WIST Quotations

Adams, Douglas -- Dirk Gently No. 2, The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul, ch. 17 (1988)

Dave — Wed, 10 Sep 2025 19:22:43 +0000

It was his subconscious which told him this — that infuriating part of a person’s brain which never responds to interrogation, merely gives little meaningful nudges and then sits humming quietly to itself, saying nothing.

Douglas Adams (1952-2001) English author, humorist, screenwriter
Dirk Gently No. 2, The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul, ch. 17 (1988)
(Source)

Carlyle, Thomas -- Essay (1837-12-06), “On Sir Walter Scott,” The London and Westminster Review, No. 12/55, Art. 2 (1838-01)

Dave — Thu, 17 Apr 2025 17:30:28 +0000

All greatness is unconscious, or it is little and naught.

Thomas Carlyle (1795-1881) Scottish essayist and historian
Essay (1837-12-06), “On Sir Walter Scott,” The London and Westminster Review, No. 12/55, Art. 2 (1838-01)
(Source)

Review of J. G. Lockhart, Memoirs of the Life of Sir Walter Scott, Baronet, 6 vols. (1837). Collected in Carlyle, Critical and Miscellaneous Essays (1827-1855).

Greene, Graham -- The End of the Affair, Book 1, ch. 2 (1951)

Dave — Wed, 13 Apr 2022 18:07:55 +0000

So much in writing depends on the superficiality of one’s days. One may be preoccupied with shopping and income tax returns and chance conversations, but the stream of the unconscious continues to flow undisturbed, solving problems, planning ahead: one sits down sterile and dispirited at the desk, and suddenly the words come as though from the air: the situations that seemed blocked in a hopeless impasse move forward: the work has been done while one slept or shopped or talked with friends.

Graham Greene (1904-1991) English novelist [Henry Graham Greene]
The End of the Affair, Book 1, ch. 2 (1951)
(Source)

Bovee, Christian Nestell -- Intuitions and Summaries of Thought, Vol. 2 (1862)

Dave — Fri, 30 Jul 2021 15:31:03 +0000

Much misconstruction of character arises out of our habit of assigning a motive for every action — whereas a good many of our acts are performed without any motive.

Christian Nestell Bovee (1820-1904) American epigrammatist, writer, publisher
Intuitions and Summaries of Thought, Vol. 2 (1862)
(Source)

Richardson, James -- Vectors: Aphorisms and Ten-Second Essays, #407 (2001)

Dave — Tue, 27 Jul 2021 16:58:10 +0000

The mind is like a well-endowed museum, only a small fraction of its holdings on view at any one time.

James Richardson (b. 1950) American poet
Vectors: Aphorisms and Ten-Second Essays, #407 (2001)
(Source)