WIST Quotations

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)]

Martin, Judith -- Interview (2011-08), “Q and A with Miss Manners,” by Arcynta Ali Childs, Smithsonian magazine

Dave — Mon, 01 Sep 2025 19:18:09 +0000

Q. Is it ever acceptable to be rude?

A. No. Now, that doesn’t mean you have to let people walk all over you. Etiquette does not render you defenseless. If it did; even I wouldn’t subscribe to it. But rudeness in retaliation for rudeness just doubles the amount of rudeness in the world.

Judith Martin (b. 1938) American author, journalist, etiquette expert [a.k.a. Miss Manners]
Interview (2011-08), “Q and A with Miss Manners,” by Arcynta Ali Childs, Smithsonian magazine
(Source)

Arendt, Hannah -- The Origins of Totalitarianism, Part 3, ch. 12 “Totalitarianism in Power,” sec. 1 (1951)

Dave — Tue, 05 Jul 2022 21:28:30 +0000

Practically speaking, the totalitarian ruler proceeds like a man who persistently insults another man until everybody knows that the latter is his enemy, so that he can, with some plausibility, go and kill him in self-defense.

Hannah Arendt (1906-1975) German-American philosopher, political theorist
The Origins of Totalitarianism, Part 3, ch. 12 “Totalitarianism in Power,” sec. 1 (1951)
(Source)

Jones, Ernest -- “Criticisms of Psycho-Analytic Treatment,” Speech, Chicago Neurological and Chicago Medical Societies (18 Jan 1911)

Dave — Wed, 30 Mar 2022 15:56:06 +0000

It is the people with secret attractions to various temptations who busy themselves most with removing those temptations from other people; really they are defending themselves under the pretext of defending others, because at heart they fear their own weakness.

Ernest Jones (1879-1958) Welsh neurologist and psychoanalyst
“Criticisms of Psycho-Analytic Treatment,” Speech, Chicago Neurological and Chicago Medical Societies (18 Jan 1911)

Originally published in the American Journal of the Medical Sciences (Jul 1911). Reprinted in Papers on Psycho-Analysis, ch. 12 (1918).

Brodsky, Joseph -- “Speech at the Stadium,” Commencement Address, University of Michigan (18 Dec 1988)

Dave — Tue, 15 Jun 2021 14:48:00 +0000

Try not to pay attention to those who will try to make life miserable for you. There will be a lot of those — in the official capacity as well as the self-appointed. Suffer them if you can’t escape them, but once you have steered clear of them, give them the shortest shrift possible.

Joseph Brodsky (1940-1996) Russian-American poet, essayist, Nobel laureate, US Poet Laureate [Iosif Aleksandrovič Brodskij]
“Speech at the Stadium,” Commencement Address, University of Michigan (18 Dec 1988)
(Source)

Aristotle -- Rhetoric [Ῥητορική; Ars Rhetorica], Book 1, ch. 1, sec. 12 (1.1.12) / 1355b.1 (350 BC) [tr. Roberts (1924)]

Dave — Fri, 26 Mar 2021 15:29:29 +0000

It is absurd to hold that a man ought to be ashamed of being unable to defend himself with his limbs but not of being unable to defend himself with reason when the use of reason is more distinctive of a human being than the use of his limbs.

[πρὸς δὲ τούτοις ἄτοπον εἰ τῷ σώματι μὲν αἰσχρὸν μὴ δύνασθαι βοηθεῖν ἑαυτῷ, λόγῳ δ᾽ οὐκ αἰσχρόν: ὃ μᾶλλον ἴδιόν ἐστιν ἀνθρώπου τῆς τοῦ σώματος χρείας.]

Aristotle (384-322 BC) Greek philosopher
Rhetoric [Ῥητορική; Ars Rhetorica], Book 1, ch. 1, sec. 12 (1.1.12) / 1355b.1 (350 BC) [tr. Roberts (1924)]
(Source)

(Source (Greek)). Alternate translations:

Absurd were it, if inability to defend oneself, in the case of the body be disgraceful, but in the case of the reason, which is more peculiarly the characteristic of man than the use of his body, be not disgraceful.
[Source (1847)]

It were absurd, if, while it is disgraceful for a man not to be able to assist himself by his person, it were not disgraceful to be unable to do this by his speech, which is more a peculiarity of man than the exercise of the body.
[tr. Buckley (1850)]

It would be absurd that, while incapacity for physical self-defence is a reproach, incapacity for mental defence should be none; mental effort being more distinctive of man than bodily effort.
[tr. Jebb (1873)]

It would be absurd if it were considered disgraceful not to be able to defend oneself with the help of the body, but not disgraceful as far as speech is concerned, whose use is more characteristic of man than that of the body.
[tr. Freese (1926)]

It would make no sense for an inability to defend oneself by physical means to be a source of shame, while an inability to defend oneself by verbal means was not, since the use of words is more specifically human than the use of the body.
[tr. Waterfield (2018)]

It is strange if it is a shameful thing not to be able to come to one's own aid with one's body but not a shameful thing to be unable to do so by means of argument, which is to a greater degree a human being's own than is the use of the body.
[tr. Bartlett (2019)]

Teller, Edward -- “Fallout and Disarmament: A Debate Between Linus Pauling and Edward Teller,” KQED-TV, San Francisco (20 Feb 1958)

Dave — Tue, 23 Feb 2021 14:09:21 +0000

I don’t want to kill anybody. I am passionately opposed to killing, but I’m even more passionately fond of freedom.

Edward Teller (1908-2003) Hungarian-American theoretical physicist
“Fallout and Disarmament: A Debate Between Linus Pauling and Edward Teller,” KQED-TV, San Francisco (20 Feb 1958)
(Source)

Cicero, Marcus Tullius -- Pro Milone, ch. 4, sec. 11 [tr. Yonge (1891)]

Dave — Mon, 28 Sep 2020 14:34:46 +0000

For laws are silent when arms are raised.

[Silent enim leges inter arma.]

Marcus Tullius Cicero (106-43 BC) Roman orator, statesman, philosopher
Pro Milone, ch. 4, sec. 11 [tr. Yonge (1891)]
(Source)

In context, Cicero is asserting that self-defense is a valid defense for killing, even though that principle was not written into Roman law. It has been extended in legal terms to times of war being exempt from normal laws regarding killing.

Alt. trans.:

"For laws are silent among arms."
"In a time of war, the law falls silent."
"Laws are silent in time of war."
"The laws are silent in warfare."
"For among arms, the laws fall mute."
"The power of law is suspended during war."

Original Latin.

Bronte, Charlotte -- Jane Eyre, ch. 6 [Jane] (1847)

Dave — Fri, 21 Apr 2017 22:09:36 +0000

If people were always kind and obedient to those who are cruel and unjust; the wicked people would have it all their own way: they would never feel afraid, and so they would never alter, but would grow worse and worse. When we are struck at without a reason, we should strike back again very hard; I am sure we should — so hard as to teach the person who struck us never to do it again.

Charlotte Brontë (1816-1855) British novelist [pseud. Currer Bell]
Jane Eyre, ch. 6 [Jane] (1847)
(Source)

Adams, John -- A Defence of the Constitutions of Government of the United States of America, Vol. 3, ch. 3 “Marchamond Nedham: Errors of Government and Rules of Policy” (1787)

Dave — Wed, 14 Sep 2016 23:56:37 +0000

It must be made a sacred maxim, that the militia obey the executive power, which represents the whole people in the execution of laws. To suppose arms in the hands of citizens, to be used at the individual discretion, except in private self-defence, or by partial orders of towns, counties, or districts of a state, is to demolish every constitution, and lay the laws prostrate, so that liberty can be enjoyed by no man; it is a dissolution of the government. The fundamental law of the militia is, that it be created, directed and commanded by the laws, and ever for the support of the laws.

John Adams (1735–1826) American lawyer, Founding Father, statesman, US President (1797–1801)
A Defence of the Constitutions of Government of the United States of America, Vol. 3, ch. 3 “Marchamond Nedham: Errors of Government and Rules of Policy” (1787)
(Source)

Acheson, Dean -- “Acheson’s Rule of Bureaucracy”

Dave — Fri, 09 Sep 2016 00:24:15 +0000

A memorandum is written not to inform the reader but to protect the writer.

Dean Acheson (1893-1971) American statesman
“Acheson’s Rule of Bureaucracy”
(Source)

Quoted in Alan Otten, "Politics and People: More Rules," Wall Street Journal (1977-09-08). Paul Dickson's The Official Rules (1978), indicates that it was recalled by Harold P. Smith for Otten.

Eisenhower, Dwight David -- Inaugural Address (20 Jan 1953)

Dave — Tue, 05 Apr 2016 18:57:32 +0000

Americans, indeed, all free men, remember that in the final choice a soldier’s pack is not so heavy a burden as a prisoner’s chains.

Dwight David Eisenhower (1890-1969) American general, US President (1953-61)
Inaugural Address (20 Jan 1953)

Jefferson, Thomas -- Letter (1807-07-16) to Anne-Louise-Germaine Necker, Baronne de Staël-Holstein

Dave — Tue, 14 Apr 2015 11:57:56 +0000

We have borne patiently a great deal of wrong, on the consideration that if nations go to war for every degree of injury, there would never be peace on earth. But when patience has begotten false estimates of it’s motives, when wrongs are pressed because it is believed they will be borne, resistance becomes morality.

Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) American political philosopher, polymath, statesman, US President (1801-09)
Letter (1807-07-16) to Anne-Louise-Germaine Necker, Baronne de Staël-Holstein
(Source)

Jefferson, Thomas -- Essay (1775-07-06), “Declaration of the Causes and Necessity for Taking Up Arms” [with John Dickinson]

Dave — Tue, 07 Apr 2015 12:39:25 +0000

With hearts fortified with these animating Reflections, we most solemnly, before God and the World, declare, that, exerting the utmost Energy of those Powers, which our beneficent Creator hath graciously bestowed upon us, the Arms we have been compelled by our Enemies to assume, we will, in defiance of every Hazard, with unabating Firmness and Perseverance, employ for the preservation of our Liberties; being with one Mind resolved to die Freemen rather than to live Slaves.

Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) American political philosopher, polymath, statesman, US President (1801-09)
Essay (1775-07-06), “Declaration of the Causes and Necessity for Taking Up Arms” [with John Dickinson]
(Source)

Final version as approved by the Continental Congress. An earlier draft by Jefferson used these terms:

We do, then, most solemnly before God and the world declare that regardless of every consequence, at the risk of every distress, the arms we have been compelled to assume we will use with perseverance, exerting to their utmost energies all those powers which our Creator hath given us to preserve that liberty which he committed to us in sacred deposit and to protect from every hostile hand our lives and our properties.

Johnson, Samuel -- Comment (3 Apr 1776)

Dave — Fri, 25 Apr 2014 14:05:08 +0000

If a madman were to come into this room with a stick in his hand, no doubt we should pity the state of his mind; but our primary consideration would be to take care of ourselves. We should knock him down first, and pity him afterwards.

Samuel Johnson (1709-1784) English writer, lexicographer, critic
Comment (3 Apr 1776)

In James Boswell, The Life of Samuel Johnson (1791)

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 — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 14:25:30 +0000

We have become blind to the alternatives to violence. This involves us in a sort of official madness, in which, while following what seems to be a perfect logic of self-defense and deterrence, we commit one absurdity after another: We seek to preserve peace by fighting a war, or to advance freedom by subsidizing dictatorships, or to “win the hearts and minds of the people” by poisoning their crops and burning their villages and confining them in concentration camps; we seek to uphold the “truth” of our cause with lies, or to answer conscientious dissent with threats and slurs and intimidations. […] All this is made frighteningly clear, in Vietnam, in our inability to control the swiftly widening discrepancy between what we are doing and what we say we are doing.

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).

Machiavelli, Niccolo -- The Discourses on Livy, Book 3, ch. 6 (1517) [tr. Detmold (1882)]

Dave — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 21:37:43 +0000

Necessity may force you to do unto the prince that which you see the prince about to do to you.

Niccolò Machiavelli (1469-1527) Italian politician, philosopher, political scientist
The Discourses on Livy, Book 3, ch. 6 (1517) [tr. Detmold (1882)]

See Matthew 7:12.

Twain, Mark -- The Autobiography of Mark Twain, Vol. 1, 1864 (2010)

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

I thoroughly disapprove of duels. I consider them unwise, and I know they are dangerous. Also, sinful. If a man should challenge me now, I would got to that man and take him kindly and forgivingly by the hand and lead him to a quiet, retired spot, and kill him.

Mark Twain (1835-1910) American writer [pseud. of Samuel Clemens]
The Autobiography of Mark Twain, Vol. 1, 1864 (2010)
(Source)

Seen paraphrased: "I thoroughly disapprove of duels. If a man should challenge me, I would take him kindly and forgivingly by the hand and lead him to a quiet place and kill him."