WIST Quotations

Hugo, Victor -- William Shakespeare, Part 1, Book 2 “Men of Genius [Les Génies], ch. 2 (1.2.2) (1864) [tr. Baillot (1864)]

Dave — Mon, 20 Apr 2026 21:26:59 +0000

That posterity may be a rising instead of a setting star is man’s consolation. Time present works for time to come. Work, then, and hope.

[Que l’avenir soit un orient au lieu d’être un couchant, c’est la consolation de l’homme. Le temps présent travaille au temps futur, donc travaillez et espérez.]

Victor Hugo (1802-1885) French writer
William Shakespeare, Part 1, Book 2 “Men of Genius [Les Génies], ch. 2 (1.2.2) (1864) [tr. Baillot (1864)]
(Source)

Speaking of Ezekiel's message in the Bible, as one of what Hugo considered the great authors/poets of history. (Source (French)). Another translation:

It is man's consolation that the future is to be a sunrise instead of a sunset. Time presents works for time to come; work, then, and hope!
[tr. Anderson (1886)]

Franklin, Benjamin -- Poor Richard (1745 ed.)

Dave — Thu, 19 Mar 2026 16:23:32 +0000

He that resolves to mend hereafter, resolves not to mend now.

Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) American statesman, scientist, philosopher, aphorist
Poor Richard (1745 ed.)
(Source)

Thurber, James -- Letter (1961-07-05) to Marianna Brown

Dave — Wed, 18 Mar 2026 15:40:20 +0000

The past is an old armchair in the attic, the present an ominous ticking sound, and the future is anybody’s guess.

James Thurber (1894-1961) American humorist, cartoonist, writer
Letter (1961-07-05) to Marianna Brown
(Source)

La Rochefoucauld, Francois -- Réflexions ou sentences et maximes morales [Reflections; or Sentences and Moral Maxims], ¶174 (1665-1678) [tr. Tancock (1959)]

Dave — Fri, 01 Aug 2025 17:53:31 +0000

Our minds are better employed in bearing the misfortunes that do befall us than in foreseeing those that may.

[Il vaut mieux employer notre esprit à supporter les infortunes qui nous arrivent qu’à prévoir celles qui nous peuvent arriver.]

François VI, duc de La Rochefoucauld (1613-1680) French epigrammatist, memoirist, noble
Réflexions ou sentences et maximes morales [Reflections; or Sentences and Moral Maxims], ¶174 (1665-1678) [tr. Tancock (1959)]
(Source)

Appeared in the 1st edition as this variant:

[Il vaut mieux employer notre son esprit à supporter les infortunes qui arrivent qu’à pénétrer celles qui peuvent arriver.]

(Source (French)). Other translations:

A mans Wits are Employed to better purpose in bearing up under the misfortunes that lie upon him at present, than in foreseeing those that may come upon him hereafter.
[tr. Stanhope (1694), ¶175]

It is a better employment of the understanding to bear the misfortunes that actually befal us, than to penetrate into those that may.
[pub. Donaldson (1783), ¶463; ed. Lepoittevin-Lacroix (1797), ¶167]

The understanding is better employed in bearing actual misfortune, than in penetrating into that which possibly may befal us.
[ed. Carvill (1835), ¶393]

It is better to employ; our minds in supporting the misfortunes which actually happen, than in anticipating those which may happen to us.
[ed. Gowens (1851), ¶177]

It is far better to accustom our mind to bear the ills we have than to speculate on those which may befall us.
[tr. Bund/Friswell (1871), ¶174]

We make better use of our abilities by endeavoring to bear our misfortunes, than in seeking to forestall possible catastrophes.
[tr. Heard (1917), ¶174]

It is better to devote our minds to endurance of present misfortunes than to anticipation of those which the future may bring.
[tr. Stevens (1939), ¶174]

Our wits are better employed in helping us endure present misfortunes than in anticipating those that may yet be to come.
[tr. FitzGibbon (1957), ¶174]

It is better for our minds to help us bear existing misfortunes than prevent possible future ones.
[tr. Kronenberger (1959), ¶174]

It is better to employ our mind in bearing misfortunes which actually happen to us, than in predicting those which could occur in future.
[tr. Whichello (2016) ¶174]

McLaughlin, Mignon -- The Neurotic’s Notebook, ch. 10 (1963)

Dave — Mon, 16 Jun 2025 21:48:11 +0000

The past is rich in lessons from which we would greatly profit except that the present is always so full of Special Circumstances.

Mignon McLaughlin (1913-1983) American journalist and author
The Neurotic’s Notebook, ch. 10 (1963)
(Source)

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

Dave — Tue, 06 May 2025 22:50:09 +0000

PRESENT, n. That part of eternity dividing the domain of disappointment from the realm of hope.

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

Originally published in the "Cynic's Word Book" column in the New York American (1906-05-30) and the "Cynic's Dictionary" column in the San Francisco Examiner (1906-06-20).

Taylor, Barbara Brown -- An Altar in the World, ch. 4 (2009)

Dave — Tue, 01 Apr 2025 21:18:05 +0000

Most of us spend so much time thinking about where we have been or where we are supposed to be going that we have a hard time recognizing where we actually are.

Barbara Brown Taylor (b. 1951) American minister, academic, author
An Altar in the World, ch. 4 (2009)
(Source)

Wilcox, Ella Wheeler -- Poem (1896), “Here and Now.” st. 4, Custer and Other Poems

Dave — Thu, 14 Nov 2024 00:12:24 +0000

Not in some cloister or cave,
Not in some kingdom above,
Here, on this side of the grave,
Here, should we labor and love.

Ella Wheeler Wilcox (1850-1919) American author, poet, temperance advocate, spiritualist
Poem (1896), “Here and Now.” st. 4, Custer and Other Poems
(Source)

Closing lines.

Montesquieu -- Pensées Diverses [Assorted Thoughts], # 396 (1720-1755) [tr. Clark (2012)]

Dave — Wed, 21 Aug 2024 17:12:04 +0000

Horace and Aristotle already told us about the virtues of their forefathers and the vices of their times, and authors down through the centuries have spoken in like manner. If they had told the truth, men would nowadays be bears.

[Horace et Aristote nous ont déjà parlé des vertus de leurs pères, et des vices de leur temps, et les auteurs de siècle en siècle nous en ont parlé de même. S’ils avaient dit vrai, les hommes seraient à présent des ours.]

Charles-Lewis de Secondat, Baron de Montesquieu (1689-1755) French political philosopher
Pensées Diverses [Assorted Thoughts], # 396 (1720-1755) [tr. Clark (2012)]
(Source)

(Source (French)). Alternate translation:

Horace and Aristotle told us of the virtues of their fathers, and the vices of their own time, and authors down through the centuries have told us the same. If they were right, men would now be bears.
[E.g.]

Bierce, Ambrose -- “Future,” The Cynic’s Word Book (1906)

Dave — Tue, 02 Jul 2024 14:29:47 +0000

FUTURE, n. That period of time in which our affairs prosper, our friends are true, and our happiness is assured.

Ambrose Bierce (1842-1914?) American writer and journalist
“Future,” The Cynic’s Word Book (1906)
(Source)

Included in The Devil's Dictionary (1911). Originally published in the "Devil's Dictionary" column in the San Francisco Wasp (1885-02-21).

Herbert, George -- Jacula Prudentum, or Outlandish Proverbs, Sentences, &c. (compiler), # 153 (1640 ed.)

Dave — Fri, 07 Jun 2024 16:04:54 +0000

The mill cannot grind with the water that’s past.

George Herbert (1593-1633) Welsh priest, orator, poet.
Jacula Prudentum, or Outlandish Proverbs, Sentences, &c. (compiler), # 153 (1640 ed.)
(Source)

Wilder, Thornton -- “The Art of Fiction No. 16,” interview by Richard H. Goldstone, The Paris Review (1956, Winter)

Dave — Fri, 24 May 2024 16:11:52 +0000

A dramatist is one who believes that the pure event, an action involving human beings, is more arresting than any comment that can be made upon it. On the stage it is always now; the personages are standing on that razor edge, between the past and the future, which is the essential character of conscious being; the words are rising to their lips in immediate spontaneity. […] The theater is supremely fitted to say: “Behold! These things are.”

Thornton Wilder (1897-1975) American novelist and playwright
“The Art of Fiction No. 16,” interview by Richard H. Goldstone, The Paris Review (1956, Winter)
(Source)

Collected in Jackson Bryer, ed., Conversations with Thornton Wilder (1992).

Carlyle, Thomas -- Essay (1850-02-01), “The Present Time,” Latter-Day Pamphlets, No. 1

Dave — Thu, 16 May 2024 14:29:13 +0000

But in the days that are now passing over us, even fools are arrested to ask the meaning of them; few of the generations of men have seen more impressive days. Days of endless calamity, disruption, dislocation, confusion worse confounded: if they are not days of endless hope too, then they are days of utter despair. For it is not a small hope that will suffice, the ruin being clearly, either in action or in prospect, universal. There must be a new world, if there is to be any world at all!

Thomas Carlyle (1795-1881) Scottish essayist and historian
Essay (1850-02-01), “The Present Time,” Latter-Day Pamphlets, No. 1
(Source)

Edgeworth, Maria -- Mademoiselle Panache, Part 2 [Helen] (1795)

Dave — Wed, 31 Jan 2024 21:20:46 +0000

Pleasing for a moment is of some consequence; for, if we take care of the moments, the years will take care of themselves, you know.

Maria Edgeworth (1768-1849) Anglo-Irish writer, novelist
Mademoiselle Panache, Part 2 [Helen] (1795)
(Source)

McCarthy, Cormac -- No Country for Old Men (2005)

Dave — Wed, 03 Jan 2024 22:51:46 +0000

It’s not about knowin where you are. It’s about thinkin you got there without takin anything with you. Your notions about startin over. Or anybody’s. You dont start over. That’s what it’s about. Every step you take is forever. You cant make it go away. None of it.

Cormac McCarthy (1933-2023) American novelist, playwright, screenwriter
No Country for Old Men (2005)
(Source)

Chamfort, Nicolas -- Products of Perfected Civilization [Produits de la Civilisation Perfectionée], Part 1 “Maxims and Thoughts [Maximes et Pensées],” ch. 7, ¶ 457 (1795) [tr. Dusinberre (1992)]

Dave — Mon, 20 Nov 2023 03:03:42 +0000

Economists are surgeons who have an excellent scalpel but a jagged lancet — they operate exquisitely on the dead but torture the living.

[Les économistes sont des chirugiens qui on un excellent scalpel et un bistouri ébréché, opérant à merveille sur le mort et martyrisant le vif.]

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. 7, ¶ 457 (1795) [tr. Dusinberre (1992)]
(Source)

(Source (French)). Alternate translations:

Political Economists are surgeons with excellent scalpels and blunted bistouries; they work on the dead to a marvel and torture the living.
[tr. Mathers (1926)]

An economist is a surgeon with an excellent scalpel and a rough-edged lancet, who operates beautifully on the dead and tortures the living.
[tr. Merwin (1969)]

Economists are surgeons who wield an excellent scalpel and a chipped bistoury, and operate wonderfully on the dead flesh and agonize the living.
[tr. Pearson (1973)]

Economists are surgeons who have an excellent scalpel and chipped scissors, who operate marvelously on the dead and who make martyrs of the living.
[tr. Siniscalchi (1994)]

Ash, Mary Kay -- Mary Kay, You Can Have it All, ch. 4 (1995)

Dave — Fri, 08 Sep 2023 16:07:55 +0000

Just as you drifted through an entire day without a plan and accomplished nothing, some people drift through their entire lives. They do it one day at a time, one week at a time, and one month at a time. The months run into years and span a life. It happens so gradually that they are unaware of how their lives are slipping by them until it’s too late.

Mary Kay Ash (1918-2001) American entrepreneur
Mary Kay, You Can Have it All, ch. 4 (1995)
(Source)

Carlyle, Thomas -- Sartor Resartus, Book 3, ch. 3 (1834)

Dave — Fri, 01 Sep 2023 16:34:09 +0000

As the Swiss inscription says: Sprechen ist silbern, Schweigen ist golden — “Speech is silvern, Silence is golden”; or, as I might rather express it: speech is of time, silence is of eternity.

Thomas Carlyle (1795-1881) Scottish essayist and historian
Sartor Resartus, Book 3, ch. 3 (1834)
(Source)

Quoting Herr Teufelsdröckh.

This chapter first appeared in Fraser's Magazine for Town and Country, Vol. 9, No. 54 (1834-06) - Book 3, ch. 1-5.

Faulkner, William -- Requiem for a Nun, Act 1, sc. 3 [Stevens] (1951)

Dave — Mon, 10 Jul 2023 17:15:15 +0000

The past is never dead. It’s not even past.

William Faulkner (1897-1962) American novelist
Requiem for a Nun, Act 1, sc. 3 [Stevens] (1951)
(Source)

Sometimes misquoted as "The past isn't over. It isn't even past."

Rothfuss, Patrick -- The Name of the Wind, ch. 12 “Puzzle Pieces Fitting” (2007)

Dave — Thu, 26 Jan 2023 16:24:47 +0000

When we are children we seldom think of the future. This innocence leaves us free to enjoy ourselves as few adults can. The day we fret about the future is the day we leave our childhood behind.

Patrick Rothfuss (b. 1973) American author
The Name of the Wind, ch. 12 “Puzzle Pieces Fitting” (2007)
(Source)

Commager, Henry Steele -- “Who Is Loyal to America?” Harper’s Magazine #1168 (Sep 1947)

Dave — Wed, 16 Feb 2022 21:09:57 +0000

We should not forget that our tradition is one of protest and revolt, and it is stultifying to celebrate the rebels of the past — Jefferson and Paine, Emerson and Thoreau — while we silence the rebels of the present.

Henry Steele Commager (1902-1998) American historian, writer, activist
“Who Is Loyal to America?” Harper’s Magazine #1168 (Sep 1947)
(Source)

Reprinted in Freedom, Loyalty, Dissent (1954).

Gracián, Baltasar -- The Art of Worldly Wisdom [Oráculo Manual y Arte de Prudencia], § 120 (1647) [tr. Maurer (1992)]

Dave — Fri, 11 Feb 2022 17:47:52 +0000

Count heads. That is what matters in all things. When you must, follow the common taste, and make your way toward eminence. The wise should adapt themselves to the present, even when the past seems more attractive, both in the clothes of the soul and of the body. This rule for living holds for everything but goodness, for one must always practice virtue.

[El gusto de las cabeças haze voto en cada orden de cosas. Ésse se ha de seguir por entonces, y adelantar a eminencia. Acomódese el cuerdo a lo presente, aunque le parezca mejor lo pasado, así en los arreos del alma como del cuerpo. Sólo en la bondad no vale esta regla de vivir, que siempre se ha de practicar la virtud.]

Baltasar Gracián y Morales (1601-1658) Spanish Jesuit priest, writer, philosopher
The Art of Worldly Wisdom [Oráculo Manual y Arte de Prudencia], § 120 (1647) [tr. Maurer (1992)]
(Source)

(Source (Spanish)). Alternate translations:

Let a prudent man accommodate himself to the present, whether as to body, or mind, though the past may even seem better unto him. In manners onely that rule is not to be observed, seeing vertue is at all times to be practised.
[Flesher ed. (1685)]

In everything the taste of the many carries the votes; for the time being one must follow it in the hope of leading it to higher things. In the adornment of the body as of the mind adapt yourself to the present, even though the past appear better. But this rule does not apply to kindness, for goodness is for all time.
[tr. Jacobs (1892)]

The choice of the many carries the vote in every field. For the time being, therefore, it must be bowed to, in order to bring it to higher level: the man of wisdom accommodates himself to the present, even though the past seems better, alike in the dress of his spirit, as in the dress of his body. Only in the matter of being decent does this rule of life not apply, for virtue should be practiced eternally.
[tr. Fischer (1937)]

Kierkegaard, Soren -- Christian Discourses (Christelige Taler), Part 1 “The Cares of the Pagans,” ch. 6 (1848) [tr. Hong (1997)]

Dave — Wed, 27 Oct 2021 21:57:39 +0000

If one were to write a book called “The Best Remedy against Self-Torment,” it would be very brief: “Let each day have trouble enough of its own.”

Søren Kierkegaard (1813-1855) Danish philosopher, theologian
Christian Discourses (Christelige Taler), Part 1 “The Cares of the Pagans,” ch. 6 (1848) [tr. Hong (1997)]
(Source)

Snyder, Timothy -- The Red Prince, “Orange: European Revolutions” (2008)

Dave — Wed, 15 Sep 2021 13:48:45 +0000

The nation faces forward. It is made and remade every day. If we believe that the nation resides in the orderly recitations of history given to us by our leaders, then our story is over.

Timothy Snyder (b. 1969) American historian, author
The Red Prince, “Orange: European Revolutions” (2008)
(Source)

Taylor, A. J. P. -- “The Radical Tradition: Fox, Paine, and Cobbett,” The Trouble Makers: Dissent over Foreign Policy, 1792-1939 (1969)

Dave — Mon, 24 May 2021 15:17:05 +0000

The present enables us to understand the past, not the other way round.

A. J. P. Taylor (1906-1990) British historian, journalist, broadcaster [Alan John Percivale Taylor]
“The Radical Tradition: Fox, Paine, and Cobbett,” The Trouble Makers: Dissent over Foreign Policy, 1792-1939 (1969)
(Source)

Lapham, Lewis H. -- “The Art of Editing No. 4,” The Paris Review (Summer 2019)

Dave — Mon, 08 Mar 2021 20:44:35 +0000

That’s what history is. It’s a conversation between the past and the present.

Lewis H. Lapham (b. 1935) American writer and editor
“The Art of Editing No. 4,” The Paris Review (Summer 2019)
(Source)

Brilliant, Ashleigh -- Pot-Shots, #5712

Dave — Fri, 20 Nov 2020 18:56:51 +0000

Why should I change with the times, when the times are obviously wrong?

Ashleigh Brilliant (b. 1933) Anglo-American epigramist, aphorist, cartoonist
Pot-Shots, #5712

Spenser, Edmund -- The Faerie Queene, Book 5, Proem, st. 1, 4 (1589-96)

Dave — Mon, 20 Jul 2020 19:52:38 +0000

So oft as I with state of present time
The image of the antique world compare,
Whereas man’s age was in his freshest prime,
And the first blossom of faire vertue bare,
Such oddes I find twixt those and these which arc,
As that, through long continuance of his course,
Me seemes the world is runne quite out of square
From the first point of his appointed source;
And being once amiss, grows daily worse and worse: […]

For that which all men then did vertue call,
Is now cald vice; and that which vice was hight,
Is now hight vertue, and so us’d of all;
Right now is wrong, and wrong that was is right.

Edmund Spenser (c. 1552–1599) English poet
The Faerie Queene, Book 5, Proem, st. 1, 4 (1589-96)
(Source)

Barenboim, Daniel -- Quoted in the International Herald Tribune (20 Jan 1989)

Dave — Thu, 14 May 2020 23:01:30 +0000

Every great work of art has two faces: one toward its own time and one toward the future, toward eternity.

Daniel Barenboim (b. 1942) Argentine-Israeli pianist and conductor
Quoted in the International Herald Tribune (20 Jan 1989)

The above is sometimes cited to his collaborative dialog with Edward Said, Parallels and Paradoxes (2002), but the passage there is slightly different: "I think that every great work of art has two faces: one toward its own time and one toward eternity."

Gracián, Baltasar -- The Art of Worldly Wisdom [Oráculo Manual y Arte de Prudencia], § 31 (1647) [tr. Jacobs (1892)]

Dave — Fri, 31 Jan 2020 20:28:53 +0000

The greatest skill in cards is to know when to discard; the smallest of current trumps is worth more than the ace of trumps of the last game.

[La mejor treta del juego es saberse descartar: más importa la menor carta del triunfo que corre que la mayor del que pasó.]

Baltasar Gracián y Morales (1601-1658) Spanish Jesuit priest, writer, philosopher
The Art of Worldly Wisdom [Oráculo Manual y Arte de Prudencia], § 31 (1647) [tr. Jacobs (1892)]
(Source)

(Source (Spanish)). Alternate translations:

The true skill at play, is to know how to discard. The lowest Card that turns up, is better than the highest of the former dealing.
[Flesher ed. (1685)]

The great trick in cards lies in knowing what to discard: and the deuce of a suit that is trump, is more valuable than the ace of a suit that was.
[tr. Fischer (1937)]

The trick is to know what cards to get rid of. The least card in the winning hand in front of you is more important than the best card in the losing hand you just laid down.
[tr. Maurer (1992)]

Martial -- Epigrams [Epigrammata], Book 5, epigram 20 (5.20.11-14) (AD 90) [tr. Pott & Wright (1921)]

Dave — Fri, 25 May 2018 22:24:14 +0000

To you and me
Life is not full; we see
The good days fly
And, ah, how grievously
Their sum doth mount,
Set all to our account;
Why dally we
Who know what life should be?

[Nunc vivit necuter sibi, bonosque
Soles effugere atque abire sentit,
Qui nobis pereunt et inputantur.
Quisquam vivere cum sciat, moratur?]

Martial (AD c.39-c.103) Spanish Roman poet, satirist, epigrammatist [Marcus Valerius Martialis]
Epigrams [Epigrammata], Book 5, epigram 20 (5.20.11-14) (AD 90) [tr. Pott & Wright (1921)]

The phrase pereunt et imputantur (they [the days] pass by, and are put to our account) is often found on sundials.

"To Julius Martialis." (Source (Latin)).

Alternate translations:

Now, to himself, alas! Does neither live,
But sees good suns, of which we are to give
A strict account, set, and march quick away:
Know a man how to live, and does he stay?
[tr. Cowley (1656)]

We behold the good suns shine, and pass away; lost are they for ever, yet, nevertheless, they are counted in our reckoning. Is it possible that anyone who knows how to live delays to live accordingly?
[tr. Amos (1858), ch. 3, #14; identified as ep. 21]

As it is, neither of us lives for himself, but sees his good days flee from him and vanish; days which are ever being lost to us, and set down to our account. Should any one, then, delay to live, when he knows how?
[tr. Bohn's Classical (1859)]

Now neither lives unto himself, alas!
And the good suns we see, that flash and pass
And perish; and the bell that knells them cries,
"Another gone: O when will ye arise?"
[tr. Stevenson (1884)]

Today neither lives for himself, and he feels the good days are flitting and passing away, our days that perish and are cored to our account. Does any man, when he knows how to live, delay?
[tr. Ker (1919)]

Now neither of us truly lives at all.
Suns rise and set and swell the reckoning. Say,
Does life mean anything? Then live today.
[tr. Francis & Tatum (1924), #230, "To His Cousin"]

Now neither lives his life, but he
Marks precious days that pass and flee.
These days are lost, but their amount
Is surely set to our account.
Knowledge the clue to life can give;
Then wherefore hesitate to live?
[tr. Duff (1929)]

But as things are now, neither one of us
Lives for himself, while ever glorious
Days slip by unlived, never to come
Again, deducted always from that sum
Allotted us. Why then do we not live,
We who know the joys that life can give?
[tr. Marcellino (1968)]

But as it is, we, both and each,
Miss the rich life within our reach,
We watch the good sun speed and set
And the lost day goes down as debt.
Would any man, if he knew how
To live, not do it here and now?
[tr. Michie (1972)]

Now, twin lives are not our own.
Our good suns flee & disappear,
Debited, as they die, to us.
Who hesitates that's learned to live?
[tr. Whigham (1987)]

We toil too much for others. Days
flicker by and then are billed,
one by one, to our accounts. Since we know
how, let's start really living now.
[tr. Matthews (1992)]

We feel our good days slip away and leave us; they are wasted, and put to our account. Does any man, knowing the way to live, defer it?
[tr. Shackleton Bailey (1993)]

Now neither lives
his life. We feel our good days flee,
Numbered and spent. Knowing the way
to live, why should a man delay.
[tr. McLean (2014)]

As it is now, neither of us lives for his own benefit, each of us can feel his best days slipping away and leaving us behind. They're gone, they've been debited from our account. What kind of person knows how to live, but keeps putting it off?
[tr. Nisbet (2015)]

Brown, Rita Mae -- (Attributed)

Dave — Mon, 14 May 2018 18:54:54 +0000

One of the keys to happiness is a bad memory.

Rita Mae Brown (b. 1944) American author, playwright
(Attributed)

Helps, Arthur -- Thoughts in the Cloister and the Cloud(1835)

Dave — Fri, 16 Dec 2016 02:16:55 +0000

If you would understand your own age, read the works of fiction produced in it. People in disguise speak freely.

Arthur Helps (1813-1875) English writer and bureaucrat
Thoughts in the Cloister and the Cloud(1835)
(Source)

Laurie, Hugh -- Interview with Sophie Harris, Time Out: New York (1 Sep 2012)

Dave — Tue, 06 Dec 2016 04:32:03 +0000

It’s a terrible thing, I think, in life to wait until you’re ready. I have this feeling now that actually no one is ever ready to do anything. There is almost no such thing as ready. There is only now. And you may as well do it now.

Hugh Laurie (b. 1959) English actor, writer, musician, singer
Interview with Sophie Harris, Time Out: New York (1 Sep 2012)
(Source)

Zinn, Howard -- Essay (2004-09-02), “The Optimism of Uncertainty,” The Nation

Dave — Tue, 29 Nov 2016 05:33:08 +0000

An optimist isn’t necessarily a blithe, slightly sappy whistler in the dark of our time. To be hopeful in bad times is not just foolishly romantic. It is based on the fact that human history is a history not only of cruelty, but also of compassion, sacriﬁce, courage, kindness. What we choose to emphasize in this complex history will determine our lives. If we see only the worst, it destroys our capacity to do something. If we remember those times and places — and there are so many — where people have behaved magniﬁcently, this gives us the energy to act, and at least the possibility of sending this spinning top of a world in a different direction.
And if we do act, in however small a way, we don’t have to wait for some grand utopian future. The future is an inﬁnite succession of presents, and to live now as we think human beings should live, in deﬁance of all that is bad around us, is itself a marvelous victory.

Howard Zinn (1922-2010) American historian, academic, author, social activist
Essay (2004-09-02), “The Optimism of Uncertainty,” The Nation
(Source)

Adopted from Zinn's essay of the same name in Paul Loeb (ed.), The Impossible Will Take a Little While (2004). See also Zinn, "A Marvelous Victory" (2004-02-23).

Johnson, Samuel -- The Rambler, #50 (8 Sep 1750)

Dave — Fri, 07 Oct 2016 03:44:03 +0000

Every old man complains of the growing depravity of the world, of the petulance and insolence of the rising generation. He recounts the decency and regularity of former times, and celebrates the discipline and sobriety of the age in which his youth was passed; a happy age which is now no more to be expected, since confusion has broken in upon the world, and thrown down all the boundaries of civility and reverence.

Samuel Johnson (1709-1784) English writer, lexicographer, critic
The Rambler, #50 (8 Sep 1750)
(Source)

Sophocles -- Trachiniae, l. 943

Dave — Thu, 08 Sep 2016 00:41:28 +0000

Rash indeed is he who reckons on the morrow, or haply on days beyond it; for tomorrow is not, until today is past.

Sophocles (496-406 BC) Greek tragic playwright
Trachiniae, l. 943

De Ronsard, Pierre -- “Quand vous serez bien vieille, au soir, à la chandelle,” l. 13, Sonnets pour Hélène (1578)

Dave — Thu, 04 Aug 2016 00:19:03 +0000

Live now, believe me, wait not till tomorrow;
Gather the roses of life today.

[Vivez, si m’en croyez, n’attendez à demain;
Cueillez dés aujourd’huy les roses de la vie.]

Pierre de Ronsard (1524-1585) French poet
“Quand vous serez bien vieille, au soir, à la chandelle,” l. 13, Sonnets pour Hélène (1578)
(Source)

Eliot, George -- Middlemarch (1871-72)

Dave — Wed, 22 Jun 2016 13:50:15 +0000

Our deeds still travel with us from afar.
And what we have been makes us what we are.

George Eliot (1819-1880) English novelist [pseud. of Mary Ann Evans]
Middlemarch (1871-72)

Marcus Aurelius -- Meditations [To Himself; Τὰ εἰς ἑαυτόν], Book 3, ch. 10 (3.10) (AD 161-180) [tr. Staniforth (1964)]

Dave — Wed, 15 Jun 2016 16:30:46 +0000

Remember that man lives only in the present, in this fleeting instant: all the rest of his life is either past and gone, or not yet revealed.

[καὶ ἔτι συμμνημόνευε, ὅτι μόνον ζῇ ἕκαστος τὸ παρὸν τοῦτο, τὸ ἀκαριαῖον: τὰ δὲ ἄλλα ἢ βεβίωται ἢ ἐν ἀδήλῳ.]

Marcus Aurelius (AD 121-180) Roman emperor (161-180), Stoic philosopher
Meditations [To Himself; Τὰ εἰς ἑαυτόν], Book 3, ch. 10 (3.10) (AD 161-180) [tr. Staniforth (1964)]
(Source)

Referencing what he has previously said in 2.14.

(Source (Greek)). Alternate translations:

No man properly can be said to live more than that which is now present, which is but a moment of time. Whatsoever is besides either is already past, or uncertain.
[tr. Casaubon (1634)]

Remembering withal, that every Mans Life lies all within the Present; For the Past is spent, and done with, and the Future is uncertain: Now the Present is strictly examin'd, is but a point of Time. Well then!
[tr. Collier (1701)]

Remember also that each man lives only the present moment: The rest of time is either spent and gone, or is quite unknown.
[tr. Hutcheson/Moor (1742)]

Recollect, moreover, what I have formerly remarked, "that every one lives that moment only which is now present." For the rest of his life is either already past, or is wrapt in uncertainty.
[tr. Graves (1792)]

Bear in mind that every man lives only this present time, which is an indivisible point, and that all the rest of his life is either past or it is uncertain.
[tr. Long (1862)]

Remembering withal, that every man's life lies all within the present, which is but a point of time; for the past is spent, and the future is uncertain.
[tr. Collier/Zimmern (1887)]

And bear in mind withal that every man lives only in the present, this passing moment' all else is life outlived, or yet undisclosed.
[tr. Rendall (1898)]

Remember also that every man lives only this present moment, which is a fleeting instant: the rest of time is either spent or quite unknown.
[tr. Hutcheson/Chrystal (1902)]

Remember withal that it is only this present, a moment of time, that a man lives: all the rest either has been lived or may never be.
[tr. Haines (Loeb) (1916)]

Each of us lives only in the present, this brief moment; the rest is either a life that is past, or is in an uncertain future.
[tr. Farquharson (1944)]

Remember, furthermore, that each of us lives only in the present, this fleeting moment of time, and that the rest of one's days are either dead and gone or lie in an unknowable future.
[tr. Hard (1997 ed.)]

Each of us lives only now, this brief instant. The rest has been lived already, or is impossible to see.
[tr. Hays (2003)]

Remind yourself too that each of us lives only in the present moment, a mere fragment of time: the rest is life past or uncertain future.
[tr. Hammond (2006)]

Also remember that each person lives in this very moment, and that the rest either has already happened or else is entirely uncertain.
[tr. Needleman/Piazza (2008)]

Remember, furthermore, that each of us lives only in the present, this fleeting moment of time, and that the rest of one’s life has either already been lived or lies in an unknowable future.
[tr. Hard (2011 ed.)]

Keep in mind that each of us only lives int he present, this brief moment of time; the rest of our life has been lived already or lies in the uncertain future.
[tr. Gill (2013)]

Johnson, Lyndon -- Speech (1963-12-13), Consumer Advisory Council, Washington, D.C.

Dave — Mon, 06 Jun 2016 13:16:10 +0000

We can draw lessons from the past, but we cannot live in it.

Lyndon B. Johnson (1908-1973) American politician, educator, US President (1963-69)
Speech (1963-12-13), Consumer Advisory Council, Washington, D.C.
(Source)

Kleiser, Grenville -- Inspiration And Ideals: Thoughts For Every Day, “August Twenty-Eighth” (1918 ed.)

Dave — Wed, 01 Jun 2016 17:21:29 +0000

There are many fine things which you mean to do some day, under what you think will be more favorable circumstances. But the only time that is surely yours is the present, hence this is the time to speak the word of appreciation and sympathy, to do the generous deed, to forgive the fault of a thoughtless friend, to sacrifice self a little more for others. Today is the day in which to express your noblest qualities of mind and heart, to do at least one worthy thing which you have long postponed, and to use your God-given abilities for the enrichment of some less fortunate fellow traveler. Today you can make your life big, broad, significant and worthwhile. The present is yours to do with it as you will.

Grenville Kleiser (1868-1953) Canadian-American self-help author
Inspiration And Ideals: Thoughts For Every Day, “August Twenty-Eighth” (1918 ed.)

Horace -- Odes [Carmina], Book 1, # 9, l. 13ff (1.9.13-15) (23 BC) [tr. Gladstone (1894)]

Dave — Wed, 18 May 2016 14:16:26 +0000

Pry not, the morrow’s chance to learn:
Set down to gain whatever turn
The wheel may take.

[Quid sit futurum cras, fuge quaerere, et
quem fors dierum cumque dabit, lucro
adpone.]

Horace (65–8 BC) Roman poet, satirist, soldier, politician [Quintus Horatius Flaccus]
Odes [Carmina], Book 1, # 9, l. 13ff (1.9.13-15) (23 BC) [tr. Gladstone (1894)]
(Source)

To Thaliarchus.

(Source (Latin)). Alternate translations:

Upon to Morrow reckon not,
Then if it comes 'tis clearly got.
[Fanshaw (1666)]

All Cares, and Fears are fond and vain,
Fly vexing thoughts of dark to-morrow;
What Chance scores up, count perfect gain,
And banish business, banish sorrow.
[tr. Creech (1684)]

To-morrow and her works defy,
Lay hold upon the present hour,
And snatch the pleasures passing by,
To put them out of fortune's power:
[tr. Dryden (c. 1685)]

O, ask not what the morn will bring,
But count as gain each day that chance
May give you.
[tr. Conington (1872)]

Avoid inquiring what may happen to-morrow; and whatever day fortune shall bestow on you, score it up for gain.
[tr. Smart/Buckley (1853)]

Let not to-morrow's change or chance
Perplex thee, but as gain
Count each new day!
[tr. Martin (1864)]

Shun to seek what is hid in the womb of the morrow;
Count the lot of each day as clear gain in life’s ledger.
[tr. Bulwer-Lytton (1870)]

What brings to-morrow care not to ask, and what
Fortune each day may bring, set it down as gain.
[tr. Phelps (1897)]

What is to be to-morrow do not ask: appraise
As gain the course of days Fortune will yield.
[tr. Garnsey (1907)]

What next morn's sun may bring, forbear to ask;
But count each day that comes by gift of chance
So much to the good.
[tr. Marshall (1908)]

Cease to ask what the morrow will bring forth, and set down as gain each day that Fortune grants!
[tr. Bennett (Loeb) (1912)]

Ask not the morrow's good or ill;
Reckon it gain however chance
May shape each day.
[tr. Mills (1924)]

Try not to guess what lies in the future, but
As Fortune deals days enter them into your
Life's book as windfalls, credit items,
Gratefully.
[tr. Michie (1963)]

Stop wondering after tomorrow: take
Day by day the days you’re granted.
[tr. Raffel (1983)]

Cease to ask what tomorrow may bring
and count as gain whatever Fortune grants you today.
[tr. Alexander (1999)]

Don’t ask what tomorrow brings, call them your gain
whatever days Fortune gives.
[tr. Kline (2015)]

Leave off asking what tomorrow will bring, and
whatever days fortune will give, count them
as profit.
[tr. Wikisource (2021)]

Buddha -- (Attributed)

Dave — Wed, 04 May 2016 14:02:13 +0000

The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, worry about the future, or anticipate troubles, but to live in the present moment wisely and earnestly.

Buddha (c.563-483 BC) Indian mystic, philosopher [b. Siddharta Gautama]
(Attributed)

In The Teaching of Buddha [The Buddhist Bible] (1934) by the Federation of All Young Buddhist Associations of Japan.

Buchwald, Art -- (Attributed)

Dave — Wed, 13 Apr 2016 14:06:30 +0000

Whether it’s the best of times or the worst of times, it’s the only time we’ve got.

Art Buchwald (1925-2007) American humorist, columnist
(Attributed)

Lewis, C.S. -- Letter to Mrs. Ray Garrett (12 Sep 1960)

Dave — Wed, 14 Oct 2015 13:59:50 +0000

The whole lesson of my life has been that no ‘methods of stimulation’ are of any lasting use. They are indeed like drugs — a stronger dose is needed each time and soon no possible dose is effective. We must not bother about thrills at all. Do the present duty — bear the present pain — enjoy the present pleasure — and leave emotions and ‘experiences’ to look after themselves.

C. S. Lewis (1898-1963) English writer, literary scholar, lay theologian [Clive Staples Lewis]
Letter to Mrs. Ray Garrett (12 Sep 1960)

La Rochefoucauld, Francois -- Réflexions ou sentences et maximes morales [Reflections; or Sentences and Moral Maxims], ¶22 (1665-1678) [tr Tancock (1959)]

Dave — Thu, 30 Jul 2015 13:03:43 +0000

Philosophy easily triumphs over past ills and ills to come, but present ills triumph over philosophy.

[La philosophie triomphe aisément des maux passés et des maux à venir; mais les maux présents triomphent d’elle.]

François VI, duc de La Rochefoucauld (1613-1680) French epigrammatist, memoirist, noble
Réflexions ou sentences et maximes morales [Reflections; or Sentences and Moral Maxims], ¶22 (1665-1678) [tr Tancock (1959)]
(Source)

(Source (French)). French variants:

La philosophie triomphe aisément des maux passés et de ceux qu’un ne sont pas prêts d’arriver; mais les maux présents triomphent d'elle.
(1665)]

La philosophie ne fait des merveilles que contre les maux passés ou contre ceux qui ne sont pas prêts d’arriver, mais elle n’a pas grande vertu contre les maux présents.
[Manuscript]

Alternate English translations:

Philosophy may easily triumph over Evils past, as also over those not yet ready to assault a man; but the present triumph over it.
[tr. Davies (1669), ¶87]

Philosophy finds it an easie matter to vanquish past and future Evils, but the present are commonly too hard for it.
[tr. Stanhope (1694), ¶23]

Philosophy easily triumphs over past and future ills; but present ills triumph over philosophy.
[pub. Donaldson (1783), "Ills" ¶242]

Philosophy easily triumphs over ills both past and future; but present ills triumph over philosophy.
[ed. Carville (1835), "Ills" ¶211]

Philosophy easily triumphs over past and future ills: but religion only triumphs over the present ones.
[ed. Carville (1835), "Philosophers" ¶303]

Philosophy triumphs easily over past, and over future evils, but present evils triumph over philosophy.
[ed. Gowens (1851), ¶23]

Philosophy triumphs easily over past evils and future evils; but present evils triumph over it.
[tr. Bund/Friswell (1871)]

Philosophy easily masters past and future ills, but the sorrow of the moment is the master of philosophy.
[tr. Heard (1917)]

Philosophy easily conquers both past and future misfortunes, but is conquered by the misfortunes of the moment.
[tr. Stevens (1939)]

Philosophy can easily triumph over past misfortunes and over those that lie ahead: but the misfortunes of the present will triumph over our philosophy.
[tr. FitzGibbon (1957)]

Philosophy triumphs with ease over misfortunes past and to come, but present misfortunes triumph over it.
[tr. Kronenberger (1959)]

Philosophy triumphs easily over past and future evils; but present evils triumph over it.
[tr. Whichello (2016)]

Heinlein, Robert A. -- Methuselah’s Children [Lazarus Long] (1958)

Dave — Tue, 28 Jul 2015 15:44:27 +0000

Mary, my sweet, carpe that old diem! — it’s the only game in town.

Robert A. Heinlein (1907-1988) American writer
Methuselah’s Children [Lazarus Long] (1958)

See Horace.

Newman, John -- “Lead, Kindly Light” (16 Jun 1833)

Dave — Tue, 05 May 2015 13:26:37 +0000

Lead, kindly Light, amid the encircling gloom,
Lead Thou me on;
The night is dark, and I am far from home;
Lead Thou me on!
Keep Thou my feet; I do not ask to see
The distant scene; — one step enough for me.

John Henry Newman (1801-1890) English prelate, Catholic Cardinal, theologian
“Lead, Kindly Light” (16 Jun 1833)
(Source)

Laforgue, Jules -- “Complainte sur certains ennuis,” Les Complaintes (1885)

Dave — Wed, 31 Dec 2014 18:44:44 +0000

What a day-to-day affair life is.

Jules Laforgue (1860-1887) Franco-Uruguayan Symbolist poet
“Complainte sur certains ennuis,” Les Complaintes (1885)

Becker, Carl -- The Heavenly City of the Eighteenth-century Philosophers (1932)

Dave — Tue, 30 Dec 2014 17:19:13 +0000

Great as our differences are, all of us — professors, politicians, preachers — would no doubt find that we had much in common after all if it were possible to meet in the flesh some distinguished representatives from a former age.

Carl L. Becker (1873-1945) American historian
The Heavenly City of the Eighteenth-century Philosophers (1932)

Schopenhauer, Arthur -- Parerga and Paralipomena, Vol. 1, “Aphorisms on the Wisdom of Life [Aphorismen zur Lebensweisheit],” ch. 5 “Counsels and Maxims [Paränesen und Maximen],” § 2.5 (1851) [tr. Payne (1974)]

Dave — Mon, 03 Nov 2014 14:09:59 +0000

But we live through the fine days without noticing them; only when we fall on evil ones do we wish to have back the former. With sour faces we let a thousand bright and pleasant hours slip by unenjoyed and afterwards vainly sigh for their return when times are trying and depressing. Instead of this, we should cherish every present moment that is bearable, even the most ordinary, which with such indifference we now let slip by, and even with impatience push on.

[Aber wir verleben unsre schönen Tage, ohne sie zu bemerken: erst wann die schlimmen kommen, wünschen wir jene zurück. Tausend heitere, angenehme Stunden lassen wir, mit verdrießlichem Gesicht, ungenossen an uns vorüberziehn, um nachher, zur trüben Zeit, mit vergeblicher Sehnsucht ihnen nachzuseufzen. Statt dessen sollten wir jede erträgliche Gegenwart, auch die alltägliche, welche wir jetzt so gleichgültig vorüberziehn lassen, und wohl gar noch ungeduldig nachschieben.]

Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860) German philosopher
Parerga and Paralipomena, Vol. 1, “Aphorisms on the Wisdom of Life [Aphorismen zur Lebensweisheit],” ch. 5 “Counsels and Maxims [Paränesen und Maximen],” § 2.5 (1851) [tr. Payne (1974)]
(Source)

(Source (German)). Alternate translation:

But we live through our days of happiness without noticing them; it is only when evil comes upon us that we wish them back. A thousand gay and pleasant hours are wasted in ill-humor; we let them slip by unenjoyed, and sigh for them in vain when the sky is overcast. Those present moments that are bearable, be they never so trite and common, -- passed by in indifference, or, it may be, impatiently pushed away.
[tr. Saunders (1890)]

Buddha -- In Bukkyõ Dendõ Kyõkai, The Teaching of Buddha (1966)

Dave — Mon, 15 Sep 2014 12:37:51 +0000

The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, worry about the future, or anticipate troubles, but to live in the present moment wisely and earnestly.

Buddha (c.563-483 BC) Indian mystic, philosopher [b. Siddharta Gautama]
In Bukkyõ Dendõ Kyõkai, The Teaching of Buddha (1966)

Likely a paraphrase of a variety of the Buddha's teachings.

~Proverbs and Sayings -- Chinese proverb

Dave — Wed, 09 Jul 2014 12:54:48 +0000

The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago. The second best time is now.

Proverbs, Sayings, and Adages
Chinese proverb

Straczynski, J. Michael "Joe" -- Babylon 5, 2×09 “The Coming of Shadows” (1 Feb 1995)

Dave — Fri, 23 May 2014 18:33:44 +0000

TURHAN: The past tempts us, the present confuses us, and the future frightens us. And our lives slip away, moment by moment, lost in that vast, terrible in-between.

J. Michael (Joe) Straczynski (b. 1954) American screenwriter, producer, author [a/k/a "JMS"]
Babylon 5, 2×09 “The Coming of Shadows” (1 Feb 1995)

Seneca the Younger -- Moral Letters to Lucilius [Epistulae morales ad Lucilium], letter 78, sec. 14

Dave — Tue, 10 Sep 2013 12:21:31 +0000

Therefore, two bad habits must be forbidden, both the fear of the future and the memory of by-gone trouble; the latter no longer belongs to me, the former, not yet.

Seneca the Younger (c. 4 BC-AD 65) Roman statesman, philosopher, playwright [Lucius Annaeus Seneca]
Moral Letters to Lucilius [Epistulae morales ad Lucilium], letter 78, sec. 14

Steele, Richard -- Essay (1710-02-06), The Tatler, No. 130

Dave — Tue, 25 Jun 2013 15:59:50 +0000

Methinks a Man cannot, without a secret Satisfaction, consider the Glory of the present Age, which will shine as bright as any other in the History of Mankind. It is still big with great Events, and has already produced Changes and Revolutions which will be as much admired by Posterity, as any that have happened in the Days of our Fathers, or in the old Times before them.

Richard Steele (1672-1729) Irish writer and politician
Essay (1710-02-06), The Tatler, No. 130
(Source)

Emerson, Ralph Waldo -- “Quotation and Originality,” Letters and Social Aims (1876)

Dave — Wed, 16 May 2012 14:04:37 +0000

We cannot overstate our debt to the Past, but the moment has the supreme claim.

Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) American essayist, lecturer, poet
“Quotation and Originality,” Letters and Social Aims (1876)

Ingersoll, Robert Green -- Note to a fan (26 Mar 1897)

Dave — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 14:18:38 +0000

Happiness is the only good.
The place to be happy is here.
The time to be happy is now.
The way to be happy is to make others so.

Robert Green Ingersoll (1833-1899) American lawyer, freethinker, orator
Note to a fan (26 Mar 1897)

Hugo, Victor -- The History of a Crime [Histoire d’un Crime], ch. 10, Conclusion [tr. Joyce & Locker (1878)]

Dave — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 14:38:45 +0000

An invasion of armies can be resisted; an invasion of ideas cannot be resisted.

[On résiste à l’invasion des armées ; on ne résiste pas à l’invasion des idées.]

Victor Hugo (1802-1885) French writer
The History of a Crime [Histoire d’un Crime], ch. 10, Conclusion [tr. Joyce & Locker (1878)]
(Source)

Garson O'Toole, Burton Stevenson, and Ralph Keyes suggest this phrase morphed in English in the early 1940s into "One cannot resist an idea whose time has come," which is also widely attributed to Hugo. For more discussion about this quotation, this variation, and more, see:

(Source (French)). Other translations:

One resists the invasion of armies; one does not resist the invasion of ideas.
[tr. Atheneum Society (1878)]

An invasion of armies can be resisted, but there is no resistance to an invasion of ideas.
[tr. Smith (1888)]

One can resist the invasion of armies, but not the invasion of ideas.
[Source (1900)]

One withstands the invasion of armies; one does not withstand the invasion of ideas.
[E.g. (2012)]

One can resist the invasion of armies; one cannot resist the invasion of ideas.
[E.g. (2021)]

Bacon, Francis -- “Of Great Place,” Essays, No. 11 (1625)

Dave — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 12:25:55 +0000

Ask counsel of both times — of the ancienter time what is best, and of the latter time what is fittest.

Francis Bacon (1561-1626) English philosopher, scientist, author, statesman
“Of Great Place,” Essays, No. 11 (1625)
(Source)

Tagore, Rabindranath -- The Gardener, #85 (1915)

Dave — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 21:55:29 +0000

Who are you, reader, reading my poems an hundred years hence?

I cannot send you one single flower from this wealth of the spring, one single streak of gold from yonder clouds.

Open your doors and look abroad.

From your blossoming garden gather fragrant memories of the vanished flowers of an hundred years before.

In the joy of your heart may you feel the living joy that sang one spring morning, sending its glad voice across a hundred years.

Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941) Indian Bengali poet, philosopher [a.k.a. Rabi Thakur, Kabiguru]
The Gardener, #85 (1915)
(Source)

Goethe, Johann von -- Sprüche in Prosa: Maximen und Reflexionen [Proverbs in Prose: Maxims and Reflections] (1833) [tr. Saunders (1893), “Life and Character,” sec. 7, #392]

Dave — Fri, 21 May 2010 14:56:26 +0000

What is called fashion is the tradition of the moment.

[Was man Mode heißt, ist augenblickliche Uberlieferung.]

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832) German poet, statesman, scientist
Sprüche in Prosa: Maximen und Reflexionen [Proverbs in Prose: Maxims and Reflections] (1833) [tr. Saunders (1893), “Life and Character,” sec. 7, #392]
(Source)

(Source (German)). Alternate translations:

That which we call fashion is the tradition of the moment.
[tr. Rönnfeldt (1900)]

What we call fashion is momentary transmission.
[tr. Stopp (1995), "Posthumous," #986]

Smith, Sydney -- Memoir of the Reverend Sydney Smith, by His Daughter, Lady Holland, Vol. 1, ch. 11 (1855)

Dave — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 09:57:45 +0000

I am old, but I certainly have not that sign of old-age, extolling the past at the expense of the present.

Sydney Smith (1771-1845) English clergyman, essayist, wit
Memoir of the Reverend Sydney Smith, by His Daughter, Lady Holland, Vol. 1, ch. 11 (1855)
(Source)

Shakespeare, William -- Troilus and Cressida, Act 3, sc. 3, l. 153ff (3.3.153-158) (1602)

Dave — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 10:49:48 +0000

ULYSSES: Those scraps are good deeds past, which are devoured
As fast as they are made, forgot as soon
As done. Perseverance, dear my lord,
Keeps honor bright. To have done is to hang
Quite out of fashion like a rusty mail
In monumental mock’ry.

William Shakespeare (1564-1616) English dramatist and poet
Troilus and Cressida, Act 3, sc. 3, l. 153ff (3.3.153-158) (1602)
(Source)

Smith, Sydney -- Memoir of the Reverend Sydney Smith, by His Daughter, Lady Holland, Vol. 1, ch. 12 (1855)

Dave — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 14:44:11 +0000

We know nothing of tomorrow; our business is to be good and happy today.

Sydney Smith (1771-1845) English clergyman, essayist, wit
Memoir of the Reverend Sydney Smith, by His Daughter, Lady Holland, Vol. 1, ch. 12 (1855)
(Source)

Burke, Edmund -- “Thoughts on the Cause of the Present Discontents” (23 Apr 1770)

Dave — Tue, 06 May 2008 11:00:43 +0000

To complain of the age we live in, to murmur at the present possessors of power, to lament for the past, to conceive extravagant hopes of the future, are the common dispositions of the greatest part of mankind.

Edmund Burke (1729-1797) Anglo-Irish statesman, orator, philosopher
“Thoughts on the Cause of the Present Discontents” (23 Apr 1770)

Emerson, Ralph Waldo -- “Public and Private Education,” lecture, Boston (1864-11-27)

Dave — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 14:03:13 +0000

These times of ours are serious and full of calamity, but all times are essentially alike. As soon as there is life there is danger.

Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) American essayist, lecturer, poet
“Public and Private Education,” lecture, Boston (1864-11-27)

Vonnegut, Kurt, Jr. -- Slaughterhouse-Five, ch. 2 (1969)

Dave — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 10:26:30 +0000

The most important thing I learned on Tralfamadore was that when a person dies he only appears to die. He is still very much alive in the past, so it is very silly for people to cry at his funeral. All moments, past, present and future, always have existed, always will exist. The Tralfamadorians can look at all the different moments just that way we can look at a stretch of the Rocky Mountains, for instance. They can see how permanent all the moments are, and they can look at any moment that interests them. It is just an illusion we have here on Earth that one moment follows another one, like beads on a string, and that once a moment is gone it is gone forever.

Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. (1922-2007) American novelist, journalist
Slaughterhouse-Five, ch. 2 (1969)
(Source)

The beginning of Billy's second letter.

Johnson, Samuel -- The Rambler, #2 (24 Mar 1750)

Dave — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 15:23:11 +0000

The mind is never satisfied with the objects immediately before it, but is always breaking away from the present moment, and losing itself in schemes of future felicity …. The natural flights of the human mind are not from pleasure to pleasure, but from hope to hope.

Samuel Johnson (1709-1784) English writer, lexicographer, critic
The Rambler, #2 (24 Mar 1750)
(Source)

Flaubert, Gustave -- Letter to George Sand (8 Sep 1871) [tr. Tarver]

Dave — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 20:37:10 +0000

Our ignorance of history makes us calumniate our own time. We have always been like this. Some calm years have deceived us. That is all. I too believed in the softening of manners. We must erase this error and esteem ourselves no more than people esteemed themselves in the time of Pericles or Shakespeare, atrocious epochs in which fine things were done.

[On a toujours été comme ça. Quelques années de calme nous ont trompés. Voilà tout. Moi aussi, je croyais à l’adoucissement des mœurs. Il faut rayer cette erreur et ne pas s’estimer plus qu’on ne s’estimait du temps de Péricles ou de Shakespeare, époques atroces où on a fait de belles choses.]

Gustave Flaubert (1821-1880) French writer, novelist
Letter to George Sand (8 Sep 1871) [tr. Tarver]
(Source)

Original French.

Alternate translation: "Our ignorance of history causes us to slander our own times."

Shakespeare, William -- Henry IV, Part 2, Act 1, sc. 3, l. 112ff (1.3.112-113) (c. 1598)

Dave — Fri, 14 Oct 2005 12:28:41 +0000

ARCHBISHOP:O thoughts of men accursed!
Past and to come seems best; things present, worst.

William Shakespeare (1564-1616) English dramatist and poet
Henry IV, Part 2, Act 1, sc. 3, l. 112ff (1.3.112-113) (c. 1598)
(Source)

Horace -- Odes [Carmina], Book 1, # 11, l. 8ff (1.11.8-9) (23 BC) [tr. Conington (1872)]

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

In the moment of our talking, envious time has ebb’d away.
Seize the present; trust tomorrow e’en as little as you may.

[Dum loquimur, fugerit invida
aetas: carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero.]

Horace (65–8 BC) Roman poet, satirist, soldier, politician [Quintus Horatius Flaccus]
Odes [Carmina], Book 1, # 11, l. 8ff (1.11.8-9) (23 BC) [tr. Conington (1872)]

Often titled "To Leuconoë." This is the source of the famous phrase, "carpe diem," commonly translated "seize the day." Many scholars give it a more horticultural spin, to harvest the day now, while it is ripe. More discussion here. More quotations along this theme here.

(Source (Latin)). Alternate translations:

Whilest we are talking, envious Time doth slide:
This day's thine own, the next may be deny'd.
[tr. Sir T. H.; ed. Brome (1666)]

Time, while we speak on't flyes; now banish sorrow,
Live well to day, and never trust to morrow.
[tr. S. W., Esq.; ed. Brome (1666)]

E'en whil'st we speak the Envious time
Doth make swift hast away,
Then seize the present, use thy prime,
Nor trust another Day.
[tr. Creech (1684)]

While we are conversing, envious age has been flying; seize the present day, not giving the least credit to the succeeding one.
[tr. Smart/Buckley (1853)]

Use all life's powers,
The envious hours
Fly as we talk ; then live to-day,
Nor fondly to to-morrow trust more than you must and may.
[tr. Martin (1864)]

While we talk, grudging Time will be gone, and a part of ourselves be no more.
Seize to-day -- for the morrow it is in which thy belief should be least.
[tr. Bulwer-Lytton (1870)]

Our span is brief. The niggard hour,
in chatting, ebbs away;
Trust nothing for to-morrow's sun:
make harvest of to-day.
[tr. Gladstone (1894)]

E'en while we speak, envious life will fly; --
So make use of to-day, trusting the next, little as possible.
[tr. Phelps (1897)]

While we are talking envious time steals on:
Catch to-day's joy and give the morrow but a minimum of trust.
[tr. Garnsey (1907)]

Ev'n as we speak, grim Time
speeds swift away;
Seize now and here the hour that is. nor trust
some later day!
[tr. Marshall (1908)]

Even while we speak, envious Time has sped. Reap the harvest of to-day, putting as little trust as may be in the morrow!
[tr. Bennett (Loeb) (1912)]

E'en while we speak time, grudging time, has fled; snatch eagerly
Each day, and trust the morrow's grace as little as may be.
[tr. Mills (1924)]

Even while
We talk Time, hateful, runs a mile.
Don't trust tomorrow's bough
For fruit. Pluck this, here, now.
[tr. Michie (1963)]

Time goes running, even
As we talk. Take the present, the future's no one's affair.
[tr. Raffel (1983)]

Now as I say these words,
Time has already fled
Backwards away --
Leuconoe --
Hold on to the day.
[tr. Ferry (1997)]

While we converse, envious time will have vanished: harvest
Today, placing the least credence on what’s to come.
[tr. Willett (1998)]

Even as we speak, envious Time is fleeing.
Seize the day: entrusting as little as possible to tomorrow.
[tr. Alexander (1999)]

The envious moment is flying now, now, while we’re speaking:
Seize the day, place in the hours that come as little faith as you can.
[tr. Kline (2015)]

While we are speaking, envious life
will have fled: seize the day, trusting the future as little as possible.
[tr. Wikisource (2021)]

Orwell, George -- Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949)

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

If the Party could thrust its hand into the past and say of this or that event, it never happened — that, surely, was more terrifying than mere torture and death? The Party said that Oceania had never been in alliance with Eurasia. He, Winston Smith, knew that Oceania had been in alliance with Eurasia as short a time as four years ago. But where did that knowledge exist? Only in his own consciousness, which in any case must soon be annihilated. And if all others accepted the lie which the Party imposed — if all records told the same tale — then the lie passed into history and became truth. “Who controls the past,” ran the Party slogan, “controls the future: who controls the present controls the past.”

George Orwell (1903-1950) English journalist, essayist, writer [pseud. of Eric Arthur Blair]
Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949)
(Source)

Sometimes paraphrased, "He who controls the past controls the future. He who controls the present controls the past."

Confucius -- The Analects [論語, 论语, Lúnyǔ], Book 18, verse 8 (18.8.5) (6th C. BC) [ed. Lao-Tse, tr. Hinton (1998)]

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

I have no use for the strictures of You must. You must not.

[無可無不可]

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 18, verse 8 (18.8.5) (6th C. BC) [ed. Lao-Tse, tr. Hinton (1998)]
(Source)

(Source (Chinese)). Alternate translations:

I have no course for which I am predetermined, and no course against which I am predetermined.
[tr. Legge (1861)]

I will take no liberties, I will have no curtailing of my liberty.
[tr. Jennings (1895); in the footnote he gives a more raw translation, "Without possibilities (or freedom to act) -- without impossibilities"]

With me there is no inflexible "thou shalt" or 'thou shalt not."
[tr. Soothill (1910)]

I have no categoric can and cannot.
[tr. Pound (1933)]

I have no "thou shalt" or "thou shalt not."
[tr. Waley (1938)]

I accept life as it comes. [tr. Ware (1950)]

I have no preconceptions about the permissible and the impermissible.
[tr. Lau (1979)]

I avoid saying what should or should not be done.
[tr. Dawson (1993)]

I follow no rigid prescriptions on what should, or should not, be done.
[tr. Leys (1997)]

I have neither favorable nor unfavorable situation. [tr. Huang (1997)]

I have not any stubborn positiveness or negation.
[tr. Cai/Yu (1998)]

I do not have presuppositions as to what may and may not be done.
[tr. Ames/Rosemont (1998)]

I have no "may" and no "may not."
[tr. Brooks/Brooks (1998)]

I have no preconceptions about what one can or cannot do.
[tr. Annping Chin (2014)]

This may be the source of Lin-Yutang, ed. The Wisdom of Confucius (1938):

The superior man goes through his life without any one preconceived course of action or any taboo. He merely decides for the moment what is the right thing to do.

Selden, John -- Table Talk, § 104.4 “Pleasure” (1689)

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

While you are upon the earth, enjoy the good things that are here (to the end that they were given), and be not melancholy, and wish yourself in Heaven.

John Selden (1584-1654) English jurist, legal scholar, antiquarian, polymath
Table Talk, § 104.4 “Pleasure” (1689)

Dickens, Charles -- Sketches by Boz, “Characters,” ch. 2 “A Christmas Dinner” (1833-36)

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

Reflect upon your present blessings — of which every man has many — not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some. Fill your glass again, with a merry face and contented heart. Our life on it, but your Christmas shall be merry, and your new year a happy one!

Charles Dickens (1812-1870) English writer and social critic
Sketches by Boz, “Characters,” ch. 2 “A Christmas Dinner” (1833-36)
(Source)

Lincoln, Abraham -- Message (1862-12-01) to Congress, Annual Message (State of the Union)

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

The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present. The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise with the occasion. As our case is new, so we must think anew and act anew. We must disenthrall ourselves, and then we shall save our country.

Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) American lawyer, politician, US President (1861-65)
Message (1862-12-01) to Congress, Annual Message (State of the Union)
(Source)

Carlyle, Thomas -- Essay (1829-06), “Signs of the Times,” Edinburgh Review, Vol. 49, No. 98, Art. 7

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

Our grand business undoubtedly is, not to see what lies dimly at a distance, but to do what lies clearly at hand.

Thomas Carlyle (1795-1881) Scottish essayist and historian
Essay (1829-06), “Signs of the Times,” Edinburgh Review, Vol. 49, No. 98, Art. 7
(Source)

Review of three 1829 books: Anticipation; or, an Hundred Years Hence; The Rise, Progress, and Present State of Public Opinion in Great Britain; Edward Irvine, The Last Days; or, Discourses on These Our Times.

Bible, Vol. 2. New Testament -- Matthew 6: 34 (Jesus) [KJV (1611)]

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 18:00:00 +0000

Take no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

[μὴ οὖν μεριμνήσητε εἰς τὴν αὔριον, ἡ γὰρ αὔριον μεριμνήσει ἑαυτῆς· ἀρκετὸν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἡ κακία αὐτῆς.]

The Bible (The New Testament) (AD 1st - 2nd C) Christian sacred scripture
Matthew 6: 34 (Jesus) [KJV (1611)]
(Source)

This overall passage (Matt. 6:25-34) is paralleled in Luke 12:22-32, but this particular verse is unique to Matthew.

(Source (Greek)). Alternate translations:

So do not worry about tomorrow: tomorrow will take care of itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
[JB (1966)]

So do not worry about tomorrow; it will have enough worries of its own. There is no need to add to the troubles each day brings.
[GNT (1976)]

So do not worry about tomorrow: tomorrow will take care of itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
[NJB (1985)]

Therefore, stop worrying about tomorrow, because tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
[CEB (2011)]

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
[NIV (2011 ed.)]

So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today.
[NRSV (2021 ed.)]

Marcus Aurelius -- Meditations [To Himself; Τὰ εἰς ἑαυτόν], Book 2, ch. 14 (2.14) [tr. Hays (2003)]

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

The longest-lived and those who will die soonest lose the same thing. The present is all that they give up, since that is all you have, and what you do not have, you cannot lose.

[ἑτέρου δέ, ὅτι καὶ ὁ πολυχρονιώτατος καὶ ὁ τάχιστα τεθνηξόμενος τὸ ἴσον ἀποβάλλει. τὸ γὰρ παρόν ἐστι μόνον, οὗ στερίσκεσθαι μέλλει, εἴπερ γε ἔχει καὶ τοῦτο μόνον καὶ ὃ μὴ ἔχει τις οὐκ ἀποβάλλει.]

Marcus Aurelius (AD 121-180) Roman emperor (161-180), Stoic philosopher
Meditations [To Himself; Τὰ εἰς ἑαυτόν], Book 2, ch. 14 (2.14) [tr. Hays (2003)]
(Source)

(Source (Greek)). Alternate translations:

That life which any the longest liver, or the shortest liver parts with, is for length and duration the very same, for that only which is present, is that, which either of them can lose, as being that only which they have; for that which he hath not, no man can truly be said to lose.
[tr. Casaubon (1634), 2.12]

When the longest, and shortest Lived Persons come to die, their Loss is equal: For as I observe the Present is their All, and they can Suffer no Farther.
[tr. Collier (1701)]

Again that the longest and the shortest lives have an equal loss at Death. The present moment is all which either is deprived of, since that is all he has. A man cannot part with what he has not.
[tr. Hutcheson/Moor (1742)]

He who lives the longest, and he who dies the earliest, when they do die, their loss is equal. For they are only deprived of the present moment, which is all they have to lose.
[tr. Graves (1792)]

The longest liver and he who will die soonest lose just the same. For the present is the only thing of which a man can be deprived, if it is true that this is the only thing which he has, and that a man cannot lose a thing if he has it not.
[tr. Long (1862)]

When the longest and shortest-lived persons come to die, their loss is equal; they can but lose the present as being the only thing they have; for that which he has not, no man can be truly said to lose.
[tr. Collier/Zimmern (1887)]

The longest-lived and the shortest-lived man, when they come to die, lose one and the same thing.
[tr. Morgan (1894)]

The loss of the longest-lived and the shortest is one and the same. It is the present only of which a man can be deprived, that and that only being his, and what is not his he cannot lose.
[tr. Rendall (1898)]

He who lives longest and he who dies soonest have an equal loss in death. The present moment is all of which either is deprived, since that is all he has. No man can be robbed of that which he has not.
[tr. Hutcheson/Chrystal (1902)]

The longest liver and he whose time to die comes soonest part with no more the one than the other. For it is but the present that a man can be deprived of, if, as is the fact, it is this alone that he has, and what he has not a man cannot part with.
[tr. Haines (Loeb) (1916)]

The longest-lived and the soonest to die have an equal loss; for it is the present alone of which either will be deprived, since (as we saw) this is all he has and a man does not lose what he has not got.
[tr. Farquharson (1944)]

When the longest- and shortest-lived of us come to die, their loss is precisely equal. For the sole thing of which any man can be deprived is the present; since this is all he owns, and nobody can lose what is not his.
[tr. Staniforth (1964)]

The longest-lived and the earliest to die suffer an equal loss; for it is solely of the present moment that each will be deprived, if it is indeed the case that this is all that he has and a person cannot lose what he does not have.
[tr. Hard (1997 ed.)]

Both the longest-lived and the earliest to die suffer the same loss. It is only the present moment of which either stands to be deprived: and if indeed this is all he has, he cannot lose what he does not have.
[tr. Hammond (2006)]

The longest to live and the soonest to die lose exactly the same thing, for it is only the present moment which one can be deprived of, if it is true that we possess this alone, and that you cannot lose what you do not have.
[tr. Needleman/Piazza (2008), 2.16]

The longest-lived and the earliest to die suffer an equal loss; for it is solely of the present moment that each will be deprived, if it is really the case that this is all he has and a person cannot lose what he does not have.
[tr. Hard (2011 ed.)]

Both the one who lives longest and the one who is earliest to die lose an equal amount. The present moment is the only thing of which anyone can be deprived, at least if this is the only thing he has and he cannot lose what he has not got.
[tr. Gill (2013)]

The longest and shortest life is therefore the same. We all live in the same present, which is but a moment of time. This moment can be lost in a moment, but that is all that can be lost. The past and future cannot be lost: no one can take from a man what he never had. Time is an infinite eternity and so everything will come around again eventually, it makes no difference how long this might take to happen. The present moment is the only thing any man has.
[tr. McNeill (2019)]

Dunne, Finley Peter -- A Family Union, “Mr. Dooley”

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

Th’ past always looks better thin it was. It’s only pleasant because it isn’t here.

[The past always looks better than it was. It’s only pleasant because it isn’t here.]

Finley Peter Dunne (1867-1936) American humorist and journalist
A Family Union, “Mr. Dooley”