WIST Quotations

Huxley, T. H. -- Essay (1889-06), “Agnosticism and Christianity,” The Nineteenth Century magazine, Vol. 25, No. 148

Dave — Tue, 30 Jun 2026 17:05:08 +0000

Moreover, speaking for myself, and without impugning the right of any other person to use the term in another sense, I further say that agnosticism is not properly described as a “negative” creed, nor indeed as a creed of any kind, except in so far as it expresses absolute faith in the validity of a principle which is as much ethical as intellectual. This principle may be stated in various ways, but they all amount to this: that it is wrong for a man to say that he is certain of the objective truth of any proposition unless he can produce evidence which logically justifies that certainty. This is what agnosticism asserts; and, in my opinion, it is all that is essential to agnosticism.

T. H. Huxley (1825-1895) English biologist [Thomas Henry Huxley]
Essay (1889-06), “Agnosticism and Christianity,” The Nineteenth Century magazine, Vol. 25, No. 148
(Source)

Collected in Henry Wace (ed.), Christianity and Agnosticism, ch. 9 (1889), a collection of Huxley essays and replies to them (several by Wace).) The passage is sometimes miscited as coming from his earlier essay "Agnosticism," from the 1889-02 issue (Vol. 25, No. 144) (Collected).

L'Engle, Madeleine -- Speech (1983-11-16), “Dare To Be Creative,” Lecture, Library of Congress, Washington, DC

Dave — Wed, 18 Feb 2026 20:51:48 +0000

Many years ago, when A Wrinkle in Time was being rejected by publisher after publisher, I wrote in my journal, “I will rewrite for months or even years for an editor who sees what I am trying to do in this book and wants to make it better and stronger. But I will not, I cannot diminish and mutilate it for an editor who does not understand it and wants to weaken it.”
Now, the editors who did not understand the book and wanted the problem of evil soft peddled had every right to refuse to publish the book, as I had, sadly, the right and obligation to try to be true to it. If they refused it out of honest conviction, that was honorable. If they refused it for fear of trampling on someone else’s toes, that was, alas, the way of the world.

Madeleine L'Engle (1918-2007) American writer
Speech (1983-11-16), “Dare To Be Creative,” Lecture, Library of Congress, Washington, DC
(Source)

Adams, Douglas -- Hitchhiker’s Guide No. 4, So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish, ch. 11 [Arthur] (1984)

Dave — Wed, 18 Feb 2026 20:45:36 +0000

Grown men, he told himself, in flat contradiction of centuries of accumulated evidence about the way grown men behave, do not behave like this.

Douglas Adams (1952-2001) English author, humorist, screenwriter
Hitchhiker’s Guide No. 4, So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish, ch. 11 [Arthur] (1984)
(Source)

Montesquieu -- Spirit of Laws [The Spirit of the Laws; De l’esprit des lois], Book 8, ch. 1 (1748) [tr. Cohler/Miller/Stone (1989)]

Dave — Mon, 24 Nov 2025 20:41:33 +0000

The corruption of each government almost always begins with that of its principles.

[La corruption de chaque government commence presque toujours par celle des principes.]

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 8, ch. 1 (1748) [tr. Cohler/Miller/Stone (1989)]
(Source)

(Source (French)). Other translations:

The corruption of each government generally begins with that of the principles.
[tr. Nugent (1750)]

The deterioration of a government begins almost always by the decay of its principles.
[ed. Hoyt (1896)]

The corruption of each government almost always begins with the corruption of the principles.
[tr. Stewart (2018)

Hoffer, Eric -- Passionate State of Mind, Aphorism 142 (1955)

Dave — Fri, 24 Oct 2025 15:27:56 +0000

The taint hidden in selflessness is that selflessness is the only moral justification of ruthlessness.

Eric Hoffer (1902-1983) American writer, philosopher, longshoreman
Passionate State of Mind, Aphorism 142 (1955)
(Source)

Watterson, Bill -- Calvin and Hobbes (1995-08-11)

Dave — Wed, 01 Oct 2025 00:04:12 +0000

CALVIN: Some people are pragmatists, taking things as they come and making the best of the choices available. Some people are idealists, standing for principle and refusing to compromise. And some people just act on any whim that enters their head.

HOBBES: I wonder which you are.

CALVIN: I pragmatically turn my whims into principles!

Bill Watterson (b. 1958) American cartoonist
Calvin and Hobbes (1995-08-11)
(Source)

Hemry, John G. -- Triumphant, ch. 16 (2019) [as Jack Campbell]

Dave — Mon, 23 Jun 2025 21:15:40 +0000

You’d be amazed how quickly traditions and policies can be undermined by men and women with clever minds, clever tongues, and no principles.

John G. Hemry (b. 1956) American naval officer, author [pseud. Jack Campbell]
Triumphant, ch. 16 (2019) [as Jack Campbell]
(Source)

Stevenson, Adlai -- Speech (1952-07-21), Democratic National Convention, Chicago

Dave — Fri, 13 Sep 2024 17:43:10 +0000

What counts now is not just what we are against, but what we are for. Who leads us is less important than what leads us — what convictions, what courage, what faith — win or lose. A man doesn’t save a century, or a civilization, but a militant party wedded to a principle can.

Adlai Stevenson (1900–1965) American diplomat, statesman
Speech (1952-07-21), Democratic National Convention, Chicago
(Source)

La Rochefoucauld, Francois -- Réflexions ou sentences et maximes morales [Reflections; or Sentences and Moral Maxims], ¶1 (1665-1678) [tr. Tancock (1959)]

Dave — Fri, 23 Feb 2024 18:48:39 +0000

And it is not always because of valour or chastity that men are valiant or women chaste.

[Et ce n’est pas toujours par valeur et par chasteté que les hommes sont vaillants et que les femmes sont chastes.]

It may be further affirmed, that Valour in Men, and Chastity in Women, two qualifications which make so much noise in the World, are the products of Vanity and Shame, and principally of their particular Temperaments.
[tr. Davies (1669), ¶94]

And we are much mistaken, if we think that Men are always stout from a principle of Valour, or Women chast from a principle of Modesty.
[tr. Stanhope (1694)]

It is not always from the principles of valour and chastity that men are valiant, and that women are chaste.
[pub. Donaldson (1783), ¶446]

It is not always from valor and from chastity that men are valiant, and that women are chaste.
[ed. Gowens (1851), ¶2]

It is not always from valour or from chastity that men are brave, and women chaste.
[tr. Bund/Friswell (1871)]

Men are not always brave because courageous, nor women chaste because virtuous.
[tr. Heard (1917)]

So it is not always courage that makes the hero, nor modesty the chaste woman.
[tr. Stevens (1939)]

It is not always valor which makes men valiant, nor chastity that renders women chaste.
[tr. FitzGibbon (1957)]

And it is not always through valor and chastity that men are valiant and women chaste.
[tr. Kronenberger (1959)]

It is not always because of bravery or chastity that men are brave, and women chaste.
[tr. Whichello (2016)]

Tarkovsky, Andrei -- Sculpting in Time (1986) [tr. Hunter-Blair]

Dave — Mon, 26 Sep 2022 20:32:47 +0000

The man who has stolen in order never to thieve again remains a thief. Nobody who has ever betrayed his principles can have a pure relationship with life. Therefore when a film-maker says he will produce a pot-boiler in order to give himself the strength and the means to make the film of his dreams — that is so much deception, or worse, self-deception. He will never now make his film.

Andrei Tarkovsky (1932-1986) Russian film director, screenwriter, film theorist [Андрей Арсеньевич Тарковский]
Sculpting in Time (1986) [tr. Hunter-Blair]
(Source)

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)

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

Dave — Wed, 06 Jul 2022 20:39:07 +0000

Patriotism without principle is the prejudice of birth — the animal attachment to place.

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

Hoffer, Eric -- Passionate State of Mind, Aphorism 140 (1955)

Dave — Thu, 30 Jun 2022 14:07:04 +0000

It is compassion rather than the principle of justice which can guard us against being unjust to our fellow men.

Eric Hoffer (1902-1983) American writer, philosopher, longshoreman
Passionate State of Mind, Aphorism 140 (1955)
(Source)

Serling, Rod -- Commencement Address, Ithaca College, New York (13 May 1972)

Dave — Tue, 14 Jun 2022 14:38:20 +0000

Cherish what you believe. Don’t job off one single value judgment because it swims upstream against what appears to be a majority. Respect your own logic, your own sense of morality. Death and taxes may be the only absolutes. It’s for you to conjure up the modus operandi of how you live, act, react and hammer out a code of ethics. Certainly listen to arguments; certainly ponder and respect the opinions of your peers. But there’s a point you compromise, and there’s a point all human beings draw a line and say, “Beyond this point it’s not right or just or honest, and beyond this point I don’t move.”

Rod Serling (1924-1975) American screenwriter, playwright, television producer, narrator
Commencement Address, Ithaca College, New York (13 May 1972)
(Source)

Jillette, Penn -- Interview by Kahterine Mangu-Ward, Reason (Jan 2017)

Dave — Thu, 10 Jun 2021 19:02:58 +0000

When I talk about the death penalty to people, there are a zillion pragmatic arguments to make that the death penalty is more expensive, that you could make mistakes with the death penalty. I try to never use them, because I believe that as soon as I use them, I have dropped what matters to me. Because those arguments are disingenuous. To say, “What if we put an innocent person to death?” I am then telling you that if you can promise me we won’t put any innocent people to death that I’m somehow OK with that, and I’m fucking not. Killing people is wrong. Government shouldn’t fucking do it. End of story.

Penn Jillette (b. 1955) American stage magician, actor, musician, author
Interview by Kahterine Mangu-Ward, Reason (Jan 2017)
(Source)

Nathan, George Jean -- Testament of a Critic. Book 1 “Revelation” (1931)

Dave — Mon, 16 Nov 2020 16:26:46 +0000

I have no patriotism, for patriotism, as I see it, is often an arbitrary veneration of real estate above principles.

George Jean Nathan (1892-1958) American editor and critic
Testament of a Critic. Book 1 “Revelation” (1931)
(Source)

Sinclair, Upton -- Oil!, ch. 2 (1927)

Dave — Thu, 29 Oct 2020 16:36:52 +0000

Their frail human nature was subjected to a strain greater than it was made for; the fires of greed had been lighted in their hearts, and fanned to a white heat that melted every principle and every law.

Upton Sinclair (1878-1968) American writer, journalist, activist, politician
Oil!, ch. 2 (1927)
(Source)

Mill, John Stuart -- Considerations on Representative Government, ch. 1 (1861)

Dave — Tue, 28 Jul 2020 15:57:19 +0000

One person with a belief, is a social power equal to ninety-nine who have only interests.

John Stuart Mill (1806-1873) English philosopher and economist
Considerations on Representative Government, ch. 1 (1861)
(Source)

Often misquoted, "One person with a belief is equal to a force of ninety-nine who have only interests."

Guest, Judith -- Ordinary People, ch. 1, opening lines (1980)

Dave — Tue, 14 Jul 2020 23:28:16 +0000

To have a reason to get up in the morning, it is necessary to possess a guiding principle. A belief of some kind. A bumper sticker, if you will.

Judith Guest (b. 1936) American novelist and screenwriter.
Ordinary People, ch. 1, opening lines (1980)
(Source)

Suzuki, Shunryu -- Lotus Sutra No. 6 lecture, Tassajara, California (Feb 1968)

Dave — Fri, 10 Jul 2020 17:15:47 +0000

The highest truth is daiji, translated as dai jiki in Chinese scriptures. This is the subject of the question the emperor asked Bodhidharma: “What is the First Principle?” Bodhidharma said, “I don’t know.” “I don’t know” is the First Principle.

Shunryū Suzuki (1905-1971) Japanese Zen Buddhist master
Lotus Sutra No. 6 lecture, Tassajara, California (Feb 1968)
(Source)

Broun, Heywood -- “Emma’s Homecoming,” It Seems to Me: 1925-1935 (1935)

Dave — Thu, 22 Jun 2017 03:02:41 +0000

Hell is paved with great granite blocks hewn from the hearts of those who said, “I can do no other.”

Heywood Broun (1888-1939) American journalist, author
“Emma’s Homecoming,” It Seems to Me: 1925-1935 (1935)
(Source)

Parker, Robert -- Hush Money (1999)

Dave — Wed, 31 May 2017 17:09:20 +0000

He took my seat and smiled again, like an affable crocodile. He was probably a very principled man, too. So were they all, all principled men. And women. There were few things more annoying than a visibly principled person. Or more troublesome. Most of the ones I’d met could have used a little uncertainty to dilute their principled-ness.

Robert B. Parker (1932-2010) American writer
Hush Money (1999)
(Source)

Machiavelli, Niccolo -- The Discourses on Livy, Book 1, Introduction (1517) [tr. Detmold (1882)]

Dave — Fri, 11 Nov 2016 20:39:12 +0000

The envious nature of men, so prompt to blame and so slow to praise, makes the discovery and introduction of any new principles and systems as dangerous as almost the exploration of unknown seas and continents.

Niccolò Machiavelli (1469-1527) Italian politician, philosopher, political scientist
The Discourses on Livy, Book 1, Introduction (1517) [tr. Detmold (1882)]

Orwell, George -- The Road to Wigan Pier, ch. 11 (1937)

Dave — Sat, 01 Oct 2016 05:25:16 +0000

As with the Christian religion, the worst advertisement for Socialism is its adherents.

George Orwell (1903-1950) English journalist, essayist, writer [pseud. of Eric Arthur Blair]
The Road to Wigan Pier, ch. 11 (1937)

Hugo, Victor -- Victor Hugo’s Intellectual Autobiography [Postscriptum de ma Vie], “Thoughts,” sec. 5 (1901) [tr. O’Rourke (1907)]

Dave — Fri, 09 Sep 2016 00:26:17 +0000

Change your opinions, keep to your principles;
change your leaves, keep intact your roots.

[Changez vos opinions, gardez vos principes;
changez vos feuilles, gardez intactes vos racines.]

Victor Hugo (1802–1885) French writer, journalist, human rights activist, politician
Victor Hugo’s Intellectual Autobiography [Postscriptum de ma Vie], “Thoughts,” sec. 5 (1901) [tr. O’Rourke (1907)]
(Source)

(Source (French))

Voltaire -- (Misattributed)

Dave — Tue, 12 Jul 2016 13:33:09 +0000

I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.

Voltaire (1694-1778) French writer [pseud. of Francois-Marie Arouet]
(Misattributed)
(Source)

The words are not found in any Voltaire and actually belong to historian Evelyn Beatrice Hall, writing as S. G. Tallentyre in The Friends of Voltaire (1906), describing an 1759 incident where Voltaire learned that Claude-Adrien Helvétius' book On the Mind [De l’esprit] had been burned (along with Voltaire's own "On Natural Law") after condemnation by the Paris Parliament and the Sorbonne.

‘What a fuss about an omelette!’ he had exclaimed when he heard of the burning. How abominably unjust to persecute a man for such an airy trifle as that! ‘I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it,’ was his attitude now.

Hall later wrote to a friend that the actual words were her own and ought not to have had quotation marks.

Variations:

I wholly disapprove of what you say -- and will defend to the death your right to say it.
Monsieur l’Abbé, je déteste ce que vous écrivez, mais je donnerais ma vie pour que vous puissiez continuer à écrire.

More information here.

Lippmann, Walter -- “The Fascination of Greatness,” Today and Tomorrow (7 Sep 1943)

Dave — Wed, 16 Dec 2015 15:00:21 +0000

This is the way of greatness. In the supreme moments of history, terms like duty, truth, justice, and mercy — which in our torpid hours are tired words — become the measure of decision. … The straight and righteous path is the shortest and the surest.

Walter Lippmann (1889-1974) American journalist and author
“The Fascination of Greatness,” Today and Tomorrow (7 Sep 1943)
(Source)

Lowell, James Russell -- “Abraham Lincoln” (1864), My Study Windows (1871)

Dave — Mon, 24 Aug 2015 14:31:09 +0000

It is loyalty to great ends, even though forced to combine the small and opposing motives of selfish men to accomplish them; it is the anchored cling to solid principles of duty and action, which knows how to swing with the tide, but is never carried away by it — that we demand in public men, and not sameness of policy, or a conscientious persistency in what is impracticable.

James Russell Lowell (1819-1891) American diplomat, essayist, poet
“Abraham Lincoln” (1864), My Study Windows (1871)

Eisenhower, Dwight David -- Speech, Republican National Convention, accepting the presidential nomination (23 Aug 1956)

Dave — Thu, 04 Jun 2015 12:27:35 +0000

Change based on principle is progress. Constant change without principle becomes chaos.

Dwight David Eisenhower (1890-1969) American general, US President (1953-61)
Speech, Republican National Convention, accepting the presidential nomination (23 Aug 1956)

Mills, C. Wright -- The Power Elite, ch. 14 “The Conservative Mood” (1956)

Dave — Wed, 21 Jan 2015 14:00:26 +0000

America — a conservative country without any conservative ideology — appears now before the world a naked and arbitrary power, as, in the name of realism, its men of decision enforce their often crackpot definitions upon world reality. The second-rate mind is in command of the ponderously spoken platitude. In the liberal rhetoric, vagueness, and in the conservative mood, irrationality, are raised to principle. Public relations and the official secret, the trivializing campaign and the terrible fact clumsily accomplished, are replacing the reasoned debate of political ideas in the privately incorporated economy, the military ascendancy, and the political vacuum of modern America.

C. Wright Mills (1916-1962) American sociologist, academic, author [Charles Wright Mills]
The Power Elite, ch. 14 “The Conservative Mood” (1956)
(Source)

Douglass, Frederick -- Speech (1852-07-05), “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” Corinthian Hall, Rochester, New York

Dave — Wed, 15 Oct 2014 12:48:29 +0000

The 4th of July is the first great fact in your nation’s history — the very ring-bolt in the chain of your yet undeveloped destiny. Pride and patriotism, not less than gratitude, prompt you to celebrate and to hold it in perpetual remembrance. I have said that the Declaration of Independence is the ring-bolt to the chain of your nation’s destiny; so, indeed, I regard it. The principles contained in that instrument are saving principles. Stand by those principles, be true to them on all occasions, in all places, against all foes, and at whatever cost.

Frederick Douglass (1817-1895) American abolitionist, orator, writer
Speech (1852-07-05), “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” Corinthian Hall, Rochester, New York
(Source)

Roosevelt, Theodore -- Essay (1900-06), “Latitude and Longitude Among Reformers,” The Century Magazine, Vol. 60, No. 2

Dave — Tue, 28 Aug 2012 14:04:28 +0000

It is not possible to lay down an inflexible rule as to when compromise is right and when wrong; when it is a sign of the highest statesmanship to temporize, and when it is merely a proof of weakness. Now and then one can stand uncompromisingly for a naked principle and force people up to it. This is always the attractive course; but in certain great crises it may be a very wrong course. Compromise, in the proper sense, merely means agreement; in the proper sense opportunism should merely mean doing the best possible with actual conditions as they exist.
A compromise which results in a half-step toward evil is all wrong, just as the opportunist who saves himself for the moment by adopting a policy which is fraught with future disaster is all wrong; but no less wrong is the attitude of those who will not come to an agreement through which, or will not follow the course by which, it is alone possible to accomplish practical results for good.

Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919) American politician, statesman, conservationist, writer, US President (1901–1909)
Essay (1900-06), “Latitude and Longitude Among Reformers,” The Century Magazine, Vol. 60, No. 2
(Source)

Collected in Roosevelt, The Strenuous Life: Essays and Addresses (1902).

Jefferson, Thomas -- Essay (1774-06), “A Summary View of the Rights of British America”

Dave — Thu, 07 Jun 2012 11:48:32 +0000

The great principles of right and wrong are legible to every reader; to pursue them requires not the aid of many counsellors. The whole art of government consists in the art of being honest. Only aim to do your duty, and mankind will give you credit where you fail.

Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) American political philosopher, polymath, statesman, US President (1801-09)
Essay (1774-06), “A Summary View of the Rights of British America”
(Source)

Addressed to King George III.

Lincoln, Abraham -- Speech (1865-04-11), Washington, D.C.

Dave — Tue, 05 Jun 2012 12:17:47 +0000

Important principles may, and must, be inflexible.

Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) American lawyer, politician, US President (1861-65)
Speech (1865-04-11), Washington, D.C.
(Source)

Discussing how plans for the Reconstruction needed to be flexible, but the principles behind it not. Lincoln's last public address before his assassination on 14 April.

Holmes, Oliver Wendell, Jr. -- United States v. Schwimmer, 279 U.S. 644 (1929) [Dissent]

Dave — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 13:51:36 +0000

If there is any principle of the Constitution that more imperatively calls for attachment than any other, it is the principle of free thought — not free thought for those who agree with us but freedom for the thought that we hate.

Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. (1841-1935) American jurist, Supreme Court Justice
United States v. Schwimmer, 279 U.S. 644 (1929) [Dissent]
(Source)

Emerson, Ralph Waldo -- Journal (1859, Fall)

Dave — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 19:29:49 +0000

Courage charms us becaue it indicates that a man loves an idea better than all the things in the world, that he is thinking neither of his bed, nor his dinner, nor hismoney, but will venture all to put in act the invisible thought of his mind.

Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) American essayist, lecturer, poet
Journal (1859, Fall)

Gaiman, Neil -- Blog entry (2008-12-01), “Why defend freedom of icky speech?”

Dave — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 12:26:38 +0000

You ask, What makes it worth defending? and the only answer I can give is this: Freedom to write, freedom to read, freedom to own material that you believe is worth defending means you’re going to have to stand up for stuff you don’t believe is worth defending, even stuff you find actively distasteful, because laws are big blunt instruments that do not differentiate between what you like and what you don’t, because prosecutors are humans and bear grudges and fight for re-election, because one person’s obscenity is another person’s art. Because if you don’t stand up for the stuff you don’t like, when they come for the stuff you do like, you’ve already lost.

Neil Gaiman (b. 1960) British author, screenwriter, fabulist
Blog entry (2008-12-01), “Why defend freedom of icky speech?”
(Source)

Roosevelt, Theodore -- “What We Can Expect of the American Boy,” St. Nicholas Magazine (1900-05)

Dave — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 11:04:51 +0000

In short, in life, as in a foot-ball game, the principle to follow is:
Hit the line hard; don’t foul and don’t shirk, but hit the line hard!

Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919) American politician, statesman, conservationist, writer, US President (1901–1909)
“What We Can Expect of the American Boy,” St. Nicholas Magazine (1900-05)
(Source)

Reprinted as "The American Boy" in Roosevelt, The Strenuous Life (1900).

Roosevelt used this general phrasing on multiple occasions, so various forms can be found attributed or associated to him, such as:

"In life, as in a football game, the principle to follow is: Never flinch. Never foul. Hit the line hard."
[Source]
"Don't flinch. Don't foul. Hit the line hard."
[Puck]
"Don't fowl, don't shirk, and hit the line hard!"
[Autograph]
"Don't flinch, don't fowl, and hit the line hard."
[Speech (1913-07-03)]

Paine, Thomas -- “Letter Addressed to the Addressers on the Late Proclamation” (1791)

Dave — Sun, 12 Aug 2007 21:47:20 +0000

Those words, “temperate and moderate,” are words either of political cowardice, or of cunning, or seduction. A thing moderately good, is not so good as it ought to be. Moderation in temper, is always a virtue; but moderation in principle, is a species of vice.

Thomas Paine (1737-1809) American political philosopher and writer
“Letter Addressed to the Addressers on the Late Proclamation” (1791)
(Source)

Jefferson, Thomas -- (Spurious)

Dave — Thu, 19 Jul 2007 17:06:54 +0000

In matters of style, swim with the current; In matters of principle, stand like a rock.

Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) American political philosopher, polymath, statesman, US President (1801-09)
(Spurious)

A common phrase in the late 19th Century. Only associated with Jefferson as of the mid-20th Century.

Jefferson, Thomas -- Speech (1801-03-14), Inaugural Address, Washington, D. C.

Dave — Tue, 15 Jun 2004 13:20:05 +0000

Every difference of opinion is not a difference of principle.

Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) American political philosopher, polymath, statesman, US President (1801-09)
Speech (1801-03-14), Inaugural Address, Washington, D. C.
(Source)

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

Dave — Fri, 14 May 2004 12:19:24 +0000

Those who “abjure” violence can only do so because others are committing violence on their behalf.

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

This seems to be the origin of the Orwell misattribution, "People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf." This is not found in Orwell's works (or in those of Winston Churchill, to whom the more colorful quote is sometimes attributed), but was a paraphrase of Orwell by Richard Grenier in his article "Perils of Passive Sex," Washington Times (1992-04-06).

For more discussion of this quotation, see:

Emerson, Ralph Waldo -- Essay (1841), “Self-Reliance,” Essays: First Series, No. 2

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

Nothing can bring you peace but yourself. Nothing can bring you peace but the triumph of principles.

Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) American essayist, lecturer, poet
Essay (1841), “Self-Reliance,” Essays: First Series, No. 2
(Source)

Closing words.

This essay was inspired by his reading of Walter Savage Landor in 1833, with passages pulled from his lecture "Individualism," last in his course on "The Philosophy of History" (1836–1837), with other passages from the lectures "School," "Genius," and "Duty" in his course on "Human Life" (1838–1839).

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)

Adams, John Quincy -- (Attributed)

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

Always vote for principle, though you may vote alone, and you may cherish the sweetest reflection that your vote is never lost.

John Quincy Adams (1767-1848) US President (1825-29)
(Attributed)

Austen, Jane -- Pride and Prejudice, ch. 58 [Darcy] (1813)

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

I have been a selfish being all my life, in practice, though not in principle.

Jane Austen (1775-1817) English author
Pride and Prejudice, ch. 58 [Darcy] (1813)
(Source)

Adler, Alfred -- (Attributed)

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

It is always easier to fight for one’s principles than to live up to them.

Alfred Adler (1870-1937) Austrian psychologist
(Attributed)
(Source)

Comment to friend (1927). In Phyllis Bottome, Alfred Adler: A Biography, ch. 5 (1939)

La Rochefoucauld, Francois -- Réflexions ou sentences et maximes morales [Reflections; or Sentences and Moral Maxims], ¶78 (1665-1678) [tr. Tancock (1959)]

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

In most men love of justice is only fear of suffering injustice.

[L’amour de la justice n’est en la plupart des hommes que la crainte de souffrir l’injustice.]

François VI, duc de La Rochefoucauld (1613-1680) French epigrammatist, memoirist, noble
Réflexions ou sentences et maximes morales [Reflections; or Sentences and Moral Maxims], ¶78 (1665-1678) [tr. Tancock (1959)]
(Source)

This is thought to be a summary of the two maxims given at the bottom. When first recorded by La Rochefoucauld, it also lacked the qualifier "in most men [en la plupart des hommes]."

(Source (French)). Alternate translations:

In the greatest part of men, [the Love of Justice] is only a fear of suffering injustice.
[tr. Davies (1669), ¶39]

What the Generality of People call the Love of Justice, is only the Fear of suffering by Injustice.
[tr. Stanhope (1694), ¶79]

The love of justice in most men, is the fear of suffering by injustice.
[pub. Donaldson (1783), ¶264]

The love of Justice, in most men, is the fear of suffering by injustice.
[ed. Lepoittevin-Lacroix (1797), ¶75]

The love of justice often means no more than the fear of suffering by injustice.
[ed. Carvill (1835), ¶452]

Love of justice in the generality of men is only the fear of suffering from injustice.
[ed. Gowens (1851), ¶84]

The love of justice is simply in the majority of men the fear of suffering injustice.
[tr. Bund/Friswell (1871), ¶78]

In most men love of justice is but the fear of suffering injustice.
[tr. Heard (1917), ¶78]

Love of justice is in most cases merely fear of suffering injustice.
[tr. Stevens (1939), ¶78]

For most men the love of justice is only the fear of suffering injustice.
[tr. FitzGibbon (1957), ¶78]

Love of justice, in most men, is only a fear of encountering injustice.
[tr. Kronenberger (1959), ¶78]

Love of justice in most men is merely the fear of suffering injustice.
[tr. Whichello (2016), ¶78]

La Rochefoucauld seems to have distilled the following two maxims down into what became ¶78 in later editions:

¶578 (¶78 in 1665 ed.):

Justice is no more than a lively fear that our belongings will be taken away from us. This is at the root of men's consideration and respect for all the interests of others, and their scrupulous care never to do them wrong. This fear keeps a man within the bounds marked out for him by his birth or fortune, and without it he would constantly be encroaching on the rights of others.
[tr. Tancock (1959)]

[La justice n’est qu’une vive appréhension qu’on ne nous ôte ce qui nous appartient ; de là vient cette considération et ce respect pour tous les intérêts du prochain, et cette scrupuleuse application à ne lui faire aucun préjudice. Cette crainte retient l’homme dans les bornes des biens que la naissance ou la fortune lui ont donnés ; et sans cette crainte, il feroit des courses continuelles sur les autres.]
(Source)

¶580 (¶90 in 1665 ed.):

People hate injustice not through distaste for it but because of the harm it does them.
[tr. Tancock (1959)]

[On blâme l’injustice, non pas par l’aversion que l’on a pour elle, mais pour le préjudice que l’on en reçoit.]
(Source)