WIST Quotations

Montaigne, Michel de -- Essays, Book 2, ch. 1 (2.1), “Of the Inconsistency of Our Actions [De l’inconstance de nos actions]” (1572) [tr. Zeitlin (1934)]

Dave — Wed, 10 Jun 2026 19:17:47 +0000

No wind serves him who has no port of destination.

[Nul vent fait pour celuy qui n’a point de port destiné. ]

Michel de Montaigne (1533–1592) French essayist
Essays, Book 2, ch. 1 (2.1), “Of the Inconsistency of Our Actions [De l’inconstance de nos actions]” (1572) [tr. Zeitlin (1934)]
(Source)

This passage was in the essays initial 1580 printing. Likely from a quotation of Seneca the Younger (1st C AD).

(Source (French)). Alternate translations:

No winde makes for him, that hath no intended port to saile-unto.
[tr. Florio (1603)]

No helpe serves him that runnes uncertain courses (or knows not where to end them).
[tr. Cotgrave (1611)]

No wind serves him who is bound to no certain port.
[tr. Cotton (1686)]

No wind serves him who addresses his voyage to no certain port.
[tr. Cotton/Hazlitt (1877)]

No wind is fair for him who has no purposed port.
[tr. Ives (1925)]

No wind works for the man who has no port of destination.
[tr. Frame (1943)]

No wind is right for a seaman who has no predetermined harbour.
[tr. Screech (1987)]

Russell, Bertrand -- Conquest of Happiness, Part 2, ch. 14 “Work” (1930)

Dave — Wed, 17 Dec 2025 17:45:17 +0000

Work, therefore, is desirable, first and foremost, as a preventive of boredom, for the boredom that a man feels when he is doing necessary though uninteresting work is as nothing in comparison with the boredom that he feels when he has nothing to do with his days.

Bertrand Russell (1872–1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Conquest of Happiness, Part 2, ch. 14 “Work” (1930)
(Source)

Bellow, Saul -- The Adventures of Augie March (1953)

Dave — Wed, 14 Apr 2021 16:25:47 +0000

Boredom therefore can arise from the cessation of habitual functions, even though these may be boring too. It is also the shriek of unused capacities, the doom of serving no great end or design, or contributing to no master force.

Saul Bellow (1915–2005) Canadian-American writer
The Adventures of Augie March (1953)
(Source)

Hoffer, Eric -- True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements, Part 3, ch. 14, § 75 (3.14.75) (1951)

Dave — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 13:17:09 +0000

Passionate hatred can give meaning and purpose to an empty life. Thus people haunted by the purposelessness of their lives try to find a new content not only by dedicating themselves to a holy cause but also by nursing a fanatical grievance. A mass movement offers them unlimited opportunities for both.

Eric Hoffer (1902–1983) American writer, philosopher, longshoreman
True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements, Part 3, ch. 14, § 75 (3.14.75) (1951)
(Source)

Seneca the Younger -- Moral Letters to Lucilius [Epistulae morales ad Lucilium], letter 71, sec. 3 “On the Supreme Good” [tr. Grummere (1918)]

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

Our plans miscarry because they have no aim. When a man does not know what harbor he is making for, no wind is the right wind.

Seneca the Younger (c. 4 BC-AD 65) Roman statesman, philosopher, playwright [Lucius Annaeus Seneca]
Moral Letters to Lucilius [Epistulae morales ad Lucilium], letter 71, sec. 3 “On the Supreme Good” [tr. Grummere (1918)]
(Source)

Alt trans.: "If one does not know to which port one is sailing, no wind is favorable."

See Montaigne (1572).