WIST Quotations

Orwell, George -- Essay (1949-01), “Reflections on Gandhi,” Partisan Review

Dave — Fri, 16 May 2025 16:41:17 +0000

The essence of being human is that one does not seek perfection, that one is sometimes willing to commit sins for the sake of loyalty, that one does not push asceticism to the point where it makes friendly intercourse impossible, and that one is prepared in the end to be defeated and broken up by life, which is the inevitable price of fastening one’s love upon other human individuals. No doubt alcohol, tobacco and so forth are things that a saint must avoid, but sainthood is also a thing that human beings must avoid.

George Orwell (1903-1950) English journalist, essayist, writer [pseud. of Eric Arthur Blair]
Essay (1949-01), “Reflections on Gandhi,” Partisan Review
(Source)

Orwell, George -- Essay (1949-01), “Reflections on Gandhi,” Partisan Review

Dave — Fri, 27 Sep 2013 12:30:10 +0000

Many people genuinely do not wish to be saints, and it is probable that some who achieve or aspire to sainthood have never felt much temptation to be human beings.

George Orwell (1903-1950) English journalist, essayist, writer [pseud. of Eric Arthur Blair]
Essay (1949-01), “Reflections on Gandhi,” Partisan Review
(Source)

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

Dave — Fri, 02 Aug 2013 17:09:43 +0000

SAINT, n. A dead sinner, revised and edited.

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

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

This seems to have been a revision of:

CANONIZE, v.t.. To make a saint out of a dead sinner.

That entry first appeared in the "Devil's Dictionary" column in the San Francisco Wasp (1881-06-11), but was never collected in book form.