WIST Quotations

Billings, Josh -- Josh Billings’ Farmer’s Allminax, 1874-11 (1874 ed.)

Dave — Thu, 30 Apr 2026 18:16:01 +0000

He who suspekts everyboddy, should be watched by everyboddy.

[He who suspects everybody should be watched by everybody.]

Josh Billings (1818-1885) American humorist, aphorist [pseud. of Henry Wheeler Shaw]
Josh Billings’ Farmer’s Allminax, 1874-11 (1874 ed.)
(Source)

See Johnson (1763).

In his 1879 Allminax (April), Billings provided a similar adage:

Whenever yu cum akrost a man who distrusts everyboddy, yu have found one whom it is safe for everyboddy to distrust.

[Whenever you come across a man who distrusts everybody, you have found one whom it is safe for everybody to distrust.]

Carlyle, Thomas -- Lecture (1840-05-22), “The Hero as King,” Home House, Portman Square, London

Dave — Thu, 19 Mar 2026 20:06:10 +0000

Truly it is a sad thing for a people, as for a man, to fall into Scepticism, into dilettantism, insincerity; not to know Sincerity when they see it. For this world, and for all worlds, what curse is so fatal? The heart lying dead, the eye cannot see.

Thomas Carlyle (1795-1881) Scottish essayist and historian
Lecture (1840-05-22), “The Hero as King,” Home House, Portman Square, London
(Source)

The lecture notes were collected by Carlyle into On Heroes, Hero-Worship, & the Heroic in History, Lecture 6 (1841).

Russell, Bertrand -- Education and the Good Life, Part 1, ch. 2 “The Aims of Education” (1926)

Dave — Wed, 11 Mar 2026 18:19:02 +0000

Neither acquiescence in skepticism nor acquiescence in dogma is what education should produce. What it should produce is a belief that knowledge is attainable in a measure, though with difficulty; that much of what passes for knowledge at any given time is likely to be more or less mistaken, but that the mistakes can be rectified by care and industry. In acting upon our beliefs, we should be very cautious where a small error would mean disaster; nevertheless it is upon our beliefs that we must act. This state of mind is rather difficult: it requires a high degree of intellectual culture without emotional atrophy. But though difficult it is not impossible; it is in fact the scientific temper. Knowledge, like other good things, is difficult, but not impossible; the dogmatist forgets the difficulty, the skeptic denies the possibility. Both are mistaken, and their errors, when wide-spread, produce social disaster.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Education and the Good Life, Part 1, ch. 2 “The Aims of Education” (1926)
(Source)

Carlyle, Thomas -- Lecture (1840-05-19), “The Hero as Man of Letters,” Home House, Portman Square, London

Dave — Fri, 06 Mar 2026 16:07:56 +0000

For the Scepticism, as I said, is not intellectual only; it is moral also; a chronic atrophy and disease of the whole soul. A man lives by believing something; not by debating and arguing about many things.

Thomas Carlyle (1795-1881) Scottish essayist and historian
Lecture (1840-05-19), “The Hero as Man of Letters,” Home House, Portman Square, London
(Source)

The lecture notes were collected by Carlyle into On Heroes, Hero-Worship, & the Heroic in History, Lecture 5 (1841).

Carlyle, Thomas -- Lecture (1840-05-05), “The Hero as Divinity,” Home House, Portman Square, London

Dave — Thu, 04 Dec 2025 16:46:44 +0000

It is well said, in every sense, that a man’s religion is the chief fact with regard to him. A man’s, or a nation of men’s. By religion I do not mean here the church-creed which he professes, the articles of faith which he will sign and, in words or otherwise, assert; not this wholly, in many cases not this at all. We see men of all kinds of professed creeds attain to almost all degrees of worth or worthlessness under each or any of them. This is not what I call religion, this profession and assertion; which is often only a profession and assertion from the outworks of the man, from the mere argumentative region of him, if even so deep as that.
But the thing a man does practically believe (and this is often enough without asserting it even to himself, much less to others); the thing a man does practically lay to heart, and know for certain, concerning his vital relations to this mysterious Universe, and his duty and destiny there, that is in all cases the primary thing for him, and creatively determines all the rest. That is his religion; or, it may be, his mere scepticism and no-religion: the manner it is in which he feels himself to be spiritually related to the Unseen World or No-World; and I say, if you tell me what that is, you tell me to a very great extent what the man is, what the kind of things he will do is.

Thomas Carlyle (1795-1881) Scottish essayist and historian
Lecture (1840-05-05), “The Hero as Divinity,” Home House, Portman Square, London
(Source)

The lecture notes were collected by Carlyle into On Heroes, Hero-Worship, & the Heroic in History, Lecture 1, (1841).

Billings, Josh -- Everybody’s Friend, Or; Josh Billing’s Encyclopedia and Proverbial Philosophy of Wit and Humor, ch. 156 “Affurisms: Embers on the Harth” (1874)

Dave — Thu, 24 Apr 2025 16:12:39 +0000

I am just az certain that thare iz sitch a thing az “Spiritual manafestashuns” az i am that there iz plenty ov superstishun and trickery.

[I am just as certain that there is such a thing as “spiritual manifestations” as I am that there is plenty of superstition and trickery.]

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, ch. 156 “Affurisms: Embers on the Harth” (1874)
(Source)

Russell, Bertrand -- “The Best Answer to Fanaticism: Liberalism,” New York Times Magazine (1951-12-16)

Dave — Wed, 10 Jul 2024 20:57:37 +0000

The Ten Commandments that, as a teacher, I should wish to promulgate, might be set forth as follows:

Do not feel absolutely certain of anything.
Do not think it worth while to proceed by concealing evidence, for the evidence is sure to come to light.
Never try to discourage thinking for you are sure to succeed.
When you meet with opposition, even if it should be from your husband or your children, endeavour to overcome it by argument and not by authority, for a victory dependent upon authority is unreal and illusory.
Have no respect for the authority of others, for there are always contrary authorities to be found.
Do not use power to suppress opinions you think pernicious, for if you do the opinions will suppress you.
Do not fear to be eccentric in opinion, for every opinion now accepted was once eccentric.
Find more pleasure in intelligent dissent that in passive agreement, for, if you value intelligence as you should, the former implies a deeper agreement than the latter.
Be scrupulously truthful, even if the truth is inconvenient, for it is more inconvenient when you try to conceal it.
Do not feel envious of the happiness of those who live in a fool’s paradise, for only a fool will think that it is happiness.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
“The Best Answer to Fanaticism: Liberalism,” New York Times Magazine (1951-12-16)
(Source)

Sometimes referred to as "The Liberal Decalogue." Later printed in The Autobiography of Bertrand Russell, Vol. 3 (1969).

Jacobs, Joseph -- Dark Age Ahead, “Notes and Comments” (2004)

Dave — Mon, 22 Apr 2024 21:05:43 +0000

I have learned yet again (this has been going on all my life) what folly it is to take anything for granted without examining it skeptically.

Joseph Jacobs (1854-1916) Australian folklorist, literary critic, historian writer
Dark Age Ahead, “Notes and Comments” (2004)
(Source)

Russell, Bertrand -- “Am I an Atheist or an Agnostic?” sec. “Skepticism” (1949)

Dave — Wed, 13 Mar 2024 15:57:00 +0000

When one admits that nothing is certain one must, I think, also admit that some things are much more nearly certain than others. It is much more nearly certain that we are assembled here tonight than it is that this or that political party is in the right. Certainly there are degrees of certainty, and one should be very careful to emphasize that fact, because otherwise one is landed in an utter skepticism, and complete skepticism would, of course, be totally barren and completely useless.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
“Am I an Atheist or an Agnostic?” sec. “Skepticism” (1949)
(Source)

Originally given as a speech, "Agnosticism v. Atheism," Rationalist Press Assoc. Annual Dinner, London (1949-05-20); then printed as "Agnosticism v. Atheism," The Literary Guide and Rationalist Review (1949-07); then released as an essay under this title later in 1949.

Shakespeare, William -- Much Ado About Nothing, Act 1, sc. 1, l. 129ff (1.1.120-130) (1598)

Dave — Mon, 04 Mar 2024 16:16:43 +0000

BEATRICE: I had rather hear my dog bark at a crow than a man swear he loves me.

William Shakespeare (1564-1616) English dramatist and poet
Much Ado About Nothing, Act 1, sc. 1, l. 129ff (1.1.120-130) (1598)
(Source)

Russell, Bertrand -- Interview by Woodrow Wyatt, BBC TV (1959)

Dave — Wed, 20 Sep 2023 13:41:52 +0000

I think nobody should be certain of anything. If you’re certain, you’re certainly wrong, because nothing deserves certainty, and so one ought always to hold all one’s beliefs with a certain element of doubt and one ought to be able to act vigorously in spite of the doubt.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Interview by Woodrow Wyatt, BBC TV (1959)
(Source)

Collected in Bertrand Russell's BBC Interviews (1959) [UK] and Bertrand Russell Speaks His Mind (1960) [US]. Reprinted (abridged) in The Humanist (1982-11/12), and in Russell Society News, #37 (1983-02).

Harris, Sam -- Letter to a Christian Nation (2006)

Dave — Tue, 08 Aug 2023 16:52:39 +0000

In fact, “atheism” is a term that should not even exist. No one ever needs to identify himself as a “non-astrologer” or a “non-alchemist.” We do not have words for people who doubt that Elvis is still alive or that aliens have traversed the galaxy only to molest ranchers and their cattle. Atheism is nothing more than the noises reasonable people make in the presence of unjustified religious beliefs.

Sam Harris (b. 1967) American author, philosopher, neuroscientist
Letter to a Christian Nation (2006)
(Source)

Chesterton, Gilbert Keith -- “The Error of Impartiality,” All Things Considered (1908)

Dave — Tue, 25 Apr 2023 16:26:19 +0000

It is assumed that the skeptic has no bias; whereas he has a very obvious bias in favor of skepticism.

Gilbert Keith Chesterton (1874-1936) English journalist and writer
“The Error of Impartiality,” All Things Considered (1908)
(Source)

Byron, George Gordon, Lord -- Journal (1813-11-27)

Dave — Thu, 16 Mar 2023 14:19:37 +0000

If I valued fame, I should flatter received opinions, which have gathered strength by time, and will yet wear longer than any living works to the contrary. But, for the soul of me, I cannot and will not give the lie to my own thoughts and doubts, come what may. If I am fool, it is, at least, a doubting one; and I envy no one the certainty of his self-approved wisdom.

George Gordon, Lord Byron (1788-1824) English poet
Journal (1813-11-27)
(Source)

Halsey, Margaret -- The Folks at Home, “The Five O’Clock Shadow over the United States” (1952)

Dave — Thu, 31 Mar 2022 16:09:19 +0000

The crucial disadvantage of aggression, competitiveness, and skepticism as national characteristics is that these qualities cannot be turned off at five o’clock.

Margaret Halsey (1910-1997) American writer
The Folks at Home, “The Five O’Clock Shadow over the United States” (1952)
(Source)

Kendall, Paul Murray -- “Walking the Boundaries,” The Art of Biography (1965)

Dave — Thu, 09 Sep 2021 17:01:32 +0000

The biographer does not trust his witnesses, living or dead. He may drip with the milk of human kindness, believe everything that his wife and his friends and his children tell him, enjoy his neighbors and embrace the universe — but in the workshop he must be as ruthless as a board meeting smelling out embezzlement, as suspicious as a secret agent riding the Simplon-Orient Express, as cold-eyed as a pawnbroker viewing a leaky concertina. With no respect for human dignity, he plays off his witnesses one against the other, snoops for additional information to confront them with, probes their prejudices and their pride, checks their reliability against their self-interest, thinks the worst until he is permitted to think better.

Paul Murray Kendall (1911-1973) American academic and historian
“Walking the Boundaries,” The Art of Biography (1965)
(Source)

Martin, Graham Dunstan -- Shadows in the Cave (1990)

Dave — Thu, 29 Jul 2021 14:42:54 +0000

Dogma thinks it knows. Belief knows it does not. Dogma is credulous. Belief is sceptical, but forever open-minded.

Graham Dunstan Martin (1932-2021) British author, translator, philologist
Shadows in the Cave (1990)

Snyder, Timothy -- On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century, ch. 10 (2017)

Dave — Wed, 16 Jun 2021 14:31:02 +0000

“What is truth?” Sometimes people ask this question because they wish to do nothing. Generic cynicism makes us feel hip and alternative even as we slip along with our fellow citizens into a morass of indifference. It is your ability to discern facts that makes you an individual, and our collective trust in common knowledge that makes us a society.

Timothy Snyder (b. 1969) American historian, author
On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century, ch. 10 (2017)
(Source)

Pinker, Steven -- The Better Angels of Our Nature, ch. 4 (2011)

Dave — Wed, 26 May 2021 14:37:11 +0000

No one gets upset about the belief that rocks fall down as opposed to up, because all sane people can see it with their own eyes. Not so for the belief that babies are born with original sin or that God exists in three persons or that Ali was the second-most divinely inspired man after Muhammad. When people organize their lives around these beliefs, and then learn of other people who seem to be doing just fine without them — or worse, who credibly rebut them — they are in danger of looking like fools. Since one cannot defend a belief based on faith by persuading skeptics it is true, the faithful are apt to react to unbelief with rage, and may try to eliminate that affront to everything that makes their lives meaningful.

Steven Pinker (b. 1954) Canadian-American cognitive psychologist, linguist, author
The Better Angels of Our Nature, ch. 4 (2011)
(Source)

Hyujeong -- Mirror of Zen [Samga Gwigam; Samga Kwigom; Seonga Gwigam], ch. 14 [tr. Jorgensen (2012)]

Dave — Mon, 22 Mar 2021 17:29:35 +0000

You must have three essentials for the investigation of Chan [Zen]. The first is that you must have the foundation of great faith. The second is that you must have a zealous determination. The third is that you must have the feeling of great doubt. If you omit one of these it is like breaking off the leg of a tripod, which ends up becoming a useless vessel.

高峰云、叅禪須具三要一有大信根
二有大憤志三有大疑情苟闕其一
如折足之鼎終成廢器。

Hyujeong (1520-1604) Korean Seon (Sŏn, Zen) Master [Sosan Taesa, Seosan Daesa, Dae Seonsa]
Mirror of Zen [Samga Gwigam; Samga Kwigom; Seonga Gwigam], ch. 14 [tr. Jorgensen (2012)]
(Source)

Alternate translations:

For the study of Seon, there are three requirements: (1) having the great root of faith; (2) having great determination, and (3) having great doubt. If you lack one of these, it is like a broken like on a tripod sacrificial vessel. In the end you will discard it.
[tr. Miller (2017)]

There are three essentials to Sŏn meditation. First of all, you must be rooted in Great Faith and Great Confidence. Secondly, one must have Great Anger -- a strong, inwardly-directed, ardent determination to practice. Thirdly, one must have Great Doubt. If one of these is missing, it is like a tripod vessel with one leg cut off -- in the end, it will be of no use.
[Source]

It is well known that Ganhwaseon practitioners must have three things of essential importance: The first is a Foundation of Great Faith (大信根) for the practice which is possible; the second is Great Zealous Determination (大憤志) of practice to attain enlightenment; the third is a Great Feeling of Doubt (大疑情) on the Hwadu. If one of these is lacking, then it is like a tripod pot with a broken foot and is useless.
[Source]

Wittgenstein, Ludwig -- On Certainty, Para. 115 (1969) [tr. Paul & Anscombe]

Dave — Mon, 25 Jan 2021 17:41:29 +0000

If you tried to doubt everything you would not get as far as doubting anything. The game of doubting itself presupposes certainty.

Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889-1951) Austrian-English philosopher
On Certainty, Para. 115 (1969) [tr. Paul & Anscombe]

Arendt, Hannah -- Interview (1973-10) with Roger Errera, Office de Radiodiffusion-Télévision Française (ORTF)

Dave — Thu, 21 Jan 2021 19:12:40 +0000

If everybody always lies to you, the consequence is not that you believe the lies, but rather that nobody believes anything any longer. This is because lies, by their very nature, have to be changed, and a lying government has constantly to rewrite its own history. On the receiving end you get not only one lie — a lie which you could go on for the rest of your days — but you get a great number of lies, depending on how the political wind blows. And a people that no longer can believe anything cannot make up its mind. It is deprived not only of its capacity to act but also of its capacity to think and to judge. And with such a people you can then do what you please.

Hannah Arendt (1906-1975) German-American philosopher, political theorist
Interview (1973-10) with Roger Errera, Office de Radiodiffusion-Télévision Française (ORTF)
(Source)

Parts of this interview were turned into an episode of the French TV series "Un certain regard," directed by Jean-Claude Lubtchansky, first broadcast 1974-07-06.

This section was published in The New York Review of Books (1978-10-26).

Nathan, George Jean -- Materia Critica, “Critic and Criticism,” sec. 4 (1924)

Dave — Mon, 14 Dec 2020 21:31:40 +0000

The path of sound credence is through the thick forest of skepticism.

George Jean Nathan (1892-1958) American editor and critic
Materia Critica, “Critic and Criticism,” sec. 4 (1924)
(Source)

Card, Orson Scott -- Speaker for the Dead (1986)

Dave — Tue, 25 Aug 2020 15:21:40 +0000

This is how humans are: We question all our beliefs, except for the ones we really believe, and those we never think to question.

Orson Scott Card (b. 1951) American author
Speaker for the Dead (1986)
(Source)

Forster, E. M. -- “What I Believe,” The Nation (16 Jul 1938)

Dave — Wed, 01 Jul 2020 00:57:37 +0000

I probably differ from most people, who believe in Belief, and are only sorry they cannot swallow even more than they do. My law-givers are Erasmus and Montaigne, not Moses and St. Paul.

E. M. Forster (1879-1970) English novelist, essayist, critic, librettist [Edward Morgan Forster]
“What I Believe,” The Nation (16 Jul 1938)
(Source)

Mencken, H. L. -- “What I Believe,” sec. 4, Forum and Century (Sep 1930)

Dave — Tue, 18 Apr 2017 00:30:18 +0000

Men become civilized not in proportion to their willingness to believe but in proportion to their readiness to doubt.

H. L. Mencken (1880-1956) American writer and journalist [Henry Lewis Mencken]
“What I Believe,” sec. 4, Forum and Century (Sep 1930)
(Source)

Hume, David -- An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding, Sec. 10 “Of Miracles,” Part 1 (1748)

Dave — Fri, 24 Apr 2015 14:03:25 +0000

In our reasonings concerning matter of fact, there are all imaginable degrees of assurance, from the highest certainty to the lowest species of moral evidence. A wise man, therefore, proportions his belief to the evidence. […] No testimony is sufficient to establish a miracle, unless the testimony be of such a kind, that its falsehood would be more miraculous, than the fact, which it endeavors to establish.

David Hume (1711-1776) Scottish philosopher, economist, historian, empiricist
An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding, Sec. 10 “Of Miracles,” Part 1 (1748)

Often given as just, "A wise man proportions his belief to the evidence."

Wilde, Oscar -- The Picture of Dorian Gray, ch. 17 (1891)

Dave — Fri, 08 Aug 2014 16:44:21 +0000

Skepticism is the beginning of faith.

Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) Irish poet, wit, dramatist
The Picture of Dorian Gray, ch. 17 (1891)

See also Emerson, Hesse, Tennyson.

Whitehead, Alfred North -- “Mathematics and the Good,” The Philosophy of Alfred North Whitehead, ed. Paul A. Schilpp (1941)

Dave — Fri, 01 Aug 2014 13:16:59 +0000

The thorough skeptic is a dogmatist. He enjoys the delusion of complete futility.

Alfred North Whitehead (1861-1947) English mathematician and philosopher
“Mathematics and the Good,” The Philosophy of Alfred North Whitehead, ed. Paul A. Schilpp (1941)

Russell, Bertrand -- Sceptical Essays, ch. 11 (1928)

Dave — Fri, 25 Jul 2014 13:36:51 +0000

We must be skeptical even of our skepticism.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Sceptical Essays, ch. 11 (1928)

Emerson, Ralph Waldo -- Journal (1845)

Dave — Fri, 18 Jul 2014 15:07:43 +0000

Value of the Skeptic is the resistance to premature conclusions.

Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) American essayist, lecturer, poet
Journal (1845)

Emerson, Ralph Waldo -- Journal (1845)

Dave — Fri, 11 Jul 2014 12:30:25 +0000

I am driven to express my faith by a series of skepticisms.

Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) American essayist, lecturer, poet
Journal (1845)

Abelard, Peter -- Sic et Non, Prolog [tr. Graves (1918)]

Dave — Tue, 11 Feb 2014 15:04:15 +0000

Constant and frequent questioning is the first key to wisdom. … For through doubting we are led to inquire, and by inquiry we perceive the truth.

[Prima sapientiae clavis definitur, assidua scilicet seu frequens interrogatio … Dubitando enim ad inquisitionem venimus; inquirendo veritatem percipimus.]

Peter Abelard (1079-1142) French philosopher, theologian, logician [Pierre Abélard]
Sic et Non, Prolog [tr. Graves (1918)]

Joubert, Joseph -- Pensées [Thoughts], ch. 5 “Des Passions et des Affections de l’Âme [On the Soul],” ¶ 36 (1850 ed.) [tr. Auster (1983)], 1805 entry]

Dave — Mon, 01 Jul 2013 13:00:01 +0000

A person who is never duped cannot be a friend.

[Qui n’est jamais dupe n’est pas ami.]

Joseph Joubert (1754-1824) French moralist, philosopher, essayist, poet
Pensées [Thoughts], ch. 5 “Des Passions et des Affections de l’Âme [On the Soul],” ¶ 36 (1850 ed.) [tr. Auster (1983)], 1805 entry]
(Source)

(Source (French)). Alternate translations:

He cannot be a friend who is never a dupe.
[tr. Lyttelton (1899), ch. 4, ¶ 26]

Jefferson, Thomas -- Letter (1787-08-10) to Peter Carr

Dave — Thu, 27 Jun 2013 21:33:53 +0000

Do not be frightened from this inquiry by any fear of its consequences. If it ends in a belief that there is no god, you will find incitements to virtue in the comfort and pleasantness you feel in its exercise, and the love of others which it will procure you. If you find reason to believe there is a God, a consciousness that you are acting under his eye, and that he approves you, will be a vast additional incitement; if that there be a future state, the hope of a happy existence in that increases the appetite to deserve it; if that Jesus was also a god, you will be comforted by a belief of his aid and love.

Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) American political philosopher, polymath, statesman, US President (1801-09)
Letter (1787-08-10) to Peter Carr
(Source)

Descartes, René -- Discourse on Method [Discours de la méthode], Part 3 (1637) [tr. Haldane & Ross (1911)]

Dave — Fri, 28 Dec 2012 17:57:12 +0000

Not that indeed I imitated the sceptics, who only doubt for the sake of doubting, and pretend to be always uncertain; for, on the contrary, my design was only to provide myself with good ground for assurance, and to reject the quicksand and mud in order to find the rock or clay.

[Non que j’imitasse pour cela les sceptiques, qui ne doutent que pour douter, et affectent d’être toujours irrésolus; car, au contraire, tout mon dessein ne tendoit qu’à m’assurer, et à rejeter la terre mouvante et le sable pour trouver le roc ou l’argile.]

René Descartes (1596-1650) French philosopher, mathematician
Discourse on Method [Discours de la méthode], Part 3 (1637) [tr. Haldane & Ross (1911)]
(Source)

(Source (French)). Alternate translations:

Not that I therein imitated the Scepticks, who doubt onely to the end they may doubt, and affect to be always unresolved: For on the contrary, all my designe tended onely to fix my self, and to avoid quick-mires and sands, that I might finde rock and clay.
[tr. Newcombe ed. (1649)]

Not that in this I imitated the sceptics who doubt only that they may doubt, and seek nothing beyond uncertainty itself; for, on the contrary, my design was singly to find ground of assurance, and cast aside the loose earth and sand, that I might reach the rock or the clay.
[tr. Veitch (1901)]

For all that, I did not imitate the sceptics who doubt only for doubting's sake, and pretend to be always undecided; on the contrary, my whole intention was to arrive at a certainty, and to dig away the drift and the sand until I reached the rock or the clay beneath.
[tr. Huxley (1870)]

In doing this I was not copying the sceptics, who doubt only for the sake of doubting and pretend to be always undecided; on the contrary, my whole aim was to reach certainty -- to cast aside the loose earth and sand so as to come upon rock or clay.
[tr. Cottingham, Stoothoff (1985)]

Sagan, Carl -- The Demon-Haunted World, ch. 17 (1995)

Dave — Fri, 14 Dec 2012 13:43:43 +0000

Have I ever heard a skeptic wax superior and contemptuous? Certainly. I’ve even sometimes heard, to my retrospective dismay, that unpleasant tone in my own voice. There are human imperfections on both sides of this issue. Even when it’s applied sensitively, scientific skepticism may come across as arrogant, dogmatic, heartless and dismissive of the feelings and deeply held beliefs of others. And, it must be said, some scientists and dedicated skeptics apply this tool as a blunt instrument, with little finesse. Sometimes it looks as if the skeptical conclusion came first, that contentions were dismissed before, not after, the evidence was examined. All of us cherish our beliefs. They are, to a degree, self-defining. When someone comes along who challenges our belief system as insufficiently well based — or who, like Socrates, merely asks embarrassing questions that we haven’t thought of, or demonstrates that we’ve swept key underlying assumptions under the rug — it becomes much more than a search for knowledge. It feels like a personal assault.

Carl Sagan (1934-1996) American scientist and writer
The Demon-Haunted World, ch. 17 (1995)
(Source)

Hoffer, Eric -- Passionate State of Mind, Aphorism 184 (1955)

Dave — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 14:54:09 +0000

Rabid suspicion has nothing in it of skepticism. The suspicious mind believes more than it doubts. It believes in a formidable and ineradicable evil lurking in every person.

Eric Hoffer (1902-1983) American writer, philosopher, longshoreman
Passionate State of Mind, Aphorism 184 (1955)
(Source)

Jefferson, Thomas -- Letter (1825-01-17) to Alexander Smyth

Dave — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 12:11:22 +0000

Least and last of all should I undertake to criticise works on the Apocalypse. it is between 50. and 60. years since I read it, & I then considered it as merely the ravings of a Maniac, no more worthy, nor capable of explanation than the incoherences of our own nightly dreams.

Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) American political philosopher, polymath, statesman, US President (1801-09)
Letter (1825-01-17) to Alexander Smyth
(Source)

On the Book of Revelation.

Sagan, Carl -- “The Burden of Skepticism,” Pasadena lecture (1987)

Dave — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 14:29:03 +0000

It seems to me what is called for is an exquisite balance between two conflicting needs: the most skeptical scrutiny of all hypotheses that are served up to us and at the same time a great openness to new ideas. Obviously those two modes of thought are in some tension. But if you are able to exercise only one of these modes, whichever one it is, you’re in deep trouble.

If you are only skeptical, then no new ideas make it through to you. You never learn anything new. You become a crotchety old person convinced that nonsense is ruling the world. (There is, of course, much data to support you.) But every now and then, maybe once in a hundred cases, a new idea turns out to be on the mark, valid and wonderful. If you are too much in the habit of being skeptical about everything, you are going to miss or resent it, and either way you will be standing in the way of understanding and progress.

On the other hand, if you are open to the point of gullibility and have not an ounce of skeptical sense in you, then you cannot distinguish useful ideas from the worthless ones. If all ideas have equal validity then you are lost, because then, it seems to me, no ideas have any validity at all.

Carl Sagan (1934-1996) American scientist and writer
“The Burden of Skepticism,” Pasadena lecture (1987)
(Source)

Reprinted in The Skeptical Inquirer (Fall 1987).

Fuller, Thomas (1654) -- Gnomologia: Adages and Proverbs (compiler), # 5286 (1732)

Dave — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 15:57:58 +0000

Trust him no further than you can throw him.

Thomas Fuller (1654-1734) English physician, preacher, aphorist, writer
Gnomologia: Adages and Proverbs (compiler), # 5286 (1732)
(Source)

Fuller, Thomas (1654) -- Introductio ad Prudentiam, Vol. 1, # 323 (1725)

Dave — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 12:52:50 +0000

Believe not all thou hearest, nor speak all thou believest.

Thomas Fuller (1654-1734) English physician, preacher, aphorist, writer
Introductio ad Prudentiam, Vol. 1, # 323 (1725)
(Source)

Mencken, H. L. -- Minority Report : H.L. Mencken’s Notebooks, #418 (1956)

Dave — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 13:15:32 +0000

Moral certainty is always a sign of cultural inferiority. The more uncivilized a man, the surer he is that he knows precisely what is right and what is wrong. All human progress, even in morals, has been the work of men who have doubted the current moral values, not of men who have whooped them up and tried to enforce them. The truly civilized man is always skeptical and tolerant in this field as in all others. His culture is based on “I am not too sure.”

H. L. Mencken (1880-1956) American writer and journalist [Henry Lewis Mencken]
Minority Report : H.L. Mencken’s Notebooks, #418 (1956)
(Source)

Wilcox, Ella Wheeler -- Poem (1906), “‘Credulity,'” st. 1-2, New Thought Pastels

Dave — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 10:26:30 +0000

If fallacies come knocking at my door,
I’d rather feed, and shelter full a score,
Than hide behind the black portcullis, doubt,
And run the risk of barring one Truth out.

And if pretension for a time deceive,
And prove me one too ready to believe,
Far less my shame, than if by stubborn act,
I brand as lie, some great colossal Fact.

Ella Wheeler Wilcox (1850-1919) American author, poet, temperance advocate, spiritualist
Poem (1906), “‘Credulity,'” st. 1-2, New Thought Pastels
(Source)

Gaiman, Neil -- Neverwhere, ch. 9 (2006 ed.)

Dave — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 18:56:22 +0000

Richard did not believe in angels. He never had believed in angels. He was damned if he was going to start now. Still, it was much easier not to believe in something when it was not actually looking directly at you, and saying your name.

Neil Gaiman (b. 1960) British author, screenwriter, fabulist
Neverwhere, ch. 9 (2006 ed.)
(Source)

In the original 1996 edition, the first two sentences are elided: "Richard did not believe in angels, he never had."

Russell, Bertrand -- “Is There a God?” (1952)

Dave — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 20:08:25 +0000

Many orthodox people speak as though it were the business of sceptics to disprove received dogmas rather than of dogmatists to prove them. This is, of course, a mistake. If I were to suggest that between the Earth and Mars there is a china teapot revolving about the sun in an elliptical orbit, nobody would be able to disprove my assertion provided I were careful to add that the teapot is too small to be revealed even by our most powerful telescopes. But if I were to go on to say that, since my assertion cannot be disproved, it is intolerable presumption on the part of human reason to doubt it, I should rightly be thought to be talking nonsense.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
“Is There a God?” (1952)
(Source)

Essay commissioned by Illustrated magazine in 1952, but never published there. First publication in Russell, Last Philosophical Testament, 1943-68 (1997) [ed. Slater/Köllner].

I believe this is the earliest (chronologically) reference by Russell to his teapot analogy.

Santayana, George -- The Life of Reason or The Phases of Human Progress, Vol. 1 “Reason in Common Sense,” ch. 4 (1905-06)

Dave — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 02:25:55 +0000

There is a kind of courtesy in scepticism. It would be an offence against polite conventions to press our doubts too far and question the permanence of our estates, our neighbours’ independent existence, or even the justification of a good bishop’s faith and income. Against metaphysicians, and even against bishops, sarcasm was not without its savour; but the line must be drawn somewhere by a gentleman and a man of the world.

George Santayana (1863-1952) Spanish-American poet and philosopher [Jorge Agustín Nicolás Ruíz de Santayana y Borrás]
The Life of Reason or The Phases of Human Progress, Vol. 1 “Reason in Common Sense,” ch. 4 (1905-06)
(Source)

Shaw, George Bernard -- Androcles and the Lion, Preface (1912)

Dave — Fri, 09 Jul 2004 11:02:21 +0000

The fact that a believer is happier than a sceptic is no more to the point than the fact that a drunken man is happier than a sober one. The happiness of credulity is a cheap and dangerous quality of happiness, and by no means a necessity of life.

George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950) Irish playwright and critic
Androcles and the Lion, Preface (1912)
(Source)

Shakespeare, William -- Troilus and Cressida, Act 2, sc. 2, l. 15ff (2,2,15-16) (1602)

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

HECTOR: Modest doubt is called
The beacon of the wise.

William Shakespeare (1564-1616) English dramatist and poet
Troilus and Cressida, Act 2, sc. 2, l. 15ff (2,2,15-16) (1602)
(Source)

Euripides -- Helen [Ἑλένη], l. 1617ff (412 BC) [tr. Coleridge (1891)]

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

MESSENGER: Nothing is more useful to mankind than a prudent distrust.

[ἌΓΓΕΛΟΣ:σώφρονος δ᾽ ἀπιστίας
οὐκ ἔστιν οὐδὲν χρησιμώτερον βροτοῖς.]

Euripides (485?-406? BC) Greek tragic dramatist
Helen [Ἑλένη], l. 1617ff (412 BC) [tr. Coleridge (1891)]
(Source)

Informing Theoklymenos that Helen and Menelaos have escaped to Greece.

(Source (Greek)). Other translations:

Nought to man's welfare more
Avails, than disbelief by prudence rul'd.
[tr. Potter (1783), l. 1750ff]

There's nought more beneficial to mankind
Than wise distrust.
[tr. Wodhull (1809)]

But there is naught more useful to mortals than a wise distrust.
[tr. Buckley (1850)]

Nought is of more avail
For mortals' need than wise mistrustfulness.
[tr. Way (Loeb) (1912)]

My lord, I fear
There are advantages in honest doubt.
That lesson of my tale at least is clear.
[tr. Sheppard (1925)]

I say there's nothing of more use
to mortals than a wise suspension of belief.
[tr. Warner (1951)]

Well, there is one thing every man has to learn: it is, not to be too trustful.
[tr. Vellacott (1954)]

Man's most valuable trait
is a judicious sense of what not to believe.
[tr. Lattimore (1956)]

Knowing when not to believe someone ...
now that's the kind of wisdom we could use!
[tr. Meagher (1986)]

To sum up, there’s nothing more useful in life than showing a healthy scepticism.
[tr. Davie (2002)]

Ah! there is naught more serviceable to mankind than a prudent distrust.
[tr. Athenian Society (2006)]

Seems you were a bit naive, sir:
There's nothing more useful in life
Than a good suspicious nature.
[tr. A. Wilson (2007)]

Nothing is more useful than a prudent doubt.
[tr. Theodoridis (2011)]

Nothing is more useful to man than thoughtful skepticism.
[Ambrose et al. (2018)]

Nothing is more useful to mankind than a balanced [sōphrōn] distrust.
[tr. Coleridge / Helen Heroization Team]

Descartes, René -- Principles of Philosophy [Principia Philosophiae], Part 1 “The Principles of Human Knowledge [De Principiis Cognitionis Humane],” Article 1 (1644)

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

If you would be a real seeker after truth, it is necessary that at least once in your life you doubt, as far as possible, all things.

[Veritatem inquirenti, semel in vita de omnibus, quantum fieri potest, esse dubitandum.]

René Descartes (1596-1650) French philosopher, mathematician
Principles of Philosophy [Principia Philosophiae], Part 1 “The Principles of Human Knowledge [De Principiis Cognitionis Humane],” Article 1 (1644)

Common, unsourced translation of Descartes first principle. Frequently mis-sourced to Discourse on Method (1637) or Meditations on First Philosophy (1641), though those predecessor works do speak of the same principle.

(Source (Latin)). Alternate translations:

That in order to seek truth, it is necessary once in the course of our life, to doubt, as far as possible, of all things.
[tr. Veitch (1850)]

That in order to examine into the truth, it is necessary once on one's life to doubt of all things, so far as this is possible.
[tr. Haldane/Ross (1934)]

The seeker after truth must, once in the course of his life, doubt everything, as far as possible.
[tr. Miller & Miller (1982)]

That whoever is searching after truth must, once in his life, doubt all things; insofar as this is possible.
[tr. Cottingham/Stoothoff/Murdoch (1985)]

Billings, Josh -- Josh Billings’ Farmer’s Allminax, 1870-02 (1870 ed.)

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

Flattery iz like colone water, tew be smelt ov, not swallered.

[Flattery is like cologne water, to be smelt of, not swallowed.]

Josh Billings (1818-1885) American humorist, aphorist [pseud. of Henry Wheeler Shaw]
Josh Billings’ Farmer’s Allminax, 1870-02 (1870 ed.)
(Source)

This passage can be originally found in column material, e.g., in the Middlesex County Journal (Massachusetts) (1969-07-10), "Sollum Thoughts":

Flattery is like kolone water, tew be smelt ov, not swallowed.

Russell, Bertrand -- (Attributed)

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

In all affairs — love, religion, politics or business — it’s a healthy idea, now and then, to hang a question mark on the things you have long taken for granted.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
(Attributed)

Widely attributed to Russell, but not found in any of his online published works or cited to any source.

There are numerous variations on this quote, e.g.,

In all affairs it's a healthy idea now and then to hang a question mark on the things you have taken for granted.

And mixes and matches between those two.

Earliest references of long-form quotation I could find:

I also found in Alexander Chittick, Social Evolution, "The Evolution of Capital and Labor" (1919), regarding the plight of laborers:

They should be taught [...] to take nothing for granted in love, religion, politics, or business.

The combination of taking for granted and the same list of four affair topics seems more than coincidence. Was Chittick riffing off of an unfound Russell comment? Did someone attribute a variation of Chittick's passage to Russell? The answer is unclear.

Mill, John Stuart -- On Liberty, ch. 2 “Of the Liberty of Thought and Discussion” (1859)

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

The fatal tendency of mankind to leave off thinking about a thing when it is no longer doubtful is the cause of half their errors.

John Stuart Mill (1806-1873) English philosopher and economist
On Liberty, ch. 2 “Of the Liberty of Thought and Discussion” (1859)
(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)