WIST Quotations

Shakespeare, William -- Julius Caesar, Act 3, sc. 1, l. 1ff (3.1.1–2) (1599)

Dave — Mon, 09 Nov 2026 15:16:03 +0000

CAESAR: The ides of March are come.
SOOTHSAYER: Ay, Caesar, but not gone.

William Shakespeare (1564–1616) English dramatist and poet
Julius Caesar, Act 3, sc. 1, l. 1ff (3.1.1–2) (1599)

Shakespeare, William -- Macbeth, Act 4, sc. 1, l. 44ff (4.1.44-45) (1606)

Dave — Tue, 19 Nov 2024 15:15:00 +0000

SECOND WITCH: By the pricking of my thumbs,
Something wicked this way comes.

William Shakespeare (1564–1616) English dramatist and poet
Macbeth, Act 4, sc. 1, l. 44ff (4.1.44-45) (1606)

Often misquoted as "prickling."

Bramah, Ernest -- “The Transformation of Ling,” The Wallet of Kai Lung (1900)

Dave — Wed, 15 Apr 2015 12:07:52 +0000

When struck by a thunderbolt it is unnecessary to consult the Book of Dates as to the precise meaning of the omen.

Ernest Bramah (1868–1942) English author [Ernest Brammah Smith]
“The Transformation of Ling,” The Wallet of Kai Lung (1900)

Straczynski, J. Michael "Joe" -- Babylon 5, 2×03 “The Geometry of Shadows” (16 Nov 1994)

Dave — Wed, 14 May 2008 12:24:35 +0000

ELRIC: As I look at you, Ambassador Mollari, I see a great hand reaching out of the stars. The hand is your hand. And I hear sounds — the sounds of billions of people calling your name.
LONDO: My followers?
ELRIC: Your victims.

J. Michael (Joe) Straczynski (b. 1954) American screenwriter, producer, author [a/k/a "JMS"]
Babylon 5, 2×03 “The Geometry of Shadows” (16 Nov 1994)

Watterson, Bill -- Calvin and Hobbes (1990-05-11)

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

CALVIN: I’d say that crossed the line from Ironic Coincidence to Evil Omen.

Bill Watterson (b. 1958) American cartoonist
Calvin and Hobbes (1990-05-11)

Straczynski, J. Michael "Joe" -- rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5.moderated, “ATTN JMS: Warner Bros” (8 Dec 1996)

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

So we’re just in this maze for now, trying to figure out if that glint in the distance is daylight, or a Minotaur with an Uzi.

J. Michael (Joe) Straczynski (b. 1954) American screenwriter, producer, author [a/k/a "JMS"]
rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5.moderated, “ATTN JMS: Warner Bros” (8 Dec 1996)

Augustine of Hippo -- City of God [De Civitate Dei], Book 21, ch. 8 (21.8) (AD 412-416) [tr. Green (Loeb) (1972)]

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

For how can anything done by the will of God be contrary to nature, when the will of so great a creator constitutes the nature of each created thing? A portent therefore happens not contrary to nature, but contrary to what is known of nature.

[Quo modo est enim contra naturam, quod Dei fit uoluntate, cum uoluntas tanti utique conditoris conditae rei cuiusque natura sit? Portentum ergo fit non contra naturam, sed contra quam est nota natura.]

Augustine of Hippo (354–430) Christian church father, philosopher, saint [b. Aurelius Augustinus]
City of God [De Civitate Dei], Book 21, ch. 8 (21.8) (AD 412-416) [tr. Green (Loeb) (1972)]

Commonly: "Miracles are not contrary to nature, but only contrary to what we know about nature."

(Source (Latin)). Other translations:

For how is that contrary to nature which happens by the will of God, since the will of so mighty a Creator is certainly the nature of each created thing? A portent, therefore, happens not contrary to nature, but contrary to what we know as nature.
[tr. Dods (1871)]

Nothing that happens by the will of God can be ‘contrary to nature.’ The ‘nature’ of any particular created thing is precisely what the supreme Creator of the thing willed it to be. Hence, a portent is merely contrary to nature as known, not to nature as it is.
[tr. Walsh/Honan (1954)]

For how can an event be contrary to nature when it happens by the will of God, since the will of the great Creator assuredly is the nature of every created thing? A portent, therefore, does not occur contrary to nature, but contrary to what is known of nature.
[tr. Bettenson (1972)]