No. 157, Art. 5

Dave — Tue, 01 Oct 2024 15:07:55 +0000

Dean Swift’s rule is as good for women as for men — never to talk above a half minute without pausing, and giving others an opportunity to strike in.

Sydney Smith (1771-1845) English clergyman, essayist, wit
Essay (1843-07), “Parisian Morals and Manners,” Edinburgh Review No. 157, Art. 5
(Source)

See Swift.

Chamfort, Nicolas -- Products of Perfected Civilization [Produits de la Civilisation Perfectionée], Part 1 “Maxims and Thoughts [Maximes et Pensées],” ch. 3, ¶ 243 (1795) [tr. Siniscalchi (1994)]

Dave — Mon, 16 Oct 2023 18:04:52 +0000

The art of the parenthesis is one of the great secrets of eloquence in society.

[L’art de la parenthèse est un des grands secrets de l’éloquence dans la Société.]

Nicolas Chamfort (1741-1794) French writer, epigrammist (b. Nicolas-Sébastien Roch)
Products of Perfected Civilization [Produits de la Civilisation Perfectionée], Part 1 “Maxims and Thoughts [Maximes et Pensées],” ch. 3, ¶ 243 (1795) [tr. Siniscalchi (1994)]
(Source)

(Source (French)). Alternate translations:

The art of the parenthesis is one of the great secrets of social eloquence.
[tr. Mathers (1926)]

The art of parenthesis is one of the great secrets of eloquence in society.
[tr. Merwin (1969)]

Firbank, Ronald -- Vainglory (1915)

Dave — Fri, 11 Mar 2016 14:03:56 +0000

There was a pause — just long enough for an angel to pass, flying slowly.

Ronald Firbank (1886-1926) British novelist and playwright
Vainglory (1915)

Cervantes, Miguel de -- Don Quixote, Part 1, Book 4, ch. 3 (1605) [tr. Motteux and Ozell (1743)]

Dave — Mon, 21 Apr 2014 12:41:16 +0000

Think before thou speakest.

Miguel de Cervantes (1547-1616) Spanish novelist
Don Quixote, Part 1, Book 4, ch. 3 (1605) [tr. Motteux and Ozell (1743)]

Twain, Mark -- Mark Twain’s Speeches, Introduction [ed W.D. Howells (1923 ed.)]

Dave — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 12:16:44 +0000

The right word may be effective, but no word was ever as effective as a rightly timed pause.

Mark Twain (1835-1910) American writer [pseud. of Samuel Clemens]
Mark Twain’s Speeches, Introduction [ed W.D. Howells (1923 ed.)]

Brecht, Bertholt -- The Good Person of Szechwan [Der gute Mensch von Sezuan], Prologue (1941) [tr. Bentley (1947)]

Dave — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 13:08:52 +0000

It’s all right to hesitate if you then go ahead!

Bertolt Brecht (1898-1956) German poet, playwright, director, dramaturgist
The Good Person of Szechwan [Der gute Mensch von Sezuan], Prologue (1941) [tr. Bentley (1947)]

Barrie, James -- Speech (1922-05-03), “Courage,” Rectoral Address, University of St. Andrews, Scotland

Dave — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 10:34:21 +0000

You must have been warned against letting the golden hours slip by. Yes, but some of them are golden only because we let them slip.

J. M. Barrie (1860-1937) Scottish novelist and dramatist [James Matthew Barrie]
Speech (1922-05-03), “Courage,” Rectoral Address, University of St. Andrews, Scotland
(Source)

Fuller, Thomas (1654) -- Introductio ad Prudentiam, Vol. 1, # 365 (1725)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 19:00:00 +0000

Act nothing in furious Passion; it’s putting to Sea in a Storm.

Thomas Fuller (1654-1734) English physician, preacher, aphorist, writer
Introductio ad Prudentiam, Vol. 1, # 365 (1725)
(Source)

Adams, Douglas -- Hitchhiker’s Guide No. 1, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, ch. 33 (1979)

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

For a moment, nothing happened. Then, after a second or so, nothing continued to happen.

Douglas Adams (1952-2001) English author, humorist, screenwriter
Hitchhiker’s Guide No. 1, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, ch. 33 (1979)
(Source)

Penn, William -- Fruits of Solitude, #132 (1682)

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

If thou thinkest twice before thou speakest once, thou wilt speak twice the better for it.

William Penn (1644-1718) English writer, philosopher, politician, statesman
Fruits of Solitude, #132 (1682)
(Source)

See Cervantes.