WIST Quotations

~Other -- Mike Monteiro, Design Is a Job (2012)

Dave — Thu, 12 May 2016 16:20:59 +0000

Confidence doesn’t come from knowing you’re right — it comes from being okay with failing.

(Other Authors and Sources)
Mike Monteiro, Design Is a Job (2012)

De Stael, Germaine -- Corinne, Book 14, ch. 1 (1807)

Dave — Tue, 09 Feb 2016 14:33:44 +0000

Ought not every woman, like every man, to follow the bent of her own talents?

Germaine de Staël (1766-1817) Swiss-French writer, woman of letters, critic, salonist [Anne Louise Germaine de Staël-Holstein, Madame de Staël, Madame Necker]
Corinne, Book 14, ch. 1 (1807)

Horace -- Epistles [Epistularum, Letters], Book 1, ep. 2 “To Lollius,” l. 40ff (1.2.40-41) (20 BC) [tr. Fairclough (Loeb) (1926)]

Dave — Thu, 28 Jan 2016 17:21:44 +0000

Well begun is half done; dare to be wise; begin!

[Dimidium facti qui coepit habet; sapere aude;
incipe!]

Horace (65–8 BC) Roman poet, satirist, soldier, politician [Quintus Horatius Flaccus]
Epistles [Epistularum, Letters], Book 1, ep. 2 “To Lollius,” l. 40ff (1.2.40-41) (20 BC) [tr. Fairclough (Loeb) (1926)]
(Source)

See Aristotle.

(Source (Latin)). Other translations:

The facte begun, to one halfe is done, be wyse and take good harte:
Begin.
[tr. Drant (1567)]

Begin, be bold, and venture to be wise.
[tr. Cowley (17th C)]

Set forth, thou'rt half thy way.
Dare to be wise: Begin.
[tr. Fanshawe; ed. Brome (1666)]

Begin: 'tis half the work: assume the power
To live: expect not for a fairer hower.
[tr. "Dr. W."; ed. Brome (1666)]

He that hath once begun a good design,
Hath finish't half; dare to be wise, begin.
[tr. Creech (1684)]

Dare to be wise; begin; for, once begun,
Your task is easy; half the work is done.
[tr. Francis (1747)]

In virtue's race to start is half to win;
Come then, be wise -- take courage and begin!
[tr. Howes (1845)]

He has half the deed done, who has made a beginning. Boldly undertake the study of true wisdom: begin it forthwith.
[tr. Smart/Buckley (1853)]

Come now, have courage to be wise: begin:
You're halfway over when you once plunge in.
[tr. Conington (1874)]

Make a good start, and you are sure to win.
So, then, have courage to be wise! Begin!
[tr. Martin (1881)]

Whoever has begun a deed, by so doing has accomplished half of it. Dare to be wise. Begin.
[tr. Elgood (1893)]

Well begun
Is half done. Dare to be wise. Get under way!
[tr. Palmer Bovie (1959)]

Once you start, it's nearly done. Be brave and wise:
Begin.
[tr. Fuchs (1977)]

To begin a job is half the labor: be brave
Enough to be wise: begin!
[tr. Raffel (1983)]

Get yourself going and you'll be halfway there;
Dare to be wise; get started.
[tr. Ferry (2001)]

Well begun is half done. Dare to be wise.
Start now.
[tr. Rudd (2005 ed.)]

Who’s started has half finished: dare to be wise: begin!
[tr. Kline (2015)]

He who has begun has half done. Dare to be wise; begin!
[Bartlett's]

Munroe, Randall -- XKCD, # 896 “Marie Curie” (9 May 2011)

Dave — Wed, 20 Jan 2016 14:52:01 +0000

You don’t become great by trying to be great. You become great by wanting to do something, then doing it so hard that you become great in the process.

Randall Munroe (b. 1984) American webcomic writer, roboticist, programmer
XKCD, # 896 “Marie Curie” (9 May 2011)
(Source)

Gingrich, Newt -- Renewing American Civilization, Lecture 2 “Personal Strength” (1993)

Dave — Wed, 23 Sep 2015 13:25:12 +0000

Perseverance is the hard work you do after you get tired of doing the hard work you already did.

Newt Gingrich (b. 1943) American politician [Newton Leroy Gingrich]
Renewing American Civilization, Lecture 2 “Personal Strength” (1993)

Chichester, Francis -- Comment (1967)

Dave — Wed, 22 Jul 2015 13:41:09 +0000

Life is dull without a challenge. If your try fails, what does that matter? All life is failure in the end. The thing is to get some sport out of trying.

Francis Chichester (1901-1972) English aviator and sailor
Comment (1967)

After single-handedly circumnavigating the globe.

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)

Thackeray, William Makepeace -- (Attributed)

Dave — Wed, 29 Apr 2015 11:57:02 +0000

Whatever you are, be a good one.

William Makepeace Thackeray (1811-1863) English novelist
(Attributed)

Attributed in Laurence Hutton, "A Boy I Knew," St Nicholas Magazine (Mar 1897), where it was originally given as "Whatever you are, try to be a good one." Often attributed to Abraham Lincoln (first recorded in 1946). For more information, see here.

Kennedy, John F. -- “The New Frontier,” Presidential Nomination Acceptance Speech, Democratic National Convention, Los Angeles (15 Jul 1960)

Dave — Mon, 14 Jul 2014 12:41:35 +0000

That is the question of the New Frontier. That is the choice our nation must make — a choice that lies not merely between two men or two parties, but between the public interest and private comfort — between national greatness and national decline — between the fresh air of progress and the stale, dank atmosphere of “normalcy” — between determined dedication and creeping mediocrity. All mankind waits upon our decision. A whole world looks to see what we will do. We cannot fail their trust, we cannot fail to try.

John F. Kennedy (1917-1963) American politician, author, journalist, US President (1961–63)
“The New Frontier,” Presidential Nomination Acceptance Speech, Democratic National Convention, Los Angeles (15 Jul 1960)

Jagger, Mick -- “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” [with Keith Richards] (1969)

Dave — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 16:12:37 +0000

You can’t always get what you want.
But if you try sometimes,
You just might find
You get what you need.

Michael Philip "Mick" Jagger (b. 1943) English musician, songwriter, producer, actor
“You Can’t Always Get What You Want” [with Keith Richards] (1969)
(Source)

Howell, James -- Paroimiographia [Παροιμιογραφία]: Proverbs, or, Old Sayed Sawes & Adages, “New Sayings,” 2nd Century (1659)

Dave — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 13:55:04 +0000

Do thou thy best, and leave to God the rest.

James Howell (c. 1594–1666) Welsh historian and writer
Paroimiographia [Παροιμιογραφία]: Proverbs, or, Old Sayed Sawes & Adages, “New Sayings,” 2nd Century (1659)
(Source)

Eliot, T. S. -- Preface to Transit of Venus: Poems by Harry Crosby (1931)

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

Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go.

T. S. Eliot (1888-1965) American-British poet, critic, playwright [Thomas Stearns Eliot]
Preface to Transit of Venus: Poems by Harry Crosby (1931)

Lloyd George, David -- War Memoirs of David Lloyd George, Vol. 2, ch. 24 (1933)

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

There is no greater mistake than to try to leap an abyss in two jumps.

David Lloyd George (1863-1945) Welsh politician, statesman, UK Prime Minister (1916-22)
War Memoirs of David Lloyd George, Vol. 2, ch. 24 (1933)

Not original with Lloyd George, but usually attributed to him. For more information, see here. Variants:

"Don’t be afraid to take a big step. You can’t cross a chasm in two small jumps."
"The most dangerous thing in the world is to leap a chasm in two jumps."
"Anything can be achieved in small, deliberate steps. But there are times you need the courage to take a great leap; you can't cross a chasm in two small jumps."
"There is nothing more dangerous than to leap a chasm in two jumps."