WIST Quotations

Roosevelt, Eleanor -- (Misattributed)

Dave — Tue, 25 Aug 2026 14:55:03 +0000

He who learns but does not think is lost. He who thinks but does not learn is in great danger.

Eleanor Roosevelt (1884–1962) American politician, diplomat, activist; First Lady of the US (1933–45)
(Misattributed)

This quote is often attributed to Eleanor Roosevelt, and, where a source is given, usually to her Autobiography (e.g.). I am unable to find it in that work, nor in the three earlier separate memoirs she wrote, nor in any other written source.

If she did use the phrase, she was quoting from the popular Waley (1938) translation of Confucius, Analects, 2.15.

Mead, Margaret -- Coming of Age in Samoa, ch. 14 (1928)

Dave — Mon, 17 Aug 2026 23:39:29 +0000

The children must be taught how to think, not what to think.

Margaret Mead (1901–1978) American anthropologist
Coming of Age in Samoa, ch. 14 (1928)

Often given without the initial "The".

Writing of the need for parents educating children at home to avoid pushing "an ethical cause or a religious belief" through smiles or frowns.

Cicero, Marcus Tullius -- Tusculan Disputations [Tusculanae Disputationes], Book 1, ch. 16 (1.16) / sec. 38 (1.38) (45 BC) [ed. Harbottle (1897)]

Dave — Thu, 13 Aug 2026 19:42:45 +0000

MARCUS: The power of separating the intellect from the senses, and reason from instinct, is characteristic of the highest genius.

[Magni autem est ingenii sevocare mentem a sensibus et cogitationem ab consuetudine abducere.]

Marcus Tullius Cicero (106–43 BC) Roman orator, statesman, philosopher
Tusculan Disputations [Tusculanae Disputationes], Book 1, ch. 16 (1.16) / sec. 38 (1.38) (45 BC) [ed. Harbottle (1897)]

On being able to consider the immortality a disembodied soul without instinctively visualizing animate human bodies in an afterlife.

(Source (Latin)). Alternate translations:

Now it is the part of a noble Wit, to call the Mind off from the Senses, and take it out of the common Road.
[tr. Wase (1643)]

To withdraw the mind from sensual objects, and abstract our thoughts from what we are accustomed to, is the property of a great genius.
[tr. Main (1824)]

But it is the part of great genius to call off the mind from the senses, and to abstract the thought from custom.
[tr. Otis (1839)]

To withdraw the mind from sensual objects, and abstract our thoughts from what we are accustomed to, is an attribute of great genius.
[tr. Yonge (1853)]

It is the work of surpassing genius to separate the mind from the senses, and to divert thought from its accustomed channels.
[tr. Peabody (1886)]

Now it is an attribute of great genius; to distract the mind from the senses, and to withdraw the thoughts from every-day associations.
[tr. Black (1889)]

It calls for great intelligence to separate the mind from the senses and to sever thought from mere habit.
[tr. Douglas (1985)]

Still, it takes a great talent to isolate the mind from the senses and to redirect thought from its habitual patterns.
[tr. Habinek (1996)]

Now, it requires considerable intelligence to separate the mind from the senses and to divide thought from mere habit.
[tr. Davie (2017)]

Schopenhauer, Arthur -- Parerga and Paralipomena, Vol. 2, ch. 23 “On Authorship and Style [Über Schriftstellerei und Stil],” § 283 (1851) [tr. Saunders (1890)]

Dave — Wed, 29 Jul 2026 16:57:43 +0000

But, as we have seen, many people try to conceal their poverty of thought under a flood of verbiage.

[Aber freilich suchen viele Schriftsteller gerade unter dem Wortüberfluß ihre Gedankenarmuth zu verbergen.]

Arthur Schopenhauer (1788–1860) German philosopher
Parerga and Paralipomena, Vol. 2, ch. 23 “On Authorship and Style [Über Schriftstellerei und Stil],” § 283 (1851) [tr. Saunders (1890)]

(Source (German)). Alternate translation:

But, truly, many authors try to hide their poverty of thought under a superfluity of words.
[tr. Dircks (1897)]

Schopenhauer, Arthur -- Parerga and Paralipomena, Vol. 2, ch. 23 “On Authorship and Style [Über Schriftstellerei und Stil],” § 283 (1851) [tr. Saunders (1890)]

Dave — Wed, 22 Jul 2026 23:43:49 +0000

To use many words to communicate few thoughts is everywhere the unmistakable sign of mediocrity. To gather much thought into few words stamps the man of genius.

[Viele Worte machen, um wenige Gedanken mitzutheilen, ist überall das untrügliche Zeichen der Mittelmäßigkeit; das des eminenten Kopfes dagegen, viele Gedanken in wenige Worte zu schließen.]

The use of many words in order to express little thought is everywhere the infallible sign of mediocrity; while to clothe much thought in a few words is the infallible sign of distinguished minds.
[tr. Dircks (1897)]

To use many words for the purpose of conveying few ideas is everywhere the infallible sign of mediocrity; whereas that of an eminent mind is the inclusion of many ideas into few words.
[tr. Payne (1974)]

Milne, A. A. -- War with Honour, Macmillan War Pamphlets, Issue 2 (1940)

Dave — Tue, 10 Mar 2026 18:42:21 +0000

I wrote somewhere once that the third-rate mind was only happy when it was thinking with the majority, the second-rate mind was only happy when it was thinking with the minority, and the first-rate mind was only happy when it was thinking. With equal truth it may be said that a first-rate mind is not one which does not remember the past, nor is it one which cannot forget the past; it is a mind which will use the past but not be ordered by it. It is a mind independent of everybody and everything but the facts in front of it. It is as little perturbed to find itself sharing a thought with the simple as it is elated to find itself sharing a thought with the subtle.

A. A. Milne (1882–1956) English poet and playwright [Alan Alexander Milne]
War with Honour, Macmillan War Pamphlets, Issue 2 (1940)

Milne wrote this work in repudiation (or perhaps emendation) of his 1934 book, Peace with Honour, which argued that, given the tragedy of World War 1, that similar saber-rattling about the rise of Hitler's Germany was irresponsible and immoral. Having seen the course of fascism in the first years of World War 2, while still espousing pacifist principles, he saw Hitler as an evil that must be defeated.

Hoffer, Eric -- Passionate State of Mind, Aphorism 261 (1955)

Dave — Thu, 26 Feb 2026 18:49:12 +0000

Much of man’s thinking is propaganda of his appetites.

Eric Hoffer (1902–1983) American writer, philosopher, longshoreman
Passionate State of Mind, Aphorism 261 (1955)

Orwell, George -- Essay (1946-04), “Politics and the English Language,” Horizon Magazine

Dave — Fri, 20 Feb 2026 17:02:06 +0000

If thought corrupts language, language can also corrupt thought.

George Orwell (1903–1950) English journalist, essayist, writer [pseud. of Eric Arthur Blair]
Essay (1946-04), “Politics and the English Language,” Horizon Magazine

Doyle, Arthur Conan -- Story (1886-04), “A Study in Scarlet,” Part 1, ch. 3, Beeton’s Christmas Annual, Vol. 28 (1887-11-21)

Dave — Thu, 29 Jan 2026 23:58:11 +0000

“You don’t seem to give much thought to the matter in hand,” I said at last, interrupting Holmes’s musical disquisition.
“No data yet,” he answered. “It is a capital mistake to theorize before you have all the evidence. It biases the judgement.”

Arthur Conan Doyle (1859–1930) British writer and physician
Story (1886-04), “A Study in Scarlet,” Part 1, ch. 3, Beeton’s Christmas Annual, Vol. 28 (1887-11-21)

Published in novel form 1888-07.

Mackay, Charles -- Poem (1846-01-22), “The Good Time Coming,” st. 1 , London Daily News

Dave — Wed, 05 Nov 2025 18:05:42 +0000

Cannon-balls may aid the truth,
But thought’s a weapon stronger;
We’ll win our battles by its aid; —
Wait a little longer.

Charles Mackay (1814–1889) Scottish poet, journalist, song writer
Poem (1846-01-22), “The Good Time Coming,” st. 1 , London Daily News

Originally published under the title "Wait a Little Longer." First collected in Voices from the Crowd and Other Poems (1846).

Carlyle, Thomas -- Sartor Resartus, Book 3, ch. 3 (1834)

Dave — Thu, 02 Oct 2025 19:58:29 +0000

Speech is too often not, as the Frenchman defined it, the art of concealing Thought; but of quite stifling and suspending Thought, so that there is none to conceal.

Thomas Carlyle (1795–1881) Scottish essayist and historian
Sartor Resartus, Book 3, ch. 3 (1834)

Referring to Talleyrand. Quoting Herr Teufelsdröckh.

This passage first appeared in Fraser's Magazine for Town and Country, Vol. 9, No. 54 (1834-06).

Talleyrand -- (Attributed)

Dave — Thu, 25 Sep 2025 18:29:01 +0000

Speech was given to man to conceal his thoughts.

[La parole a été donné à l’homme pour déguiser sa pensée.]

Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord (1754–1838) French secularized clergyman, statesman, wit, diplomat
(Attributed)

For more discussion of the sources of this quote, see S. A. Bent, ed., Familiar Short Sayings of Great Men (1887). The sentiment, if not the precise wording, predates Talleyrand.

Hugo, Victor -- Les Misérables, Part 4 “Saint Denis,” Book 2 “Eponine,” ch. 1 (4.2.1) (1862) [tr. Denny (1976)]

Dave — Mon, 21 Jul 2025 18:29:09 +0000

A measure of day-dreaming is a good thing, like a drug prudently used; it allays the sometimes virulent fever of the over-active mind, like a cool wind blowing through the brain to smooth the harshness of untrammelled thought; it bridges here and there the gaps, brings things into proportion and blunts the sharper angles. But too much submerges and drowns.

[Une certaine quantité de rêverie est bonne, comme un narcotique à dose discrète. Cela endort les fièvres, quelquefois dures, de l’intelligence en travail, et fait naître dans l’esprit une vapeur molle et fraîche qui corrige les contours trop âpres de la pensée pure, comble çà et là des lacunes et des intervalles, lie les ensembles et estompe les angles des idées. Mais trop de rêverie submerge et noie.]

Victor Hugo (1802–1885) French writer, journalist, human rights activist, politician
Les Misérables, Part 4 “Saint Denis,” Book 2 “Eponine,” ch. 1 (4.2.1) (1862) [tr. Denny (1976)]

(Source (French)). Other translations:

A certain amount of reverie is good, like a narcotic in discreet doses. It soothes the fever, sometimes high, of the brain at work, and produces in the mind a soft and fresh vapour which corrects the too angular contours of pure thought, fills up the gaps and intervals here and there, binds them together, and blunts the sharp corners of ideas. But too much reverie submerges and drowns.
[tr. Wilbour (1862)]

A certain amount of reverie is good, like a narcotic taken in discreet doses. It lulls to sleep the at times harsh fevers of the working brain, and produces in the mind a soft and fresh vapor which corrects the too sharp outlines of pure thought, fills up gaps and spaces here and there, and rounds the angles of ideas. But excess of reverie submerges and drowns.
[tr. Wraxall (1862)]

A certain amount of dreaming is good, like a narcotic in discreet doses. It lulls to sleep the fevers of the mind at labor, which are sometimes severe, and produces in the spirit a soft and fresh vapor which corrects the over-harsh contours of pure thought, fills in gaps here and there, binds together and rounds off the angles of the ideas. But too much dreaming sinks and drowns.
[tr. Hapgood (1887)]

A certain amount of reverie is good, like a narcotic in discreet doses. It soothes the fever, occasionally high, of the brain at work, and produces in the mind a soft, fresh vapor that corrects the all too angular contours of pure thought, fills up the gaps and intervals here and there, binds them together, and dulls the sharp corners of ideas. But too much reverie submerges and drowns.
[tr. Wilbour/Fahnestock/MacAfee (1987)]

A certain amount of daydreaming does you good, like a narcotic in small doses. It sedates the sometimes severe fevers of the toiling intellect and produces in the mind a cool and gentle mist that softens the over-harsh contours of pure thought, fills in the gaps and intervals here and there, creates cohesion and smooths the sharp edges of ideas. But too much daydreaming drags you down and overwhelms you.
[tr. Donougher (2013)]

Ingersoll, Robert Green -- Lecture (1873-12) “Individuality,” Chicago Free Religious Society

Dave — Fri, 18 Jul 2025 20:31:18 +0000

The Church hates a thinker precisely for the same reason a robber dislikes a sheriff, or a thief despises the prosecuting witness. Tyranny likes courtiers, flatterers, followers, fawners, and superstition wants believers, disciples, zealots, hypocrites, and subscribers.

Robert Green Ingersoll (1833–1899) American lawyer, freethinker, orator
Lecture (1873-12) “Individuality,” Chicago Free Religious Society

Full title "Arraignment of the Church and a Plea for Individuality." Collected in The Gods and Other Lectures (1876).

Joubert, Joseph -- Pensées [Thoughts], ch. 9 “De la Sagesse, de la Vertu, etc. [On Wisdom and Virtue],” ¶ 52, 1798 entry (1850 ed.) [tr. Collins (1928), ch. 8]

Dave — Tue, 24 Jun 2025 20:33:24 +0000

When we think what we do not feel, we lie to ourselves. We must always think with our whole being, soul and body.

[Penser ce que l’on ne sent pas, c’est mentir à soi-même. Tout ce qu’on pense, il faut le penser avec son être tout entier, âme et corps.]

Joseph Joubert (1754–1824) French moralist, philosopher, essayist, poet
Pensées [Thoughts], ch. 9 “De la Sagesse, de la Vertu, etc. [On Wisdom and Virtue],” ¶ 52, 1798 entry (1850 ed.) [tr. Collins (1928), ch. 8]

(Source (French)). Other translations:

To think what we do not feel, is to lie to ourselves. Whatever we think, we should think with our whole being, will and body.
[tr. Calvert (1866), ch. 9]

To think what we do not feel is to lie to one's-self. Whatever we think should be thought by our whole being, soul and body.
[tr. Attwell (1896), ¶ 140]

To think what we do not feel, is to lie to ourselves. Everything that we think we must think with our whole being, soul and body
[tr. Lyttelton (1899), ch. 8, ¶ 38]

To think what we do not feel is to lie to ourselves, in the same way that we lie to others when we say what we do not think. Everything we think must be thought with our entire being, body and soul.
[tr. Auster (1983), 1798 entry]

Russell, Bertrand -- Conquest of Happiness, Part 1, ch. 5 “Fatigue” (1930)

Dave — Wed, 18 Jun 2025 16:21:52 +0000

It is amazing how much both happiness and efficiency can be increased by the cultivation of an orderly mind, which thinks about a matter adequately at the right time rather than inadequately at all times.

Bertrand Russell (1872–1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Conquest of Happiness, Part 1, ch. 5 “Fatigue” (1930)

Russell, Bertrand -- Conquest of Happiness, Part 1, ch. 2 “Byronic Unhappiness” (1930)

Dave — Wed, 23 Apr 2025 16:04:04 +0000

We must distinguish between a mood and its intellectual expression. There is no arguing with mood; it can be changed by some fortunate event, or by a change in our bodily condition, but it cannot be changed by argument.

Bertrand Russell (1872–1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Conquest of Happiness, Part 1, ch. 2 “Byronic Unhappiness” (1930)

Hugo, Victor -- Les Misérables, Part 3 “Marius,” Book 5 “The Excellence of Misfortune,” ch. 5 (3.5.5) (1862) [tr. Wilbour/Fahnestock/MacAfee (1987)]

Dave — Mon, 03 Mar 2025 21:57:18 +0000

In fact, were it given to our human eye to see into the consciences of others, we would judge a man much more surely from what he dreams than from what he thinks.

[En effet, s’il était donné à nos yeux de chair de voir dans la conscience d’autrui, on jugerait bien plus sûrement un homme d’après ce qu’il rêve que d’après ce qu’il pense.]

Victor Hugo (1802–1885) French writer, journalist, human rights activist, politician
Les Misérables, Part 3 “Marius,” Book 5 “The Excellence of Misfortune,” ch. 5 (3.5.5) (1862) [tr. Wilbour/Fahnestock/MacAfee (1987)]

(Source (French)). Other translations:

In fact, were it given to our eye of flesh to see into the consciences of others, we should judge a man much more surely from what he dreams than from what he thinks.
[tr. Wilbour (1862)]

In fact, if our eyes of the flesh were allowed to peer into the consciences of our neighbor, a man could be judged far more surely from what he dreams than from what he thinks.
[tr. Wraxall (1862)]

In fact, had it been given to our eyes of the flesh to gaze into the consciences of others, we should be able to judge a man much more surely according to what he dreams, than according to what he thinks.
[tr. Hapgood (1887)]

Indeed, if our earthly eyes possessed this power of seeing into the hearts of others, we would judge men far more surely by their dreams than by their thoughts.
[tr. Denny (1976)]

For had it been given to our eyes of flesh to see into the conscience of others, our judgment of a man would be much sounder were it based on what he dreams rather than on what he thinks.
[tr. Donougher (2013)]

Taleb, Nassim Nicholas -- Fooled by Randomness, Prologue (2001)

Dave — Mon, 24 Feb 2025 18:10:26 +0000

Delivering advice assumes that our cognitive apparatus rather than our emotional machinery exerts some meaningful control over our actions.

Nassim Nicholas Taleb (b. 1960) Lebanese-American essayist, statistician, risk analyst, aphorist
Fooled by Randomness, Prologue (2001)

Fuller, Thomas (1654) -- Introductio ad Prudentiam, Vol. 1, # 26 (1725)

Dave — Wed, 05 Feb 2025 16:16:22 +0000

Speak fair; and think what thou wilt.

Thomas Fuller (1654–1734) English physician, preacher, aphorist, writer
Introductio ad Prudentiam, Vol. 1, # 26 (1725)

Taleb, Nassim Nicholas -- The Bed of Procrustes: Philosophical and Practical Aphorisms, “Postface” (2010)

Dave — Mon, 27 Jan 2025 17:48:20 +0000

Because our minds need to reduce information, we are more likely to try to squeeze a phenomenon into the Procrustean bed of a crisp and known category (amputating the unknown), rather than suspend categorization, and make it tangible. Thanks to our detections of false patterns, along with real ones, what is random will appear less random and more certain — our overactive brains are more likely to impose the wrong, simplistic, narrative than no narrative at all.

Nassim Nicholas Taleb (b. 1960) Lebanese-American essayist, statistician, risk analyst, aphorist
The Bed of Procrustes: Philosophical and Practical Aphorisms, “Postface” (2010)

Franklin, Benjamin -- Poor Richard (1736 ed.)

Dave — Thu, 10 Oct 2024 21:58:33 +0000

Force shites upon Reason’s Back.

Benjamin Franklin (1706–1790) American statesman, scientist, philosopher, aphorist
Poor Richard (1736 ed.)

Herbert, George -- Jacula Prudentum, or Outlandish Proverbs, Sentences, &c. (compiler), # 836 (1640 ed.)

Dave — Fri, 04 Oct 2024 15:47:08 +0000

He thinkes not well, that thinkes not againe.

[He thinks not well, that thinks not again.]

George Herbert (1593–1633) Welsh priest, orator, poet.
Jacula Prudentum, or Outlandish Proverbs, Sentences, &c. (compiler), # 836 (1640 ed.)

Nietzsche, Friedrich -- The Gay Science [Die fröhliche Wissenschaft], Book 1, § 41 (1882) [tr. Nauckhoff (2001)]

Dave — Fri, 30 Aug 2024 14:31:17 +0000

The thinker sees his own actions as experiments and questions, as seeking explanations of something: to him, success and failure are primarily answers.

[Der Denker sieht in seinen eigenen Handlungen Versuche und Fragen, irgend worüber Aufschluss zu erhalten: Erfolg und Misserfolg sind ihm zu allererst Antworten.]

Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900) German philosopher and poet
The Gay Science [Die fröhliche Wissenschaft], Book 1, § 41 (1882) [tr. Nauckhoff (2001)]

Also known as La Gaya Scienza, The Joyful Wisdom, or The Joyous Science.

(Source (German)). Other translations:

The thinker sees in his own actions attempts and questionings to obtain information about something or other; success and failure are answers to him first and foremost.
[tr. Common (1911)]

A thinker sees his own actions as experiments and questions -- as attempts to find out something. Success and failure are for him answers above all.
[tr. Kaufmann (1974)]

In his own actions, the thinker sees experiments and enquiries from which he seeks to obtain insight: to him, success and failure are, first of all, answers.
[tr. Hill (2018)]

Nietzsche, Friedrich -- The Gay Science [Die fröhliche Wissenschaft], Book 3, § 179 (1882) [tr. Kaufmann (1974)]

Dave — Thu, 15 Aug 2024 22:30:34 +0000

Thoughts are the shadows of our feelings — always darker, emptier, and simpler.

[Gedanken sind die Schatten unserer Empfindungen, — immer dunkler, leerer, einfacher, als diese.]

Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900) German philosopher and poet
The Gay Science [Die fröhliche Wissenschaft], Book 3, § 179 (1882) [tr. Kaufmann (1974)]

Also known as La Gaya Scienza, The Joyful Wisdom, or The Joyous Science.

(Source (German)). Other translations:

Thoughts are the shadows of our sentiments -- always, however, obscurer, emptier, and simpler.
[tr. Common (1911)]

Thoughts are the shadows of our sensations -- always darker, emptier, simpler.
[tr. Nauckhoff (2001)]

Thoughts are shadows of our feelings -- always darker, emptier and simpler than these.
[tr. Hill (2018)]

Colton, Charles Caleb -- Lacon: Or, Many Things in Few Words, Vol. 1, Preface (1820)

Dave — Wed, 31 Jul 2024 16:36:19 +0000

Although the proportion of those who do think be extremely small, yet every individual flatters himself that he is one of the number.

Charles Caleb "C. C." Colton (1780–1832) English cleric, writer, aphorist
Lacon: Or, Many Things in Few Words, Vol. 1, Preface (1820)

Colton, Charles Caleb -- Lacon: Or, Many Things in Few Words, Vol. 1, § 246 (1820)

Dave — Wed, 24 Jul 2024 16:05:38 +0000

Mental pleasures never cloy: unlike those of the body, they are increased by repetition, approved of by reflection, and strengthened by enjoyment.

Charles Caleb "C. C." Colton (1780–1832) English cleric, writer, aphorist
Lacon: Or, Many Things in Few Words, Vol. 1, § 246 (1820)

Milne, A. A. -- House at Pooh Corner, ch. 6 “Eeyore Joins the Game” (1928)

Dave — Wed, 08 May 2024 15:36:14 +0000

There was a moment’s silence while everybody thought.
“I’ve got a sort of idea,” said Pooh at last, “but I don’t suppose it’s a very good one.”
“I don’t suppose it is either,” said Eeyore.

A. A. Milne (1882–1956) English poet and playwright [Alan Alexander Milne]
House at Pooh Corner, ch. 6 “Eeyore Joins the Game” (1928)

Byron, George Gordon, Lord -- Don Juan, Canto 3, st. 88 (1821)

Dave — Tue, 07 May 2024 14:33:46 +0000

But words are things, and a small drop of ink,
Falling like dew, upon a thought, produces
That which makes thousands, perhaps millions, think.

George Gordon, Lord Byron (1788–1824) English poet
Don Juan, Canto 3, st. 88 (1821)

Colton, Charles Caleb -- Lacon: Or, Many Things in Few Words, Vol. 2, § 20 (1822)

Dave — Tue, 16 Apr 2024 14:28:31 +0000

Pedantry crams our heads with learned lumber, and takes out our brains to make room for it.

Charles Caleb "C. C." Colton (1780–1832) English cleric, writer, aphorist
Lacon: Or, Many Things in Few Words, Vol. 2, § 20 (1822)

Lessing, Gotthold -- Emilia Galotti, Act 4, sc. 3 (1772)

Dave — Tue, 02 Apr 2024 17:26:42 +0000

ORSINA: Better counsel comes overnight.

[Besserer Rat kommt über Nacht.]

Gotthold Lessing (1729–1781) German playwright, philosopher, dramaturg, writer
Emilia Galotti, Act 4, sc. 3 (1772)

It is unclear if this is a traditional German saying, or was coined by Lessing. There are parallels in other languages (as well as German), but I did not find a German reference in these words that predates this play.

(Source (German))

Better counsel comes with the night.
[Source (1842)]

Morning brings better counsel.
[tr. Lewes/Taylor (1890)]

Better counsel often comes by night.
[tr. Gode-von Aesch (1959?)]

La Bruyere, Jean de -- The Characters [Les Caractères], ch. 1 “Of Works of the Mind [Des Ouvrages de l’Esprit],” § 1 (1.1) (1688) [tr. Stewart (1970)]

Dave — Tue, 02 Apr 2024 16:43:19 +0000

Everything has been said, and we have come too late, now that men have been living and thinking for seven thousand years and more.

[Tout est dit, et l’on vient trop tard depuis plus de sept mille ans qu’il y a des hommes qui pensent.]

Jean de La Bruyère (1645–1696) French essayist, moralist
The Characters [Les Caractères], ch. 1 “Of Works of the Mind [Des Ouvrages de l’Esprit],” § 1 (1.1) (1688) [tr. Stewart (1970)]

Opening line of the book. La Bruyère's timeline is that of medieval scholars who calculated, from the Bible, that the age of the world to be only several thousand years old.

(Source (French)). Other translations:

We are come too late, after above seven thousand years that there have been men, and men have thought, to say any thing which has not been said already.
[Bullord ed. (1696)]

After above seven thousand Years, that there have been Men, and Men have thought, we come too late to say any thing which has not been said already.
[Curll ed. (1713)]

We are come too late, by several thousand Years, to say any thing new in Morality.
[Browne ed. (1752)]

After above seven thousand years, during which there have been men who have thought, we come too late to say anything that has not been said already.
[tr. Van Laun (1885)]

Holmes, Oliver Wendell, Sr. -- Article (1857-11), “The Autocrat of the Breakfast-Table,” Atlantic Monthly

Dave — Thu, 29 Feb 2024 18:17:11 +0000

A thought is often original, though you have uttered it a hundred times. It has come to you over a new route, by a new and express train of associations.

Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. (1809–1894) American poet, essayist, scholar
Article (1857-11), “The Autocrat of the Breakfast-Table,” Atlantic Monthly

Collected in The Autocrat of the Breakfast Table, ch. 1 (1858).

Ginott, Haim -- Teacher and Child, ch. 4 “Congruent Communication” (1972)

Dave — Thu, 22 Feb 2024 23:29:37 +0000

Only if a child feels right can he think right.

Haim Ginott (1922–1973) Israeli-American school teacher, child psychologist, psychotherapist [b. Haim Ginzburg]
Teacher and Child, ch. 4 “Congruent Communication” (1972)

Chamfort, Nicolas -- Products of Perfected Civilization [Produits de la Civilisation Perfectionée], Part 1 “Maxims and Thoughts [Maximes et Pensées],” ch. 8, ¶ 522 (1795) [tr. Merwin (1969)]

Dave — Mon, 22 Jan 2024 15:58:58 +0000

It is the head that governs men. A kind heart is of no use in a chess game.

[On gouverne les hommes avec la tête. On ne joue pas aux échecs avec un bon cœur.]

Nicolas Chamfort (1741–1794) French writer, epigrammist (b. Nicolas-Sébastien Roch)
Products of Perfected Civilization [Produits de la Civilisation Perfectionée], Part 1 “Maxims and Thoughts [Maximes et Pensées],” ch. 8, ¶ 522 (1795) [tr. Merwin (1969)]

(Source (French)). Other translations:

People are governed with the head; kindness of heart is little use in chess.
[tr. Mathers (1926)]

Men are governed using the head. A kind heart is useless in a chess game.
[tr. Dusinberre (1992)]

A person governs men with his head. One does not play chess with goodness of heart.
[tr. Siniscalchi (1994), ¶ 521]

Confucius -- The Analects [論語, 论语, Lúnyǔ], Book 2, verse 15 (2.15) (6th C. BC – AD 3rd C.) [tr. Ware (1950)]

Dave — Tue, 07 Nov 2023 18:41:00 +0000

Learning without thought ends in a blur. Thought without learning will soon totter.

[學而不思則罔、思而不學則殆。]

Confucius (c. 551- c. 479 BC) Chinese philosopher, sage, politician [孔夫子 (Kǒng Fūzǐ, K'ung Fu-tzu, K'ung Fu Tse), 孔子 (Kǒngzǐ, Chungni), 孔丘 (Kǒng Qiū, K'ung Ch'iu)]
The Analects [論語, 论语, Lúnyǔ], Book 2, verse 15 (2.15) (6th C. BC – AD 3rd C.) [tr. Ware (1950)]

Many (but not all) translators suggest that learning/study here is not general academics, but examining and maintaining the ancient traditions.

(Source (Chinese)). Other translations:

Learning without thought is labour lost; thought without learning is perilous.
[tr. Legge (1861)]

Learning with [sic] thought is a snare; thought without learning is a danger.
[tr. Jennings (1895)]

Study without thinking is labour lost. Thinking without study is perilous.
[tr. Ku Hung-Ming (1898)]

Learning without thought is useless. Thought without learning is dangerous.
[tr. Soothill (1910)]

Education without meditation is useless. Meditation without education is risky.
[tr. Soothill (1910), alternate]

Research without thought is a mere net and entanglement: thought without gathering data, a peril.
[tr. Pound (1933)]

He who learns but does not think, is lost. He who thinks but does not learn is in great danger.
[tr. Waley (1938)]

If one learns from others but does not think, one will be bewildered. If, on the other hand, one thinks but does not learn from others, one will be in peril.
[tr. Lau (1979)]

If one studies but does not think, one is caught in a trap. If one thinks but does not study, one is in peril.
[tr. Dawson (1993)]

To study without thinking is futile. To think without studying is dangerous.
[tr. Leys (1997)]

Learning without thinking is fruitless; thinking without learning is perplexing.
[tr. Huang (1997); additional translations.]

Studying but not thinking, it is confused; Thinking but not studying, it is dangerous.
[tr. Cai/Yu (1998)]

Learning without due reflection leads to perplexity; reflection without learning leads to perilous circumstances.
[tr. Ames/Rosemont (1998)]

If he studies and does not reflect, he will be rigid. If he reflects but does not study, he will be shaky.
[tr. Brooks/Brooks (1998)]

To learn and never think -- that's delusion. But to think and never learn -- that is perilous indeed!
[tr. Hinton (1998)]

If you learn without thinking about what you have learned, you will be lost. If you think without learning, however, you will fall into danger.
[tr. Slingerland (2003)]

Learning without thought is pointless. Thought without learning is dangerous.
[tr. Watson (2007)]

If you learn but do not think, you will be dazed. If you think but do not learn, you will be in danger.
[tr. Chin (2014)]

Learning from books without critical thinking results in confusion. Thinking vacuously without learning from books is perilous.
[tr. Li (2020)]

O'Malley, Austin -- Keystones of Thought (1914)

Dave — Thu, 02 Nov 2023 16:53:33 +0000

We smile at the women who are eagerly following the fashions in dress whilst we are as eagerly following the fashions in thought.

Austin O'Malley (1858–1932) American ophthalmologist, professor of literature, aphorist
Keystones of Thought (1914)

La Bruyere, Jean de -- The Characters [Les Caractères], ch. 1 “Of Works of the Mind [Des Ouvrages de l’Esprit],” § 69 (1.69) (1688) [tr. Van Laun (1885)]

Dave — Wed, 01 Nov 2023 22:50:06 +0000

“Horace or Boileau have said such a thing before you.” — “I take your word for it, but I have used it as my own. May I not have the same correct thought after them, as others may have after me?”

[Horace ou Despréaux l’a dit avant vous. — Je le crois sur votre parole; mais je l’ai dit comme mien. Ne puis-je pas penser après eux une chose vraie, et que d’autres encore penseront après moi?]

Jean de La Bruyère (1645–1696) French essayist, moralist
The Characters [Les Caractères], ch. 1 “Of Works of the Mind [Des Ouvrages de l’Esprit],” § 69 (1.69) (1688) [tr. Van Laun (1885)]

(Source (French)). Other translations:

Horace and Boileau have said such a thing before you. I take your word for't, but I said it as my own, and may not I think a just thought after them, as others may do the same after me?
[Bullord ed. (1696)]

HORACE or BOILEAU have said such a thing before you: I take your word for it, but I said it as my own, and may not I think a just Thought after them, as others may do the same after me?
[Curll ed. (1713)]

Horace or Boileau have said such a thing before you. I take your Word, for it, but I said it as my own, and may not I have the same just Thought after them, as others may have it after me?
[Browne ed. (1752)]

Horace or Boileau said it before you. -- I take your word for that; but I said it as my own. Cannot I, after them, have a true thought, and one which others will think after me?
[tr. Stewart (1970), § 68]

Baudelaire, Charles -- “Le Peintre de la Vie Moderne [The Painter of Modern Life],” sec. 11 (1863) [tr. Mayne (1964)]

Dave — Mon, 30 Oct 2023 16:18:37 +0000

Everything beautiful and noble is the result of reason and calculation. Crime, of which the human animal has learned the taste in his mother’s womb, is natural by origin. Virtue, on the other hand, is artificial, supernatural, since at all times and in all places gods and prophets have been needed to teach it to animalized humanity, man being powerless to discover it by himself. Evil happens without effort, naturally, fatally; Good is always the product of some art.

[Tout ce qui est beau et noble est le résultat de la raison et du calcul. Le crime, dont l’animal humain a puisé le goût dans le ventre de sa mère, est originellement naturel. La vertu, au contraire, est artificielle, surnaturelle, puisqu’il a fallu, dans tous les temps et chez toutes les nations, des dieux et des prophètes pour l’enseigner à l’humanité animalisée, et que l’homme, seul, eût été impuissant à la découvrir. Le mal se fait sans effort, naturellement, par fatalité ; le bien est toujours le produit d’un art.]

Charles Baudelaire (1821–1867) French poet, essayist, art critic
“Le Peintre de la Vie Moderne [The Painter of Modern Life],” sec. 11 (1863) [tr. Mayne (1964)]

(Source (French)). Another translation:

Everything beautiful and noble is the result of reason and calculation. Crime, for which the human creature has acquired a taste in its mother’s womb, is natural in origin. Virtue, on the contrary, is artificial, unnatural since, at all times and among all nations, gods and prophets were necessary to teach virtue to animalistic humanity, which humanity alone was unable to discover. Evil occurs without effort, naturally, through fatality; good is always the product of artifice.
[tr. Kline (2020)]

Steinbeck, John -- The Log from the Sea of Cortez (1941, 1951)

Dave — Wed, 25 Oct 2023 23:06:52 +0000

Perhaps no other animal is so torn between alternatives. Man might be described fairly adequately, if simply, as a two-legged paradox. He has never become accustomed to the tragic miracle of consciousness. Perhaps, as has been suggested, his species is not set, has not jelled, but is still in a state of becoming, bound by his physical memories to a past of struggle and survival, limited in his futures by the uneasiness of thought and consciousness.

John Steinbeck (1902–1968) American writer
The Log from the Sea of Cortez (1941, 1951)

Dante Alighieri -- The Divine Comedy [Divina Commedia], Book 1 “Inferno,” Canto 31, l. 55ff (31.55) (1309) [tr. Musa (1971)]

Dave — Fri, 04 Aug 2023 19:35:07 +0000

Dore – Inferno, Canto 31 – Giants (Titans) (1890)

For when the faculty of intellect
is joined with brute force and with evil will,
no man can win against such an alliance.

[Ché dove l’argomento de la mente
s’aggiugne al mal volere e a la possa,
nessun riparo vi può far la gente.]

Dante Alighieri (1265–1321) Italian poet
The Divine Comedy [Divina Commedia], Book 1 “Inferno,” Canto 31, l. 55ff (31.55) (1309) [tr. Musa (1971)]

Why Nature no longer allows human-like giants, while still producing whales and elephants.

(Source (Italian)). Other translations:

For where the mind to bad Intention's join'd,
And with a Pow'r what's ill design'd to act,
None can himself from such a force defend.
[tr. Rogers (1782), l. 49ff]

But not the forest tribes, nor finny race,
With equal rage their native walks deface,
As he whose deadly arm by Reason's light
Directed falls, and mocks the warding hand;
Conspiring realms in vain his pow'r withstand,
In vain embattled hosts defend their right.
[tr. Boyd (1802), st. 9]

For when brute force
And evil will are back’d with subtlety,
Resistance none avails.
[tr. Cary (1814)]

For discourse of mind,
Wedded with power and inbred lust of wrong,
Had left nor help nor rescue for mankind.
[tr. Dayman (1843)]

For where [the instrument] of [the] mind is joined to evil will and potency, men can make no defence against it.
[tr. Carlyle (1849)]

For when a reasoning and a subtle mind
Is joined, besides, to evil will and power,
Who can resist? -- for all defence must cower.
[tr. Bannerman (1850)]

For when the reasoning faculty combines
With evil will and with destructive pow'r,
Then there remains no more defence for man.
[tr. Johnston (1867)]

For where the argument of intellect ⁠
⁠Is added unto evil will and power,
⁠No rampart can the people make against it.
[tr. Longfellow (1867)]

For where the equipment of the mind is joined to illwill and to power, folk can make no rampart against it.
[tr. Butler (1885)]

For where the assistance of the intellect
Is added unto evil will and power,
'Gainst it no refuge could mankind erect.
[tr. Minchin (1885)]

For where the faculty of the mind is added to evil will and to power, the human race can make no defense against it.
[tr. Norton (1892)]

For where the force of intellect is joined to evil will, and power to do such will, mankind is helpless to find resource against it.
[tr. Sullivan (1893)]

For, where the equipment and the use of reason
Are joined to ill intent and power of action,
No sort of refuge can folk make against it.
[tr. Griffith (1908)]

For where the equipment of the mind is joined to evil will and to power men can make no defence against it.
[tr. Sinclair (1939)]

For if with the mind's instrument unite
Power and an evil purpose both at once,
Men have no means against such force to fight.
[tr. Binyon (1943)]

For where the instrument of thinking mind
Is joined to strength and malice, man’s defence
Cannot avail to meet those powers combined.
[tr. Sayers (1949)]

For where the instrument of intelligence
is added to brute power and evil will,
mankind is powerless in its own defense.
[tr. Ciardi (1954)]

For where the instrument of the mind is added to an evil will and to great power, men can make no defense against it.
[tr. Singleton (1970)]

For where the mind’s acutest reasoning
is joined to evil will and evil power,
there human beings can’t defend themselves.
[tr. Mandelbaum (1980)]

For, where the argument of reason is
Joined with an evil will and potency,
There is no possible defence for man.
[tr. Sisson (1981)]

The power of the mind, along with that
Of immense strength, upon an evil will
Then people will have no defense from it.
[tr. Pinsky (1994), l. 52ff]

For where sharpness of mind is joined to evil will and power, there is no defence people can make against them.
[tr. Durling (1996)]

Where the instrument of mind is joined to ill will and power, men have no defence against it.
[tr. Kline (2002)]

For when the powers of working intellect
are wed to strength and absolute illwill,
then humans cannot find a place to hide.
[tr. Kirkpatrick (2006)]

For when the power of thought
is coupled with ill will and naked force
there is no refuge from it for mankind.
[tr. Hollander/Hollander (2007)]

For when the thinking powers of human brains
Are tools of malicious will and enormous strength,
Smaller creatures like men have no defense.
[tr. Raffel (2010)]

For only when ill will and massive strength
Are joined with mental power does it arise
That the invincible is born.
[tr. James (2013), l. 58ff]

Cox, Marcelene -- “Ask Any Woman” column, Ladies’ Home Journal (1945-11)

Dave — Tue, 25 Jul 2023 16:45:00 +0000

It is all right to say exactly what you think if you have learned to think exactly.

Marcelene Cox (1900–1998) American writer, columnist, aphorist
“Ask Any Woman” column, Ladies’ Home Journal (1945-11)

Cox provided a variant of this aphorism in the 1959-01 issue of LHJ: "Anyone has the right to say what he thinks, if he thinks."

McLaughlin, Mignon -- The Second Neurotic’s Notebook, ch. 10 (1966)

Dave — Thu, 06 Jul 2023 15:02:10 +0000

If you jot down every silly thought that pops into your head, you will soon find out everything you most seriously believe.

Mignon McLaughlin (1913–1983) American journalist and author
The Second Neurotic’s Notebook, ch. 10 (1966)

Russell, Bertrand -- “Do Dogs Think?,” New York American (1932-06-15)

Dave — Thu, 06 Apr 2023 14:48:26 +0000

I do not know whether dogs can think, or what thinking is, or whether human beings can think. But whether human beings can think or not, I know that those who love dogs think that dogs can think. This, I am afraid, is the sum total of my contribution to human knowledge on this important subject.

Bertrand Russell (1872–1970) English mathematician and philosopher
“Do Dogs Think?,” New York American (1932-06-15)

Shakespeare, William -- Antony and Cleopatra, Act 3, sc. 13, ll. 240ff (3.13.240-241) (1607)

Dave — Wed, 14 Sep 2022 16:59:59 +0000

ENOBARBUS: When valor preys on reason,
It eats the sword it fights with.

William Shakespeare (1564–1616) English dramatist and poet
Antony and Cleopatra, Act 3, sc. 13, ll. 240ff (3.13.240-241) (1607)

Montaigne, Michel de -- Essays, Book 3, ch. 9 (3.9), “Of Vanity [De la vanité]” (1587) [tr. Screech (1987)]

Dave — Tue, 09 Aug 2022 01:06:52 +0000

No pleasure has any taste for me when not shared with another: no happy thought occurs to me without my being irritated at bringing it forth alone with no one to offer it to.

[Nul plaisir n’a saveur pour moy sans communication. Il ne me vient pas seulement une gaillarde pensée en l’ame, qu’il ne me fasche de l’avoir produite seul, et n’ayant à qui l’offrir.]

Michel de Montaigne (1533–1592) French essayist
Essays, Book 3, ch. 9 (3.9), “Of Vanity [De la vanité]” (1587) [tr. Screech (1987)]

First appeared in the 1588 edition.

(Source (French)). Other translations:

With me no pleasure is fully delightsome without communication and no delight absolute except imparted. I doe not so much as apprehend one rare conceipt, or conceive one excellent good thought in my minde, but me thinks I am much grieved and grievously perplexed to have produced the same alone and that I have no sympathizing companion to impart it unto.
[tr. Florio (1603)]

There can be no Pleasure to me without Communication. There is not so much as a spritely Thought comes into my Mind, that it does not grieve me to have produc'd alone, and that I have no one to communicate it unto.
[tr. Cotton (1686)]

There can be no pleasure to me without communication: there is not so much as a sprightly thought comes into my mind, that it does not grieve me to have produced alone, and that I have no one to communicate it to.
[tr. Cotton/Hazlitt (1877)]

No pleasure has any savour for me without imparting it; not even a lively thought comes into my mind that I am not vexed at expressing it when alone and at having no one to offer it to.
[tr. Ives (1925)]

No pleasure has any savor for me without communication. Not even a merry thought comes to my mind without my being vexed at having produced it alone without anyone to offer it to.
[tr. Frame (1943)]

Shelley, Percy Bysshe -- Prometheus Unbound, Act 2 (1820)

Dave — Mon, 09 May 2022 23:11:20 +0000

Awful as silence. Hark! the rushing snow!
The sun-awakened avalanche! whose mass,
Thrice sifted by the storm, had gathered there
Flake after flake, in heaven-defying minds
As thought by thought is piled, till some great truth
Is loosened, and the nations echo round,
Shaken to their roots, as do the mountains now.

Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792–1822) English poet
Prometheus Unbound, Act 2 (1820)

Jung, Carl -- Flying Saucers: A Modern Myth of Things Seen in the Skies, ch. 2 (1959) [tr. Hull]

Dave — Wed, 27 Apr 2022 00:28:04 +0000

Thinking is difficult, therefore let the herd pronounce judgment!

Carl Jung (1875–1961) Swiss psychologist
Flying Saucers: A Modern Myth of Things Seen in the Skies, ch. 2 (1959) [tr. Hull]

The motto of the "relatively unconscious man" who "clings to the commonplace, the obvious, the probable, the collectively valid." Reprinted in the The Collected Works of C.G. Jung - Civilization in Transition, vol. 10, ¶ 653.

Probable source of the frequently-attributed (but unfound) "Thinking is difficult. That's why most people judge."

Fitzgerald, F. Scott -- (Attributed)

Dave — Thu, 21 Apr 2022 21:23:31 +0000

To be kind is more important than to be right. Many times, what people need is not a brilliant mind that speaks but a special heart that listens.

F. Scott Fitzgerald (1896–1940) American writer [Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald]
(Attributed)

No actual citation found. Also often attributed (also without citation) to Menachem Mendel Schneerson.

Commager, Henry Steele -- Essay (1949-11-05), “What Ideas Are Safe?” Saturday Review

Dave — Wed, 30 Mar 2022 16:03:55 +0000

If we establish a standard of safe thinking, we will end up with no thinking at all. That is the only “safe” way, and that is, needless to say, the most precarious, dangerous, of all ways.

Henry Steele Commager (1902–1998) American historian, writer, activist
Essay (1949-11-05), “What Ideas Are Safe?” Saturday Review

Collected in Freedom and Order (1966).

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

Dave — Mon, 28 Mar 2022 19:44:21 +0000

Truth gains more even by the errors of one who, with due study and preparation, thinks for himself, than by the true opinions of those who only hold them because they do not suffer themselves to think.

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

Cicero, Marcus Tullius -- De Officiis [On Duties; On Moral Duty; The Offices], Book 1, ch. 35 (1.35) / sec. 132 (44 BC) [Barnes (1814)]

Dave — Fri, 18 Feb 2022 01:07:47 +0000

The Intellect engages us in the pursuit of Truth. The Passions impel us to Action.

[Cogitatio in vero exquirendo maxime versatur, appetitus impellit ad agendum.]

Marcus Tullius Cicero (106–43 BC) Roman orator, statesman, philosopher
De Officiis [On Duties; On Moral Duty; The Offices], Book 1, ch. 35 (1.35) / sec. 132 (44 BC) [Barnes (1814)]

(Source (Latin)). Other translation:

Reflection is chiefly employed in the investigation of truth, appetite impels to action.
[tr. McCartney (1798)]

Reflection chiefly applies itself in the search of truth. Appetite prompts us to action.
[tr. Edmonds (1865)]

Thought is occupied chiefly in seeking the truth; impulse urges to action.
[tr. Peabody (1883)]

Thought is employed in the discovery of truth, appetite impels to action.
[tr. Gardiner (1899)]

Thought is occupied chiefly with the discovery of truth; impulse prompts to action.
[tr. Miller (1913)]

Thought is mostly expended in seeking out the truth, passion urges men to action.
[tr. Edinger (1974)]

Descartes, René -- Discourse on Method [Discours de la méthode], Part 4 (1637) [tr. Veitch (1850)]

Dave — Tue, 15 Feb 2022 16:26:18 +0000

But immediately upon this I observed that, whilst I thus wished to think that all was false, it was absolutely necessary that I, who thus thought, should be somewhat; and as I observed that this truth, I think, therefore I am (COGITO ERGO SUM), was so certain and of such evidence that no ground of doubt, however extravagant, could be alleged by the sceptics capable of shaking it, I concluded that I might, without scruple, accept it as the first principle of the philosophy of which I was in search.

[Mais aussitôt après je pris garde que, pendant que je voulois ainsi penser que tout étoit faux, il falloit nécessairement que moi qui le pensois fusse quelque chose; et remarquant que cette vérité, je pense, donc je suis, étoit si ferme et si assurée, que toutes les plus extravagantes suppositions des sceptiques n’étoient pas capables de l’ébranler, je jugeai que je pouvois la recevoir sans scrupule pour le premier principe de la philosophie que je cherchois.]

René Descartes (1596–1650) French philosopher, mathematician
Discourse on Method [Discours de la méthode], Part 4 (1637) [tr. Veitch (1850)]

(Source (French)). Other translations:

But presently after I observ’d, that whilst I would think that all was false, it must necessarily follow, that I who thought it, must be something. And perceiving that this Truth, I think, therefore, I am, was so firm and certain, that all the most extravagant suppositions of the Scepticks was not able to shake it, I judg’d that I might receive it without scruple for the first principle of the Philosophy I sought.
[Newcombe ed. (1649)]

But immediately afterwards I noticed that whilst I thus wished to think all things false, it was absolutely essential that the "I" who thought this should be somewhat, and remarking that this truth "I think, therefore I am" was so certain and so assured that all the most extravagant suppositions brought forward by the sceptics were incapable of shaking it, I came to the conclusion that could receive it without scruple as the first principle of the Philosophy for which I was seeking.
[tr. Haldane & Ross (1911)]

But immediately upon this I noticed that while I was trying to think everything false, it must needs be that I, who was thinking this, was something. And observing that this truty "I am thinking, therefore I exist" was so solid sceptics could not overthrow it, I judged that I need not scriple to accept it as the first principle of philosophy that I was seeking.
[tr. Ascombe & Geach (1971)]

But immediately I noticed that while I was endeavoring in this way to think that everything was false, it was necessary that I, who was thinking this, was something. And observing that this truth, "I am thinking, therefore I exist" was so firm and sure that all the most extravagant suppositions of the sceptics were incapable of shaking it, I decided that I could accept it without scruple as the first principle of the philosophy I was seeking.
[tr. Cottingham, Stoothoff (1985)]

Singer, Margaret -- “The ‘Not Me’ Myth: Orwell and the Mind,” Idea (19 Jan 1996)

Dave — Fri, 25 Jun 2021 16:03:21 +0000

Just as most soldiers believe bullets will hit only others, not themselves, most citizens like to think that their own minds and thought processes are invulnerable. “Other people can be manipulated, but not me,” they declare. People like to think that their opinions, values and ideas are inviolate and totally self-regulated. They may admit grudgingly that they are influenced slightly by advertising. Beyond that, they want to preserve a myth in which other persons are weak-minded and easily influenced, but they are strong-minded.

Margaret Singer (1921–2003) American clinical psychologist and researcher
“The ‘Not Me’ Myth: Orwell and the Mind,” Idea (19 Jan 1996)

Wright, Frank Lloyd -- In Geoffrey T Hellman, “Wright Revisited,” The New Yorker (8 Jun 1956)

Dave — Fri, 25 Jun 2021 15:36:02 +0000

An expert is a man who has stopped thinking. Why? He knows.

Frank Lloyd Wright (1867–1959) American architect, interior designer, writer, educator [b. Frank Lincoln Wright]
In Geoffrey T Hellman, “Wright Revisited,” The New Yorker (8 Jun 1956)

Wright used variations on this quotation throughout his life, e.g.:

The expert is usually a man who has stopped thinking and so is perfectly able to be utterly wrong for at least the rest of his lifetime. He has made up his mind, not upon principle, but upon expedient practice.
[Source, Frank Lloyd Wright: An Autobiography, Book 5 "Form" (1943)]

An expert? Generally a man who has stopped thinking because he knows!
[Source]

An expert is a man who has stopped thinking -- he knows.
[Source, in Earl Nesbit, Taliesin Reflections (2006)]

To me an expert is a man who has stopped thinking. He thinks he knows everything.
[Source, in Patrick J. Meehan, Truth Against the World (1987)]

Now, an "expert" is a man who has stopped thinking. He has had to stop thinking or he would be no expert. You can't call a man an "authority" who is growing and so changing his mind about things, can you? No, the expert has got to know or profess he knows. He's got to stand there and be knowledgeable! Well, too bad, because there's no such human except he be somewhat a phoney.
[Source, in Patrick J. Meehan, Truth Against the World (1987)]

An expert is a man who has stopped thinking because he knows and you can do nothing with him if you got a good idea.
[Source, in Patrick J. Meehan, The Master Architect (1984)

Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth -- “Table-Talk”

Dave — Fri, 30 Apr 2021 14:53:58 +0000

There are but few thinkers in the world but a great many people who think they think.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807–1882) American poet
“Table-Talk”

Sophocles -- Antigone, l. 354ff, Stasimon 1, Strophe 2 [Chorus] (441 BC) [tr. Kitto (1962)]

Dave — Thu, 29 Apr 2021 17:27:40 +0000

And speech he has learned, and thought
So swift, and the temper of mind
To dwell within cities, and not to lie bare
Amid the keen, biting frosts
Or cower beneath pelting rain;
Full of resource against all that comes to him
is Man. Against Death alone
He is left with no defence.

[καὶ φθέγμα καὶ ἀνεμόεν φρόνημα καὶ ἀστυνόμους
ὀργὰς ἐδιδάξατο καὶ δυσαύλων
πάγων ὑπαίθρεια καὶ δύσομβρα φεύγειν βέλη
παντοπόρος: ἄπορος ἐπ᾽ οὐδὲν ἔρχεται
τὸ μέλλον: Ἅιδα μόνον φεῦξιν οὐκ ἐπάξεται.]

Sophocles (496–406 BC) Greek tragic playwright
Antigone, l. 354ff, Stasimon 1, Strophe 2 [Chorus] (441 BC) [tr. Kitto (1962)]

Original Greek. Other translations:

Language and lofty thought,
And dispositions meet for order'd cities,
These he hath taught himself; -- and how to shun
The shafts of comfortless winter, --
Both those which smite when the sky is clear,
And those which fall in showers; --
with plans for all things,
Planless in nothing, meets he the future!
Of death alone the avoidance
No foreign aid will bring.
[tr. Donaldson (1848)]

Speech and the wind-swift speed of counsel and civic wit,
He hath learnt for himself all these; and the arrowy rain to fly
And the nipping airs that freeze, 'neath the open winter sky.
He hath provision for all: fell plague he hath learnt to endure;
Safe whate'er may befall: yet for death he hath found no cure.
[tr. Storr (1859)]

Wise utterance and wind-swift thought, and city-moulding mind,
And shelter from the clear-eyed power of biting frost,
He hath taught him, and to shun the sharp, roof-penetrating rain, --
Full of resource, without device he meets no coming time;
From Death alone he shall not find reprieve;
No league may gain him that relief.
[tr. Campbell (1873)]

Speech and thought fast as the wind and the moods that give order to a city he has taught himself, and how to flee the arrows of the inhospitable frost under clear skies and the arrows of the storming rain. He has resource for everything. Lacking resource in nothing he strides towards what must come. From Death alone he shall procure no escape.
[tr. Jebb (1891)]

And speech, and wind-swift thought, and all the moods that mould a state, hath he taught himself; and how to flee the arrows of the frost, when 'tis hard lodging under the clear sky, and the arrows of the rushing rain; yea, he hath resource for all; without resource he meets nothing that must come: only against Death shall he call for aid in vain.
[tr. Jebb (1917)]

Words also, and thought as rapid as air,
He fashions to his good use; statecraft is his,
And his the skill that deflects the arrows of snow,
The spears of winter rain: from every wind
He has made himself secure -- from all but one:
In the late wind of death he cannot stand.
[tr. Fitts/Fitzgerald (1939)]

The use of language, the wind-swift motion of brain
He learnt; found out the laws of living together
In cities, building him shelter against the rain
And wintry weather.
There is nothing beyond his power. His subtlety
Meeteth all chance, all danger conquereth.
For every ill he hath found its remedy,
Save only death.
[tr. Watling (1947), l. 295ff]

Language, and thought like the wind
and the feelings that make the town,
he has taught himself, and shelter against the cold,
refuge from rain. He can always help himself.
He faces no future helpless. There's only death
that he cannot find an escape from.
[tr. Wyckoff (1954)]

And speech and thought, quick as the wind
and the mood and mind for law that rules the city --
all these he has taught himself
and shelter from the arrows of the frost
when there's rough lodging under the cold clear sky
and the shafts of lashing rain --
ready, resourceful man!
Never without resources
never an impasse as he marches on the future --
only Death, from Death alone he will find no rescue.
[tr. Fagles (1982)]

Language and a mind swift as the wind
For making plans --
These he has taught himself --
And the character to live in cities under law.
He's learned to take cover from a frost
And escape sharp arrows of sleet.
He has the means to handle every need,
Never steps toward the future without the means.
Except for Death: He's got no relief from that.
[tr. Woodruff (2001)]

Both language and thought swift as wind
and impulses that govern cities,
he has taught himself, as well as how
to escape the shafts of rain
while encamped beneath open skies.
All resourceful, he approaches no future thing
to come without resource. From Hades alone
he will not contrive escape.
[tr. Tyrell/Bennett (2002)]

And man has learnt speech and thought, swifter than the wind he mastered
And learnt to govern his cities well
And this omniscient being has learnt how to avoid the blasts of the wild open air: the arrows of the freezing night, the dreadful wind driven piercing gale!
He’s prepared for all events bar Death and from Death he can find no escape.
[tr. Theodoridis (2004)]

He’s taught himself speech and wind-swift thought,
trained his feelings for communal civic life,
learning to escape the icy shafts of frost,
volleys of pelting rain in winter storms,
the harsh life lived under the open sky.
That’s man -- so resourceful in all he does.
There’s no event his skill cannot confront --
other than death -- that alone he cannot shun.
[tr. Johnston (2005), l. 405ff]

He taught himself language and wind-like thought and city-ruling urges, how to flee the slings of frost under winter's clear sky and the arrows of stormy rain, ever-resourceful. Against no possibility is he at a loss. For death alone he finds no aid.
[tr. Thomas (2005)]

Lane, Anthony -- “A Writer’s Life,” interview by Will Cohu, The Telegraph (14 Dec 2003)

Dave — Fri, 02 Apr 2021 16:52:42 +0000

People think that you have these things called ideas and that writing is a matter of imposing them on the subject material, whereas it’s only in the writing that I discover what it is that I think.

Anthony Lane (b. 1962) British journalist, film critic
“A Writer’s Life,” interview by Will Cohu, The Telegraph (14 Dec 2003)

Nathan, George Jean -- “Undeveloped Notes,” The Smart Set (Aug 1922)

Dave — Mon, 30 Nov 2020 16:43:27 +0000

Indignation is the seducer of thought. No man can think clearly when his fists are clenched.

George Jean Nathan (1892–1958) American editor and critic
“Undeveloped Notes,” The Smart Set (Aug 1922)

Reprinted in The World in Falseface, "Art & Criticism," #64 (1923).

Marcus Aurelius -- Meditations [To Himself; Τὰ εἰς ἑαυτόν], Book 5, ch. 16 (2.5) (AD 161-180) [tr. Long (1862)]

Dave — Mon, 31 Aug 2020 22:45:38 +0000

Such as are thy habitual thoughts, such also will be the character of thy mind; for the soul is dyed by the thoughts.

[Οἷα ἂν πολλάκις φαντασθῇς, τοιαύτη σοι ἔσται ἡ διάνοια: βάπτεται γὰρ ὑπὸ τῶν φαντασιῶν ἡ ψυχή.]

Marcus Aurelius (AD 121–180) Roman emperor (161–180), Stoic philosopher
Meditations [To Himself; Τὰ εἰς ἑαυτόν], Book 5, ch. 16 (2.5) (AD 161-180) [tr. Long (1862)]

(Source (Greek)). Other translations:

Such as thy thoughts and ordinary cogitations are, such will thy mind be in time. For the soul doth as it were receive its tincture from the fancies, and imaginations.
[tr. Casaubon (1634), 5.15]

Your Manners will depend very much upon the Quality of what you frequently think on; For the Soul is as it were Tinged with the Colour, and Complexion of Thought.
[tr. Collier (1701)]

Such as the imaginations are which you frequently dwell upon, such will be the disposition of your soul. The soul receives a tincture from the imagination.
[tr. Hutcheson/Moor (1742)]

Such as are the objects on which your thoughts are most frequently employed, such will be the state of your mind. For the soul takes a tincture from the usual current of its ideas.
[tr. Graves (1792)]

Your manners will depend very much upon the quality of what you frequently think on; for the soul is as it were tinged with the color and complexion of thought.
[tr. Collier/Zimmern (1887)]

Repeat impressions, and your understanding will assimilate itself to them; for the soul takes the dye of its impressions.
[tr. Rendall (1898)]

The character of your most frequent impressions will be the character of your mind. The soul takes colour from its impressions.
[tr. Hutcheson/Chrystal (1902)]

The character of thy mind will be such as is the character of thy frequent thoughts, for the soul takes its dye from the thoughts.
[tr. Haines (Loeb) (1916)]

As are your repeated imaginations so will your mind be, for the soul is dyed by its imaginations.
[tr. Farquharson (1944)]

Your mind will be like its habitual thoughts; for the soul becomes dyed with the colour of its thoughts.
[tr. Staniforth (1964)]

As are your regular impressions, so will your mind be also; for the soul takes its colouring from its impressions.
[tr. Hard (1997 ed.)]

The things you think about determine the quality of your mind. Your soul takes on the color of your thoughts.
[tr. Hays (2003)]

Your mind will take on the character of your most frequent thoughts: souls are dyed by thoughts.
[tr. Hammond (2006)]

Whatever kind of impressions you receive most often, so too will be your mind, for the soul is dyed with the color of one's impressions.
[tr. Needleman/Piazza (2008)]

As are your habitual conceptions, so will your mind be also; for the soul takes its colouring from its conceptions.
[tr. Hard (2011 ed.)]

As your most frequent impressions are, so will your mind be: your character is coloured by its impressions.
[tr. Gill (2013)]

Weber, Max -- “Science as a Vocation [Wissenscahft als Beruf],” Speech, Munich University (1918) [tr. Gerth & Mills (1948)]

Dave — Fri, 07 Aug 2020 04:58:47 +0000

Ideas come when we do not expect them, and not when we are brooding and searching at our desks. Yet ideas would certainly not come to mind had we not brooded at our desks and searched for answers with passionate devotion.

Max Weber (1864–1920) German sociologist, philosopher, political economist [Maximilian Karl Emil Weber]
“Science as a Vocation [Wissenscahft als Beruf],” Speech, Munich University (1918) [tr. Gerth & Mills (1948)]

Alt. trans.:

"Ideas come when they are least expected, rather than while you are racking your brains at your desk. But, by the same token, they would not have made their appearance if we had not spent many hours pondering at our desks or brooding passionately over the problems facing us." [tr. Livingstone]
"[Ideas] come, at any rate, when one does not expect them, not while racking one's brains and pondering at one's desk. Of course, the ideas would not have occurred to us without our having been through the state of racking our brains and being engaged in impassioned questioning." [tr. Wells (2018)]

Menen, Aubrey -- The Duke of Gallodoro (1952)

Dave — Wed, 05 Aug 2020 14:07:32 +0000

That is the whole trouble with being a heretic. One must usually think out everything for oneself.

Aubrey Menen (1912–1989) British writer, novelist, satirist, theatre critic
The Duke of Gallodoro (1952)

Godwin, William -- Essay (1797, rev. 1823), “Of Choice in Reading,” The Enquirer, Part 1, No. 15

Dave — Mon, 02 Oct 2017 17:46:57 +0000

As the true object of education is not to render the pupil the mere copy of his preceptor, it is rather to be rejoiced in, than lamented, that various reading should lead him into new trains of thinking.

William Godwin (1756–1836) English journalist, political philosopher, novelist
Essay (1797, rev. 1823), “Of Choice in Reading,” The Enquirer, Part 1, No. 15

Gaiman, Neil -- “This Much I Know,” The Guardian (2017-08-05)

Dave — Mon, 11 Sep 2017 23:57:50 +0000

I miss what I had in terms of the speed of memory access. If I needed a word or a fact it was already at my fingertips and now it’s like an arthritic and elderly gentleman has to sit up and go down many, many flights of stairs very slowly and go and rummage in dusty drawers. Eventually he will return four days later, normally at about 1:30 in the morning, and I will sit up and go, “Oh yes! ‘Crepuscular.’ That was the word I was looking for.”

Neil Gaiman (b. 1960) British author, screenwriter, fabulist
“This Much I Know,” The Guardian (2017-08-05)

Godwin, William -- Enquiry Concerning Political Justice, Vol. 2, bk. 8, ch. 6 “Of the Enjoyment of Liberty” (1793)

Dave — Thu, 07 Sep 2017 15:46:28 +0000

The proper method for hastening the decay of error is not by brute force, or by regulation which is one of the classes of force, to endeavor to reduce men to intellectual uniformity, but on the contrary by teaching every man to think for himself.

William Godwin (1756–1836) English journalist, political philosopher, novelist
Enquiry Concerning Political Justice, Vol. 2, bk. 8, ch. 6 “Of the Enjoyment of Liberty” (1793)

Milton, John -- Areopagitica (1644)

Dave — Thu, 17 Aug 2017 01:46:41 +0000

Truth is compar’d in Scripture to a streaming fountain; if her waters flow not in a perpetuall progression, they sick’n into a muddy pool of conformity and tradition.

[Truth is compared in Scripture to a streaming fountain; if her waters flow not in a perpetual progression, they sicken into a muddy pool of conformity and tradition.]

John Milton (1608–1674) English poet
Areopagitica (1644)

Amiel, Henri-Frédéric -- Journal (2nd Ed.,1889)

Dave — Tue, 15 Aug 2017 03:08:59 +0000

Thought is sad without action, and action is sad without thought.

Henri-Frédéric Amiel (1821–1881) Swiss philosopher, poet, critic
Journal (2nd Ed.,1889)

Quoted in Cesare Lombroso, The Man of Genius (1896),

Orwell, George -- Essay (1946-04), “Politics and the English Language,” Horizon Magazine

Dave — Sat, 15 Apr 2017 21:31:23 +0000

A man may take to drink because he feels himself to be a failure, and then fail all the more completely because he drinks. It is rather the same thing that is happening to the English language. It becomes ugly and inaccurate because our thoughts are foolish, but the slovenliness of our language makes it easier for us to have foolish thoughts.

George Orwell (1903–1950) English journalist, essayist, writer [pseud. of Eric Arthur Blair]
Essay (1946-04), “Politics and the English Language,” Horizon Magazine

Schlesinger, Arthur -- Interview with Brian Lamb, C-SPAN (10 May 1998)

Dave — Fri, 07 Apr 2017 21:04:42 +0000

Clarity in language depends on clarity in thought.

Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr. (1917–2007) American historian, author, social critic
Interview with Brian Lamb, C-SPAN (10 May 1998)

Stross, Charles -- The Apocalypse Codex (2012)

Dave — Tue, 28 Mar 2017 21:33:19 +0000

I’m thinking on the fly, here. (Although now that I’m in middle management I think I’m supposed to call it “refactoring the strategic value proposition in real time with agile implementation,” or, if I’m being honest, “making it up as I go along.”)

Charles "Charlie" Stross (b. 1964) British writer
The Apocalypse Codex (2012)

Adams, Henry -- The Education of Henry Adams, ch. 31 (1907)

Dave — Fri, 02 Dec 2016 03:04:59 +0000

No one means all he says, and yet very few say all they mean, for words are slippery and thought is viscous.

Henry Adams (1838–1918) American journalist, historian, academic, novelist
The Education of Henry Adams, ch. 31 (1907)

Emerson, Ralph Waldo -- Journal (1837-1862)

Dave — Mon, 26 Sep 2016 23:48:03 +0000

Value of a Journal. A sentence now; a sentence last year; a sentence yesterday. Tomorrow a question comes that for the first time brings together these three and shows them to be the three fractions of Unit.

Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882) American essayist, lecturer, poet
Journal (1837-1862)

"Notebook Delta"

Scalzi, John -- Zoe’s Tale (2008)

Dave — Wed, 21 Sep 2016 00:15:21 +0000

Sometimes I don’t know if my life is complicated, or if it’s that I just think too much about things.

John Scalzi (b. 1969) American writer
Zoe’s Tale (2008)

Emerson, Ralph Waldo -- “Quotation and Originality,” Letters and Social Aims (1876)

Dave — Fri, 19 Aug 2016 01:19:31 +0000

The profit of books is according to the sensibility of the reader. The profoundest thought or passion sleeps as in a mine, until an equal mind and heart finds and publishes it.

Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882) American essayist, lecturer, poet
“Quotation and Originality,” Letters and Social Aims (1876)

Emerson, Ralph Waldo -- Journal (1836)

Dave — Tue, 16 Aug 2016 00:43:30 +0000

Observe the invincible tendency of the mind to unify. It is a law of our constitution that we should not contemplate things apart without the effort to arrange them in order with known facts and ascribe them to the same law.

Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882) American essayist, lecturer, poet
Journal (1836)

Adams, John -- Essay (1765-10-21), “A Dissertation on the Canon and the Feudal Law,” No. 4, Boston Gazette

Dave — Wed, 10 Aug 2016 23:55:27 +0000

Let us tenderly and kindly cherish, therefore, the means of knowledge. Let us dare to read, think, speak and write.

John Adams (1735–1826) American lawyer, Founder, statesman; US President (1797–1801)
Essay (1765-10-21), “A Dissertation on the Canon and the Feudal Law,” No. 4, Boston Gazette

Brecht, Bertholt -- “General, Your Tank Is a Powerful Vehicle,” in “From a German War Primer,” The Svendborg Poems (1939) [tr. Baxandall]

Dave — Thu, 07 Jan 2016 15:55:51 +0000

General, man is very useful.
He can fly and he can kill.
But he has one defect:
He can think.

Bertolt Brecht (1898–1956) German poet, playwright, director, dramaturgist
“General, Your Tank Is a Powerful Vehicle,” in “From a German War Primer,” The Svendborg Poems (1939) [tr. Baxandall]

Adams, Douglas -- Last Chance to See, ch. 3 (1990) [with Mark Carwardine]

Dave — Mon, 03 Aug 2015 13:02:25 +0000

You can’t help but try and follow an animal’s thought processes, and you can’t help, when faced with an animal like a three ton rhinoceros with nasal passages bigger than its brain, but fail.

Douglas Adams (1952–2001) English author, humorist, screenwriter
Last Chance to See, ch. 3 (1990) [with Mark Carwardine]

Though the trip to see the northern white rhino was taken, and the chapter about it is in the book, it was not included in the BBC Radio series (1989).

Adams reading the 1992 audiobook can be heard here.

Adams, Douglas -- Dirk Gently No. 1, Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency, ch. 20 [Dirk] (1987)

Dave — Mon, 18 May 2015 12:26:48 +0000

Let us think the unthinkable, let us do the undoable, let us prepare to grapple with the ineffable itself, and see if we may not eff it after all.

Douglas Adams (1952–2001) English author, humorist, screenwriter
Dirk Gently No. 1, Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency, ch. 20 [Dirk] (1987)

Hazlitt, William -- Men and Manners, “On Prejudice” (1852)

Dave — Thu, 30 Apr 2015 12:08:57 +0000

We never do anything well till we cease to think about the manner of doing it.

William Hazlitt (1778–1830) English writer
Men and Manners, “On Prejudice” (1852)

Lessing, Gotthold -- Letter (1771-01-09), to Moses Mendelssohn

Dave — Wed, 08 Apr 2015 12:33:38 +0000

For all but one in thousands the goal of their thinking is the point at which they have become tired of thinking.

[Tausenden für einen ist das Ziel ihres Nachdenkens die Stelle, wo sie des Nachdenkens müde geworden.]

Gotthold Lessing (1729–1781) German playwright, philosopher, dramaturg, writer
Letter (1771-01-09), to Moses Mendelssohn

(Source (German)). Other translations:

In a thousand cases to one, the goal of reflection is set at the point where one gets tired of reflection.
(Source)

For the vast majority of men, the object of their reflection lies at the point where they become tired of reflecting.
(Source)

Bailey, Philip James -- Festus, Sc. “A Village Feast – Evening” [Festus] (1839)

Dave — Mon, 30 Mar 2015 12:25:43 +0000

There is a fire-fly in the southern clime
Which shineth only when upon the wing;
So it is with the mind: when once we rest,
We darken.

Philip James Bailey (1816–1902) English poet, lawyer
Festus, Sc. “A Village Feast – Evening” [Festus] (1839)

Usually paraphrased (earliest source (1872)):

The firefly only shines when on the wing.
So is it with the mind -- when once we rest
We darken.

Shaftesbury, Earl of -- Characteristicks of Men, Manners, Opinions, Times, Vol. 1, “Soliloquy: or Advice to an Author” (1711)

Dave — Fri, 26 Dec 2014 17:19:31 +0000

‘Tis the hardest thing in the world to be a good Thinker, without being a strong Self-Examiner.

Anthony Cooper, 3rd Earl of Shaftesbury (1671–1713) English politician and philosopher
Characteristicks of Men, Manners, Opinions, Times, Vol. 1, “Soliloquy: or Advice to an Author” (1711)

Hugo, Victor -- Victor Hugo’s Intellectual Autobiography [Postscriptum de ma Vie], “Thoughts,” sec. 3 (1901) [tr. O’Rourke (1907)]

Dave — Wed, 26 Nov 2014 13:43:03 +0000

Concision in style, precision in thought, decision in life.

[Concision dans le style, précision dans la pensée, décision dans la vie.]

Victor Hugo (1802–1885) French writer, journalist, human rights activist, politician
Victor Hugo’s Intellectual Autobiography [Postscriptum de ma Vie], “Thoughts,” sec. 3 (1901) [tr. O’Rourke (1907)]

(Source (French))

Woolf, Virginia -- A Room of One’s Own, ch. 4 (1929)

Dave — Mon, 28 Jul 2014 12:50:06 +0000

Lock up your libraries if you like; but there is no gate, no lock, no bolt that you can set upon the freedom of my mind.

Virginia Woolf (1882–1941) English modernist writer [b. Adeline Virginia Stephen]
A Room of One’s Own, ch. 4 (1929)

Chateaubriand, Francois-Rene -- “Pensées, Réflexions et Maximes,” Complete Works of Chateaubriand [Oeuvres Illustrées de Chateaubriand], Vol. 3, sec. 7 (1852)

Dave — Tue, 08 Apr 2014 13:05:19 +0000

As soon as a true thought has entered our mind, it gives a light which makes us see a crowd of other objects which we have never perceived before.

[Aussitôt qu’une pensée vraie est entrée dans notre esprit, elle jette une lumière qui nous fait voir une foule d’autres objets que nous n’apercevions pas auparavant.]

François-René de Chateaubriand (1768–1848) French writer, politican, diplomat
“Pensées, Réflexions et Maximes,” Complete Works of Chateaubriand [Oeuvres Illustrées de Chateaubriand], Vol. 3, sec. 7 (1852)

Stout, Rex -- In “Author Rex Stout vs. the FBI,” Interview with Sandra Schmidt, Life (10 Dec 1965)

Dave — Thu, 16 Jan 2014 12:31:20 +0000

A person who does not read cannot think. He may have good mental processes, but he has nothing to think about. You can feel for people or natural phenomena and react to them, but they are not ideas. You cannot think about them.

Rex Stout (1886–1975) American writer
In “Author Rex Stout vs. the FBI,” Interview with Sandra Schmidt, Life (10 Dec 1965)

Carlyle, Thomas -- Sartor Resartus, Book 2, ch. 6 (1834)

Dave — Mon, 18 Nov 2013 16:02:51 +0000

Hadst thou not Greek enough to understand thus much: The end of Man is an Action and not a Thought, though it were the noblest.

Thomas Carlyle (1795–1881) Scottish essayist and historian
Sartor Resartus, Book 2, ch. 6 (1834)

From Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics, 1.3.6 ("The end aimed at is not knowledge but action").

This chapter first appeared in Fraser's Magazine for Town and Country, Vol. 9, No. 51 (1834-03) -- Book 2, ch. 5-7.

Stevenson, Robert Louis -- Essay (1878-03), “Crabbed Age and Youth,” Cornhill Magazine, Vol. 37

Dave — Wed, 30 Oct 2013 13:46:53 +0000

When the torrent sweeps the man against a boulder, you must expect him to scream, and you need not be surprised if the scream is sometimes a theory. Shelley, chafing at the Church of England, discovered the cure of all evils in universal atheism. Generous lads irritated at the injustices of society, see nothing for it but the abolishment of everything and Kingdom Come of anarchy. Shelley was a young fool; so are these cocksparrow revolutionaries. But it is better to be a fool than to be dead. It is better to emit a scream in the shape of a theory than to be entirely insensible to the jars and incongruities of life and take everything as it comes in a forlorn stupidity.

Robert Louis Stevenson (1850–1894) Scottish essayist, novelist, poet
Essay (1878-03), “Crabbed Age and Youth,” Cornhill Magazine, Vol. 37

Collected in Virginibus Puerisque and Other Papers, ch. 2 (1881)

Joubert, Joseph -- Pensées [Thoughts], 1806 entry [tr. Auster (1983)]

Dave — Mon, 23 Sep 2013 13:15:56 +0000

I don’t like to write anything down on paper that I would not say to myself.

Joseph Joubert (1754–1824) French moralist, philosopher, essayist, poet
Pensées [Thoughts], 1806 entry [tr. Auster (1983)]

I could not find an analog in other translations of the Pensées.

Joubert, Joseph -- Pensées [Thoughts], ch. 5 “Des Passions et des Affections de l’Âme [On the Soul],” (1850 ed.) [tr. Collins (1928)]

Dave — Mon, 09 Sep 2013 12:00:44 +0000

Misery is almost always the result of thinking.

Joseph Joubert (1754–1824) French moralist, philosopher, essayist, poet
Pensées [Thoughts], ch. 5 “Des Passions et des Affections de l’Âme [On the Soul],” (1850 ed.) [tr. Collins (1928)]

I could not find an analog in other translations of the Pensées, or in the published French.

Jefferson, Thomas -- Letter (1813-08-13) to Isaac McPherson

Dave — Thu, 05 Sep 2013 12:49:25 +0000

If nature has made any one thing less susceptible, than all others, of exclusive property, it is the action of the thinking power called an Idea; which an individual may exclusively possess as long as he keeps it to himself; but the moment it is divulged, it forces itself into the possession of every one, and the reciever cannot dispossess himself of it. it’s peculiar character too is that no one possesses the less, because every other possesses the whole of it. He who recieves an idea from me, recieves instruction himself, without lessening mine; as he who lights his taper at mine, recieves light without darkening me.

Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826) American political philosopher, polymath, statesman, US President (1801–09)
Letter (1813-08-13) to Isaac McPherson

Chesterfield (Lord) -- Letter to his son, #67, “Thursday” (1740-41)

Dave — Thu, 29 Nov 2012 13:59:09 +0000

All you learn and all you can read will be of little use to you if you do not think and reason upon it yourself. One reads to know other people’s thoughts, but if we take them upon trust, without examining and comparing them with our own, it is really living upon other people’s scraps or retailing other people’s goods. To know the thoughts of others, is of use, because it suggests thoughts to one’s self, and helps one to form a judgment; but to repeat other people’s thoughts, without considering whether they are right or wrong, is the talent only of a parrot, or at most a player.

Lord Chesterfield (1694–1773) English statesman, wit [Philip Dormer Stanhope]
Letter to his son, #67, “Thursday” (1740-41)

Wilde, Oscar -- “The Critic as Artist,” Part 2 [Gilbert], Intentions (1891)

Dave — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 14:34:25 +0000

An idea that is not dangerous is unworthy of being called an idea at all.

Oscar Wilde (1854–1900) Irish poet, wit, dramatist
“The Critic as Artist,” Part 2 [Gilbert], Intentions (1891)

Hubbard, Elbert -- The Roycroft Dictionary (1914)

Dave — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 12:51:52 +0000

Orthodoxy:

In religion, that state of mind which congratulates itself on being absolutely right, and a belief that all who think otherwise are wholly wrong.
A faith in the fixed — a worship of the static.
The joy that comes from thinking that most everybody is lined up for Limbus with no return ticket.
A condition brought about by the sprites of Humor, according to the rule that whom the gods would destroy they first make mad.
The zenith of selfishness and the nadir of egotism.
Mephisto with a lily in his hand.
A corpse that does not know it is dead.
Spiritual constipation.
That peculiar condition where the patient can neither eliminate an old idea or absorb a new one.

Elbert Hubbard (1856–1915) American writer, businessman, philosopher
The Roycroft Dictionary (1914)

Orwell, George -- Nineteen Eighty-Four, Part 1, ch. 5 [Symes] (1949)

Dave — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 14:42:01 +0000

Orthodoxy means not thinking — not needing to think. Orthdoxy is unconsciousness.

George Orwell (1903–1950) English journalist, essayist, writer [pseud. of Eric Arthur Blair]
Nineteen Eighty-Four, Part 1, ch. 5 [Symes] (1949)

Ingersoll, Robert Green -- “What Must We Do To Be Saved?” Sec. 1 (1880)

Dave — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 13:35:13 +0000

The question is: Bad as I am, have I the right to think? And I think I have for two reasons: First, I cannot help it. And secondly, I like it.

Robert Green Ingersoll (1833–1899) American lawyer, freethinker, orator
“What Must We Do To Be Saved?” Sec. 1 (1880)

Bronowski, Jacob -- The Ascent of Man, ch. 3 (1973)

Dave — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 15:12:35 +0000

The world can only be grasped by action, not by contemplation. The hand is more important than the eye. We are active; and indeed we know, as something more than a symbolic accident in the evolution of man, that it is the hand that drives the subsequent evolution of the brain. We find tools today made by man before he became man. Benjamin Franklin in 1778 called man “a tool-making animal,” and that is right.

Jacob Bronowski (1908–1974) Polish-English humanist and mathematician
The Ascent of Man, ch. 3 (1973)

Stevenson, Adlai -- Call to Greatness, ch. 3 “America’s Burden” (1954)

Dave — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 11:54:02 +0000

Unreason and anti-intellectualism abominate thought. Thinking implies disagreement; and disagreement implies nonconformity; and nonconformity implies heresy; and heresy implies disloyalty — so, obviously, thinking must be stopped. But shouting is not a substitute for thinking and reason is not the subversion but the salvation of freedom.

Adlai Stevenson II (1900–1965) American politician, diplomat, statesman
Call to Greatness, ch. 3 “America’s Burden” (1954)

Adapted from his "A Troubled World," Godkin Lectures, Harvard University (1954-03-17 - 1954-03-20)

Stevenson, Adlai -- Speech (1952-10-08), “The Area of Freedom,” University of Wisconsin, Madison

Dave — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 12:07:02 +0000

If we value the pursuit of knowledge, we must be free to follow wherever that search may lead us. The free mind is not a barking dog, to be tethered on a ten-foot chain. It must be unrestricted in the play of its inquiry. If we insist on conclusions before the search is over, we are committed to playing the game of the mind with marked cards.

Adlai Stevenson II (1900–1965) American politician, diplomat, statesman
Speech (1952-10-08), “The Area of Freedom,” University of Wisconsin, Madison

Shakespeare, William -- Hamlet, Act 3, sc. 1, l. 91ff (3.1.91-96) (c. 1600)

Dave — Wed, 27 May 2009 14:09:20 +0000

HAMLET: Thus conscience does make cowards of us all,
And thus the native hue of resolution
Is sicklied o’er with the pale cast of thought,
And enterprises of great pitch and moment
With this regard their currents turn awry
And lose the name of action.

William Shakespeare (1564–1616) English dramatist and poet
Hamlet, Act 3, sc. 1, l. 91ff (3.1.91-96) (c. 1600)

"Conscience" in this case is used in its archaic form, as consciousness, awareness.

La Rochefoucauld, Francois -- Réflexions ou sentences et maximes morales [Reflections; or Sentences and Moral Maxims], ¶101 (1665-1678) [tr. Tancock (1959)]

Dave — Tue, 26 May 2009 13:59:46 +0000

It often happens that things come into the mind in a more finished form than could have been achieved after much study.

[Il arrive souvent que des choses se présentent plus achevées à notre esprit qu’il ne les pourrait faire avec beaucoup d’art.]

There are pretty things that the mind does not seek, and that it finds all completed in itself; it seems that they are hidden there, like gold and diamonds in the bosom of the earth.

[Il y a des jolies choses que l’esprit ne cherche point, et qu’il trouve toutes achevées en lui-même; il semble qu’elles y soient cachées, comme l’or et les diamants dans le sein de la terre.]

(Source (French)). Other translations:

There are certain ingenious things which the mind seeks not after, but finds brought to their full perfection in it self; so that it should seem they lay hid there, as Gold and Diamonds do in the bosom of the earth.
[tr. Davies (1669), ¶190]

It often happens, that some things offer themselves to our Wit, and are finer description in the very first thought, than it is possible for a man to make them by the Additions of Art and Study.
[tr. Stanhope (1694), ¶102]

It often happens, that some Things offer themselves finer in the very first Thought, than it were possible for a Man to have made them by Art and Study.
[pub. Donaldson (1783)]

It often happens, that things present themselves to the mind; more finished, than we, with much labour, can make them.
[ed. Gowens (1851), ¶391]

It often happens; that things present themselves to our minds in a more complete state than we could by much art make them arrive at.
[tr. Bund/Friswell (1871), ¶104]

Ideas often flash across our minds more complete than we could make them after much labour.
[tr. Heard (1917), ¶101]

It often happens that ideas reach our mind in a state of perfection exceeding that which our intellect, with all the resources of art, could fashion.
[tr. FitzGibbon (1957), ¶101]

Things often spring spontaneously to mind in a more finished form than could be achieved with great labor and thought.
[tr. Kronenberger (1959), ¶101]

Coffin, William Sloane -- Credo, “Faith, Hope, Love” (2004)

Dave — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 10:45:29 +0000

The first of the four cardinal virtues of the Roman Catholic Church is “prudentia,” which basically means damn good thinking. Christ came to take away our sins, not our minds.

William Sloane Coffin, Jr. (1924–2006) American minister, social activist
Credo, “Faith, Hope, Love” (2004)

Ingersoll, Robert Green -- Lecture (1877-01-31) “The Liberty of Man, Woman, and Child,” Case Hall, Boston

Dave — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 09:24:20 +0000

The man who does not do his own thinking is a slave, and is a traitor to himself and to his fellow-men.

Robert Green Ingersoll (1833–1899) American lawyer, freethinker, orator
Lecture (1877-01-31) “The Liberty of Man, Woman, and Child,” Case Hall, Boston

Emerson, Ralph Waldo -- “Quotation and Originality,” Letters and Social Aims (1876)

Dave — Thu, 26 Feb 2004 20:40:39 +0000

Next to the originator of a good sentence is the first quoter of it.

Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882) American essayist, lecturer, poet
“Quotation and Originality,” Letters and Social Aims (1876)

Straczynski, J. Michael "Joe" -- rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5.moderated, “ATTN JMS: Influences?” (27 Oct 1995)

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

It saddens me that literacy has become suspect, and degraded, given how many millions of years of evolution spent developing the ability to create language. The quality of our thoughts is bordered on all sides by our facility with language. The less precise the usage, the less clear the process of language, the less you can achieve what you want to achieve when you open you mouth to say something. We have slowly bastardized and degraded and weakened the language, abetted and abided by a growing cultural disdain for literacy, a cyclical trend toward anti-intellectualism.

J. Michael (Joe) Straczynski (b. 1954) American screenwriter, producer, author [a/k/a "JMS"]
rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5.moderated, “ATTN JMS: Influences?” (27 Oct 1995)

Reynolds, Joshua -- Speech to the Royal Academy, London (10 Dec 1784)

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

In the practice of art, as well as in morals, it is necessary to keep a watchful and jealous eye over ourselves; idleness, assuming the specious disguise of industry, will lull to sleep all suspicion of our want of an active exertion of strength. A provision of endless apparatus, a bustle of infinite enquiry and research, or even the mere mechanical labour of copying, may be employed, to evade and shuffle off real labour, — the real labour of thinking.

Joshua Reynolds (1723–1792) British painter, critic
Speech to the Royal Academy, London (10 Dec 1784)

Paraphrased over a long period of time (and still attributed to Reynolds) as: "There is no expedient to which a man will not resort to avoid the real labor of thinking."

The lecture was later described as the Twelfth Discourse in a 1797 collection of Reynolds' works.

Often attributed to Thomas Edison. More information here.

Edlund, Ben -- The Tick (cartoon), 02×09 “Ants in the Pants!” (1995-11-18) [w. Ralph Soll]

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

THE TICK: And isn’t sanity really just a one-trick pony anyway? I mean, all of you get is one trick, rational thinking. But when you’re good and crazy, oohoo-hoo-hoo-hoo, the sky’s the limit!

Ben Edlund (b. 1968) American cartoonist, writer, producer
The Tick (cartoon), 02×09 “Ants in the Pants!” (1995-11-18) [w. Ralph Soll]

Montaigne, Michel de -- Essays, Book 2, ch. 37 (2.37), “Of the Resemblance of Children to Their Fathers [De la ressemblance des enfans aux peres] (1579) [tr. Frame (1943)]

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

And there were never in the world two opinions alike, any more than two hairs or two grains. Their most universal quality is diversity.

[Et ne fut jamais au monde, deux opinions pareilles, non plus que deux poils, ou deux grains. Leur plus universelle qualité, c’est la diversité.]

Michel de Montaigne (1533–1592) French essayist
Essays, Book 2, ch. 37 (2.37), “Of the Resemblance of Children to Their Fathers [De la ressemblance des enfans aux peres] (1579) [tr. Frame (1943)]

Appeared in the first (1580) edition, with revisions in succeeding editions. The specific mention of hairs and grains first appears in the 1595 edition.

(Source (French)). Other translations:

And never were there two opinions in the world alike, no more than two haires, or two graines. Diversitie is the most universall qualitie.
[tr. Florio (1603)]

There never were in the world two opinions more alike, than two hairs, or two grains; their most universal quality is diversity.
[tr. Cotton (1686)]

And there never were, in the world, two opinions alike, no more than two hairs, or two grains: their most universal quality is diversity.
[tr. Cotton/Hazlitt (1877)]

And there were never in the world two opinions alike, any more than two hairs or two seeds. Their most universal quality is diversity.
[tr. Ives (1925)]

In the whole world there has never been two identical opinions, any more than two identical hairs or seeds. Their most universal characteristic is diversity. [tr. Screech (1987)]

Descartes, René -- Discourse on Method [Discours de la méthode], Part 1 (1637) [tr. Cottingham, Stoothoff (1985)]

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

For it is not enough to have a good mind; the main thing is to apply it well. The greatest souls are capable of the greatest vices as well as the greatest virtues; and those who proceed but very slowly can make much greater progress, if they always follow the right path, than those who hurry and stray from it.

[Car ce n’est pas assez d’avoir l’esprit bon, mais le principal est de l’appliquer bien. Les plus grandes âmes sont capables des plus grands vices aussi bien que des plus grandes vertus; et ceux qui ne marchent que fort lentement peuvent avancer beaucoup davantage, s’ils suivent toujours le droit chemin, que ne font ceux qui courent et qui s’en éloignent.]

René Descartes (1596–1650) French philosopher, mathematician
Discourse on Method [Discours de la méthode], Part 1 (1637) [tr. Cottingham, Stoothoff (1985)]

Sometimes quoted "the main thing is to use it well." (Source (French)). Other translations:

For ’tis not enough to have good faculties, but the principal is, to apply them well. The greatest Souls are as capable of the greatest Vices, as of the most eminent Vertues: And those who move but very slowly, may advance much farther, if they always follow the right way; then those who run and straggle from it.
[tr. Newcombe ed. (1649)]

For to be possessed of a vigorous mind is not enough; the prime requisite is rightly to apply it. The greatest minds, as they are capable of the highest excellences, are open likewise to the greatest aberrations; and those who travel very slowly may yet make far greater progress, provided they keep always to the straight road, than those who, while they run, forsake it.
[tr. Veitch (1901)

For to be possessed of good mental powers is not sufficient; the principal matter is to apply them well. The greatest minds are capable of the greatest vices as well as of the greatest virtues, and those who proceed very slowly may, provided they always follow the straight road, really advance much faster than those who, though they run, forsake it.
[tr. Haldane, Ross (1911)]

Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth -- Kavanaugh: A Tale, ch. 13 (1849)

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

Men of genius are often dull and inert in society, as a blazing meteor, when it descends to earth, is only a stone.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807–1882) American poet
Kavanaugh: A Tale, ch. 13 (1849)

La Rochefoucauld, Francois -- Réflexions ou sentences et maximes morales [Reflections; or Sentences and Moral Maxims], ¶103 (1665-1678) [tr. FitzGibbon (1957)]

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 18:00:00 +0000

Those who know their own minds do not always know their own hearts.

[Tous ceux qui connaissent leur esprit ne connaissent pas leur coeur.]

François VI, duc de La Rochefoucauld (1613–1680) French epigrammatist, memoirist, noble
Réflexions ou sentences et maximes morales [Reflections; or Sentences and Moral Maxims], ¶103 (1665-1678) [tr. FitzGibbon (1957)]

Present in the 1st (1665) edition as "Bien des gens connoissent leur esprit, qui ne connoissent pas leur cœur." In manuscript, given as "On peut connaître son esprit; mais qui peut connoître son cœur?"

(Source (French)). Other translations:

Many People are Acquainted with their own Wit, that are not Acquainted with their own Heart.
[tr. Stanhope (1694), ¶104]

Many People are acquainted with their own Abilities, that are not acquainted with their own Hearts.
[tr. Stanhope (1706), ¶104]

Men are sometimes well acquainted with their head, when they are not so with their heart.
[pub. Donaldson (1783), ¶216; ed. Lepoittevin-Lacroix (1797), ¶100]

A man may be well acquainted; with his head, whilst he is far from being so with his heart.
[ed. Carvill (1835), ¶188]

It is not all who know their heads who know their hearts.
[ed. Gowens (1851), ¶106]

Those who know their minds do not necessarily know their hearts.
[tr. Bund/Friswell (1871), ¶103]

Those who know their minds best, know their hearts least.
[tr. Heard (1917), ¶103]

Not every one who knows his own mind knows his own heart also.
[tr. Stevens (1939), ¶103]

Not all those who know their minds know their hearts as well.
[tr. Kronenberger (1959), ¶103]

Not everyone who understands his own mind understands his heart.
[tr. Tancock (1959), ¶103]

All those who know their minds do not necessarily know their hearts.
[tr. Whichello (2016) ¶103]

Bierce, Ambrose -- “Brain,” The Cynic’s Word Book (1906)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 18:00:00 +0000

BRAIN, n. An apparatus with which we think that we think.

Ambrose Bierce (1842–1914?) American writer and journalist
“Brain,” The Cynic’s Word Book (1906)

Included in The Devil's Dictionary (1911).

Barzun, Jacques -- Essay (1950-10-15), “The Educated Man,” Life Magazine

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

This is in fact the test and use of a man’s education, that he finds pleasure in the exercise of his mind.

Jacques Barzun (1907–2012) French-American historian, educator, polymath
Essay (1950-10-15), “The Educated Man,” Life Magazine

More commonly given as "The test and use of a man's education is that he finds pleasure in the exercise of his mind."

Essay collected, under the same name, in Barzun, Begin Here: The Forgotten Conditions of Teaching and Learning, ch. 15 (1991).

Hugo, Victor -- Les Misérables, Part 4 “Saint Denis,” Book 5 “The End of Which Does Not Resemble the Beginning,” ch. 4 (4.5.4) (1862) [tr. Denny (1976)]

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

There are thoughts which are prayers. There are moments when, whatever the posture of the body, the soul is on its knees.

[De certaines pensées sont des prières. Il y a des moments où, quelle que soit l’attitude du corps, l’âme est à genoux.]

Victor Hugo (1802–1885) French writer, journalist, human rights activist, politician
Les Misérables, Part 4 “Saint Denis,” Book 5 “The End of Which Does Not Resemble the Beginning,” ch. 4 (4.5.4) (1862) [tr. Denny (1976)]

(Source (French)). Other translations:

Certain thoughts are prayers. There are moments when, whatever be the attitude of the body, the soul is on its knees.
[tr. Wilbour (1862)]

Certain thoughts are prayers. There are moments when the soul is kneeling, no matter what the attitude of the body may be.
[tr. Wraxall (1862)]

Certain thoughts are prayers. There are moments when, whatever the attitude of the body may be, the soul is on its knees.
[tr. Hapgood (1887)]

Certain thoughts are prayers. There are moments when, whatever the attitude of the body, the soul is on its knees.
[tr. Wilbour/Fahnestock/MacAfee (1987)]

Franklin, Benjamin -- Poor Richard (1744 ed.)

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

Hear Reason, or she’ll make you feel her.

Benjamin Franklin (1706–1790) American statesman, scientist, philosopher, aphorist
Poor Richard (1744 ed.)

See also Franklin (1753).

Hugo, Victor -- Les Misérables, Part 4 “Saint Denis,” Book 2 “Eponine,” ch. 1 (4.2.1) (1862) [tr. Denny (1976)]

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

Thought is the work of the intellect, reverie is its self-indulgence. To substitute day-dreaming for thought is to confuse a poison with a source of nourishment.

[La pensée est le labeur de l’intelligence, la rêverie en est la volupté. Remplacer la pensée par la rêverie, c’est confondre un poison avec une nourriture.]

Thought is the labour of the intellect, reverie is its pleasure. To replace thought by reverie is to confound poison with nourishment.
[tr. Wilbour (1862)]

Thought is the labor of the intellect, reveries its voluptuousness; substituting reverie for thought is like confounding poison with nutriment.
[tr. Wraxall (1862)]

Thought is the toil of the intelligence, revery its voluptuousness. To replace thought with revery is to confound a poison with a food.
[tr. Hapgood (1887)]

Thought is the labor of the intellect, reverie its pleasure. To replace thought with reverie is to confound poison with nourishment.
[tr. Wilbour/Fahnestock/MacAfee (1987)]

Thought is the exertion of the intellect, daydreaming is its indulgence. To replace thought with daydreaming is to mistake a poison for sustenance.
[tr. Donougher (2013)]

Drummond, William -- Academical Questions, Preface (1805)

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

He, who will not reason, is a bigot; he, who cannot, is a fool; and he, who dares not, is a slave.

William Drummond of Logie-Almond (1770–1828) Scottish classical scholar, philosopher, diplomat, politician
Academical Questions, Preface (1805)

Sometimes misattributed to Byron.

Wittgenstein, Ludwig -- Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus, 5.6 (1921)

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

The limits of my language mark the limits of my world.

Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889–1951) Austrian-English philosopher
Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus, 5.6 (1921)

Alt. trans:

"The boundary of my language is the boundary of my world." [tr. Kolak]
"The limits of my language mean the limits of my world." [tr. Pears and McGuinness]
"The limits of my language stand for the limits of my world."

Evans, Bergen -- The Natural History of Nonsense, ch. 19 (1946)

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

Freedom of speech and freedom of action are meaningless without freedom to think. And there is no freedom of thought without doubt.

Bergen Evans (1904–1978) American educator, writer, lexicographer
The Natural History of Nonsense, ch. 19 (1946)