WIST Quotations

Doctor Who (1963) -- 18×02 “Meglos,” Part 1 (1980-09-27) [w. John Flannagan, Andrew McCulloch]

Dave — Wed, 07 Jan 2026 19:02:10 +0000

ROMANA: Please, please, can we do just one thing at a time?

THE DOCTOR: First things first?

ROMANA: Exactly.

THE DOCTOR: But not necessarily in that order.

Doctor Who (1963-1989) British science fiction television series, original run (BBC)
18×02 “Meglos,” Part 1 (1980-09-27) [w. John Flannagan, Andrew McCulloch]
(Source)

(Source (Video) at 1:11).

Almost always elided as "First things first, but not necessarily in that order."

Martin, Judith -- “Miss Manners,” syndicated column (1981-03-08)

Dave — Mon, 01 Dec 2025 17:41:10 +0000

Q: Should you tell your mother something if it is important when she is talking to company? I am 6.

A: Yes, you should (after saying “Excuse me”). Here are some of the things that are important to tell your mother, even though she is talking to company:
“Mommy, the kitchen is full of smoke.”
“Daddy’s calling from Tokyo.”
“Jennifer fell out of her crib and I can’t put her back.”
“There’s a policeman at the door and he says he wants to talk to you.”
“I was just reaching for my ball, and the goldfish bowl fell over.”

Now, here are some things that are not important, so they can wait until your mother’s company has gone home:
“Mommy, I’m tired of playing blocks. What shall I do now?”
“The ice-cream truck is coming down the street.”
“Can I give Jennifer the rest of my applesauce?”
“I can’t find my crayons.”

Judith Martin (b. 1938) American author, journalist, etiquette expert [a.k.a. Miss Manners]
“Miss Manners,” syndicated column (1981-03-08)
(Source)

A slightly different version was given in Miss Manners’ Guide to Excruciatingly Correct Behavior, Part 3 "Basic Civilization," "Concerning Children" (1983):

DEAR MISS MANNERS:
Should you tell your mother something if it is important when she is talking to company? I am six.

GENTLE READER:
Yes, you should (after saying "Excuse me"). Here are some of the things that are important to tell your mother, even though she is talking to company:
"Mommy, the kitchen is full of smoke."
"Daddy's calling from Tokyo."
"Kristen fell out of her crib and I can't put her back."
"There's a policeman at the door and he says he wants to talk to you."
"I was just reaching for my ball, and the goldfish bowl fell over."

Now, here are some things that are not important, so they can wait until your mother's company has gone home:
"Mommy, I'm tired of playing blocks. What do I do now?"
"The ice-cream truck is coming down the street."
"Can I give Kristen the rest of my applesauce?"
"I can't find my crayons."
"When are we going to have lunch? I'm hungry.”

Horace -- Epistles [Epistularum, Letters], Book 1, ep. 2 “To Lollius,” l. 37ff (1.2.37-39) (20 BC) [tr. Fuchs (1977)]

Dave — Fri, 19 Sep 2025 19:41:19 +0000

You quickly remove something from your eye that hurts it:
if rot is eating at your soul, why postpone the cure a year?

[Nam cur
quae laedunt oculum festinas demere; si quid
est animum, differs curandi tempus in annum?]

Horace (65–8 BC) Roman poet, satirist, soldier, politician [Quintus Horatius Flaccus]
Epistles [Epistularum, Letters], Book 1, ep. 2 “To Lollius,” l. 37ff (1.2.37-39) (20 BC) [tr. Fuchs (1977)]
(Source)

(Source (Latin)). Other translations:

Yea, thoughe thou be awake,
A little mote out of thyne eye why doste thou haste to take?
If oughte there be that noyes thy minde moste parte thou arte contente
Or thou begin to cure the same to seeke an whole yeare spente.
[tr. Drant (1567)]

If a Fly
Get in thy Eye, 'tis puld out instantly:
But if thy Mindes Ey's hurt, day after day
That Cure's deferr'd.
[tr. Fanshawe; ed. Brome (1666)]

You'l move an Eye-soar streight; and is it sence,
To let the Mind be cur'd a Twelve-moneth hence?
[tr. "Dr. W."; ed. Brome (1666)]

For why, when any thing offends thy Eyes,
Dost thou streight seek for ease, and streight advise
Yet if it shall oppress thy Mind, endure
The ills with Patience, and defer the Cure?
[tr. Creech (1684)]

For the hurt eye an instant cure you find;
Then why neglect, for years, the sickening mind?
[tr. Francis (1747)]

How strange is this! if ought the eye offends,
You straight remove it and the anguish ends;
If ought corrodes the mind, some slight pretence
Serves to protract the cure a twelve-month hence.
[tr. Howes (1845)]

For why do you hasten to remove things that hurt your eyes, but if any thing gnaws your mind, defer the time of curing it from year to year?
[tr. Smart/Buckley (1853)]

You lose no time in taking out a fly,
Or straw, it may be, that torments your eye;
Why, when a thing devours your mind, adjourn
Till this day year all thought of the concern?
[tr. Conington (1874)]

Let but a speck of dust distress your eye,
You rest not till you're rid of it; then why,
If 'tis your mind that's out of sorts, will you
Put off the cure with "Any time will do"?
[tr. Martin (1881)]

Anything which injures eyesight you will at once remove, why then, if anything injures the mind, do you delay for a whole year to heal it?
[tr. Elgood (1893)]

Why indeed are you in a hurry to remove things which hurt the eye, while if aught is eating into your soul, you put off the time for cure till next year?
[tr. Fairclough (Loeb) (1926)]

Why hurry so to take out that mote from your eye,
But put off until next year the time to take steps
To arrest your soul erosion?
[tr. Palmer Bovie (1959)]

You run to the doctor if anything sticks in your eye,
But leave your sick soul to be cured some other time,
Some other year!
[tr. Raffel (1983)]

If you had a sty, you'd be in a hurry to cure it;
If the sickness is in your soul, why put it off?
[tr. Ferry (2001)]

Why so quick to remove
a speck of dirt from your eye? And yet, if anything eats at
your soul, you say: ‘Time enough to attend to it next year’.
[tr. Rudd (2005 ed.)]

Why so quick to remove a speck from your eye, when
If it’s your mind, you put off the cure till next year?
[tr. Kline (2015)]

Disraeli, Benjamin -- Speech (1874-06-15), House of Commons, Minister of Education, Motion for a Select Committee

Dave — Tue, 04 Mar 2025 17:27:37 +0000

Upon the education of the people of this country the fate of this country depends.

Benjamin Disraeli (1804-1881) English politician and author
Speech (1874-06-15), House of Commons, Minister of Education, Motion for a Select Committee
(Source)

Recorded in Parliamentary Debates (Comnmons), series 3, vol. 219, col. 1618, for 1874-06-15.

Fuller, Thomas (1654) -- Introductio ad Prudentiam, Vol. 1, # 32 (1725)

Dave — Wed, 12 Feb 2025 16:32:01 +0000

Do thou drive thy Business; let not that drive thee.

Thomas Fuller (1654-1734) English physician, preacher, aphorist, writer
Introductio ad Prudentiam, Vol. 1, # 32 (1725)
(Source)

See Franklin and also Fuller.

Carleton, Will -- “The Ancient Miner’s Story,” st. 13, Harper’s Weekly (1884-03-22)

Dave — Wed, 22 Jan 2025 16:37:10 +0000

But I have learned a thing or two: I know as sure as fate,
When we lock up our lives for wealth, the gold key comes too late.

Will Carleton (1845-1912) American poet [William McKendree Carleton]
“The Ancient Miner’s Story,” st. 13, Harper’s Weekly (1884-03-22)
(Source)

Collected in Over the Hill to the Poor-house and Other Poems (1895).

Taleb, Nassim Nicholas -- The Bed of Procrustes: Philosophical and Practical Aphorisms, “Preludes” (2010)

Dave — Tue, 19 Nov 2024 15:30:49 +0000

Work destroys your soul by stealthily invading your brain during the hours not officially spent working; be selective about professions.

Nassim Nicholas Taleb (b. 1960) Lebanese-American essayist, statistician, risk analyst, aphorist
The Bed of Procrustes: Philosophical and Practical Aphorisms, “Preludes” (2010)
(Source)

Hillel -- Mishna, Seder Nezikin [Order of Damages], Pirkei Avot [Chapters of the Fathers] 2:4

Dave — Mon, 23 Sep 2024 21:20:22 +0000

Don’t say “When I have time I will learn,” lest you never have time.

[וְאַל תֹּאמַר לִכְשֶׁאִפָּנֶה אֶשְׁנֶה, שֶׁמָּא לֹא תִפָּנֶה:]

Hillel (1st C. BC-1st C. AD) Jewish sage, rabbi [הלל]
Mishna, Seder Nezikin [Order of Damages], Pirkei Avot [Chapters of the Fathers] 2:4
(Source)

(Source (Hebrew)). Alternate translations:

Say not, When I have leisure I will study; perchance thou mayest not have leisure.
[tr. Taylor (1897)]

Say not: ‘when I shall have leisure I shall study;’ perhaps you will not have leisure.
[tr. Gorfinkle (1913)]

Say not: ‘when I shall have leisure I shall study;’ perhaps you will not have leisure.
[tr. Kulp]

Do not say: When I can free myself [of my affairs] I shall learn (Torah); perhaps you will not free yourself.
[tr. Shraga Silverstein]

Do not say, "When I will be available I will study [Torah]," lest you never become available.
[Open Mishnah]

Do not say "When I have leisure, I will study," perhaps you will not have leisure.
[Source]

Say not, "When I have free time I shall study"; for you may perhaps never have any free time.

Euripides -- Cyclops [Κύκλωψ], l. 334ff (c. 424-23 BC) [tr. Coleridge (1913)]

Dave — Tue, 17 Sep 2024 21:26:05 +0000

CYCLOPS: I sacrifice to no one save myself and this belly, the greatest of deities; but to the gods, not I!

[ΚΥΚΛΩΨ: ἁγὼ οὔτινι θύω πλὴν ἐμοί, θεοῖσι δ᾽ οὔ,
καὶ τῇ μεγίστῃ, γαστρὶ τῇδε, δαιμόνων.]

Euripides (485?-406? BC) Greek tragic dramatist
Cyclops [Κύκλωψ], l. 334ff (c. 424-23 BC) [tr. Coleridge (1913)]
(Source)

(Source (Greek)). Alternate translations:

POLYPHEME:To no other God except myself,
And to this belly, greatest of the Gods,
I sacrifice.
[tr. Wodhull (1809)]

CYCLOPS:To what other God but to myself
And this great belly, first of deities,
Should I be bound to sacrifice?
[tr. Shelley (1819)]

CYCLOPS: I sacrifice to my great Self, sir Sprat,
And to no god beside -- except, that is,
My belly, greatest of all deities.
[tr. Way (1916)]

CYCLOPS: I sacrifice to no god save myself --
And to my belly, greatest of deities.
[ed. Adams (1952)]

CYCLOPS: I sacrifice to no one but myself -- never to the gods -- and to my belly, the greatest of divinities.
[tr. Kovacs (1994)]

Ebner-Eschenbach, Marie von -- Aphorisms [Aphorismen], No. 104 (1880) [tr. Wister (1883)]

Dave — Wed, 17 Jul 2024 17:04:24 +0000

The world would be much better off if the pains taken to analyze the subtlest moral laws were given to the practice of the simplest.

[Es stände besser um die Welt, wenn die Mühe, die man sich gibt, die subtilsten Moralgesetze auszuklüglen, zur Ausübung der einfachsten angewendet würde.]

Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach (1830-1916) Austrian writer
Aphorisms [Aphorismen], No. 104 (1880) [tr. Wister (1883)]
(Source)

(Source (German)). Alternate translation:

The world would be in better shape if people would take the same pains in the practice of the simplest moral laws as they exert in intellectualizing over the most subtle moral questions.
[tr. Scrase/Mieder (1994)]

Austen, Jane -- Letter (1798-12-24) to Cassandra Austen

Dave — Wed, 05 Jun 2024 16:17:47 +0000

You deserve a longer letter than this; but it is my unhappy fate seldom to treat people so well as they deserve.

Jane Austen (1775-1817) English author
Letter (1798-12-24) to Cassandra Austen
(Source)

Cox, Marcelene -- “Ask Any Woman” column, Ladies’ Home Journal (1946-04)

Dave — Mon, 09 Jan 2023 16:17:59 +0000

The reason some parents really enjoy their children is that they take the time to live with them.

Marcelene Cox (1900-1998) American writer, columnist, aphorist
“Ask Any Woman” column, Ladies’ Home Journal (1946-04)
(Source)

Blessington, Marguerite -- (Attributed)

Dave — Tue, 20 Dec 2022 18:46:39 +0000

A poor man defended himself when charged with stealing food to appease the cravings of hunger, saying, the cries of the stomach silenced those of the conscience.

Marguerite Gardiner, Countess of Blessington (1789-1849) Irish novelist [Lady Blessington, b. Margaret Power]
(Attributed)
(Source)

Quoted, without citation, in R. R. Madden, The Literary Life and Correspondence of the Countess of Blessington, Vol. 1 (1855).

Serling, Rod -- Commencement Address, University of Southern California (17 Mar 1970)

Dave — Tue, 12 Jul 2022 14:50:17 +0000

It’s simply a national acknowledgement that in any kind of priority, the needs of human beings must come first. Poverty is here and now. Hunger is here and now. Racial tension is here and now. Pollution is here and now. These are the things that scream for a response. And if we don’t listen to that scream — and if we don’t respond to it — we may well wind up sitting amidst our own rubble, looking for the truck that hit us — or the bomb that pulverized us. Get the license number of whatever it was that destroyed the dream. And I think we will find that the vehicle was registered in our own name.

Rod Serling (1924-1975) American screenwriter, playwright, television producer, narrator
Commencement Address, University of Southern California (17 Mar 1970)
(Source)

In Anne Serling, As I Knew Him: My Dad, Rod Serling, ch. 28 (2013).

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

Dave — Thu, 17 Feb 2022 21:27:54 +0000

Don’t fool yourself that important things can be put off till tomorrow; they can be put off forever, or not at all.

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

Adams, John -- Letter (1816-11-04) to Thomas Jefferson

Dave — Fri, 11 Feb 2022 17:19:47 +0000

We have now, it seems a National Bible Society, to propagate King James Bible, through all Nations. Would it not be better, to apply these pious Subscriptions, to purify Christendom from the corruptions of Christianity; than to propagate those Corruptions in Europe, Asia, Africa and America!

John Adams (1735–1826) American lawyer, Founding Father, statesman, US President (1797–1801)
Letter (1816-11-04) to Thomas Jefferson
(Source)

After the founding of the American Bible Society (11 May 1816).

Chesterfield (Lord) -- Letter to his son, #121 (14 Apr 1747)

Dave — Thu, 14 Jan 2021 19:40:03 +0000

A man is fit for neither business nor pleasure, who either cannot, or does not, command and direct his attenti0on to the present object, and, in some degree, banish for that time all other objects from his thoughts. If at a ball, a supper, or a party of pleasure, a man were to be solving, in his own mind, a problem in Euclid, he would be a very bad companion, and make a very poor figure in that company; or if, in studying a problem in his closet, he were to think of a minuet, I am apt to believe that he would make a very poor mathematician. There is time enough for everything in the course of the day, if you do but one thing at once; but there is not time enough in the year, if you will do two things at a time.

Lord Chesterfield (1694-1773) English statesman, wit [Philip Dormer Stanhope]
Letter to his son, #121 (14 Apr 1747)
(Source)

Brilliant, Ashleigh -- Pot-Shots, #6392

Dave — Fri, 04 Dec 2020 16:59:03 +0000

Don’t give me anything else to make a mess of, until I finish making my present mess.

Ashleigh Brilliant (b. 1933) Anglo-American epigramist, aphorist, cartoonist
Pot-Shots, #6392

Bowen, Elizabeth -- Encounters, Preface to the 1951 Edition (1923)

Dave — Mon, 27 Jul 2020 17:23:41 +0000

The importance to the writer of first writing must be out of all proportion of the actual value of what is written.

Elizabeth Bowen (1899-1973) Irish author
Encounters, Preface to the 1951 Edition (1923)
(Source)

Behrman, S. N. -- Biography, Act 1 [Feydak] (1933)

Dave — Tue, 07 Apr 2020 20:41:57 +0000

There are two kinds of people in one’s life — people whom one keeps waiting — and the people for whom one waits.

S. N. Behrman (1893-1973) American playwright, screenwriter, biographer, writer [Samuel Nathaniel Behrman]
Biography, Act 1 [Feydak] (1933)
(Source)

Fairlie, Henry -- “Can You Believe Your Eyes?” Horizon (Spring 1967)

Dave — Fri, 31 Mar 2017 21:55:58 +0000

Life is not made up of dramatic incidents — even the life of a nation. It is made up of slowly evolving events and processes, which newspapers, by a score of different forms of emphasis, can reasonably attempt to explore from day to day. But television news jerks from incident to incident. For the real world of patient and familiar arrangements, it substitutes an unreal world of constant activity, and the effect is already apparent in the way which the world behaves. It is almost impossible, these days, to consider any problem or any event except as a crisis; and, by this very way of looking at it, it in fact becomes a crisis.

Henry Fairlie (1924-1990) British journalist and social critic
“Can You Believe Your Eyes?” Horizon (Spring 1967)

Onassis, Jacqueline Kenndy -- Interview with Sander Vanocur, NBC News (1 Oct 1960)

Dave — Tue, 17 Jan 2017 22:51:14 +0000

If you bungle raising your children I don’t think whatever else you do well matters very much.

Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis (1929-1994) First Lady of the United States (1961-1963), book editor, celebrity
Interview with Sander Vanocur, NBC News (1 Oct 1960)
(Source)

Chesterfield (Lord) -- Letter to his son, #112 (4 Oct 1746)

Dave — Wed, 12 Oct 2016 02:46:08 +0000

You must look into people, as well as at them. Almost all people are born with all the passions, to a certain degree; but almost every man has one prevailing one, to which the others are subordinate. Search every one for that ruling passion; pry into the recesses of his heart, and observe the different workings of the same passion in different people; and when you have found out the prevailing passion of any man, remember never to trust him where that passion is concerned. Work upon him by it, if you please; but be upon your guard yourself against it, whatever professions he may make you.

Lord Chesterfield (1694-1773) English statesman, wit [Philip Dormer Stanhope]
Letter to his son, #112 (4 Oct 1746)
(Source)

Lessing, Gotthold -- Hamburgische Dramaturgie [Hamburg Dramaturgy], Essay 34, 1767-08-25 (1767-1769) [tr. Zimmern (1890)]

Dave — Wed, 04 Mar 2015 14:29:00 +0000

For to a great man both things are needful; to treat trifles as trifles and important matters as important matters.

[Denn zu einem großen Manne gehört beides: Kleinigkeiten als Kleinigkeiten, und wichtige Dinge als wichtige Dinge zu behandeln.]

Gotthold Lessing (1729-1781) German playwright, philosopher, dramaturg, writer
Hamburgische Dramaturgie [Hamburg Dramaturgy], Essay 34, 1767-08-25 (1767-1769) [tr. Zimmern (1890)]
(Source)

(Source (German)). Alternate translations:

For the great man does both, that is, he treats trivialities as trivialities and important things as important things.
[tr. Arons/Figal]

It is the mark of great people to treat trifles as trifles and important matters as important.
[Source]

Bible, Vol. 2. New Testament -- Book 2. Gospel of Mark 8:36 (Mark 8:36) (Jesus) [KJV (1611)]

Dave — Thu, 22 May 2014 12:16:51 +0000

What shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?

[τί γὰρ ὠφελεῖ ἄνθρωπον κερδῆσαι τὸν κόσμον ὅλον καὶ ζημιωθῆναι τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ]

The Bible (The New Testament) (AD 1st - 2nd C) Christian sacred scripture
Book 2. Gospel of Mark 8:36 (Mark 8:36) (Jesus) [KJV (1611)]
(Source)

This passage is paralleled in Matthew 16:26 and Luke 9:25.

(Source (Greek)). Alternate translations:

What gain, then, is it for a man to win the whole world and ruin his life?
[JB (1966)]

What gain, then, is it for anyone to win the whole world and forfeit his life?
[NJB (1985)]

Do you gain anything if you win the whole world but lose your life? Of course not!
[GNT (1992 ed.)]

Why would people gain the whole world but lose their lives?
[CEB (2011)]

For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life?
[NRSV (2021 ed.)]

Dalai Lama, The -- (Attributed)

Dave — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 12:23:44 +0000

Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them, humanity cannot survive. With them, we can make a joint effort to solve the problems of the whole humankind.

The Dalai Lama (b. 1935) Tibetan Buddhist spiritual leader [The 14th Dalai Lama; a/k/a Lhama Thondup / Lhama Dhondrub; b. Tenzin Gyatso]
(Attributed)

Rickover, Hyman -- Speech (1981-11-05), “Doing a Job,” Egleston Medal Award Dinner, Columbia School of Engineering and Applied Science, New York

Dave — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 10:46:06 +0000

The man in charge must concern himself with details. If he does not consider them important, neither will his subordinates. Yet “the devil is in the details.” It is hard and monotonous to pay attention to seemingly minor matters. In my work, I probably spend about ninety-nine percent of my time on what others may call petty details. Most managers would rather focus on lofty policy matters. But when the details are ignored, the project fails. No infusion of policy or lofty ideals can then correct the situation.

Hyman Rickover (1900-1986) Polish-American naval engineer, admiral [b. Chaim Gdala Rykower]
Speech (1981-11-05), “Doing a Job,” Egleston Medal Award Dinner, Columbia School of Engineering and Applied Science, New York
(Source)

Fuller, Thomas (1654) -- Gnomologia: Adages and Proverbs (compiler), # 1304 (1732)

Dave — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 10:47:28 +0000

Do Business, but be not a Slave to it.

Thomas Fuller (1654-1734) English physician, preacher, aphorist, writer
Gnomologia: Adages and Proverbs (compiler), # 1304 (1732)
(Source)

See Franklin and also Fuller.

Rickover, Hyman -- Speech (1981-11-05), “Doing a Job,” Egleston Medal Award Dinner, Columbia School of Engineering and Applied Science, New York

Dave — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 10:14:01 +0000

To do a job effectively, one must set priorities. Too many people let their “in” basket set the priorities. On any given day, unimportant but interesting trivia pass through an office; one must not permit these to monopolize his time. The human tendency is to while away time with unimportant matters that do not require mental effort or energy. Since they can be easily resolved, they give a false sense of accomplishment. The manager must exert self-discipline to ensure that his energy is focused where it is truly needed.

Coffin, William Sloane -- Credo, “Faith, Hope, and Love” (2004)

Dave — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 10:44:19 +0000

True, we have to hate evil; else we’re sentimental. But if we hate evil more than we love the good, we become damn good haters, and of those the world already has too many.

William Sloane Coffin, Jr. (1924-2006) American minister, social activist
Credo, “Faith, Hope, and Love” (2004)
(Source)

Barrie, James -- The Twelve-Pound Look (1910)

Dave — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 11:35:39 +0000

KATE: Oh, Harry, you and your sublime religion.

SIR HARRY: My religion? I never was one to talk about religion, but —

KATE. Pooh, Harry, you don’t even know what your religion was and is and will be till the day of your expensive funeral. One’s religion is whatever he is most interested in, and yours is Success.

J. M. Barrie (1860-1937) Scottish novelist and dramatist [James Matthew Barrie]
The Twelve-Pound Look (1910)
(Source)

Cicero, Marcus Tullius -- De Lege Agraria [On the Agrarian Law], Oration 2 “Contra Rullum,” sec. 9 (63 BC) [tr. Yonge (1856)]

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

What is so advantageous to the people as liberty? which is sought out and preferred to everything, not only by men, but even by the beasts.

[Quid tam populare quam libertas? Quam non solum ab hominibus verum etiam a bestiis expeti atque omnibus rebus anteponi videtis.]

Marcus Tullius Cicero (106-43 BC) Roman orator, statesman, philosopher
De Lege Agraria [On the Agrarian Law], Oration 2 “Contra Rullum,” sec. 9 (63 BC) [tr. Yonge (1856)]
(Source)

(Source (Latin)). Alternate translation:

What is so beneficial to the people as liberty, which we see not only to be greedily sought after by men, but also by beasts, and to be preferred to all things.
[Source (1884)]

Jefferson, Thomas -- Letter (1810-09-20) to John B. Colvin

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

A strict observance of the written laws is doubtless one of the high duties of a good citizen: but it is not the highest. The laws of necessity, of self-preservation, of saving our country when in danger, are of higher obligation. To lose our country by a scrupulous adherence to written law, would be to lose the law itself, with life, liberty, property & all those who are enjoying them with us; thus absurdly sacrificing the end to the means.

Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) American political philosopher, polymath, statesman, US President (1801-09)
Letter (1810-09-20) to John B. Colvin
(Source)