WIST Quotations

Hoffer, Eric -- Passionate State of Mind, Aphorism 280 (1955)

Dave — Thu, 26 Mar 2026 16:31:25 +0000

The search for happiness is one of the chief sources of unhappiness.

Eric Hoffer (1902–1983) American writer, philosopher, longshoreman
Passionate State of Mind, Aphorism 280 (1955)
(Source)

Howell, James -- Paroimiographia [Παροιμιογραφία]: Proverbs, or, Old Sayed Sawes & Adages, “English Proverbs” (1659) [compiler]

Dave — Wed, 25 Mar 2026 15:04:07 +0000

He that gropes in the dark, finds that which he would not.

James Howell (c. 1594–1666) Welsh historian, writer, aphorist
Paroimiographia [Παροιμιογραφία]: Proverbs, or, Old Sayed Sawes & Adages, “English Proverbs” (1659) [compiler]
(Source)

Barzun, Jacques -- Essay (1989), “Look It Up! Check It Out!” The Culture We Deserve

Dave — Tue, 17 Dec 2024 00:40:54 +0000

To say this is also to say that the age of ready reference is one in which knowledge inevitably declines into information. The master of so much packaged stuff has less need to grasp context or meaning than his forbears: he can always look it up. His active memory is otherwise engaged anyway, full of the arbitrary names, initials, and code figures essential to carrying on daily life. He can be vague about the rest: he can always check it out.

Jacques Barzun (1907–2012) French-American historian, educator, polymath
Essay (1989), “Look It Up! Check It Out!” The Culture We Deserve
(Source)

An earlier version of this essay was published in The American Scholar (1986, Autumn).

Buffett, Jimmy -- A Pirate Looks at Fifty, Sec. 11 “The Islands” (1998)

Dave — Fri, 12 Jan 2024 15:43:45 +0000

Life is much more manageable when thought of as a scavenger hunt as opposed to a surprise party.

Jimmy Buffett (1946–2023) American musician and singer-songwriter [James William Buffett]
A Pirate Looks at Fifty, Sec. 11 “The Islands” (1998)
(Source)

Popper, Karl -- “Knowledge and the Shaping of Reality,” lecture, Alpbach (Aug 1982)

Dave — Mon, 29 Mar 2021 18:06:10 +0000

Since we can never know anything for sure, it is simply not worth searching for certainty; but it is well worth searching for truth; and we do this chiefly by searching for mistakes, so that we have to correct them.

Sir Karl Popper (1902–1994) Austrian-British philosopher
“Knowledge and the Shaping of Reality,” lecture, Alpbach (Aug 1982)
(Source)

Reprinted in In Search of a Better World, ch. 1 (1994).

Bukowski, Charles -- Factotum, ch. 31 (1975)

Dave — Fri, 13 Mar 2020 14:24:25 +0000

I couldn’t get myself to read the want ads. The thought of sitting in front of a man behind a desk and telling him that I wanted a job, that I was qualified for a job, was too much for me. Frankly, I was horrified by life, at what a man had to do simply in order to eat, sleep, and keep himself clothed.

Charles Bukowski (1920–1994) German-American author, poet
Factotum, ch. 31 (1975)

Pitt, William the Elder -- Speech on the Excise Bill, House of Commons (Mar 1763)

Dave — Tue, 21 Jan 2020 22:43:18 +0000

The poorest man may in his cottage bid defiance to all the forces of the Crown. It may be frail — its roof may shake — the wind may blow through it — the storm may enter — the rain may enter — but the King of England cannot enter! — all his force dares not cross the threshold of the ruined tenement!

William Pitt the Elder (1708–1778) British statesman, orator [Lord Chatham, 1st Earl of Chatham]
Speech on the Excise Bill, House of Commons (Mar 1763)
(Source)

Petit-Senn, Jean-Antoine -- (Attributed)

Dave — Thu, 18 Jun 2015 15:01:54 +0000

Happiness is where we find it, but very rarely where we seek it.

Jean-Antoine Petit-Senn (1792–1870) French-Swiss poet
(Attributed)

Lerner, Max -- “The Vigilantes and the Chain of Fear,” New York Post (24 Jun 1953)

Dave — Tue, 10 Mar 2015 11:58:35 +0000

The crime of book purging is that it involves a rejection of the word. For the word is never absolute truth, but only man’s frail and human effort to approach the truth. To reject the word is to reject the human search.

Maxwell "Max" Lerner (1902–1992) American journalist, columnist, educator
“The Vigilantes and the Chain of Fear,” New York Post (24 Jun 1953)

Regarding the McCarthy era book burnings. Reprinted in The Unfinished Country, pt. 4 (1959).

Martin, Steve -- L. A. Story (1991)

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

HARRIS: There is someone for everyone — even if you need a pickaxe, a compass, and night goggles to find them.

Steve Martin (b. 1945) American comedian, actor, writer, producer, musician
L. A. Story (1991)
(Source)

(Source (Video)). The IMDb entry reads "There's someone out there for everyone," but that does not line up with the soundtrack.

Emerson, Ralph Waldo -- Essay (1841), “Art,” Essays: First Series, No. 12

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

Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us or we find it not.

Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882) American essayist, lecturer, poet
Essay (1841), “Art,” Essays: First Series, No. 12
(Source)

Part of a paragraph taken from the course "Human Culture," lecture "Eye and Ear."