WIST Quotations

Roosevelt, Franklin Delano -- Message (1945-01-06) to Congress, Annual Message (State of the Union)

Dave — Wed, 22 Apr 2026 18:31:06 +0000

In the future world the misuse of power, as implied in the term “power politics,” must not be a controlling factor in international relations. That is the heart of the principles to which we have subscribed. We cannot deny that power is a factor in world politics any more than we can deny its existence as a factor in national politics. But in a democratic world, as in a democratic Nation, power must be linked with responsibility, and obliged to defend and justify itself within the framework of the general good.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1882–1945) American lawyer, politician, statesman, US President (1933–1945)
Message (1945-01-06) to Congress, Annual Message (State of the Union)
(Source)

Hesse, Herman -- Steppenwolf, “Treatise of the Steppenwolf,” ch. 2 (1927) [tr Breighton (1929)]

Dave — Fri, 27 Mar 2026 14:55:51 +0000

Now the bourgeois treasures nothing more highly than the self (rudimentary as his may be). And so at the cost of intensity, he achieves his own preservation and security. His harvest is a quiet mind which he prefers to being possessed by God, as he does comfort to pleasure, convenience to liberty, and a pleasant temperature to that deathly inner consuming fire. The bourgeois is consequently by nature a creature of weak impulses; anxious, fearful of giving himself away and easy to rule. Therefore, he has substituted majority for power, law for force, and the polling booth for responsibility.

[Der Bürger nun schätzt nichts höher als das Ich (ein nur rudimentär entwickeltes Ich allerdings). Auf Kosten der Intensität also erreicht er Erhaltung und Sicherheit, statt Gottbesessenheit erntet er Gewissensruhe, statt Lust Behagen, statt Freiheit Bequemlichkeit, statt tödlicher Glut eine angenehme Temperatur. Der Bürger ist deshalb seinem Wesen nach ein Geschöpf von schwachem Lebensantrieb, ängstlich, jede Preisgabe seiner selbst fürchtend, leicht zu regieren. Er hat darum an Stelle der Macht die Majorität gesetzt, an Stelle der Gewalt das Gesetz, an Stelle der Verantwortung das Abstimmungsverfahren.]

Herman Hesse (1877-1962) German-born Swiss poet, novelist, painter
Steppenwolf, “Treatise of the Steppenwolf,” ch. 2 (1927) [tr Breighton (1929)]
(Source)

Usually paraphrased down to:

The bourgeois prefers comfort to pleasure, convenience to liberty, and a pleasant temperature to the deathly inner consuming fire.

(Source (German)). Other translation:

Now the bourgeois values nothing higher than the ego (an only rudimentarily developed ego, to be sure). Thus at the expense of intensity he achieves preservation and security; instead of divine possession he reaps peace of mind, instead of pleasure, comfort, instead of freedom, convenience, instead of deadly heat a pleasant temperature. The bourgeois is therefor by nature a creature of weak life impulse, anxious, fearful of every expenditure of himself, easy to rule. Therefore he has put the majority in the place of power, in the place of power the law, in the place of accountability the ballot box.
[tr. Wayne (2010)]

Stevenson, Robert Louis -- Essay (1888-09), “A Letter to a Young Gentleman Who Proposes to Embrace the Career of Art,” Scribner’s Magazine, Vol. 4, No. 3

Dave — Fri, 13 Mar 2026 18:06:41 +0000

To give the public what they do not want, and yet expect to be supported: we have there a strange pretension, and yet not uncommon, above all with painters. The first duty in this world is for a man to pay his way; when that is quite accomplished, he may plunge into what eccentricity he likes; but emphatically not till then.

Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894) Scottish essayist, novelist, poet
Essay (1888-09), “A Letter to a Young Gentleman Who Proposes to Embrace the Career of Art,” Scribner’s Magazine, Vol. 4, No. 3
(Source)

Collected in Across the Plains, ch. 10 (1892).

Stevenson, Adlai -- Speech (1952-08-27), “The Nature of Patriotism,” American Legion Convention, Madison Square Garden, New York City

Dave — Sat, 07 Mar 2026 00:09:47 +0000

The United States has very large power in the world today. And the partner of power — the corollary — is responsibility. It is our high task to use our power with a sure hand and a steady touch — with the self-restraint that goes with confident strength. The purpose of our power must never be lost in the fact of our power — and the purpose, I take it, is the promotion of freedom, justice and peace in the world.

Adlai Stevenson (1900-1965) American diplomat, statesman
Speech (1952-08-27), “The Nature of Patriotism,” American Legion Convention, Madison Square Garden, New York City
(Source)

Rickover, Hyman -- Speech (1982-01-28), Joint Economic Committee, U.S. Congress, 97th Congress, 2nd Session

Dave — Tue, 24 Feb 2026 00:09:43 +0000

A preoccupation with the so-called bottom line of profit and loss statements, coupled with a lust for expansion, is creating an environment in which fewer businessmen honor traditional values; where responsibility is increasingly disassociated from the exercise of power; where skill in financial manipulation is valued more than actual knowledge and experience in the business; where attention and effort is directed mostly to short-term considerations, regardless of longer range consequences.

Hyman Rickover (1900-1986) Polish-American naval engineer, admiral [b. Chaim Gdala Rykower]
Speech (1982-01-28), Joint Economic Committee, U.S. Congress, 97th Congress, 2nd Session
(Source)

Cicero, Marcus Tullius -- Philippics [Philippicae; Antonian Orations], No. 12, ch. 10 / sec. 25 (12.10/12.25) (43-03 BC) [tr. Wiseman]

Dave — Thu, 18 Dec 2025 16:26:08 +0000

For one who calls himself guardian of the many, as the wise say, should first be guardian of himself.

[Qui multorum custodem se profiteatur, eum sapientes sui primum capitis aiunt custodem esse oportere.]

Marcus Tullius Cicero (106-43 BC) Roman orator, statesman, philosopher
Philippics [Philippicae; Antonian Orations], No. 12, ch. 10 / sec. 25 (12.10/12.25) (43-03 BC) [tr. Wiseman]
(Source)

On the death of Gaius Trebonius in January, 43 BC, one of the conspirators in Julius Caesar's assassination, who was captured and executed by Dolabella.

(Source (Latin)). Other translations:

The wise say that he to whose care the safety of many is entrusted must first show that he can take care of himself. [ed. Harbottle (1897)]

In truth, a man who professes to be himself a defender of many men, wise men say, ought in the first place to show himself able to protect his own life. [tr. Yonge (1903)]

Wise men say that he who professes to be the guard of many should first of all be the guard of his own life. [tr. Ker (Loeb) (1926)]

Stevenson, Robert Louis -- Essay (1881), “Virginibus Puerisque, Part 2”

Dave — Fri, 12 Dec 2025 18:44:13 +0000

Times are changed with him who marries; there are no more by-path meadows, where you may innocently linger, but the road lies long and straight and dusty to the grave. Idleness, which is often becoming and even wise in the bachelor, begins to wear a different aspect when you have a wife to support.

Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894) Scottish essayist, novelist, poet
Essay (1881), “Virginibus Puerisque, Part 2”
(Source)

First published in Virginibus Puerisque and Other Papers, ch. 1, part 2 (1881).

Berry, Wendell -- Speech (1968-02-10), “A Statement Against the War in Vietnam,” Kentucky Conference on the War and the Draft, University of Kentucky

Dave — Mon, 17 Nov 2025 17:09:09 +0000

Supporters of the war are constantly asking those who oppose it: Why don’t you deplore the wrongs and atrocities committed by the other side? The answer, so far as I am concerned, is that I do deplore the wrongs and atrocities committed by the other side. But I am responsible for the wrongs and atrocities committed by our side.

Wendell Berry (b. 1934) American farmer, educator, poet, conservationist
Speech (1968-02-10), “A Statement Against the War in Vietnam,” Kentucky Conference on the War and the Draft, University of Kentucky
(Source)

Collected in The Long-Legged House, Part 2 (1969).

Roosevelt, Theodore -- Speech (1910-08-31), “The New Nationalism,” John Brown Memorial Park dedication, Osawatomie, Kansas

Dave — Thu, 02 Oct 2025 21:21:28 +0000

We grudge no man a fortune which represents his own power and sagacity, when exercised with entire regard to the welfare of his fellows. […] We grudge no man a fortune in civil life if it is honorably obtained and well used. It is not even enough that it should have gained without doing damage to the community. We should permit it to be gained only so long as the gaining represents benefit to the community. This, I know, implies a policy of a far more active governmental interference with social and economic conditions in this country than we have yet had, but I think we have got to face the fact that such an increase in governmental control is now necessary.

Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919) American politician, statesman, conservationist, writer, US President (1901–1909)
Speech (1910-08-31), “The New Nationalism,” John Brown Memorial Park dedication, Osawatomie, Kansas
(Source)

Fuller, Thomas (1654) -- Introductio ad Prudentiam, Vol. 2, # 2087 (1727)

Dave — Wed, 17 Sep 2025 15:32:01 +0000

Don’t be seduc’d by a Multitude. Thou wilt stand alone when thou diest; and shalt be call’d to give thy Account by thyself.

Thomas Fuller (1654-1734) English physician, preacher, aphorist, writer
Introductio ad Prudentiam, Vol. 2, # 2087 (1727)
(Source)

Watterson, Bill -- Calvin and Hobbes (1990-11-21)

Dave — Tue, 02 Sep 2025 22:36:27 +0000

CALVIN: “Live for the moment” is my motto. You never know how long you’ve got! You could step into the road tomorrow and — WHAM — you get hit by a cement truck! Then you’d be sorry you put off your pleasures! That’s why I say “Live for the Moment.” What’s your motto?

HOBBES: “Look down the road.”

Bill Watterson (b. 1958) American cartoonist
Calvin and Hobbes (1990-11-21)
(Source)

Taleb, Nassim Nicholas -- Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder, Prologue (2012)

Dave — Mon, 14 Jul 2025 17:40:46 +0000

If you see fraud and do not say fraud, you are a fraud.

Nassim Nicholas Taleb (b. 1960) Lebanese-American essayist, statistician, risk analyst, aphorist
Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder, Prologue (2012)
(Source)

Cicero, Marcus Tullius -- Philippics [Philippicae; Antonian Orations], No. 2, ch. 12 / sec. 29 (2.12/2.29) (44-10-24 BC) [tr. Berry (2006)]

Dave — Thu, 19 Jun 2025 15:29:14 +0000

Well then, is there anyone — besides those who were glad that he had turned into a king — who did not want this deed to happen, or failed to approve of it afterwards? So all are guilty. All loyal citizens, so far as was in their power, killed Caesar. Not everyone had a plan, not everyone had the courage, not everyone had the opportunity — but everyone had the will.

[Ecquis est igitur exceptis eis qui illum regnare gaudebant qui illud aut fieri noluerit aut factum improbarit? Omnes ergo in culpa. Etenim omnes boni, quantum in ipsis fuit, Caesarem occiderunt: aliis consilium, aliis animus, aliis occasio defuit; voluntas nemini.]

Marcus Tullius Cicero (106-43 BC) Roman orator, statesman, philosopher
Philippics [Philippicae; Antonian Orations], No. 2, ch. 12 / sec. 29 (2.12/2.29) (44-10-24 BC) [tr. Berry (2006)]
(Source)

(Source (Latin)). Other translations:

Is there anyone, then, except those who rejoiced in his kingly sway, who either was unwilling that the deed should be done or has impugned it since? All therefore share in the fault, for all loyal citizens, so far as rested with them, took part in Cæsar's death. Some wanted the necessary powers of contrivance, some the courage, some the opportunity; but not one the will.
[tr. King (1877)]

Is there then any man, except those that were glad of his reign, who repudiated that deed, or disapproved of it when it was done? All therefore are to blame, for all good men, so far as their own power went, slew Caesar; some lacked a plan, others courage, others opportunity: will no man lacked.
[tr. Ker (Loeb) (1926)]

Is there any one then, except you yourself and these men who wished him to become a king, who was unwilling that that deed should be done, or who disapproved of it after it was done? All men, therefore, are guilty as far as this goes. In truth, all good men, as far as it depended on them, bore a part in the slaying of Caesar. Some did not know how to contrive it, some had not courage for it, some had no opportunity, -- every one had the inclination.
[tr. Yonge (1903)]

Yet, with the exception of the men who wanted to make an autocratic monarch of him, all were happy for this to happen -- or were glad when it had happened. So everyone is guilty! For every decent person, in so far as he had any say in the matter, killed Caesar! Plans, courage, opportunities were in some case lacking; but the desire nobody lacked.
[tr. Grant (1960)]

Is there anyone, with the exception of those who were happy that he was our king, who did not want it done or disapproved that it was done? Everyone is at fault, then. Indeed, all decent men, as far as they could, killed Caesar; some may have lacked a plan, others courage, and still others the opportunity, but no one lacked the desire.
[tr. McElduff (2011)]

Omar Khayyam -- Rubáiyát [رباعیات] [tr. Whinfield (1883), # 126; Fitz. # 86]

Dave — Thu, 13 Mar 2025 21:20:47 +0000

The Master did himself these vessels frame,
Why should he cast them out to scorn and shame?
If he has made them well, why should he break them?
Yea, though he marred them, they are not to blame.

Omar Khayyám (1048-1123) Persian poet, mathematician, philosopher, astronomer [عمر خیام]
Rubáiyát [رباعیات] [tr. Whinfield (1883), # 126; Fitz. # 86]
(Source)

Various of the sources I consulted (e.g.) tied the "vessels" quatrain and the "quick and dead" quatrain together, even though some translators (as below) went in both directions.

Alternate translations:

None answer'd this; but after Silence spake
A Vessel of a more ungainly Make:
"They sneer at me for leaning all awry;
What! did the Hand then of the Potter shake?"
[tr. FitzGerald, 1st ed. (1859), # 63]

None answer'd this; but after Silence spake
A Vessel of a more ungainly Make:
"They sneer at me for leaning all awry;
What! did the Hand then of the Potter shake?"
[tr. FitzGerald, 2nd ed. (1868), # 93]

After a momentary silence spake
Some Vessel of a more ungainly Make;
"They sneer at me for leaning all awry:
What! did the Hand then of the Potter shake?"
[tr. FitzGerald, 3rd ed. (1872), # 86; also 4th ed. and 5th ed. (1889)]

Thou who commandest the quick and the dead, the wheel of heaven obeys thy hand. What if I am evil, am I not Thy slave? Which then is the guilty one? Art Thou not Lord of all?
[tr. McCarthy (1879), # 344; in some # 345]

The potter did himself these vessels frame,
What makes him cast them out to scorn and shame?
If he has made them well, why should he break them?
And though he marred them, they are not to blame.
[tr. Whinfield (1882), # 52]

Who framed the lots of quick and dead but Thou?
Who turns the wheel of baleful fate but Thou?
We are Thy slaves, our wills are not our own,
We are Thy creatures, our creator Thou!
[tr. Whinfield (1882), # 242]

Who framed the lots of quick and dead but Thou?
Who turns the troublous wheel of heaven but Thou?
Though we are sinful slaves, is it for Thee
To blame us? Who created us but Thou?
[tr. Whinfield (1883), # 471]

From God's own hand this earthly vessel came,
He shaped it thus, be it for fame or shame;
If it be fair -- to God be all the praise,
If it be foul -- to God alone the blame.
[tr. Le Gallienne (1897)]

Almighty Potter, on whose wheel of blue
The world is fashioned and is broken too,
Why to the race of men is heaven so dire?
In what, O wheel, have I offended you?
[tr. Le Gallienne (1897)]

Our Guardian chose our natures. Is He then
Delinquent when He treats us with disorder?
We ask: "Why break the best of us?" and murmur:
"Is the pot guilty if it stands awry?"
[tr. Graves & Ali-Shah (1967), # 93]

When the Maker formed nature
Why imperfect was the venture
If it is good, why departure
And if bad, why form capture?
[tr. Shahriari (1998), literal]

When the Creator forged the shape
Why was mankind a mere ape?
If it were good, why cloak and cape?
If unsightly, why this rape?
[tr. Shahriari (1998), figurative]

Lincoln, Abraham -- Speech (1861-03-04), Inaugural Address, Washington, D. C.

Dave — Thu, 06 Mar 2025 21:42:33 +0000

In ‘your’ hands, my dissatisfied fellow-countrymen, and not in ‘mine’, is the momentous issue of civil war. The Government will not assail ‘you’. You can have no conflict without being yourselves the aggressors. ‘You’ have no oath registered in heaven to destroy the Government, while I shall have the most solemn one to “preserve, protect, and defend it.”

Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) American lawyer, politician, US President (1861-65)
Speech (1861-03-04), Inaugural Address, Washington, D. C.
(Source)

Lincoln spent most of his first Inaugural addressing the Southern states, trying to forestall their secession. This was the penultimate paragraph (before the "better angels of our nature" one) in the speech as given.

In Lincoln's "First Edition" of the address, a somewhat harsher version of this paragraph was the actual ending of the speech:

In your hands, my dissatisfied fellow countrymen, and not in mine, is the momentous issue of civil war. The government will not assail you, unless you first assail it. You can have no conflict, without being yourselves the aggressors. You have no oath registered in Heaven to destroy the government, while I shall have the most solemn one to “preserve, protect, and defend” it. You can forbear the assault upon it; I can not shrink from the defense of it. With you, and not with me, is the solemn question of “Shall it be peace, or a sword?"

Lincoln offered William Seward, one of his political rivals, an opportunity to review and suggest changes to the draft. Seward offered a number of edits, including in this portion scratching out the last two sentences Lincoln had written, as well as the "first assail" clause.

Seward also added an additional paragraph after this, rather than leaving it as the ending.

Roosevelt, Theodore -- Speech (1910-04-23), “Citizenship in a Republic [The Man in the Arena],” Sorbonne, Paris

Dave — Thu, 06 Mar 2025 21:26:29 +0000

Self-restraint, self-mastery, common sense, the power of accepting individual responsibility and yet of acting in conjunction with others, courage and resolution — these are the qualities which mark a masterful people. Without them no people can control itself, or save itself from being controlled from the outside.

Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919) American politician, statesman, conservationist, writer, US President (1901–1909)
Speech (1910-04-23), “Citizenship in a Republic [The Man in the Arena],” Sorbonne, Paris
(Source)

Omar Khayyam -- Rubáiyát [رباعیات] [tr. Le Gallienne (1897), # 92]

Dave — Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:08:11 +0000

From God’s own hand this earthly vessel came,
He shaped it thus, be it for fame or shame;
If it be fair — to God be all the praise,
If it be foul — to God alone the blame.

Omar Khayyám (1048-1123) Persian poet, mathematician, philosopher, astronomer [عمر خیام]
Rubáiyát [رباعیات] [tr. Le Gallienne (1897), # 92]
(Source)

Given Le Gallienne's paraphrasing, I am unable to align this with an original quatrain or other translations.

Franklin, Benjamin -- Poor Richard (1738 ed.)

Dave — Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:40:00 +0000

Wink at small faults; remember thou hast great ones.

Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) American statesman, scientist, philosopher, aphorist
Poor Richard (1738 ed.)
(Source)

Either taken from, or from a common source by, Fuller (1725).

Billings, Josh -- Josh Billings’ Trump Kards, ch. 11 “The Mermaid” (1874)

Dave — Thu, 06 Feb 2025 18:06:23 +0000

Natur seldum makes a phool, she simply furnishes the raw materials, and lets the fellow finish the job to suit himself.

[Nature seldom makes a fool, she simply furnishes the raw materials and lets the fellow finish the job to suit himself.]

Josh Billings (1818-1885) American humorist, aphorist [pseud. of Henry Wheeler Shaw]
Josh Billings’ Trump Kards, ch. 11 “The Mermaid” (1874)
(Source)

See also Billings.

Fuller, Thomas (1654) -- Introductio ad Prudentiam, Vol. 1, # 25 (1725)

Dave — Wed, 29 Jan 2025 15:47:30 +0000

Wink at small Faults; for thou hast great ones.

Thomas Fuller (1654-1734) English physician, preacher, aphorist, writer
Introductio ad Prudentiam, Vol. 1, # 25 (1725)
(Source)

See Franklin (1758).

Billings, Josh -- Josh Billings’ Trump Kards, ch. 7 “When I waz a Boy” (1874)

Dave — Thu, 16 Jan 2025 15:58:43 +0000

I notiss that when a man runs hiz hed aginst a post, he cusses the post fust, all kreashun next, and sumthing else last, and never thinks ov cussing himself.

[I notice that when a man runs his head against a post, he cusses the post first, all creation next, and something else last, and never thinks of cussing himself.]

Josh Billings (1818-1885) American humorist, aphorist [pseud. of Henry Wheeler Shaw]
Josh Billings’ Trump Kards, ch. 7 “When I waz a Boy” (1874)
(Source)

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

Dave — Mon, 30 Dec 2024 22:03:04 +0000

For soldiers, we use the term “mercenary,” but we absolve employees of responsibility with “everybody needs to make a living.”

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

Omar Khayyam -- Rubáiyát [رباعیات], Cal. # 26 [tr. Whinfield (1883), # 100]

Dave — Fri, 20 Dec 2024 20:00:41 +0000

When Allah mixed my clay, He knew full well
My future acts, and could each one foretell;
Without His will no act of mine was wrought;
Is it then just to punish me in hell?

Omar Khayyám (1048-1123) Persian poet, mathematician, philosopher, astronomer [عمر خیام]
Rubáiyát [رباعیات], Cal. # 26 [tr. Whinfield (1883), # 100]
(Source)

This quatrain is in the Calcutta manuscript, but not the Bodleian.

Alternate translations:

What! out of senseless Nothing to provoke
A conscious Something to resent the yoke
Of unpermitted Pleasure, under pain
Of Everlasting Penalties, if broke!
[tr. FitzGerald, 2nd ed. (1868), # 84; # 78 for 3rd, 4th, and 5th editions]

When God built up my body out of clay, he knew beforehand the fruit of all my deeds. It is not in defiance of his will that I a sinner have sinned. Why then for me does nether hell await?
[tr. McCarthy (1879), # 112]

When Allah mixed my clay, He knew full well
My future acts, and could each one foretell;
'Twas he who did my sins predestinate,
Yet thinks it just to punish me in hell.
[tr. Whinfield (1882), # 46]

'Twas Allah who engraved upon my Clay
The Laws I was thereafter to obey,
And will He cast me into Raging Fire,
Because my Actions answer to His Sway?
[tr. Garner (1887), 4.5]

Almighty Potter, on whose wheel of blue
The world is fashioned and is broken too,
Why to the race of men is heaven so dire?
In what, O wheel, have I offended you?
[tr. Le Gallienne (1897)]

God, when He mixed and moulded our being's clay,
Had e'en foreknowledge of all we should do and say;
Without His order no sin of mine was aye;
Then why should He doom me to burn on the Judgment Day?
[tr. Payne (1898), # 190]

God, when he fashioned the clay of my body
Knew by my making what would come from it
(Since) there is no sin of mine without his knowledge
Why should he seek to burn me at the day of resurrection?
[tr. Heron-Allen (1897), "# 26=85" Calcutta]

God, when he fashioned the clay of my body,
Knew by my making what would come of it;
(Since) there is no sin of mine without his order
Why should he seek to burn me at the Day of Resurrection?
[tr. Heron-Allen (1899), #78a, Calcutta]

When God of our existence shaped the clay.
He knew our actions would be as His sway;
Without His mandate was no sin of mine,
Then why doom me to burn on Judgment Day?
[tr. Thompson (1906), # 148]

When, bending low, God moulded me from clay,
Incontrovertibly my life was ordered:
Without his order I abstain from crime.
Why should I burn, then, on His Judgement Day?
[tr. Graves & Ali-Shah (1967), # 82]

Martin, Judith -- Miss Manners on Painfully Proper Weddings, ch. 13 “Giving and Receiving Thanks” (1995)

Dave — Mon, 09 Dec 2024 18:55:51 +0000

It doesn’t matter whether the bride or the bridegroom writes the letters of thanks for wedding presents provided that these go out immediately after the arrival of each present and are not in the handwriting of the bride’s mother.

Judith Martin (b. 1938) American author, journalist, etiquette expert [a.k.a. Miss Manners]
Miss Manners on Painfully Proper Weddings, ch. 13 “Giving and Receiving Thanks” (1995)
(Source)

Also titled in later editions, Miss Manners on Weddings and Miss Manners' Guide to a Surprisingly Dignified Wedding.

Hugo, Victor -- Les Misérables, Part 1 “Fantine,” Book 1 “An Upright Man,” ch. 4 (1.1.4) [Bishop Myriel] (1862) [tr. Wilbour (1862)]

Dave — Mon, 02 Dec 2024 20:46:48 +0000

If the soul is left in darkness, sins will be committed. The guilty one is not he who commits the sin, but he who causes the darkness.

[Cette âme est pleine d’ombre, le péché s’y commet. Le coupable n’est pas celui qui y fait le péché, mais celui qui y a fait l’ombre.]

Victor Hugo (1802-1885) French writer
Les Misérables, Part 1 “Fantine,” Book 1 “An Upright Man,” ch. 4 (1.1.4) [Bishop Myriel] (1862) [tr. Wilbour (1862)]
(Source)

(Source (French)). Alternate translations:

This soul is full of darkness, and sin is committed, but the guilty person is not the man who commits the sin, but he who produces the darkness.
[tr. Wraxall (1862)]

This soul is full of shadow; sin is therein committed. The guilty one is not the person who has committed the sin, but the person who has created the shadow.
[tr. Hapgood (1887)]

The soul in darkness sins, but the real sinner is he who caused the darkness.
[tr. Denny (1976)]

If the soul is left in darkness, sins will be committed. The guilty one is not he who commits the sin, but the one who causes the darkness.
[tr. Wilbour/Fahnestock/MacAfee (1987)]

In any benighted soul -- that's where sin will be committed. It's not he who commits the sin that's to blame, but he who causes the darkness to prevail.
[tr. Donougher (2013)]

Jacobs, Jane -- The Death and Life of Great American Cities, Part 1, ch. 4 (1961)

Dave — Mon, 11 Nov 2024 23:12:15 +0000

The first fundamental of successful city life: People must take a modicum of responsibility for each other even if they have no ties to each other. This is a lesson no one learns by being told. It is learned from the experience of having other people without ties of kinship or close friendship or formal responsibility to you take a modicum of responsibility for you.

Jane Jacobs (1916-2006) American-Canadian journalist, author, urban theorist, activist
The Death and Life of Great American Cities, Part 1, ch. 4 (1961)
(Source)

Le Guin, Ursula K. -- Interview (2005-12-17), “The Magician,” by Maya Jaggi, The Guardian

Dave — Thu, 10 Oct 2024 12:49:36 +0000

If you cannot or will not imagine the results of your actions, there’s no way you can act morally or responsibly. Little kids can’t do it; babies are morally monsters—completely greedy. Their imagination has to be trained into foresight and empathy.

Ursula K. Le Guin (1929-2018) American writer
Interview (2005-12-17), “The Magician,” by Maya Jaggi, The Guardian
(Source)

Franklin, Benjamin -- Poor Richard (1736 ed.)

Dave — Thu, 12 Sep 2024 15:05:42 +0000

God helps them that help themselves.

Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) American statesman, scientist, philosopher, aphorist
Poor Richard (1736 ed.)
(Source)

Sometimes misattributed as a Biblical proverb. A modern variant is "God helps those that help themselves."

Barrie, James -- Margaret Ogilvy, ch. 10 “Art Thou Afraid His Power Shall Fail?” (1896)

Dave — Tue, 03 Sep 2024 21:55:49 +0000

I had been gone a fortnight when the telegram was put into my hands. I had got a letter from my sister, a few hours before, saying that all was well at home. The telegram said in five words that she had died suddenly the previous night. There was no mention of my mother, and I was three days’ journey from home.
The news I got on reaching London was this: my mother did not understand that her daughter was dead, and they were waiting for me to tell her.

J. M. Barrie (1860-1937) Scottish novelist and dramatist [James Matthew Barrie]
Margaret Ogilvy, ch. 10 “Art Thou Afraid His Power Shall Fail?” (1896)
(Source)

The book is a biographical work about his mother and family.

Paton, Alan -- “The Challenge of Fear,” The Saturday Review (1967-09-09)

Dave — Mon, 26 Aug 2024 14:32:11 +0000

To give up the task of reforming society is to give up one’s responsibility as a free man. The task itself is endless, and large parts of it, sometimes the whole of it, must be performed anew by each succeeding generation.

Alan Paton (1903-1988) South African author, activist
“The Challenge of Fear,” The Saturday Review (1967-09-09)
(Source)

Collected in Sheridan Baker, The Essayist (1981).

Ginott, Haim -- (Attributed)

Dave — Fri, 23 Aug 2024 00:17:13 +0000

Parents often talk about the younger generation as if they didn’t have anything to do with it.

Haim Ginott (1922-1973) Israeli-American school teacher, child psychologist, psychotherapist [b. Haim Ginzburg]
(Attributed)

Widely attributed to Ginott, but I cannot find it in his printed works or any primary citation.

Ginott, Haim -- Between Parent and Child, ch. 4 “Responsibility and Independence” (1965)

Dave — Thu, 15 Aug 2024 22:37:43 +0000

The plain fact is that responsibility cannot be imposed. It can only grow from within, fed and directed by values absorbed at home and in the community. Responsibility that is not anchored in positive values can be antisocial and destructive. Hoodlums often show great loyalty and strong responsibility in relation to one another and to their gang. Members of the Mafia, for instance, take their duties in dead earnest; they carry out commands, give legal aid to needy associates, and take care of prisoners’ families.

Haim Ginott (1922-1973) Israeli-American school teacher, child psychologist, psychotherapist [b. Haim Ginzburg]
Between Parent and Child, ch. 4 “Responsibility and Independence” (1965)
(Source)

In the updated version of the book, Between Parent and Child: Revised and Updated Edition, ch. 4 "Responsibility" (2003 ed.) [with A. Ginott and H. W. Goddard], this paragraph was revised as follows:

The plain fact is that responsibility cannot be imposed. It can only grow from within, fed and directed by values absorbed at home and in the community. Responsibility that is not anchored in positive values can be antisocial and destructive. Gang members often show great loyalty and strong responsibility in relation to one another and to their gang. Terrorists take their duties in dead earnest; they carry out commands, even if they involve sacrificing their own lives.

Shakespeare, William -- Macbeth, Act 1, sc. 3, l. 158ff (1.3.158-159) (1606)

Dave — Mon, 12 Aug 2024 14:41:51 +0000

MACBETH: If chance will have me king, why, chance may crown me
Without my stir.

William Shakespeare (1564-1616) English dramatist and poet
Macbeth, Act 1, sc. 3, l. 158ff (1.3.158-159) (1606)
(Source)

Clinton, Bill -- Speech (1993-01-20), Inaugural Address, Washington, D.C.

Dave — Wed, 07 Aug 2024 13:24:14 +0000

Our Founders saw themselves in the light of posterity. We can do no less. Anyone who has ever watched a child’s eyes wander into sleep knows what posterity is. Posterity is the world to come; the world for whom we hold our ideals, from whom we have borrowed our planet, and to whom we bear sacred responsibility.

William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton (b. 1946) American politician, US President (1993-2001)
Speech (1993-01-20), Inaugural Address, Washington, D.C.
(Source)

Ebner-Eschenbach, Marie von -- Aphorisms [Aphorismen], No. 534 (1880)

Dave — Thu, 04 Jul 2024 22:26:44 +0000

As far as your self-control goes, as far goes your freedom.

[So weit Deine Selbstbeherrschung geht, so weit geht Deine Freiheit.]

Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach (1830-1916) Austrian writer
Aphorisms [Aphorismen], No. 534 (1880)
(Source)

(Source (German)). Alternate translation:

Freedom stretches as far as your self-control.
[tr. Scrase/Mieder (1994)]

Levitt, Steven -- Freakonomics, ch. 5 “What Makes A Perfect Parent?” (2005) [with Stephen Dubner]

Dave — Mon, 13 May 2024 14:27:36 +0000

No one is more susceptible to an experts fearmongering than a parent. Fear is in fact a major component of the act of parenting. A parent, after all, is the steward of another creature’s life, a creature who in the beginning is more helpless than the newborn of nearly any other species. This leads a lot of parents to spend a lot of their parenting energy simply being scared.

Steven Levitt (b. 1967) American economist and author
Freakonomics, ch. 5 “What Makes A Perfect Parent?” (2005) [with Stephen Dubner]
(Source)

Du Bois, W.E.B. -- John Brown, ch. 13 “The Legacy of John Brown” (1909)

Dave — Thu, 30 Nov 2023 17:31:46 +0000

Liberty trains for liberty. Responsibility is the first step in responsibility.

W. E. B. Du Bois (1868-1963) American writer, historian, social reformer [William Edward Burghardt Du Bois]
John Brown, ch. 13 “The Legacy of John Brown” (1909)
(Source)

On the policy among white colonial powers that non-whites "ought to be under the restraint and benevolent tutelage of stronger and wiser nations for their own benefit," until they are "capable" of being free.

Martin, Judith -- “Miss Manners,” syndicated column (1978-04-23)

Dave — Mon, 09 Oct 2023 17:35:53 +0000

In a fit of exasperation, Miss Manners once demanded of a six-year-old person how it could be so childish and was forced to admit the justice of its reply, “I’m a child.”

Judith Martin (b. 1938) American author, journalist, etiquette expert [a.k.a. Miss Manners]
“Miss Manners,” syndicated column (1978-04-23)
(Source)

Reprinted in Miss Manners’ Guide to Excruciatingly Correct Behavior, Part 3 “Basic Civilization," "Concerning Children" (1983)

Truman, Harry S -- (Misattributed)

Dave — Thu, 28 Sep 2023 17:40:04 +0000

Truman’s desk sign

The buck stops here.

Harry S Truman (1884-1972) US President (1945-1953)
(Misattributed)

Not a quote from Truman, but popularized by him through a sign he kept on his White House desk, displaying the message It had been sent to him from the Federal Reformatory at El Reno, Oklahoma in late 1945. On the reverse side it reads, "I'm from Missouri." Truman occasionally referenced the sign and phrase in speeches.

The phrase -- which itself refers to "passing the buck," or handing responsibility off to another -- predates Truman's administration, and may have been coined by Brigadier General A. B. Warfield in 1939 or earlier.

More discussion about this quotation and its origin:

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

Dave — Tue, 26 Sep 2023 05:59:57 +0000

ACCOUNTABILITY, n. The mother of caution.

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

Included in The Devil's Dictionary (1911).

Originally published in his "Cynic's Word Book" column in the New York American (1904-07-09) and "Cynic's Dictionary" column in the San Francisco Examiner (1904-07-17) as "the mother of remorse and great first cause of penitence."

Augustine of Hippo -- Confessions, Book 5, ch. 10 / ¶ 18 (5.10.18) (c. AD 398) [tr. Pine-Coffin (1961)]

Dave — Tue, 11 Apr 2023 01:55:54 +0000

I still thought that it is not we who sin but some other nature that sins within us. It flattered my pride to think that I incurred no guilt and, when I did wrong, not to confess it so that you might bring healing to a soul that had sinned against you. I preferred to excuse myself and blame this unknown thing which was in me but was not part of me. The truth, of course, was that it was all my own self, and my own impiety had divided me against myself. My sin was all the more incurable because I did not think myself a sinner.

[Adhuc enim mihi videbatur non esse nos qui peccamus, sed nescio quam aliam in nobis peccare naturam, et delectabat superbiam meam extra culpam esse et, cum aliquid mali fecissem, non confiteri me fecisse, ut sanares animam meam, quoniam peccabat tibi, sed excusare me amabam et accusare nescio quid aliud quod mecum esset et ego non essem. Verum autem totum ego eram et adversus me impietas mea me diviserat, et id erat peccatum insanabilius, quo me peccatorem non esse arbitrabar, et execrabilis iniquitas, te, deus omnipotens, te in me ad perniciem meam.]

Augustine of Hippo (354-430) Christian church father, philosopher, saint [b. Aurelius Augustinus]
Confessions, Book 5, ch. 10 / ¶ 18 (5.10.18) (c. AD 398) [tr. Pine-Coffin (1961)]
(Source)

The central phrase about healing a soul that has sinned is from Psalm 41:4.

(Source (Latin)). Alternate translations:

For I still thought "that it was not we that sin, but that I know not what other nature sinned in us"; and it delighted my pride, to be free from blame; and when I had done any evil, not to confess I had done any, that Thou mightest heal my soul because it had sinned against Thee: but I loved to excuse it, and to accuse I know not what other thing, which was with me, but which I was not. But in truth it was wholly I, and mine impiety had divided me against myself: and that sin was the more incurable, whereby I did not judge myself a sinner.
[tr. Pusey (1838)]

For I still thought, "that it was not we that sin, but that I know not what other nature sinned in us;" and it delighted my pride to be free from blame, and when I had done any evil, not to confess I had done any, that Thou mightest heal my soul because it had sinned against Thee: but I loved to excuse it, and to accuse I know not what other thing, which was with me, but which I was not. But in truth it was wholly I, and mine impiety had divided me against myself: and that sin was the more incurable, whereby I did not judge myself a sinner.
[ed. Shedd (1860)]

For it still seemed to me “that it was not we that sin, but that I know not what other nature sinned in us.” And it gratified my pride to be free from blame and, after I had committed any fault, not to acknowledge that I had done any, -- "that Thou mightest heal my soul because it had sinned against Thee;" but I loved to excuse it, and to accuse something else (I wot not what) which was with me, but was not I. But assuredly it was wholly I, and my impiety had divided me against myself; and that sin was all the more incurable in that I did not deem myself a sinner.
[tr. Pilkington (1876)]

For I still believed “that sin was not a voluntary act , but that some other nature, I knew not what, sinned in us;” and it flattered my pride to regard myself as free from fault; and when I had done anything wrong, not to admit that I had done it, “that Thou mightest heal my soul, because it had sinned against Thee;” but I loved to excuse it, and to accuse that which was in me, I knew not what, save that it was not myself. But indeed it was all myself, and my iniquity it was which had divided me against myself; and the sin which led me to deny, that I myself was a sinner, was on that account all the more incurable.
[tr. Hutchings (1890)]

For as yet I held that it is not we who sin, but that some alien nature sins in us; and my pride delighted in the thought that I was not to blame, and that, when I had done evil I need not confess that I had done it, to the end that Thou mightest heal my soul, because I had sinned against Thee. But I loved to excuse my soul, and lay the guilt on something else, which was with me and was not myself. But in truth I was one, and nothing but my iniquity had divided me against myself; and the thought that I was not a sinner was the deadlier part of my sin.
[tr. Bigg (1897)]

For I still held the view that it was not we that sinned, but some other nature sinning in us; and it pleased my pride to be beyond fault, and when I did any evil not to confess that I had done it, that You might heal my soul because it had sinned against You: I very much preferred to excuse myself and accuse some other thing that was in me but was not I. But in truth I was wholly I, it was my impiety that had divided me against myself. My sin was all the more incurable because I thought I was not a sinner.
[tr. Sheed (1943)]

For it still seemed to me “that it is not we who sin, but some other nature sinned in us.” And it gratified my pride to be beyond blame, and when I did anything wrong not to have to confess that I had done wrong -- “that thou mightest heal my soul because it had sinned against thee” -- and I loved to excuse my soul and to accuse something else inside me (I knew not what) but which was not I. But, assuredly, it was I, and it was my impiety that had divided me against myself. That sin then was all the more incurable because I did not deem myself a sinner.
[tr. Outler (1955)]

I still thought that it was not ourselves who sin, but that some sort of different nature within us commits the sin. It gave joy to my pride to be above all guilt, and when I did an evil deed, not to confess that I myself had done it, so that you might heal my soul, since it had sinned against you. I loved to excuse myself, and to accuse I know not what other being that was present with me but yet was not I. But in truth I was the one whole being, and my own impiety had divided me against myself. That sin was the more incurable whereby I judged myself to be no sinner.
[tr. Ryan (1960)]

For I was still of the opinion that it is not we ourselves who sin, but some other nature which is in us; it gratified my pride to think that I was blameless and, if I did something wrong, not to confess that I had done it, so that you might heal my soul, because my soul had sinned against you. Instead I liked to excuse myself and accuse something else -- something that was in me, but was not really I. But in fact I was wholly I and it was my impiety which had divided one me from another me. My sin was all the more incurable because I imagined that I was not a sinner.
[tr. Warner (1963)]

I still believed that it is not we who sin, but some undefined "nature" within us, and to be thus faultless was joy to my pride, as it was not to confess some evil I had done that you might heal my soul when I had sinned in your sight. I loved to excuse myself and blame something else which was with me, but not I. But truly it was wholly I, and my wickedness had divided me against myself. That sin was more incurable in which I did not consider myself a sinner.
[tr. Blaiklock (1983)]

Child, Julia -- (Attributed)

Dave — Thu, 06 Apr 2023 15:55:07 +0000

Too many cooks may spoil the broth, but it only takes one to burn it.

Julia Child (1912-2004) American chef and writer
(Attributed)

Referring to the Women's Suffrage Movement, as quoted by Madeleine Bingham, Something's Burning: The Bad Cook's Guide (1968) [unverified]. Sometimes said to be in the Introduction to her Julia Child's Kitchen, (1975), but not found there.

Mays, Benjamin -- (Attributed)

Dave — Tue, 14 Mar 2023 19:56:16 +0000

I would rather go to hell by choice than to stumble into heaven by following the crowd.

Benjamin Mays (1894-1984) American minister, educator, civil rights leader
(Attributed)

Recalled about him by various secondary sources as a line he used while preaching to students at Morehouse College in the 1940s. (1, 2, 3, 4). Several sources point to the article "A Black Thorn in the White Conscience," Atlanta Journal and Constitution, page M-9 (18 Jan 1970).

Virgil -- The Aeneid [Ænē̆is], Book 10, l. 111ff (10.111-113) (29-19 BC) [tr. Fagles (2006)]

Dave — Wed, 22 Feb 2023 21:06:40 +0000

How each man weaves
his web will bring him to glory or to grief.
King Jupiter is the king to all alike.
The Fates will find the way.

[Sua cuique exorsa laborem
fortunamque ferent. Rex Iuppiter omnibus idem.
Fata viam invenient.]

Virgil (70-19 BC) Roman poet [b. Publius Vergilius Maro; also Vergil]
The Aeneid [Ænē̆is], Book 10, l. 111ff (10.111-113) (29-19 BC) [tr. Fagles (2006)]

Jupiter, declining to intervene or show favor in the battle between the Trojans and Rutulians, even though he's been rooting for the Trojans all along.

(Source (Latin)). Alternate translations:

Let each the chance of his own enterprise
And danger bear: Iove's the same King to all,
The fates will make their way whatever fall.
[tr. Ogilby (1649)]

Each to his proper fortune stand or fall;
Equal and unconcern'd I look on all.
[...] The Fates will find their way.
[tr. Dryden (1697)]

To each his own enterprise shall procure disaster or success. Sovereign Jove shall be to all the same. The Fates shall take their course.
[tr. Davidson/Buckley (1854)]

Each warrior from his own good lance
Shall reap the fruit of toil or chance:
Jove deals to all an equal lot,
And Fate shall loose or cut the knot.
[tr. Conington (1866)]

To each his enterprise
Will bring its weal or woe. Jove is the same
To all alike. The Fates will find their way.
[tr. Cranch (1872)]

Each as he hath begun shall work out his destiny. Jupiter is one and king over all; the fates will find their way.
[tr. Mackail (1885)]

Let each one's way-faring
Bear its own hap and toil, for Jove to all alike is king;
The Fates will find a way to wend.
[tr. Morris (1900)]

Equally I weigh
The chance of all, [...]
For each must toil and try, till Fate the doom declare.
[tr. Taylor (1907), st. 16, l. 139ff]

But of his own attempt
let each the triumph and the burden bear;
for Jove is over all an equal King.
The Fates will find the way
[tr. Williams (1910)]

Each one's own course shall bring him weal or woe. Jupiter is king over all alike; the fates shall find their way.
[tr. Fairclough (1918)]

In every man’s beginning
His luck resides, for good or ill. I rule
All men alike. The fates will find the way.
[tr. Humphries (1951)]

The selfhood of each shall determine
His effort and how it fares. I am king to all, and impartial.
Fate will settle the issue.
[tr. Day-Lewis (1952)]

What each man does will shape his trial and fortune.
For Jupiter is king of all alike;
The Fates will find their way.
[tr. Mandelbaum (1971)]

The effort each man makes
Will bring him luck of trouble. To the all
King Jupiter is the same king. And the Fates
Will find their way.
[tr. Fitzgerald (1981)]

... [A]s each man has set up his loom, so will he endure the labor and fortune of it. [...] Jupiter is the same king to all men. The Fates will find their way.
[tr. West (1990)]

What each has instigated
shall bring its own suffering and success. Jupiter is king of all,
equally: the fates will determine the way.
[tr. Kline (2002)]

The efforts
Of each will bring suffering or success.
Jupiter rules over all alike. The Fates
Will find their way.
[tr. Lombardo (2005)]

Shawcross, Hartley -- Opening remarks, Nuremberg War Crimes Tribunal (4 Dec 1945)

Dave — Tue, 31 Jan 2023 16:05:40 +0000

Political loyalty, military obedience are excellent things, but they neither require nor do they justify the commission of patently wicked acts. There comes a point where a man must refuse to answer to his leader if he is also to answer to his conscience.

Hartley Shawcross (1902-2003) English barrister, politician, diplomat
Opening remarks, Nuremberg War Crimes Tribunal (4 Dec 1945)
(Source)

Shawcross was Attorney General of the UK and Chief Prosecutor for the UK at the tribunal

Jackson, Robert H. -- American Communications Assn. v. Douds, 339 U.S. 382, 442 (1950) [concurrence and dissent]

Dave — Mon, 30 Jan 2023 23:18:19 +0000

Our Constitution relies on our electorate’s complete ideological freedom to nourish independent and responsible intelligence and preserve our democracy from that submissiveness, timidity and herd-mindedness of the masses which would foster a tyranny of mediocrity.

Robert H. Jackson (1892-1954) US Supreme Court Justice (1941-54), lawyer, jurist, politician
American Communications Assn. v. Douds, 339 U.S. 382, 442 (1950) [concurrence and dissent]
(Source)

Swift, Jonathan -- “Thoughts on Religion” (1726)

Dave — Mon, 09 Jan 2023 16:12:19 +0000

It may be prudent in me to act sometimes by other men’s reason; but I can think only by my own.

Jonathan Swift (1667-1745) English writer and churchman
“Thoughts on Religion” (1726)
(Source)

Ferguson, Marilyn -- The Aquarian Conspiracy, ch. 4 (1980)

Dave — Fri, 30 Sep 2022 20:00:32 +0000

A belated discovery, one that causes considerable anguish, is that no one can persuade another to change. Each of us guards a gate of change that can only be unlocked from the inside. We cannot open the gate of another, either by argument or emotional appeal.

Marilyn Ferguson (1938-2008) American author, editor, public speaker
The Aquarian Conspiracy, ch. 4 (1980)
(Source)

Hogan, Robert -- Quoted in Jeffrey Kluger, The Narcissist Next Door, ch. 6 (2014)

Dave — Fri, 16 Sep 2022 21:41:21 +0000

There’s a reason narcissists don’t learn from mistakes and that’s because they never get past the first step, which is admitting that they made one. It’s always an assistant’s fault, an adviser’s fault, a lawyer’s fault. Ask them to account for a mistake any other way and they’ll say, “What mistake?”

Robert Hogan (b. 1937) American psychologist
Quoted in Jeffrey Kluger, The Narcissist Next Door, ch. 6 (2014)
(Source)

Lewis, John -- Speech, House of Representatives (18 Dec 2019)

Dave — Tue, 09 Aug 2022 18:42:57 +0000

When you see something that is not right, not just, not fair, you have a moral obligation to say something, to do something. Our children and their children will ask us, “What did you do? What did you say?” For some, this vote may be hard. But we have a mission and a mandate to be on the right side of history.

John Lewis (1940-2020) American politician and civil rights leader
Speech, House of Representatives (18 Dec 2019)
(Source)

During the House vote to impeach Donald Trump.

Confucius -- The Analects [論語, 论语, Lúnyǔ], Book 15, verse 36 (15.36) (6th C. BC – 3rd C. AD) [tr. Leys (1997)]

Dave — Tue, 02 Aug 2022 05:49:45 +0000

In pursuit of virtue, do not be afraid to overtake your teacher.

[當仁、不讓於師。]
[当仁不让于师]

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 15, verse 36 (15.36) (6th C. BC – 3rd C. AD) [tr. Leys (1997)]
(Source)

(Source (Chinese) 1, 2). Modern numbering is 15.36; exceptions (mostly after Legge) noted below. Alternate translations:

Let every man consider virtue as what devolves on himself. He may not yield the performance of it even to his teacher.
[tr. Legge (1861), 15.35]

Rely upon good-nature. 'Twill not allow precedence (even) to a teacher.
[tr. Jennings (1895), 15.35]

When the question is one of morality, a man need not defer to his teacher.
[tr. Ku Hung-Ming (1898), 15.35]

He upon whom a Moral duty devolves should not give way even to his Master.
[tr. Soothill (1910), 15.35]

He who has undertaken the way of Virtue does not yield place to his Teacher.
[tr. Soothill (1910), 15.35, alternate]

Manhood’s one's own, not leavable to teacher.
[tr. Pound (1933), 15.35]

When it comes to Goodness one need not avoid competing with one's teacher.
[tr. Waley (1938), 15.35]

He who is manhood at its best does not make way for the teacher.
[tr. Ware (1950)]

When faced with the opportunity to practice benevolence do not give precedence even to your teacher.
[tr. Lau (1979)]

When one is confronted by humaneness, one does not yield precedence to one's teacher.
[tr. Dawson (1993)]

Confronting an act of humanity, do not yield the precedence even to your teacher.
[tr. Huang (1997)]

One should not decline modestly to one's teacher when one faces the benevolent thing.
[tr. Cai/Yu (1998), # 420]

In striving to be authoritative in your conduct (ren), do not yield even to your teacher.
[tr. Ames/Rosemont (1998)]

With (ren), one need not defer to one's teacher.
[tr. Brooks/Brooks (1998)]

Abide in Humanity, and you need not defer to any teacher.
[tr. Hinton (1998)]

When it comes to being Good, defer to no one, not even your teacher.
[tr. Slingerland (2003)]

In matters of humaneness, do not defer even to your teacher.
[tr. Watson (2007)]

When encountering matters that involve the question of humaneness, do not yield even to your teacher.
[tr. Annping Chin (2014)]

When confronted with a challenge of upholding Ren virtue or not, one should not yield -- not even to his own teacher.
[tr. Li (2020), 15.37]

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)

Zelazny, Roger -- The Guns of Avalon, ch. 3 (1972)

Dave — Mon, 13 Jun 2022 17:09:59 +0000

In the mirrors of the many judgments, my hands are the color of blood. I am part of the evil that exists in the world and in Shadow. I sometimes fancy myself an evil which exists to oppose other evils […] and on that Great Day of which the prophets speak but in which they do not truly believe, on the day the world is utterly cleansed of evil, then I too will go down into darkness, swallowing curses. Perhaps even sooner than that, I now judge. But whatever … Until then, I will not wash my hands nor let them hang useless.

Roger Zelazny (1937-1995) American writer
The Guns of Avalon, ch. 3 (1972)
(Source)

Schroeder, Gerhard -- Speech, Sixtieth Anniversary of the Liberation of Auschwitz, Berlin (25 Jan 2005)

Dave — Mon, 09 May 2022 18:42:49 +0000

Evil is not a political or scientific category. But, after Auschwitz, who could doubt that it exists, and that it manifested itself in the hate-driven genocide carried out by the Nazi regime?

However, noting this fact does not permit us to circumvent our responsibility by blaming everything on a demonic Hitler. The evil manifested in the Nazi ideology was not without its precursors. There was a tradition behind the rise of this brutal ideology and the accompanying loss of moral inhibition.

Above all, it needs to be said that the Nazi ideology was something that people supported at the time and that they took part in putting into effect.

Gerhard "Gerd" Schröder (b. 1944) German politician, Chancellor (1998-2005), lobbyist
Speech, Sixtieth Anniversary of the Liberation of Auschwitz, Berlin (25 Jan 2005)
(Source)

James, P. D. -- Devices and Desires, Book 6, ch. 10 (1990)

Dave — Thu, 31 Mar 2022 16:19:34 +0000

Once you have discovered what is happening, you can’t pretend not to know, you can’t abdicate responsibility. Knowledge always brings responsibility.

P. D. James (1920-2014) British mystery writer [Phyllis Dorothy James White]
Devices and Desires, Book 6, ch. 10 (1990)
(Source)

La Bruyere, Jean de -- The Characters [Les Caractères], ch. 1 “Of Works of the Mind [Des Ouvrages de l’Esprit],” § 2 (1.2) (1688) [tr. Stewart (1970), “Of Books”]

Dave — Mon, 14 Mar 2022 15:27:33 +0000

We should strive only to think and speak rightly, without seeking to win others over to our own taste and opinions; that is too great an undertaking.

[Il faut chercher seulement à penser et à parler juste, sans vouloir amener les autres à notre goût et à nos sentiments; c’est une trop grande entreprise.]

Jean de La Bruyère (1645-1696) French essayist, moralist
The Characters [Les Caractères], ch. 1 “Of Works of the Mind [Des Ouvrages de l’Esprit],” § 2 (1.2) (1688) [tr. Stewart (1970), “Of Books”]
(Source)

(Source (French)). Alternate translations:

We must only endeavour to think and speak justly our selves, without aiming to bring others over to our taste and sentiment; We shall find that too great an enterprize.
[Bullord ed. (1696) "Of Polite Learning"]

We must only endeavour to think and speak justly our selves, without aiming to bring others over to our Taste and Sentiments; that would be too great an Enterprize.
[Curll ed. (1713), "Of Works of Wit and Eloquence"]

We must only endeavour to think and speak justly ourselves, without aiming to bring others over to our Taste and Sentiments; that would be too great an Enterprize.
[Browne ed. (1752), "Of Works of Genius"]

We should only endeavor to think and speak correctly ourselves, without wishing to bring others over to our taste and opinions; this would be too great an undertaking.
[tr. Van Laun (1885)]

Martin, Everett Dean -- Liberty (1930)

Dave — Wed, 16 Feb 2022 20:38:34 +0000

Tolerance is a better guarantee of freedom than brotherly love; for a man may love his brother so much he feels himself thereby appointed his brother’s keeper.

Everett Dean Martin (1880-1941) American educator, minister, writer, lecturer
Liberty (1930)
(Source)

Goodall, Jane -- “The Power of One,” Time Magazine (26 Aug 2002)

Dave — Thu, 10 Feb 2022 17:47:53 +0000

The greatest danger to our future is apathy. We cannot expect those living in poverty and ignorance to worry about saving the world. For those of us able to read this magazine, it is different. We can do something to preserve our planet.

Jane Goodall (b. 1934) English primatologist and anthropologist
“The Power of One,” Time Magazine (26 Aug 2002)
(Source)

Descartes, René -- Discourse on Method [Discours de la méthode], Part 2 (1637) [tr. Cottingham, Stoothoff (1985)]

Dave — Tue, 01 Feb 2022 15:40:39 +0000

And yet a majority vote is worthless as a proof of truths that are at all difficult to discover; for a single man is much more likely to hit upon them than a group of people. I was, then, unable to choose anyone whose opinions struck me as preferable to those of all others, and I found myself as it were forced to become my own guide.

[Et que néanmoins la pluralité des voix n’est pas une preuve qui vaille rien, pour les vérités un peu malaisées à découvrir, à cause qu’il est bien plus vraisemblable qu’un homme seul les ait rencontrées que tout un peuple; je ne pouvois choisir personne dont les opinions me semblassent devoir être préférées à celles des autres, et je me trouvai comme contraint d’entreprendre moi-même de me conduire.]

René Descartes (1596-1650) French philosopher, mathematician
Discourse on Method [Discours de la méthode], Part 2 (1637) [tr. Cottingham, Stoothoff (1985)]
(Source)

(Source (French)). Alternate translations:

Notwithstanding that plurality of voices is a proof of no validity, in those truths which are hard to be discovered; for that it’s much more likely for one man alone to have met with them, then a whole Nation; I could choose no Man whose opinion was to be preferr’d before anothers: And I found my self even constrain’d to undertake the conduct of my self.
[tr. Newcombe ed. (1649)]

Although such be the ground of our opinions, I remarked that a plurality of suffrages is no guarantee of truth where it is at all of difficult discovery, as in such cases it is much more likely that it will be found by one than by many. I could, however, select from the crowd no one whose opinions seemed worthy of preference, and thus I found myself constrained, as it were, to use my own reason in the conduct of my life.
[tr. Veitch (1901)]

Yet in spite of this the voice of the majority does not afford a proof of any value in truths a little difficult to discover, because such truths are much more likely to have been discovered by one man than by a nation. I could not, however, put my finger on a single person whose opinions seemed preferable to those of others, and I found that I was, so to speak, constrained myself to undertake the direction of my procedure.
[tr. Haldane & Ross (1911)]

Lippmann, Walter -- A Preface to Morals, ch. 1, sec. 3 (1929)

Dave — Mon, 18 Oct 2021 16:46:26 +0000

It is all very well to talk about being the captain of your soul. It is hard, and only a few heroes, saints, and geniuses have been the captains of their souls for any extended period of their lives. Most men, after a little freedom, have preferred authority with the consoling assurances and the economy of effort it brings.

Walter Lippmann (1889-1974) American journalist and author
A Preface to Morals, ch. 1, sec. 3 (1929)
(Source)

Cox, Marcelene -- “Ask Any Woman” column, Ladies’ Home Journal (1955-06)

Dave — Fri, 17 Sep 2021 15:55:55 +0000

No man knows his true character until he has run out of gas, purchased something on the installment plan, and raised an adolescent.

Marcelene Cox (1900-1998) American writer, columnist, aphorist
“Ask Any Woman” column, Ladies’ Home Journal (1955-06)
(Source)

McFee, William -- “The Crusaders,” Atlantic (Sep 1919)

Dave — Fri, 02 Jul 2021 15:08:18 +0000

Fear, born of that stern matron, Responsibility, sits on one’s shoulders like some heavy imp of darkness, and one is preoccupied and, possibly, cantankerous.

William McFee (1881-1966) English writer
“The Crusaders,” Atlantic (Sep 1919)
(Source)

Jillette, Penn -- “A Gift of a Bible,” Penn Says, ep. 192 (9 Dec 2008)

Dave — Thu, 29 Apr 2021 22:35:30 +0000

And I’ve always said, you know, that I don’t respect people that don’t proselytize. I don’t respect that at all. If you believe that there’s a heaven and hell, and people could be going to hell — or not getting eternal life, or whatever — and you think that, “Well, it’s not really worth tellin’ ’em this, because it would make it socially awkward.” And atheists who think that people shouldn’t proselytize, “Just leave me alone. Keep your religion to yourself.” How much do you have to hate somebody to not proselytize? How much do you have to hate somebody to believe that everlasting life is possible and not tell them that?

I mean, if I believe, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that a truck was coming at you and you didn’t believe it, that a truck was bearing down on you, there’s a certain point where I tackle you — and this is more important than that.

Penn Jillette (b. 1955) American stage magician, actor, musician, author
“A Gift of a Bible,” Penn Says, ep. 192 (9 Dec 2008)
(Source)

Homer -- The Odyssey [Ὀδύσσεια], Book 1, l. 32ff (1.32) [Zeus] (c. 700 BC) [tr. Fitzgerald (1961)]

Dave — Wed, 14 Apr 2021 15:43:31 +0000

My word, how mortals take the gods to task!
All their afflictions come from us, we hear.
And what of their own failings? Greed and folly
double the suffering in the lot of man.

[ὢ πόποι, οἷον δή νυ θεοὺς βροτοὶ αἰτιόωνται.
ἐξ ἡμέων γάρ φασι κάκ’ ἔμμεναι· οἱ δὲ καὶ αὐτοὶ
σφῇσιν ἀτασθαλίῃσιν ὑπὲρ μόρον ἄλγε’ ἔχουσιν.]

Homer (fl. 7th-8th C. BC) Greek author
The Odyssey [Ὀδύσσεια], Book 1, l. 32ff (1.32) [Zeus] (c. 700 BC) [tr. Fitzgerald (1961)]
(Source)

Original Greek. Alternate translations:

O how falsely men
Accuse us Gods as authors of their ill!
When, by the bane their own bad lives instill,
They suffer all the mis’ries of their states,
Past our inflictions, and beyond their fates.
[tr. Chapman (1616)]

Ha! how dare mortals tax the Gods, and say,
Their harms do all proceed from our decree,
And by our setting; when by their crimes they
Against our wills make their own destiny?
[tr. Hobbes (1675), l. 37ff]

Perverse mankind! whose wills, created free,
Charge all their woes on absolute degree;
All to the dooming gods their guilt translate,
And follies are miscall'd the crimes of fate.
[tr. Pope (1725)]

Alas! how prone are human-kind to blame
The Pow’rs of Heav’n! From us, they say, proceed
The ills which they endure, yet more than Fate
Herself inflicts, by their own crimes incur.
[tr. Cowper (1792), l. 41ff]

Mortals, ye Powers, upbraid us with their voice,
And brand us for the fount of all their ill,
Who, of their own acts, not of fate but choice,
Heap to themselves much toil and sorrow still.
[tr. Worsley (1861), st. 6]

Why! what reproach,
Ye gods! do mortals cast on deities!
To us all their calamities they trace,
While they, themselves, through their own senseless acts,
Feel pangs their destiny had ne'er decreed.
[tr. Musgrave (1869)]

Oh heavens! how mortals now to blame the gods!
From us they say spring ills! but they themselves
By their own folly bring unfated woes.
[tr. Bigge-Wither (1869)]

Lo you now, how vainly mortal men do blame the gods! For of us they say comes evil, whereas they even of themselves, through the blindness of their own hearts, have sorrows beyond that which is ordained.
[tr. Butcher/Lang (1879)]

Lo, how men blame the gods! From us, they say, spring troubles. But through their own perversity and more than is their due they meet with sorrow.
[tr. Palmer (1891)]

See now, how men lay blame upon us gods for what is after all nothing but their own folly.
[tr. Butler (1898)]

Oh my, how mortals hold us gods responsible! For they say that their misfortunes come from us. But they get their sufferings, beyond what is fated, by way of their own acts of recklessness.
[tr. Butler (1898), rev. Kim/McCray/Nagy/Power (2018)]

Look you now, how ready mortals are to blame the gods. It is from us, they say, that evils come, but they even of themselves, through their own blind folly, have sorrows beyond that which is ordained.
[tr. Murray (1919)]

It vexes me to see how mean are these creatures of a day towards us Gods, when they charge against us the evils (far beyond our worst dooming) which their own exceeding wantonness has heaped upon themselves.
[tr. Lawrence (1932)]

What a lamentable thing it is that men should blame the gods and regard us as the source of their troubles, when it is their own wickedness that brings them sufferings worse than any which Destiny allots them.
[tr. Rieu (1946)]

Oh for shame, how the mortals put the blame upon us
gods, for they say evils come from us, but it is they, rather,
who by their own recklessness win sorrow beyond what is given.
[tr. Lattimore (1965)]

Men are so quick to blame the gods: they say
that we devise their misery. But they
themselves -- in their depravity -- design
grief greater than the griefs that fate assigns.
[tr. Mandelbaum (1990)]

Ah how shameless -- the way these mortals blame the gods.
From us alone, they say, come all their miseries, yes,
but they themselves, with their own reckless ways,
compound their pains beyond their proper share.
[tr. Fagles (1996)]

Mortals! They are always blaming the gods
For their troubles, when their own witlessness
Causes them more than they were destined for!
[tr. Lombardo (2000), l. 37ff]

Strange to behold, what blame these mortals can bring against godhead! For their ills, they assert, are from us, when they themselves by their mad recklessness have pain far past what is fated.
[tr. Merrill (2002)]

What a lamentable thing it is that men should blame the gods and regard us as the source of their troubles, when it is their own transgressions which bring them suffering that was not their destiny.
[tr. DCH Rieu (2002)]

This is not good! See how mortals find fault with us gods!
They say it is from us that all evil things come, yet it is by their
own recklessness that they suffer hardship beyond their destiny.
[tr. Verity (2016)]

This is absurd,
that mortals blame the gods! They say we cause
their suffering, but they themselves increase it
by folly.
[tr. Wilson (2017)]

My oh my, the way mortals will fasten blame on the gods!
From us, they say, evils come, yet they themselves
through their own blind recklessness have ills beyond
their fated lot.
[tr. Green (2018)]

It’s disgraceful how humans blame the gods.
They say their tribulations come from us,
when they themselves, through their own foolishness,
bring hardships which are not decreed by Fate.
[tr. Johnston (2019), l. 41ff]

Arendt, Hannah -- The Origins of Totalitarianism, Part 1, ch. 1 “Antisemitism as an Outrage to Common Sense” (1951)

Dave — Thu, 08 Apr 2021 20:36:05 +0000

Caution in handling generally accepted opinions that claim to explain whole trends of history is especially important for the historian of modern times, because the last century has produced an abundance of ideologies that pretend to be keys to history but are actually nothing but desperate efforts to escape responsibility.

Hannah Arendt (1906-1975) German-American philosopher, political theorist
The Origins of Totalitarianism, Part 1, ch. 1 “Antisemitism as an Outrage to Common Sense” (1951)
(Source)

Arendt, Hannah -- Essay (1969-02-27), “Reflections on Violence,” The New York Review of Books

Dave — Thu, 11 Mar 2021 21:41:13 +0000

Where all are guilty, no one is; confessions of collective guilt are the best possible safeguard against the discovery of culprits, and the very magnitude of the crime the best excuse for doing nothing.

Hannah Arendt (1906-1975) German-American philosopher, political theorist
Essay (1969-02-27), “Reflections on Violence,” The New York Review of Books
(Source)

Revised and collected in Crises of the Republic, "On Violence" (1972).

Arendt, Hannah -- Essay (1964-08), “Personal Responsibility Under Dictatorship,” The Listener Magazine

Dave — Thu, 25 Feb 2021 18:35:20 +0000

In a courtroom there is no system on trial, no History or historical trend, no ism, anti-Semitism for instance, but a person, and if the defendant happens to be a functionary, he stands accused precisely because even a functionary is still a human being, and it is in this capacity that he stands trial.

Hannah Arendt (1906-1975) German-American philosopher, political theorist
Essay (1964-08), “Personal Responsibility Under Dictatorship,” The Listener Magazine
(Source)

On war crimes trials in general, and the Eichmann trial in particular.

Collected in Responsibility and Judgment, Part 1 "Responsibility" (2003).

Pratchett, Terry -- Discworld No. 21, Jingo (1997)

Dave — Tue, 23 Feb 2021 20:03:39 +0000

It was so much easier to blame it on Them. It was bleakly depressing to think that They were Us. If it was Them, then nothing was anyone’s fault. If it was Us, what did that make Me? After all, I’m one of Us. I must be. I’ve certainly never thought of myself as one of Them. No one ever thinks of themselves as one of Them. We’re always one of Us. It’s Them that do the bad things.

Terry Pratchett (1948-2015) English author
Discworld No. 21, Jingo (1997)
(Source)

Vimes pondering.

Einstein, Albert -- Interview with Algernon Black (Fall 1940) [Einstein Archives 54-834]

Dave — Fri, 19 Feb 2021 13:59:21 +0000

We have to do the best we are capable of. This is our sacred human responsibility.

Albert Einstein (1879-1955) German-American physicist
Interview with Algernon Black (Fall 1940) [Einstein Archives 54-834]
(Source)

Einstein forbade publication of the discussion.

Arendt, Hannah -- Essay (1964-08), “Personal Responsibility Under Dictatorship,” The Listener Magazine

Dave — Thu, 18 Feb 2021 16:32:11 +0000

There is no such thing as collective guilt or collective innocence; guilt and innocence make sense only if applied to individuals.

Hannah Arendt (1906-1975) German-American philosopher, political theorist
Essay (1964-08), “Personal Responsibility Under Dictatorship,” The Listener Magazine
(Source)

Collected in Responsibility and Judgment, Part 1 "Responsibility" (2003).

Fromm, Erich -- Man for Himself, ch. 3 (1947)

Dave — Mon, 07 Dec 2020 17:53:21 +0000

Man must accept the responsibility for himself and the fact that only by using his own powers can he give meaning to his life. But meaning does not imply certainty; indeed, the quest for certainty blocks the search for meaning. Uncertainty is the very condition to impel a man to unfold his powers. If he faces the truth without panic, he will recognize that there is no meaning to life except the meaning man gives his life by the unfolding of his powers, by living productively.

Erich Fromm (1900-1980) American psychoanalyst and social philosopher
Man for Himself, ch. 3 (1947)
(Source)

Pratchett, Terry -- Good Omens, 6. “Saturday” [Adam] (1990) [with Neil Gaiman]

Dave — Tue, 01 Dec 2020 18:06:59 +0000

Anyway, if you stop tellin’ people it’s all sorted out after they’re dead, they might try sorting it all out while they’re alive.

Terry Pratchett (1948-2015) English author
Good Omens, 6. “Saturday” [Adam] (1990) [with Neil Gaiman]
(Source)

Arendt, Hannah -- Life of the Mind, Vol. 1 “Thinking,” Introduction (1977)

Dave — Thu, 19 Nov 2020 16:49:27 +0000

If, as I suggested before, the ability to tell right from wrong should turn out to have anything to do with the ability to think, then we must be able to “demand” its exercise from every sane person, no matter how erudite or ignorant, intelligent or stupid, he may happen to be.

Hannah Arendt (1906-1975) German-American philosopher, political theorist
Life of the Mind, Vol. 1 “Thinking,” Introduction (1977)
(Source)

Originally published as an essay (1977-11-14), "Thinking -- I," The New Yorker (1977-11-21).

Kennedy, John F. -- Speech, Liberal Party Nomination, New York (14 Sep 1960)

Dave — Wed, 04 Nov 2020 21:38:46 +0000

Our responsibility is not discharged by an announcement of virtuous ends. Our responsibility is to achieve these objectives with social invention, with political skill, and executive vigor. I believe for these reasons, that liberalism is our best and our only hope in the world today.

John F. Kennedy (1917-1963) American politician, author, journalist, US President (1961–63)
Speech, Liberal Party Nomination, New York (14 Sep 1960)
(Source)

Arendt, Hannah -- Essay (1964-08), “Personal Responsibility Under Dictatorship,” The Listener Magazine

Dave — Thu, 29 Oct 2020 14:21:03 +0000

For behind the unwillingness to judge lurks the suspicion that no one is a free agent, and hence the doubt that anyone is responsible or could be expected to answer for what he has done. The moment moral issues are raised, even in passing, he who raises them will be confronted with this frightful lack of self-confidence and hence of pride, and also with a kind of mock-modesty that in saying, Who am I to judge? actually means We’re all alike, equally bad, and those who try, or pretend that they try, to remain halfway decent are either saints or hypocrites, and in either case should leave us alone.

Hannah Arendt (1906-1975) German-American philosopher, political theorist
Essay (1964-08), “Personal Responsibility Under Dictatorship,” The Listener Magazine
(Source)

Collected in Responsibility and Judgment, Part 1 "Responsibility" (2003).

Polk, James K. -- Inaugural Address (4 Mar 1845)

Dave — Wed, 28 Oct 2020 15:36:37 +0000

If the more aged and experienced men who have filled the office of President of the United States even in the infancy of the Republic distrusted their ability to discharge the duties of that exalted station, what ought not to be the apprehensions of one so much younger and less endowed now that our domain extends from ocean to ocean, that our people have so greatly increased in numbers, and at a time when so great diversity of opinion prevails in regard to the principles and policy which should characterize the administration of our Government? Well may the boldest fear and the wisest tremble when incurring responsibilities on which may depend our country’s peace and prosperity, and in some degree the hopes and happiness of the whole human family.

James K. Polk (1795-1849) American lawyer, politician, US President (1845-1849)
Inaugural Address (4 Mar 1845)
(Source)

Chomsky, Noam -- “An Eight Point Brief for LEV (Lesser Evil Voting)” (2016-06-15) [with John Halle]

Dave — Wed, 21 Oct 2020 15:16:51 +0000

Another point of disagreement [over Lesser Evil Voting] is not factual but involves the ethical/moral principle […] sometimes referred to as the “politics of moral witness.” Generally associated with the religious left, secular leftists implicitly invoke it when they reject LEV on the grounds that “a lesser of two evils is still evil.” Leaving aside the obvious rejoinder that this is exactly the point of lesser evil voting — i.e. to do less evil, what needs to be challenged is the assumption that voting should be seen a form of individual self-expression rather than as an act to be judged on its likely consequences. […] The basic moral principle at stake is simple: not only must we take responsibility for our actions, but the consequences of our actions for others are a far more important consideration than feeling good about ourselves.

Noam Chomsky (b. 1928) American linguist and activist
“An Eight Point Brief for LEV (Lesser Evil Voting)” (2016-06-15) [with John Halle]
(Source)

Starhawk -- Blog post (2016-11-07), “Pre-Election Day Thoughts”

Dave — Mon, 19 Oct 2020 19:08:28 +0000

Of course I vote! If you’re a woman, or a person of color, or a person who doesn’t own property, or even a white male who doesn’t belong to the nobility, centuries of struggle and many deaths have bought you the right to vote. I vote to keep faith with peasant rebels and suffragist hunger strikers and civil rights workers braving the lynch mobs of the South, if for no other reason. But there is another reason — because who we vote for has an enormous impact on real peoples’ lives.

Starhawk (b. 1951) American writer, activist, feminist theologian [b. Miriam Simos]
Blog post (2016-11-07), “Pre-Election Day Thoughts”
(Source)

Jong, Erica -- How To Save Your Own Life, “Intuition, extuition …” (1977)

Dave — Thu, 08 Oct 2020 19:46:32 +0000

How wonderful to have someone to blame! How wonderful to live with one’s nemesis! You may be miserable, but you feel forever in the right. You may be fragmented, but you feel absolved of all the blame for it. Take your life in your own hands, and what happens? A terrible thing: no one to blame.

Erica Jong (b. 1942) American writer, poet
How To Save Your Own Life, “Intuition, extuition …” (1977)

Maclaren, Alexander -- The Secret of Power: And Other Sermons, Sermon 15 “Moses and Hobab” (1902)

Dave — Mon, 21 Sep 2020 19:26:45 +0000

Our blunders mostly come from letting our wishes interpret our duties, or hide from us plain indications of unwelcome tasks.

Alexander Maclaren (1826-1910) Scots-English minister, homilist
The Secret of Power: And Other Sermons, Sermon 15 “Moses and Hobab” (1902)
(Source)

Arendt, Hannah -- Lecture (1965-1966), “Some Questions of Moral Philosophy,” New School for Social Research, New York City

Dave — Tue, 18 Aug 2020 16:54:03 +0000

It is not murder which is forgiven but the killer, his person as it appears in circumstances and intentions. The trouble with the Nazi criminals was precisely that they renounced voluntarily all personal qualities, as if nobody were left to be either punished or forgiven. They protested time and again that they had never done anything out of their own initiative, that they had no intentions whatsoever, good or bad, and that they only obeyed orders.
To put it another way: the greatest evil perpetrated is the evil committed by nobodies, that is, by human beings who refuse to be persons.

Hannah Arendt (1906-1975) German-American philosopher, political theorist
Lecture (1965-1966), “Some Questions of Moral Philosophy,” New School for Social Research, New York City
(Source)

This is from a series of lectures Arendt gave at the New School for Social Research in NYC (1965), and at the University of Chicago ("Basic Moral Propositions," 1966). These were reworked and collected under this title in Responsibility and Judgment, Part 1 "Responsibility" (2003).

Cicero, Marcus Tullius -- De Finibus Bonorum et Malorum [On the Ends of Good and Evil], Book 1, sec. 33 (ch. 10) (44 BC) [tr. Rackham (1914)]

Dave — Mon, 17 Aug 2020 18:23:22 +0000

On the other hand, we denounce with righteous indignation and dislike men who are so beguiled and demoralized by the charms of pleasure of the moment, so blinded by desire, that they cannot foresee the pain and trouble that are bound to ensue; and equal blame belongs to those who fail in their duty through weakness of will, which is the same as saying through shrinking from toil and pain. These cases are perfectly simple and easy to distinguish. In a free hour, when our power of choice is untrammeled and when nothing prevents our being able to do what we like best, every pleasure is to be welcomed and every pain avoided. But in certain circumstances and owing to the claims of duty or the obligations of business it will frequently occur that pleasures have to be repudiated and annoyances accepted. The wise man therefore always holds in these matters to this principle of selection: he rejects pleasures to secure other greater pleasures, or else he endures pains to avoid worse pains.

[At vero eos et accusamus et iusto odio dignissimos ducimus, qui blanditiis praesentium voluptatum deleniti atque corrupti, quos dolores et quas molestias excepturi sint, obcaecati cupiditate non provident, similique sunt in culpa, qui officia deserunt mollitia animi, id est laborum et dolorum fuga. et harum quidem rerum facilis est et expedita distinctio. nam libero tempore, cum soluta nobis est eligendi optio, cumque nihil impedit, quo minus id, quod maxime placeat, facere possimus, omnis voluptas assumenda est, omnis dolor repellendus. temporibus autem quibusdam et aut officiis debitis aut rerum necessitatibus saepe eveniet, ut et voluptates repudiandae sint et molestiae non recusandae. itaque earum rerum hic tenetur a sapiente delectus, ut aut reiciendis voluptatibus maiores alias consequatur aut perferendis doloribus asperiores repellat.]

Marcus Tullius Cicero (106-43 BC) Roman orator, statesman, philosopher
De Finibus Bonorum et Malorum [On the Ends of Good and Evil], Book 1, sec. 33 (ch. 10) (44 BC) [tr. Rackham (1914)]
(Source)

Alt. trans.:

"Then again we criticize and consider wholly deserving of our odium those who are so seduced and corrupted by the blandishments of immediate pleasure that they fail to foresee in their blind passion the pain and harm to come. Equally blameworthy are those who abandon their duties through mental weakness -- that is, through the avoidance of effort and pain. It is quite simple and straightforward to distinguish such cases. In our free time, when our choice is unconstrained and there is nothing to prevent us doing what most pleases us, every pleasure is to be tasted, every pain shunned. But in certain circumstances it will often happen that either the call of duty or some sort of crisis dictates that pleasures are to be repudiated and inconveniences accepted. And so the wise person will uphold the following method of selecting pleasures and pains: pleasures are rejected when this results in other greater pleasures; pains are selected when this avoids worse pains." [On Moral Ends, tr. Woolf (2001)]

"But in truth we do blame and deem most deserving of righteous hatred the men who, enervated and depraved by the fascination of momentary pleasures, do not foresee the pains and troubles which are sure to befall them, because they are blinded by desire, and in the same error are involved those who prove traitors to their duties through effeminacy of spirit, I mean because they shun exertions and trouble. Now it is easy and and simple to mark the difference between these cases. For at our seasons of ease, when we have untrammelled freedom of choice, and when nothing debars us from the power of following the course that pleases us best, then pleasure is wholly a matter for our selection and pain for our rejection. On certain occasions however either through the inevitable call of duty or through stress of circumstances, it will often come to pass that we must put pleasures from us and must make no protest against annoyance. So in such cases the principle of selection adopted by the wise man is that he should either by refusing cerftain pleasures attain to other and greater pleasures or by enduring pains should ward off pains still more severe." [tr. Reid (1883)]

"But we do accuse those men, and think them entirely worthy of the greatest hatred, who, being made effeminate and corrupted by the allurements of present pleasure, are so blinded by passion that they do not foresee what pains and annoyances they will hereafter be subject to; and who are equally guilty with those who, through weakness of mind, that is to say, from eagerness to avoid labour and pain, desert their duty. And the distinction between these things is quick and easy. For at a time when we are free, when the option of choice is in our own power, and when there is nothing to prevent our being able to do whatsoever we choose, then every pleasure may be enjoyed, and every pain repelled. But on particular occasions it will often happen, owing whether to the obligations of duty or the necessities of business, that pleasures must be declined and annoyances must not be shirked. Therefore the wise man holds to this principle of choice in those matters, that he rejects some pleasures, so as, by the rejection to obtain others which are greater, and encounters some pains, so as by that means to escape others which are more formidable." [On the Chief Good and Evil, tr. Yongue (1853)]

Deming, W. Edwards -- Out of the Crisis, ch. 3 (1982)

Dave — Tue, 11 Aug 2020 16:30:38 +0000

The supposition is prevalent the world over that there would be no problems in production or service if only our production workers would do their jobs in the way that they were taught. Pleasant dreams. The workers are handicapped by the system, and the system belongs to the management.

W. Edwards Deming (1900-1993) American management consultant, educator
Out of the Crisis, ch. 3 (1982)
(Source)

Arendt, Hannah -- Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil, Epilogue (1963)

Dave — Tue, 21 Jul 2020 15:27:27 +0000

The trouble with Eichmann was precisely that so many were like him, and that the many were neither perverted nor sadistic, that they were, and still are, terribly and terrifyingly normal. From the viewpoint of our legal institutions and of our moral standards of judgment, this normality was much more terrifying than all the atrocities put together, for it implied — as had been said at Nuremberg over and over again by the defendants and their counsels — that this new type of criminal, who is in actual fact hostis generis humani, commits his crimes under circumstances that make it well-nigh impossible for him to know or to feel that he is doing wrong.

Hannah Arendt (1906-1975) German-American philosopher, political theorist
Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil, Epilogue (1963)
(Source)

Hostis humani generis (Latin for "enemy of humanity") was an admiralty legal term indicating that slavers, pirates, and terrorists were held beyond legal protection and were a legitimate target of any nation.

Schlesinger, Arthur -- “The Decline of Greatness,” Saturday Evening Post (1 Nov 1958)

Dave — Thu, 14 May 2020 16:47:50 +0000

The great appeal of fatalism, indeed, is as a refuge from the terror of responsibility.

Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr. (1917-2007) American historian, author, social critic
“The Decline of Greatness,” Saturday Evening Post (1 Nov 1958)
(Source)

The same phrase is used in the successor essay, "On Heroic Leadership," sec. 2. (1960)

~Other -- “God’s Minute”

Dave — Wed, 22 Jan 2020 17:47:08 +0000

I have only just a minute,
Only sixty seconds in it.
Forced upon me,
Can’t refuse it,
Didn’t seek it,
Didn’t choose it
But it’s up to me to use it.
I must suffer if I lose it
Give account if I abuse it
Just a tiny little minute
but eternity is in it.

(Other Authors and Sources)
“God’s Minute”

This poem, and variants of it, have a wide trail of misattribution. It was used frequently by Elijah Cummings, US Representative, including during his first floor speech, and is often connected with him. Cummings in turn said it was a favorite of Parren Mitchell, US Representative. It is most correctly attributed in turn to civil right leader Benjamin May, but May claimed it was from an anonymous source. It has also been attributed to Welcome McCullough, history teacher Saugus High School, MA, in the 1940s, though without primary citation that I can find.

The variant used by Cummings:

I only have a minute,
Sixty seconds in it,
Forced upon me,
I did not choose it,
But I know that I must use it,
Give account if I abuse it,
Suffer if I lose it.
Only a tiny little minute,
But eternity is in it.

Paine, Thomas -- Rights of Man (1791)

Dave — Tue, 14 Jan 2020 22:36:13 +0000

Because a body of men holding themselves accountable to nobody, ought not to be trusted by anybody.

Thomas Paine (1737-1809) American political philosopher and writer
Rights of Man (1791)
(Source)

Reason Four why an aristocratic body of hereditary legislators (such as the United Kingdom's House of Lords) is a bad idea.

Nelson, Horatio -- Memorandum before the Battle of Trafalgar (9 Oct 1805)

Dave — Sat, 02 Feb 2019 23:33:06 +0000

In case signals can neither be seen nor perfectly understood, no captain can do very wrong if he places his ship alongside that of an enemy.

Horatio Nelson (1758-1805) British admiral
Memorandum before the Battle of Trafalgar (9 Oct 1805)
(Source)

Jackson, Andrew -- (Attributed)

Dave — Wed, 14 Nov 2018 00:19:07 +0000

I have accustomed myself to receive with respect the opinions of others, but always take the responsibility of deciding for myself.

Andrew Jackson (1767-1845) American politician, general, US President (1829-1837)
(Attributed)

Quoted by John F. Kennedy in the foreword to T. Sorensen, Decision-Making in the White House: The Olive Branch or the Arrows (1963)

Angelou, Maya -- “Maya Angelou, The Art of Fiction No. 119,” Interview with George Plimpton, The Paris Review (Fall 1990)

Dave — Fri, 26 Oct 2018 18:30:27 +0000

Every human being has paid the earth to grow up. Most people don’t grow up. It’s too damn difficult. What happens is most people get older. That’s the truth of it. They honor their credit cards, they find parking spaces, they marry, they have the nerve to have children, but they don’t grow up. Not really. They grow older. But to grow up costs the earth, the earth. It means you take responsibility for the time you take up, for the space you occupy. It’s serious business. And you find out what it costs us to love and to lose, to dare and to fail. And maybe even more, to succeed. What it costs, in truth.

Maya Angelou (1928-2014) American poet, memoirist, activist [b. Marguerite Ann Johnson]
“Maya Angelou, The Art of Fiction No. 119,” Interview with George Plimpton, The Paris Review (Fall 1990)
(Source)

Angelou used the core section (credit cards, parking spaces) a number of times in different interviews.

Shakespeare, William -- Henry V, Act 4, sc. 1, l. 182ff (4.1.182-183) (1599)

Dave — Mon, 09 Apr 2018 16:41:04 +0000

HENRY: Every subject’s duty is the king’s; but every subject’s soul is his own.

William Shakespeare (1564-1616) English dramatist and poet
Henry V, Act 4, sc. 1, l. 182ff (4.1.182-183) (1599)
(Source)

Eschewing responsibility for his soldiers dying with unconfessed sins.

Bonhoeffer, Dietrich -- Letter to Renate and Eberhard Bethge (1944)

Dave — Tue, 22 Aug 2017 00:46:40 +0000

Action springs not from thought, but from a readiness for responsibility.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945) German Lutheran pastor, theologian, martyr
Letter to Renate and Eberhard Bethge (1944)
(Source)

Alt. trans.: "It is not the thought but readiness to take responsibility that is the mainspring of action."

Kazantzakis, Nikos -- The Saviors of God [Salvatores Dei], “The March: First Step: The Ego,” #15-16 (1923) [tr. Friar [1960])

Dave — Tue, 04 Jul 2017 21:11:14 +0000

Love responsibility. Say: “It is my duty, and mine alone, to save the earth. If it is not saved, then I alone am to blame.” Love each man according to his contribution in the struggle. Do not seek friends; seek comrades-in-arms.

Nikos Kazantzakis (1883-1957) Greek writer and philosopher
The Saviors of God [Salvatores Dei], “The March: First Step: The Ego,” #15-16 (1923) [tr. Friar [1960])
(Source)

Hamilton, Edith -- The Echo of Greece, ch. 2 “Athens’ Failure” (1957)

Dave — Tue, 04 Jul 2017 21:11:00 +0000

What the people wanted was a government which would provide a comfortable life for them, and with this as the foremost object ideas of freedom and self-reliance and service to the community were obscured to the point of disappearing. Athens was more and more looked on as a co-operative business possessed of great wealth in which all citizens had a right to share. […] Athens had reached the point of rejecting independence, and the freedom she now wanted was freedom from responsibility. There could be only one result. […] If men insisted on being free from the burden of a life that was self-dependent and also responsible for the common good, they would cease to be free at all. Responsibility was the price every man must pay for freedom. It was to be had on no other terms.

Edith Hamilton (1867-1963) American educator, author, classicist
The Echo of Greece, ch. 2 “Athens’ Failure” (1957)
(Source)

Serling, Rod -- “The Challenge of the Mass Media to the 20th Century Writer,” Speech, Library of Congress (15 Jan 1968)

Dave — Mon, 01 May 2017 22:10:00 +0000

The writer’s role is to menace the public’s conscience. He must have a position, a point of view. He must see the arts as a vehicle of social criticism and he must focus on the issues of his time.

Rod Serling (1924-1975) American screenwriter, playwright, television producer, narrator
“The Challenge of the Mass Media to the 20th Century Writer,” Speech, Library of Congress (15 Jan 1968)

Hoffer, Eric -- True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements, Part 3, ch. 14, § 77 (1951)

Dave — Tue, 28 Mar 2017 21:34:42 +0000

There is also this: when we renounce the self and become part of a compact whole, we not only renounce personal advantage but are also rid of personal responsibility. There is no telling to what extremes of cruelty and ruthlessness a man will go when he is freed from the fears, hesitations, doubts and the vague stirrings of decency that go with individual judgement. When we lose our individual independence in the corporateness of a mass movement, we find a new freedom — freedom to hate, bully, lie, torture, murder and betray without shame and remorse. Herein undoubtedly lies part of the attractiveness of a mass movement.

Eric Hoffer (1902-1983) American writer, philosopher, longshoreman
True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements, Part 3, ch. 14, § 77 (1951)
(Source)

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

Dave — Wed, 22 Mar 2017 15:59:41 +0000

In times like the present, men should utter nothing for which they would not willingly be responsible through time and in eternity.

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

La Follette, Suzanne -- Concerning Women (1926)

Dave — Mon, 20 Mar 2017 22:36:27 +0000

Nothing could be more grotesquely unjust than a code of morals, reinforced by laws, which relieves men from responsibility for irregular sexual acts, and for the same acts drives women to abortion, infanticide, prostitution, and self-destruction.

Suzanne La Follette (1893-1983) American journalist, author, feminist
Concerning Women (1926)
(Source)

King, Martin Luther -- Stride Toward Freedom, ch. 2 “Montgomery Before the Protest” (1958)

Dave — Fri, 17 Mar 2017 19:24:55 +0000

Certainly, otherworldly concerns have a deep and significant place in all religions worthy of the name. Any religion that is completely earthbound sells its birthright for a mess of naturalistic pottage. Religion at its best, deals not only with man’s preliminary concerns but with his inescapable ultimate concern. When religion overlooks this basic fact it is reduced to a mere ethical system in which eternity is absorbed into time and God is relegated to a sort of meaningless figment of the human imagination.

But a religion true to its nature must also be concerned about man’s social conditions. Religion deals with both earth and heaven, both time and eternity. Religion operates not only on the vertical plane but also on the horizontal. It seeks not only to integrate men with God but to integrate men with men and each man with himself.

Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929-1968) American clergyman, civil rights leader, social activist, preacher
Stride Toward Freedom, ch. 2 “Montgomery Before the Protest” (1958)
(Source)

Lowell, James Russell -- The Bigalow Papers, Second Series, “Ef I a song or two could make,” l. 97 (1867)

Dave — Mon, 13 Mar 2017 15:52:01 +0000

Democ’acy gives every man
The right to be his own oppressor.

James Russell Lowell (1819-1891) American diplomat, essayist, poet
The Bigalow Papers, Second Series, “Ef I a song or two could make,” l. 97 (1867)

Lee, Stan -- Amazing Fantasy (Aug 1962)

Dave — Sat, 21 Jan 2017 00:10:11 +0000

With great power there must also come — great responsibility!

Stan Lee (1922-2018) American comic-book writer, publisher, media personality [b. Stanley Martin Lieber]
Amazing Fantasy (Aug 1962)

Used in the original Spider-Man story.

King, Stephen -- Christine, Part 1, ch. 3 (1983)

Dave — Thu, 18 Aug 2016 00:27:46 +0000

Has it ever occurred to you … that parents are nothing but overgrown kids until their children drag them into adulthood? Usually kicking and screaming?

Stephen King (b. 1947) American author
Christine, Part 1, ch. 3 (1983)

Mill, John Stuart -- On Liberty, ch. 1 “Introductory” (1859)

Dave — Thu, 04 Aug 2016 00:17:31 +0000

A person may cause evil to others not only by his actions but by his inaction, and in either case he is justly accountable to them for the injury.

John Stuart Mill (1806-1873) English philosopher and economist
On Liberty, ch. 1 “Introductory” (1859)
(Source)

Johnson, Lyndon -- Speech (1967-10-07), Democratic Party Dinner, Washington, D.C.

Dave — Fri, 17 Jun 2016 15:12:22 +0000

In the crisis of this hour — as in all others that we have faced since our Nation began — there are plenty of recommendations on how to get out of trouble cheaply and fast. Most of them in the last analysis really come down to this: Deny your responsibilities.

Lyndon B. Johnson (1908-1973) American politician, educator, US President (1963-69)
Speech (1967-10-07), Democratic Party Dinner, Washington, D.C.
(Source)

Sometimes paraphrased "There are plenty of recommendations on how to get out of trouble cheaply and fast. Most of them come down to this: Deny your responsibility."

Monty Python -- Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)

Dave — Fri, 06 May 2016 18:24:13 +0000

SIR BEDEVERE: How do know so much about swallows?
KING ARTHUR: Well, you have to know these things when you’re a king, you know.

Monty Python (b. 1969) British comedy troupe [Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Michael Palin]
Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)

Maher, Bill -- Be More Cynical (2000)

Dave — Wed, 20 Apr 2016 13:53:56 +0000

I’ll clue you in on a secret: death is not the worst thing that could happen to you. I know we think that; we are the first society ever to think that. It’s not worse than dishonor; it’s not worse than losing your freedom; it’s not worse than losing a sense of personal responsibility.

William "Bill" Maher (b. 1956) American comedian, political commentator, critic, television host.
Be More Cynical (2000)

Mencken, H. L. -- Baltimore Evening Sun (15 Jun 1936)

Dave — Tue, 08 Mar 2016 14:38:47 +0000

The central belief of every moron is that he is the victim of a mysterious conspiracy against his common rights and true desserts. He ascribes all his failure to get on in the world, all of his congenital incapacity and damnfoolishness, to the machinations of werewolves assembled in Wall Street, or some other such den of infamy. If these villains could be put down, he holds, he would at once become rich, powerful and eminent. Nine politicians out of every ten, of whatever party, live and have their being by promising to perform
this putting down. In brief, they are knaves who maintain themselves by preying on the idiotic vanities and pathetic hopes of half-wits.

H. L. Mencken (1880-1956) American writer and journalist [Henry Lewis Mencken]
Baltimore Evening Sun (15 Jun 1936)

Firbank, Ronald -- Vainglory (1915)

Dave — Mon, 29 Feb 2016 15:28:31 +0000

The world is disgracefully managed, one hardly knows to whom to complain.

Ronald Firbank (1886-1926) British novelist and playwright
Vainglory (1915)
(Source)

Letterman, Elmer G. -- (Attributed)

Dave — Tue, 23 Feb 2016 16:20:09 +0000

A man may fall many times but he won’t be a failure until he says that someone pushed him.

Elmer G. Letterman (1897-1982) American insurance broker, salesman, author
(Attributed)

Lawrence, D. H. -- “Education of the People,” Reflections on the Death of a Porcupine (1925)

Dave — Tue, 16 Feb 2016 14:16:10 +0000

What is wrong then? The system. But when you’ve said that you’ve said nothing. The system, after all, is only the outcome of the human psyche, the human desires. We shout and blame the machine. But who on earth makes the machine, if we don’t? And any alterations in the system are only modifications in the machine. The system is in us, it is not something external to us. The machine is in us, or it would never come out of us. Well then, there’s nothing to blame but ourselves, and there’s nothing to change except inside ourselves.

David Herbert "D. H." Lawrence (1885-1930) English novelist
“Education of the People,” Reflections on the Death of a Porcupine (1925)

Marcus Aurelius -- Meditations [To Himself; Τὰ εἰς ἑαυτόν], Book 4, ch. 18 (4.18) (AD 161-180) [tr. Long (1862)]

Dave — Thu, 14 Jan 2016 16:35:14 +0000

How much trouble he avoids who does not look to see what his neighbor says or does or thinks, but only to what he does himself, that it may be just and pure.

[Ὅσην εὐσχολίαν κερδαίνει ὁ μὴ βλέπων τί ὁ πλησίον εἶπεν ἢ ἔπραξεν ἢ διενοήθη, ἀλλὰ μόνον τί αὐτὸς ποιεῖ, ἵνα αὐτὸ τοῦτο δίκαιον ᾖ καὶ ὅσιον ἢ † κατὰ τὸν ἀγαθὸν.]

Marcus Aurelius (AD 121-180) Roman emperor (161-180), Stoic philosopher
Meditations [To Himself; Τὰ εἰς ἑαυτόν], Book 4, ch. 18 (4.18) (AD 161-180) [tr. Long (1862)]
(Source)

Original Greek. Alternate translations:

How much time and leisure doth he gain, who is not curious to know what his neighbour hath said, or hath done, or hath attempted, but only what he doth himself, that it may be just and holy?
[tr. Casaubon (1634), #15]

What a great deal of Time and Ease that Man gains who is not troubled with the Spirit of Curiosity: Who lets his Neighbor's Thoughts and Behavior alone, confines his Inspections to himself' And takes care of the Points of Honesty and Conscience.
[tr. Collier (1701)]

What agreeable leisure does he procure to himself, who takes no no¬ tice what others say, do, or intend; but attends to this only, that his own actions be just and holy?
[tr. Hutcheson/Moor (1742)]

How much time and leisure does that man gain, who is not curious to enquire what his neighbours say, or do, or think, but confines his whole attention to his own conduct, and is only solicitous to preserve that just and irreproachable.
[tr. Graves (1792)]

What a great deal of time and ease that man gains who lets his neighbor's words, thoughts, and behavior alone, confines his inspections to himself, and takes care that his own actions are honest and righteous.
[tr. Collier/Zimmern (1887)]

How much time he gains who does not look to see what his neighbor says or does or thinks, but only at what he does himself, to make it just and holy.
[tr. Morgan, in Bartlett's Familiar Quotations (1894)]

How much valuable time may be gained by not looking at what some neighbor says or does or thinks, but only taking care that our own acts are just and holy.
[tr. Rendall (1898 ed.)]

How much he gains in leisure who looks not to what his neighbours say, or do, or intend; but considers only how his own actions may be just and holy.
[tr. Hutcheson/Chrystal (1902)]

What richness of leisure does he gain who has no eye for his neighbour's words or deeds or thoughts, but only for his own doings, that they be just and righteous!
[tr. Haines (Loeb) (1916)]

How great a rest from labour he gains who does not look to what his neighbour says or does or thinks, but only to what he himself is doing, in order that exactly this may be just and holy, or in accord with a good man's conduct.
[tr. Farquharson (1944); he notes "The text is faulty and the sense obscure."]

He who ignores what his neighbour is saying or doing or thinking, and cares only that his own actions should be just and godly, is greatly the gainer in time and ease.
[tr. Staniforth (1964)]

What ease of mind he gains who casts no eye on what his neighbour says or does or thinks, but looks only to what he himself is doing, to ensure that his own action may be just, and holy, and good in every regard.
[tr. Hard (1997 ed.)]

The tranquility that comes when you stop caring what they say. Or think, or do. Only what you do. (Is this fair? Is this the right thing to do?)
[tr. Hays (2003)]

What ease of mind you gain from not looking at what your neighbour has said or done or thought, but only at your own actions, to make them just, reverential, imbued with good!
[tr. Hammond (2006)]

What an abundance of leisure the person gains who is not looking over at what his neighbor is saying, doing, or thinking, but only at what he himself is doing, in order that he does what is just and respectful of the gods.
[tr. Needleman/Piazza (2008)]

What ease of mind a person gains if he casts no eye on what his neighbour has said, done, or thought, but looks only to what he himself is doing, to ensure that his own action may be just, and holy, and good in every respect.
[tr. Hard (2011 ed.)]

What ease of mind a person gains when he keeps his eye not on what his neighbor has said or done or thought but only on what he himself does, to ensure that it is just or holy or matches what a good person does.
[tr. Gill (2013)]

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

Dave — Tue, 05 Jan 2016 20:46:48 +0000

RESPONSIBILITY, n. A detachable burden easily shifted to the shoulders of God, Fate, Fortune, Luck or one’s neighbor. In the days of astrology it was customary to unload it upon a star.

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

Originally published in The Devil's Dictionary [A-Z] as Vol. 7 of his Collected Works.

Fuller, Thomas (1654) -- Introductio ad Prudentiam, Vol. 1, # 1072 (1725)

Dave — Mon, 21 Dec 2015 21:13:50 +0000

Let the Care of one’s Business be committed but to one Person; for otherwise, besides Disagreement which may arise when Account is taken, everyone’s Answer is, That he thought others had done it.

Thomas Fuller (1654-1734) English physician, preacher, aphorist, writer
Introductio ad Prudentiam, Vol. 1, # 1072 (1725)
(Source)

Hesse, Herman -- Reflections, #106 [ed. Michels (1974)]

Dave — Mon, 26 Oct 2015 14:10:48 +0000

Those that cannot think or take responsibility for themselves need, and clamor for, a leader.

Herman Hesse (1877-1962) German-born Swiss poet, novelist, painter
Reflections, #106 [ed. Michels (1974)]

Roosevelt, Eleanor -- Speech (8 Dec 1959)

Dave — Thu, 15 Oct 2015 14:25:58 +0000

We cannot exist as a little island of well-being in a world where two-thirds of the people go to bed hungry every night.

Eleanor Roosevelt (1884–1962) First Lady of the US (1933–1945), politician, diplomat, activist
Speech (8 Dec 1959)

Heinlein, Robert A. -- Friday [Friday Jones] (1982)

Dave — Tue, 06 Oct 2015 13:51:10 +0000

The coldest depth of Hell is reserved for people who abandon kittens.

Robert A. Heinlein (1907-1988) American writer
Friday [Friday Jones] (1982)

Eisenhower, Dwight David -- Letter to Alfred M. Gruenther (2 Nov 1956)

Dave — Thu, 03 Sep 2015 13:32:41 +0000

But I think a life of raising prize cattle, going shooting two or three times a year, fishing in the summer, and interspersing the whole thing with some golf and bridge — and whenever I felt like talking or writing, doing it with abandon and with no sense of responsibility whatsoever — maybe such a life wouldn’t be so bad.

Dwight David Eisenhower (1890-1969) American general, US President (1953-61)
Letter to Alfred M. Gruenther (2 Nov 1956)

Sanger, Margaret -- “The Morality of Birth Control,” speech, Park Theatre, New York (18 Nov 1921)

Dave — Wed, 02 Sep 2015 13:19:39 +0000

If we cannot trust woman with the knowledge of her own body, then I claim that two thousand years of Christian teaching has proved to be a failure.

Margaret Sanger (1879-1966) American birth control activist, sex educator, nurse
“The Morality of Birth Control,” speech, Park Theatre, New York (18 Nov 1921)
(Source)

Roosevelt, Franklin Delano -- Speech (1936-10-14), Presidential Campaign, Chicago Stadium, Chicago, Illinois

Dave — Tue, 25 Aug 2015 15:23:43 +0000

I believe in individualism. I believe in it in the arts, the sciences and professions. I believe in it in business. I believe in individualism in all of these things — up to the point where the individualist starts to operate at the expense of society.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1882–1945) American lawyer, politician, statesman, US President (1933–1945)
Speech (1936-10-14), Presidential Campaign, Chicago Stadium, Chicago, Illinois
(Source)

An audio recording can be found at this site (Download).

La Rochefoucauld, Francois -- Réflexions ou sentences et maximes morales [Maxims] (1665-1678)

Dave — Mon, 06 Jul 2015 17:17:41 +0000

Although men flatter themselves with their great actions, they are not so often the result of a great design as of chance.

François VI, duc de La Rochefoucauld (1613-1680) French epigrammatist, memoirist, noble
Réflexions ou sentences et maximes morales [Maxims] (1665-1678)

Pratchett, Terry -- Discworld No. 30, The Wee Free Men (2003)

Dave — Wed, 03 Jun 2015 12:54:54 +0000

Them as can do has to do for them as can’t. And someone has to speak up for them as has no voices.

Terry Pratchett (1948-2015) English author
Discworld No. 30, The Wee Free Men (2003)

Billings, Josh -- Everybody’s Friend, Or; Josh Billing’s Encyclopedia and Proverbial Philosophy of Wit and Humor, “Stray Children” (1874)

Dave — Wed, 29 Apr 2015 11:54:47 +0000

Accepting praize that iz not our due iz not mutch better than tew be a receiver of stolen goods.

[Accepting praise that is not our due is not much better than to be a receiver of stolen goods.]

Josh Billings (1818-1885) American humorist, aphorist [pseud. of Henry Wheeler Shaw]
Everybody’s Friend, Or; Josh Billing’s Encyclopedia and Proverbial Philosophy of Wit and Humor, “Stray Children” (1874)

Hazlitt, William -- Table Talk, “On Novelty and Familiarity” (1822)

Dave — Fri, 17 Apr 2015 12:34:35 +0000

The last pleasure in life is the sense of discharging our duty.

William Hazlitt (1778-1830) English writer
Table Talk, “On Novelty and Familiarity” (1822)

Roosevelt, Eleanor -- Tomorrow Is Now (1963)

Dave — Wed, 08 Apr 2015 12:40:47 +0000

Our trouble is that we do not demand enough of the people who represent us. We are responsible for their activities. … We must spur them to more imagination and enterprise in making a push into the unknown; we must make clear that we intend to have responsible and courageous leadership.

Eleanor Roosevelt (1884–1962) First Lady of the US (1933–1945), politician, diplomat, activist
Tomorrow Is Now (1963)
(Source)

Kennedy, Robert F. -- The Pursuit of Justice, “I Remember, I Believe” (1964)

Dave — Mon, 22 Sep 2014 12:42:36 +0000

The problem of power is how to achieve its responsible use rather than its irresponsible and indulgent use — of how to get men of power to live for the public rather than off the public.

Robert Francis Kennedy (1925-1968) American politician
The Pursuit of Justice, “I Remember, I Believe” (1964)

Hemry, John G. -- The Lost Fleet: Beyond the Frontier: Dreadnaught (2011)

Dave — Wed, 02 Jul 2014 12:23:31 +0000

How can anyone keep other people from doing stupid things? Humans are good at doing stupid things. It’s one of our talents, and one we like to exercise frequently.

John G. Hemry (b. 1956) American naval officer, author [pseud. Jack Campbell]
The Lost Fleet: Beyond the Frontier: Dreadnaught (2011)

Fuller, Thomas (1654) -- Introductio ad Prudentiam, Vol. 1, # 575 (1725)

Dave — Thu, 26 Jun 2014 12:13:27 +0000

As we must account for every idle Word, so must we likewise for every idle Silence.

Thomas Fuller (1654-1734) English physician, preacher, aphorist, writer
Introductio ad Prudentiam, Vol. 1, # 575 (1725)
(Source)

Bradley, Omar -- (Attributed)

Dave — Mon, 26 May 2014 15:29:18 +0000

Wars can be prevented just as surely as they can be provoked, and we who fail to prevent them must share the guilt for the dead.

Omar Bradley (1893-1981) American general
(Attributed)

Milgram, Stanley -- Obedience To Authority, ch. 1 (1974)

Dave — Tue, 20 May 2014 12:41:37 +0000

The disappearance of a sense of responsibility is the most far-reaching consequence of submission to authority.

Stanley Milgram (1933-1984) American social psychologist
Obedience To Authority, ch. 1 (1974)

Shakespeare, William -- Henry IV, Part 2, Act 5, sc. 5, l. 60ff (5.5.60-62) (c. 1598)

Dave — Wed, 09 Apr 2014 12:57:10 +0000

HAL: Presume not that I am the thing I was;
For God doth know — so shall the world perceive —
That I have turn’d away my former self.

William Shakespeare (1564-1616) English dramatist and poet
Henry IV, Part 2, Act 5, sc. 5, l. 60ff (5.5.60-62) (c. 1598)
(Source)

Kennedy, John F. -- Profiles in Courage (1956; 1964 ed.)

Dave — Mon, 10 Mar 2014 12:42:05 +0000

For in a democracy, every citizen, regardless of his interest in politics, “holds office”; every one of us is in a position of responsibility; and, in the final analysis, the kind of government we get depends upon how we fulfill those responsibilities. We, the people, are the boss, and we will get the kind of political leadership, be it good or bad, that we demand and deserve.

John F. Kennedy (1917-1963) American politician, author, journalist, US President (1961–63)
Profiles in Courage (1956; 1964 ed.)

Hubbard, Elbert -- “J.B. Runs Things,” Elbert Hubbard’s Selected Writings, Part 14 (1923)

Dave — Fri, 21 Feb 2014 17:15:17 +0000

Responsibilities gravitate to the person who can shoulder them.

Elbert Hubbard (1856-1915) American writer, businessman, philosopher
“J.B. Runs Things,” Elbert Hubbard’s Selected Writings, Part 14 (1923)

Holland, Josiah G. -- (Attributed)

Dave — Wed, 22 Jan 2014 13:33:16 +0000

It is intended that we shall accomplish all, through law, that we can accomplish for ourselves. God gives every bird its food, but does not throw it into the nest. He does not unearth the good that the earth contains, but He puts it in our way, and gives us the means of getting it ourselves.

J. G. Holland (1819-1881) American novelist, poet, editor [Josiah Gilbert Holland; pseud. Timothy Titcomb]
(Attributed)

Quoted in Josiah Hotchkiss Gilbert, Dictionary of Burning Words of Brilliant Writers (1895)

Leonardo da Vinci -- Note-books (1508-1518)

Dave — Fri, 03 Jan 2014 15:34:43 +0000

He who does not punish evil commends it to be done.

Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) Italian artist, engineer, scientist, polymath
Note-books (1508-1518)
(Source)

In some versions, this is translated as "commands it to be done."

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

Dave — Fri, 16 Aug 2013 12:27:11 +0000

It is not sufficiently considered how much he assumes who dares to claim the privilege of complaining; for as every man has, in his own opinion, a full share of the miseries of life, he is inclined to consider all clamorous uneasiness as a proof of impatience rather than of affliction, and to ask, what merit has this man to show, by which he has acquired a right to repine at the distributions of nature? Or, why does he imagine that exemptions should be granted him from the general condition of man? We find ourselves excited rather to captiousness than pity, and, instead of being in haste to sooth his complaints by sympathy and tenderness, we inquire whether the pain be proportionate to the lamentation; and whether, supposing the affliction real, it is not the effect of vice and folly, rather than calamity?

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

Emerson, Ralph Waldo -- Journal (1846, undated)

Dave — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 20:53:46 +0000

It will not do to diminish personal responsibility: do not give money and teach the man to expect it. Do not give him a Bible, or a genius, to think for him.

Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) American essayist, lecturer, poet
Journal (1846, undated)

Rayburn, Sam -- Quoted in The Leadership of Speaker Sam Rayburn, Collected Tributes of His Congressional Colleagues, House Doc. 87-247 (1961)

Dave — Tue, 11 Jun 2013 13:18:05 +0000

You cannot be a leader, and ask other people to follow you, unless you know how to follow, too.

Sam Rayburn (1882-1961) American lawyer and politician
Quoted in The Leadership of Speaker Sam Rayburn, Collected Tributes of His Congressional Colleagues, House Doc. 87-247 (1961)

Jefferson, Thomas -- Essay (1776-10?), “Notes on Religion”

Dave — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 08:05:26 +0000

The care of every man’s soul belongs to himself. But what if he neglect the care of it? Well what if he neglect the care of his health or estate, which more nearly relate to the state? Will the magistrate make a law that he shall not be poor or sick? Laws provide against injury from others, but not from ourselves. God himself will not save men against their wills.

Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) American political philosopher, polymath, statesman, US President (1801-09)
Essay (1776-10?), “Notes on Religion”
(Source)

Labeled by Jefferson "Scraps Early in the Revolution."

Roosevelt, Theodore -- Speech (1910-08-31), “The New Nationalism,” John Brown Memorial Park dedication, Osawatomie, Kansas

Dave — Tue, 08 Jan 2013 13:46:02 +0000

Conservation means development as much as it does protection. I recognize the right and duty of this generation to develop and use the natural resources of our land; but I do not recognize the right to waste them, or to rob, by wasteful use, the generations that come after us. I ask nothing of the nation except that it so behave as each farmer here behaves with reference to his own children. That farmer is a poor creature who skins the land and leaves it worthless to his children. The farmer is a good farmer who, having enabled the land to support himself and to provide for the education of his children leaves it to them a little better than he found it himself. I believe the same thing of a nation.

Twain, Mark -- Essay (1909 ca.), Papers of the Adams Family, ch. 6 “Two Fragments from a Suppressed Book Called ‘Glances at History’ or ‘Outlines of History'”

Dave — Fri, 14 Dec 2012 14:50:13 +0000

Each of you, for himself, by himself and on his own responsibility, must speak. And it is a solemn and weighty responsibility, and not lightly to be flung aside at the bullying of pulpit, press, government, or the empty catch-phrases of politicians. Each must for himself alone decide what is right and what is wrong, and which course is patriotic and which isn’t. You cannot shirk this and be a man. To decide against your convictions is to be an unqualified and inexcusable traitor, both to yourself and to your country, let men label you as they may. If you alone of all the nation shall decide one way, and that way be the right way according to your convictions of the right, you have done your duty by yourself and by your country — hold up your head! You have nothing to be ashamed of.

Mark Twain (1835-1910) American writer [pseud. of Samuel Clemens]
Essay (1909 ca.), Papers of the Adams Family, ch. 6 “Two Fragments from a Suppressed Book Called ‘Glances at History’ or ‘Outlines of History'”
(Source)

Collected in Letters from the Earth (c. 1909; pub. 1962) [ed. DeVoto (1939)]

Roosevelt, Theodore -- Speech (1910-08-31), “The New Nationalism,” John Brown Memorial Park dedication, Osawatomie, Kansas

Dave — Tue, 04 Dec 2012 13:03:41 +0000

I believe that the officers, and, especially, the directors, of corporations should be held personally responsible when any corporation breaks the law.

Shakespeare, William -- Tempest, Act 2, sc. 1, l. 287ff (2.1.287-290) (1611)

Dave — Tue, 04 Sep 2012 20:30:16 +0000

ANTONIO: We all were sea-swallowed, though some cast again,
And by that destiny to perform an act
Whereof what’s past is prologue, what to come
In yours and my discharge.

William Shakespeare (1564-1616) English dramatist and poet
Tempest, Act 2, sc. 1, l. 287ff (2.1.287-290) (1611)
(Source)

Emerson, Ralph Waldo -- “The Individual and the State,” sermon, Second Church of Boston (1830-04-08)

Dave — Fri, 13 Jul 2012 15:44:17 +0000

In a virtuous community men of sense and principle will always be placed at the head of affairs. In a declining state of public morals men will be so blinded to their true interests as to put the incapable and unworthy at the helm. It is therefore vain to complain of the follies or crimes of a government. We must lay the hands on our own hearts and say, Here is the sin that makes the public sin.

Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) American essayist, lecturer, poet
“The Individual and the State,” sermon, Second Church of Boston (1830-04-08)

Berry, Wendell -- Essay (2003-02-09), “A Citizen’s Response,” sec. 4, Citizenship Papers (2003)

Dave — Wed, 02 May 2012 14:48:12 +0000

It is useless to try to adjudicate a long-standing animosity by asking who started it or who is the most wrong. The only sufficient answer is to give up the animosity and try forgiveness, to try to love our enemies and to talk to them and (if we pray) to pray for them. If we can’t do any of that, then we must begin again by trying to imagine our enemies’ children who, like our children, are in mortal danger because of enmity that they did not cause.

Wendell Berry (b. 1934) American farmer, educator, poet, conservationist
Essay (2003-02-09), “A Citizen’s Response,” sec. 4, Citizenship Papers (2003)
(Source)

The essay, including this passage, was also published in a longer form in Orion Magazine (2003-03/04), and collected in his Citizenship Papers (2003).

Hoffer, Eric -- Passionate State of Mind, Aphorism 85 (1955)

Dave — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 13:57:49 +0000

There is a powerful craving in most of us to see ourselves as instruments in the hands of others and thus free ourselves from the responsibility for acts which are prompted by our own questionable inclinations and impulses. Both the strong and the weak grasp at this alibi. The latter hide their malevolence under the virtue of obedience: they acted dishonorably because they had to obey orders. The strong, too, claim absolution by proclaiming themselves the chosen instrument of a higher power — God, history, fate, nation or humanity.

Eric Hoffer (1902-1983) American writer, philosopher, longshoreman
Passionate State of Mind, Aphorism 85 (1955)
(Source)

Popper, Karl -- The Open Society and Its Enemies, 2.12.3 (1945)

Dave — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 14:40:15 +0000

Nationalism appeals to our tribal instincts, to passion and to prejudice, and to our nostalgic desire to be relieved from the strain of individual responsibility which it attempts to replace by a collective or group responsibility.

Sir Karl Popper (1902-1994) Austrian-British philosopher
The Open Society and Its Enemies, 2.12.3 (1945)

Franklin, Benjamin -- Poor Richard’s Almanack (Feb 1755)

Dave — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 12:55:20 +0000

If you would be loved, love and be lovable.

Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) American statesman, scientist, philosopher, aphorist
Poor Richard’s Almanack (Feb 1755)

Earlier given, "If you'd be beloved, make yourself amiable." (Nov 1744). See Ovid.

Shakespeare, William -- Henry IV, Part 2, Act 3, sc. 1, l. 26ff (3.1.26-31) (c. 1598)

Dave — Tue, 31 May 2011 07:33:15 +0000

HENRY: Canst thou, O partial sleep, give thy repose
To the wet sea-boy in an hour so rude,
And, in the calmest and most stillest night,
With all appliances and means to boot,
Deny it to a king? Then, happy low, lie down.
Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown.

William Shakespeare (1564-1616) English dramatist and poet
Henry IV, Part 2, Act 3, sc. 1, l. 26ff (3.1.26-31) (c. 1598)
(Source)

Stevenson, Robert Louis -- Essay (1888-12), “A Christmas Sermon,” sec. 2, Scribner’s Magazine, Vol. 4

Dave — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 14:38:17 +0000

There is an idea abroad among moral people that they should make their neighbors good. One person I have to make good: myself.

Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894) Scottish essayist, novelist, poet
Essay (1888-12), “A Christmas Sermon,” sec. 2, Scribner’s Magazine, Vol. 4
(Source)

Originally written in the winter of 1887-88. Collected in Across the Plains, ch. 12 (1892).

Stowe, Harriet Beecher -- Uncle Tom’s Cabin, ch. 29 “The Unprotected” (1852)

Dave — Wed, 15 Dec 2010 18:22:13 +0000

The number of those men who know how to use wholly irresponsible power humanely and generously is small.

Harriet Beecher Stowe (1811-1896) American author
Uncle Tom’s Cabin, ch. 29 “The Unprotected” (1852)
(Source)

Holmes, Oliver Wendell, Sr. -- Article (1860-08), “The Professor’s Story [Elsie Venner],” ch. 16 [The Professor], Atlantic Monthly, Vol. 6, No. 34

Dave — Tue, 05 Oct 2010 12:45:01 +0000

Treat bad men exactly as if they were insane. They are in-sane, out of health, morally. Reason, which is food to sound minds, is not tolerated, still less assimilated, unless administered with the greatest caution; perhaps, not at all. Avoid collision with them, so far as you honorably can; keep your temper, if you can, — for one angry man is as good as another; restrain them from violence, promptly, completely, and with the least possible injury, just as in the case of maniacs, — and when you have got rid of them, or got them tied hand and foot so that they can do no mischief, sit down and contemplate them charitably, remembering that nine tenths of their perversity comes from outside influences, drunken ancestors, abuse in childhood, bad company, from which you have happily been preserved, and for some of which you, as a member of society, may be fractionally responsible.

Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. (1809-1894) American poet, essayist, scholar
Article (1860-08), “The Professor’s Story [Elsie Venner],” ch. 16 [The Professor], Atlantic Monthly, Vol. 6, No. 34
(Source)

Originally serialized as “The Professor’s Story,” but collected as the novel Elsie Venner, ch. 16 (1861).

Hoffer, Eric -- True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements, Part 2, ch. 5, § 26 (1951)

Dave — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 14:36:01 +0000

Unless a man has talents to make something of himself, freedom is an irksome burden. Of what avail is freedom to choose if the self be ineffectual? We join a mass movement to escape individual responsibility, or, in the words of the ardent young Nazi, “to be free from freedom.” It was not sheer hypocrisy when the rank-and-file Nazis declared themselves not guilty of all the enormities they had committed. They considered themselves cheated and maligned when made to shoulder responsibility for obeying orders. Had they not joined the Nazi movement in order to be free from responsibility?

Eric Hoffer (1902-1983) American writer, philosopher, longshoreman
True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements, Part 2, ch. 5, § 26 (1951)

Augustine of Hippo -- (Misattributed)

Dave — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 13:14:04 +0000

Pray as though everything depended on God. Work as though everything depended on you.

Augustine of Hippo (354-430) Christian church father, philosopher, saint [b. Aurelius Augustinus]
(Misattributed)

Also attributed to St. Benedict, and Brigham Young, Francis Cardinal Spellman (though it predates him). It most likely comes from St. Ignatius Loyola, though that is also subject to some debate.

Variant: "Work as if everything depends on you, and pray as if everything depends on God."

Gaiman, Neil -- Sandman, Book 9. The Kindly Ones, # 60 “The Kindly Ones: 4” (1994-06)

Dave — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 17:57:42 +0000

ROSE: I didn’t say it was my fault. I said it was my responsibility. I know the difference.

Neil Gaiman (b. 1960) British author, screenwriter, fabulist
Sandman, Book 9. The Kindly Ones, # 60 “The Kindly Ones: 4” (1994-06)
(Source)

Arendt, Hannah -- The Human Condition, Part 5, ch. 33 “Irreversibility and the Power to Forgive” (1958)

Dave — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 16:47:23 +0000

Without being bound to the fulfillment of promises, we would never be able to keep our identities; we would be condemned to wander helplessly and without direction in the darkness of each man’s lonely heart, caught in its contradictions and equivocalities — a darkness which only the light shed over the public realm through the presence of others, who confirm the identity between the one who promises and the one who fulfills, can dispel.

Hannah Arendt (1906-1975) German-American philosopher, political theorist
The Human Condition, Part 5, ch. 33 “Irreversibility and the Power to Forgive” (1958)
(Source)

Straczynski, J. Michael "Joe" -- rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5.moderated, “At The Midpoint (Spoilers for everything)” (7 Apr 1995)

Dave — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 13:09:17 +0000

We have an obligation to one another, responsibilities and trusts. That does not mean we must be pigeons, that we must be exploited. But it does mean that we should look out for one another when and as much as we can; and that we have a personal responsibility for our behavior; and that our behavior has consequences of a very real and profound nature.

J. Michael (Joe) Straczynski (b. 1954) American screenwriter, producer, author [a/k/a "JMS"]
rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5.moderated, “At The Midpoint (Spoilers for everything)” (7 Apr 1995)
(Source)

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

Dave — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 13:33:46 +0000

You will always find those who think they know what is your duty better than you know it.

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

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).

Von Clausewitz, Karl -- On War [Vom Kriege], Book 1, ch. 3 “On Military Genius [Der Kriegerische Genius],” (1.3) (1832) [tr. Howard & Paret (1976)]

Dave — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 14:23:19 +0000

Courage is of two kinds: courage in the face of personal danger, and courage to accept responsibility, either before the tribunal of some outside power or before the court of one’s own conscience.

[Der Muth ist doppelter Art: einmal Muth gegen die persönliche Gefahr, und dann Muth gegen die Verantwortlichkeit, sei es vor drm Richterstuhl irgend einer äussern Macht, oder der innern, nämlich des Gewissens.]

Karl von Clausewitz (1780-1831) Prussian soldier, historian, military theorist
On War [Vom Kriege], Book 1, ch. 3 “On Military Genius [Der Kriegerische Genius],” (1.3) (1832) [tr. Howard & Paret (1976)]
(Source)

(Source (German)). Alternate translations:

Courage is of two kinds: first, physical courage, or courage in the presence of danger to the person; and next, moral courage, or courage before responsibility, whether it be before the judgment seat of external authority, or of the inner power, the conscience.
[tr. Graham (1873)]

Courage is of two kinds: first, courage in presence of danger to the person, and next, courage in the presence of responsibility, whether before the judgment seat of an external authority, or before that of the internal authority which is conscience.
[tr. Jolles (1943)]

Stevenson, Adlai -- Speech (1952-08-27), “The Nature of Patriotism,” American Legion Convention, Madison Square Garden, New York City

Dave — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 15:36:18 +0000

We talk a great deal about patriotism. What do we mean by patriotism in the context of our times? I venture to suggest that what we mean is a sense of national responsibility which will enable America to remain master of her power — to walk with it in serenity and wisdom, with self-respect and the respect of all mankind; a patriotism that puts country ahead of self; a patriotism which is not short, frenzied outbursts of emotion, but the tranquil and steady dedication of a lifetime. The dedication of a lifetime — these are words that are easy to utter, but this is a mighty assignment. For it is often easier to fight for principles than to live up to them.

Adlai Stevenson (1900-1965) American diplomat, statesman
Speech (1952-08-27), “The Nature of Patriotism,” American Legion Convention, Madison Square Garden, New York City
(Source)

Harris, Sydney J. -- “Purely Personal Prejudices,” Strictly Personal (1953)

Dave — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 10:52:29 +0000

The difference between patriotism and nationalism is that the patriot is proud of his country for what it does, and the nationalist is proud of his country no matter what it does; the first attitude creates a feeling of responsibility, but the second a feeling of blind arrogance that leads to war.

Sydney J. Harris (1917-1986) Anglo-American columnist, journalist, author
“Purely Personal Prejudices,” Strictly Personal (1953)

Einstein, Albert -- “What Life Means to Einstein,” Interview with G. Viereck, Saturday Evening Post (26 Oct 1929)

Dave — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 09:43:43 +0000

Practically, I am, nevertheless, compelled to act as if freedom of the will existed. If I wish to live in a civilized community, I must act as if man is a responsible being. I know that philosophically a murderer is not responsible for his crime; nevertheless, I must protect myself from unpleasant contacts. I may consider him guiltless, but I prefer not to take tea with him.

Albert Einstein (1879-1955) German-American physicist
“What Life Means to Einstein,” Interview with G. Viereck, Saturday Evening Post (26 Oct 1929)
(Source)

Edited as "I am compelled to act as if free will existed, because if I wish to live in a civilized society I must act responsibly. I know that philosophically a murderer is not responsible for his crime, but I prefer not to take tea with him," in Viereck, Glimpses of the Great (1930).

Butler, Samuel -- The Note-Books of Samuel Butler, ch. 17 (1912)

Dave — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 10:07:19 +0000

The public buys its opinions as it buys its meat, or takes in its milk, on the principle that it is cheaper to do this than to keep a cow. So it is, but the milk is more likely to be watered.

Samuel Butler (1835-1902) English novelist, satirist, scholar
The Note-Books of Samuel Butler, ch. 17 (1912)

Robbins, Tom -- Still Life with Woodpecker, ch. 12 (1980)

Dave — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 09:32:06 +0000

Humanity has advanced, when it has advanced, not because it has been sober, responsible and cautious, but because it has been playful, rebellious, and immature.

Tom Robbins (b. 1932) American novelist
Still Life with Woodpecker, ch. 12 (1980)
(Source)

Acton, John Dalberg (Lord) -- Letter (1887-04-05) to Mandell Creighton

Dave — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 17:04:54 +0000

I cannot accept your canon that we are to judge Pope and King unlike other men, with a favourable presumption that they did no wrong. If there is any presumption it is the other way against holders of power, increasing as the power increases. Historic responsibility has to make up for the want of legal responsibility. All power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men, even when they exercise influence and not authority: still more when you superadd the tendency or the certainty of corruption by authority. There is no worse heresy than that the office sanctifies the holder of it.

John Dalberg, Lord Acton (1834-1902) British historian, politician, writer
Letter (1887-04-05) to Mandell Creighton
(Source)

Often paraphrased, "Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely."

There is an alternate, probably spurious version of this quote, for which I have been unable to find an actual citation (except where it is mis-cited to this letter to Bp. Creighton): "And remember, where you have a concentration of power in a few hands, all too frequently men with the mentality of gangsters get control. History has proven that. All power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely." As the word "gangster" has only been traced back to 1886, and that in the US, its use by Acton (esp. in a modern sense) seems unlikely.

Marcus Aurelius -- Meditations [To Himself; Τὰ εἰς ἑαυτόν], Book 2, ch. 5 (2.5) [tr. Rendall (1898)]

Dave — Wed, 12 May 2004 19:25:37 +0000

Every hour staunchly, as a Roman and a man, resolve to do the work in hand, with scrupulous and unaffected dignity, affectionately, freely, justly; securing respite for yourself from all other intruding regards. And this you will secure, if you perform each task as though it were your last, free from all waywardness, from passions that estrange from reason’s dictates, from insincerity, self-love, and discontent with destiny.

[Πάσης ὥρας φρόντιζε στιβαρῶς ὡς Ῥωμαῖος καὶ ἄρρην τὸ ἐν χερσὶ μετὰ τῆς ἀκριβοῦς καὶ ἀπλάστου σεμνότητος καὶ φιλοστοργίας καὶ ἐλευθερίας καὶ δικαιότητος πράσσειν καὶ σχολὴν σαυτῷ ἀπὸ πασῶν τῶν ἄλλων φαντασιῶν πορίζειν. ποριεῖς δέ, ἂν ὡς ἐσχάτην τοῦ βίου ἑκάστην πρᾶξιν ἐνεργῇς, ἀπηλλαγμένος πάσης εἰκαιότητος καὶ ἐμπαθοῦς ἀποστροφῆς ἀπὸ τοῦ αἱροῦντος λόγου καὶ ὑποκρίσεως καὶ φιλαυτίας καὶ δυσαρεστήσεως πρὸς τὰ συμμεμοιραμένα.]

Marcus Aurelius (AD 121-180) Roman emperor (161-180), Stoic philosopher
Meditations [To Himself; Τὰ εἰς ἑαυτόν], Book 2, ch. 5 (2.5) [tr. Rendall (1898)]
(Source)

(Source (Greek)). Alternate translations:

Let it be thy earnest and incessant care as a Roman and a man to perform whatsoever it is that thou art about, with true and unfeigned gravity, natural affection, freedom and justice: and as for all other cares, and imaginations, how thou mayest ease thy mind of them. Which thou shalt do; if thou shalt go about every action as thy last action, free from all vanity, all passionate and wilful aberration from reason, and from all hypocrisy, and self-love, and dislike of those things, which by the fates or appointment of God have happened unto thee.
[tr. Casaubon (1634), #2]

Take care always to pursue the Business in Hand with Vigour and Application; Remember your self a Man and a Roman; And let the Action be done with all the Dignity and Advantage of Circumstance: Let unaffected Gravity, Humanity, Freedom, and Justice shine through it. And be sure you entertain no Fancys, which may give check to these Qualities. This Task is very practicable if you will but suppose every thing you are upon your Last; If your Appetites and Passions don't cross upon your Reason; If you stand clear of Rashness, and don't complain of your Destiny, and have nothing of Insincerity, and Self-Love to infect you.
[tr. Collier (1701)]

Let this be your steadfast purpose to act continually, in all affairs, as becomes a Roman, and a man, with true unaffected dignity, kindness of heart, freedom, and justice; and disentangle your soul from other solicitudes. You shall thus disentangle yourself, if you perform each action as if it were your last: without temerity, or any passionate aversion to what reason approves; without hypocrisy or selfishness, or fretting at what providence appoints.
[tr. Hutcheson/Moor (1742)]

Take care always to perform strenuously the business in hand, as becomes a man and a Roman, with attention and unaffected gravity, with humanity, liberality, and justice; and call off your thoughts, for the time, from every other object. This you will do, if you perform every action as if it were the last of your life; if you act without levity or dissimulation, free from selfishness and from every passion inimical to right reason; and lastly from peevishness and dissatisfaction at those events, which are necessarily connected with our lot.
[tr. Graves (1792)]

Every moment think steadily as a Roman and a man to do what thou hast in hand with perfect and simple dignity, and feeling of affection, and freedom, and justice, and to give thyself relief from all other thoughts. And thou wilt give thyself relief if thou doest every act of thy life as if it were the last, laying aside all carelessness and passionate aversion from the commands of reason, and all hypocrisy, and self-love, and discontent with the portion which has been given to thee.
[tr. Long (1862)]

Take care always to remember that you are a man and a Roman; and let every action be done with perfect and unaffected gravity, humanity, freedom, and justice. And be sure you entertain no fancies, which may give check to these qualities. This is possible, if you will but perform every action as though it were your last; if your appetites and passions do not cross upon your reason; if you keep clear of rashness, and have nothing of insincerity and self-love to infect you, and do not complain of your destiny.
[tr. Collier/Zimmern (1887)]

Hourly and earnestly strive, as a Roman and a man, to do what falls to your hand with perfect unaffected dignity, with kindliness, freedom and justice, and free your soul from every other imagination. This you will accomplish if you perform each action as if it were your last, without wilfulness, or any passionate aversion to what reason approves; without hypocrisy or selfishness, or discontent with the decrees of Providence.
[tr. Hutcheson/Chrystal (1902)]

Every hour make up thy mind sturdily as a Roman and a man to do what thou hast in hand with scrupulous and unaffected dignity and love of thy kind and independence and justice; and to give thyself rest from all other impressions. And thou wilt give thyself this, if thou dost execute every act of thy life as though it were thy last, divesting thyself of all aimlessness and all passionate antipathy to the convictions of reason, and all hypocrisy and self-love and dissatisfaction with thy allotted share.
[tr. Haines (Loeb) (1916)]

Each hour be minded, valiantly as becomes a Roman and a man, to do what is to your hand, with precise ... and unaffected dignity, natural love, freedom and justice; and to give yourself repose from every other imagination. And so you will, if only you do each act as though it were your last, freed from every random aim, from wilful turning away from the directing Reason, from pretence, self-love and displeasure with what is allotted to you.
[tr. Farquharson (1944)]

Hour by hour resolve firmly, like a Roman and a man, to do what comes to hand with correct and natural dignity, and with humanity, independence, and justice. Allow your mind freedom from all other considerations. This you can do, if you will approach each action as though it were your last, dismissing the wayward thought, the emotional recoil from the commands of reason, the desire to create an impression, the admiration of self, the discontent with your lot.
[tr. Staniforth (1964)]

At every hour devote yourself in a resolute spirit, as suits a Roman and a man, to fulfilling the task in hand with scrupulous and unaffected dignity, and love for others, and independence and justice; and grant yourself a respite from all other preoccupations. And this you will achieve if you perform every action as though it were your last, freed from all lack of purpose and wilful deviation from the rule of reason, and from duplicity, self-seeking, and dissatisfaction with what is allotted to you.
[tr. Hard (1997 ed.)]

Concentrate every minute like a Roman -- like a man -- on doing what’s in front of you with precise and genuine seriousness, tenderly, willingly, with justice. And on freeing yourself from all other distractions. Yes, you can -- if you do everything as if it were the last thing you were doing in your life, and stop being aimless, stop letting your emotions override what your mind tells you, stop being hypocritical, self-centered, irritable.
[tr. Hays (2003)]

Every hour of the day give vigorous attention, as a Roman and 5 as a man, to the performance of the task in hand with precise analysis, with unaffected dignity, with human sympathy, with dispassionate justice — and to vacating your mind from all its other thoughts. And you will achieve this vacation if you perform each action as if it were the last of your life: freed, that is, from all lack of aim, from all passion-led deviation from the ordinance of reason, from pretence, from love of self, from dissatisfaction with what fate has dealt you.
[tr. Hammond (2006)]

Each and every hour make up your mind steadfastly as a Roman and as a man to accomplish the matter presently at hand with genuine solemnity, loving care, independence, and justice, and to provide yourself with relief from all other worries; and you will achieve this if you perform every action in your life as if it were your last, putting aside all aimlessness and emotional resistance to the choices of reason, and all pretense, selfishness, and discontent with what has been allotted to you.
[tr. Needleman/Piazza (2008)]

At every hour devote yourself in a resolute spirit, as befits a Roman and a man,* to fulfilling the task in hand with a scrupulous and unaffected dignity, and with love for others, and independence, and justice; and grant yourself a respite from all other preoccupations. And this you will achieve if you perform every action as though it were your last, freed from all lack of purpose and wilful deviation from the rule of reason, and free from duplicity, self-love, and dissatisfaction with what is allotted to you.
[tr. Hard (2011 ed.)]

At every hour, give your full concentration, as a Roman and a man, to carrying out the task in hand with a scrupulous and unaffected dignity and affectionate concern for others and freedom and justice, and give yourself space from all other concerns. You will give yourself this if you carry out each act as if it were the last of your life, freed from all randomness and passionate deviation from the rule of reason and from pretence and self-love and dissatisfaction with what has been allotted to you.
[tr. Gill (2013)]

Think steadily every moment about what you have to do, with a perfect and simple dignity, with feelings of affection, freedom and justice. Do not allow yourself to be distracted. Live every moment as if it were your last, thinking clearly, without passion. Do not allow yourself to be overcome by feelings of hypocrisy, narcissism or resentment.
[tr. McNeill (2019)]

Brooks, Phillips -- “Going Up to Jerusalem,” Selected Sermons [ed. William Scarlett (1949)]

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

O, do not pray for easy lives. Pray to be stronger men! Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers. Pray for powers equal to your tasks.

Phillips Brooks (1835-1893) American clergyman, hymnist
“Going Up to Jerusalem,” Selected Sermons [ed. William Scarlett (1949)]

Pearce, Donn -- Cool Hand Luke (1967) [with Frank Pierson]

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

BOSS KEAN: Sorry, Luke, I’m just doing my job. You gotta appreciate that.
LUKE: Calling it your job don’t make it right, Boss.

Donn Pearce (1928-2017) American novelist, screenwriter
Cool Hand Luke (1967) [with Frank Pierson]

In the actual final script, the exchange goes:

BOSS KEAN: Ah'm jus' doin' mah job, Luke. You gotta appreciate that.
LUKE: Boss, when you do somethin' to me you better do it because you got to or want to ... but not because it's your damn job.

Tolkien, J.R.R. -- The Lord of the Rings, Vol. 3: The Return of the King, Book 5, ch. 9 “The Last Debate” [Gandalf] (1955)

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

Other evils there are that may come; for Sauron is himself but a servant or emissary. Yet it is not our part to master all the tides of the world, but to do what is in us for the succour of those years wherein we are set, uprooting the evil in the fields that we know, so that those who live after may have clean earth to till. What weather they shall have is not ours to rule.

J.R.R. Tolkien (1892-1973) English writer, fabulist, philologist, academic [John Ronald Reuel Tolkien]
The Lord of the Rings, Vol. 3: The Return of the King, Book 5, ch. 9 “The Last Debate” [Gandalf] (1955)
(Source)

O'Rourke, P. J. -- “The Liberty Manifesto,” speech, Cato Institute, Washington, DC (1993-05-06)

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

There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences.

P. J. O'Rourke (b. 1947) American humorist, editor
“The Liberty Manifesto,” speech, Cato Institute, Washington, DC (1993-05-06)
(Source)

Reprinted in Age and Guile Beat Youth, Innocence, and a Bad Haircut (1995).

Cicero, Marcus Tullius -- De Natura Deorum, Book 3, ch. 1 [tr. Rackham (1933)]

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

Each man must use his own judgement.

[Suo cuique iudicio est utendum.]

Marcus Tullius Cicero (106-43 BC) Roman orator, statesman, philosopher
De Natura Deorum, Book 3, ch. 1 [tr. Rackham (1933)]
(Source)

O'Rourke, P. J. -- Rolling Stone (30 Nov 1989)

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

One of the annoying things about believing in free will and individual responsibility is the difficulty in finding someone to blame your troubles on. And when you do find someone, it’s remarkable how often their picture turns up on your driver’s license.

P. J. O'Rourke (b. 1947) American humorist, editor
Rolling Stone (30 Nov 1989)

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).

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

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

CORPORATION, n. An ingenious device for obtaining individual profit without individual responsibility.

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

Included in The Devil's Dictionary (1911).

Moliere -- (Attributed)

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

It is not what we do, but also what we do not do, for which we are accountable.

[Ce n’est pas seulement pour ce que nous faisons que nous sommes tenus responsables, mais aussi pour ce que nous ne faisons pas.]

Molière (1622-1673) French playwright, actor [stage name for Jean-Baptiste Poquelin]
(Attributed)
(Source)

The French phrase comes up in search, but, again, without citation beyond "Molière".

The earliest reference I can find to this phrase (in English) is in Maturin Ballou's Treasury of Thought (1871), without citation to where Molière might have said it. It is likely a paraphrase, but I can find no source material that recalls it. A more recent (but no better documented) variant:

It is not only for what we do that we are held responsible, but also for what we do not do.

See also Marcus Aurelius (c. AD 170), Fuller (1725), Mill (1859), Sewell (1877), Harris (1953), Nash (1959) (also), Masson (1988).

Watterson, Bill -- Calvin and Hobbes (1988-04-09)

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

CALVIN: Do you believe our destinies are determined by the stars?

HOBBES: Nah.

CALVIN: Oh, I do.

HOBBES: Really? How come?

CALVIN: Life’s a lot more fun when you’re not responsible for your actions.

Bill Watterson (b. 1958) American cartoonist
Calvin and Hobbes (1988-04-09)
(Source)

Burke, Edmund -- Speech to the electors of Bristol (3 Nov 1774)

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

Certainly, Gentlemen, it ought to be the happiness and glory of a representative to live in the strictest union, the closest correspondence, and the most unreserved communication with his constituents. Their wishes ought to have great weight with him; their opinions high respect; their business unremitted attention. It is his duty to sacrifice his repose, his pleasure, his satisfactions, to theirs, — and above all, ever, and in all cases, to prefer their interest to his own.

But his unbiased opinion, his mature judgment, his enlightened conscience, he ought not to sacrifice to you, to any man, or to any set of men living. These he does not derive from your pleasure, — no, nor from the law and the Constitution. They are a trust from Providence, for the abuse of which he is deeply answerable. Your representative owes you, not his industry only, but his judgment; and he betrays, instead of serving you, if he sacrifices it to your opinion.

Edmund Burke (1729-1797) Anglo-Irish statesman, orator, philosopher
Speech to the electors of Bristol (3 Nov 1774)

Lee, Harper -- To Kill a Mockingbird, ch. 11 (1960)

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

“They’re certainly entitled to think that, and they’re entitled to full respect for their opinions,” said Atticus, “but before I can live with other folks I’ve got to live with myself. The one thing that doesn’t abide by majority rule is a person’s conscience.”

Harper Lee (1926-2016) American writer [Nellie Harper Lee]
To Kill a Mockingbird, ch. 11 (1960)
(Source)

Arendt, Hannah -- Life of the Mind, Vol. 1 “Thinking,” Part 3, ch. 18 “The two-in-one” (1977)

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

The sad truth of the matter is that most evil is done by people who never made up their minds to be or do either evil or good.

Hannah Arendt (1906-1975) German-American philosopher, political theorist
Life of the Mind, Vol. 1 “Thinking,” Part 3, ch. 18 “The two-in-one” (1977)
(Source)

Sometimes shortened as: "The sad truth is that most evil is done by people who never make up their minds to be good or evil."

Originally printed as an essay (1977-11-28), "Thinking -- III," The New Yorker (1977-12-05). That version is slightly longer:

The sad truth of the matter is that most evil is done by people who never made up their minds to be either good or bad or to do either good or evil.

Lec, Stanislaw -- More Unkempt Thoughts [Myśli nieuczesane nowe] (1964) [tr. Gałązka (1969)]

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

No snowflake in an avalanche ever feels responsible.

[Żaden płatek śniegu nie czuje się odpowiedzialny za lawinę.]

Stanislaw Lec (1909-1966) Polish aphorist, poet, satirist
More Unkempt Thoughts [Myśli nieuczesane nowe] (1964) [tr. Gałązka (1969)]
(Source)

Alternate translation: "Each snowflake in an avalanche pleads not guilty."

More discussion of this quotation here: No Snowflake in an Avalanche Ever Feels Responsible – Quote Investigator.

Plato -- Republic, Book 1, 347c

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

The punishment which the wise suffer who refuse to take part in the government is to live under the government of worse men.

Plato (c.428-347 BC) Greek philosopher
Republic, Book 1, 347c

In Ralph Waldo Emerson, "Eloquence," Society and Solitude (1870).

Alt. trans.:

"One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics, is that you end up being governed by your inferiors."
The Constitution Party (1952-68) used on their letterhead the variant, "The penalty good men pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men."
"The price of apathy is to be ruled by evil men."
"Those who are too smart to engage in politics are punished by being governed by those who are dumber."

More discussion here.

In context (Plato in Twelve Volumes, Vols. 5 & 6 [tr. Shorey (1969)]):

[346e] "Then, Thrasymachus, is not this immediately apparent, that no art or office provides what is beneficial for itself -- but as we said long ago it provides and enjoins what is beneficial to its subject, considering the advantage of that, the weaker, and not the advantage the stronger? That was why, friend Thrasymachus, I was just now saying that no one of his own will chooses to hold rule and office and take other people's troubles in hand to straighten them out, but everybody expects pay for that, [347a] because he who is to exercise the art rightly never does what is best for himself or enjoins it when he gives commands according to the art, but what is best for the subject. That is the reason, it seems, why pay must be provided for those who are to consent to rule, either in form of money or honor or a penalty if they refuse." "What do you mean by that, Socrates?" said Glaucon. "The two wages I recognize, but the penalty you speak of and described as a form of wage I don't understand." "Then," said I, "you don't understand the wages of the best men [347b] for the sake of which the finest spirits hold office and rule when they consent to do so. Don't you know that to be covetous of honor and covetous of money is said to be and is a reproach?" "I do," he said. "Well, then," said I, "that is why the good are not willing to rule either for the sake of money or of honor. They do not wish to collect pay openly for their service of rule and be styled hirelings nor to take it by stealth from their office and be called thieves, nor yet for the sake of honor, [347c] for they are not covetous of honor. So there must be imposed some compulsion and penalty to constrain them to rule if they are to consent to hold office. That is perhaps why to seek office oneself and not await compulsion is thought disgraceful. But the chief penalty is to be governed by someone worse if a man will not himself hold office and rule. It is from fear of this, as it appears to me, that the better sort hold office when they do, and then they go to it not in the expectation of enjoyment nor as to a good thing, but as to a necessary evil and because they are unable to turn it over to better men than themselves [347d] or to their like. For we may venture to say that, if there should be a city of good men only, immunity from office-holding would be as eagerly contended for as office is now, and there it would be made plain that in very truth the true ruler does not naturally seek his own advantage but that of the ruled; so that every man of understanding would rather choose to be benefited by another than to be bothered with benefiting him. "

Byron, George Gordon, Lord -- Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage, Canto 2, st. 76 (1812)

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

Hereditary bondsmen! know ye not
Who would be free themselves must strike the blow?

George Gordon, Lord Byron (1788-1824) English poet
Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage, Canto 2, st. 76 (1812)
(Source)

Speaking of the Greeks, whose nation was still controlled by the Ottoman Empire. The lines were used by W. E. B. DuBois, along with a line from st. 74, as the epigraph of ch. 3 of The Souls of Black Folks (1903).

Berry, Wendell -- The Unsettling of America: Culture & Agriculture, ch. 1 (1977)

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

The care of the Earth is our most ancient and most worthy, and after all, our most pleasing responsibility. To cherish what remains of it, and to foster its renewal, is our only hope.

Wendell Berry (b. 1934) American farmer, educator, poet, conservationist
The Unsettling of America: Culture & Agriculture, ch. 1 (1977)
(Source)

Clifford, William Kingdon -- “The Ethics of Belief,” Part 1 “The Duty of Inquiry,” Contemporary Review (Jan 1877)

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

If a man, holding a belief which he was taught in childhood or persuaded of afterwards, keeps down and pushes away any doubts which arise about it in his mind, purposely avoids the reading of books and the company of men that call in question and discuss it, and regards as impious those questions which cannot easily be asked without disturbing it — the life of that man is one long sin against mankind.

William Kingdon Clifford (1845-1879) English mathematician and philosopher
“The Ethics of Belief,” Part 1 “The Duty of Inquiry,” Contemporary Review (Jan 1877)
(Source)

Bible, Vol. 2. New Testament -- Galatians 6: 4-5 [GNT (1976)]

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

You should each judge your own conduct. If it is good, then you can be proud of what you yourself have done, without having to compare it with what someone else has done. For each of you have to carry your own load.

[Τὸ δὲ ἔργον ἑαυτοῦ δοκιμαζέτω ἕκαστος καὶ τότε εἰς ἑαυτὸν μόνον τὸ καύχημα ἕξει καὶ οὐκ εἰς τὸν ἕτερον. ἕκαστος γὰρ τὸ ἴδιον φορτίον βαστάσει.]

The Bible (The New Testament) (AD 1st - 2nd C) Christian sacred scripture
Galatians 6: 4-5 [GNT (1976)]
(Source)

(Source (Greek)). Alternate translations:

But let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another.
For every man shall bear his own burden.
[KJV (1611)]

Let each of you examine his own conduct; if you find anything to boast about, it will at least be something of your own, not just something better than your neighbour has. Everyone has his own burden to carry.
[JB (1966)]

But everyone is to examine his own achievements, and then he will confine his boasting to his own achievements, not comparing them with anybody else's. Each one has his own load to carry.
[NJB (1985)]

Each person should test their own work and be happy with doing a good job and not compare themselves with others. Each person will have to carry their own load.
[CEB (2011)]

All must test their own work; then that work, rather than their neighbor’s work, will become a cause for pride. For all must carry their own loads.
[NRSV (2021 ed.)]

Watterson, Bill -- Calvin and Hobbes (1992-05-18)

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

CALVIN: When I grow up, I’m not going to read the newspaper and I’m not going to follow complex issues and I’m not going to vote. That way I can complain when the government doesn’t represent me. Then, when everything goes down the tubes, I can say the system doesn’t work and justify my further lack of participation.

HOBBES: An ingeniously self-fulfilling plan.

CALVIN: It’s a lot more fun to blame things than to fix them.

Bill Watterson (b. 1958) American cartoonist
Calvin and Hobbes (1992-05-18)
(Source)

Gandhi, Mohandas -- (Attributed)

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

We must become the change we want to see.

Mohandas Gandhi (1869-1948) Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist, political ethicist [Mahatma Gandhi]
(Attributed)

Variants:

"Be the change you wish to see in the world."
"You must be the change you wish to see in the world."

Almost always attributed to Gandhi, but not found in any of his published works. More discussion here.

Buddha -- The Kalama Sutta

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

Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumored by many. Do not believe in anything simply because it is found written in your religious books. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders. Do not believe in traditions because they have been handed down for many generations. But after observation and analysis, when you find that anything agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it.

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

Jefferson, Thomas -- Letter (1787-08-10) to Peter Carr

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

In fine, I repeat that you must lay aside all prejudice on both sides, and neither believe nor reject any thing because any other person, or description of persons have rejected or believed it. Your own reason is the only oracle given you by heaven, and you are answerable not for the rightness but uprightness of the decision.

Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) American political philosopher, polymath, statesman, US President (1801-09)
Letter (1787-08-10) to Peter Carr
(Source)

On urging him to read and determine for himself the divinity or non-divinity of Christ.