WIST Quotations

Montesquieu -- Spirit of Laws [The Spirit of the Laws; De l’esprit des lois], Book 5, ch. 13 (5.13) (1748) [tr. Stewart (2018)]

Dave — Mon, 16 Feb 2026 20:01:16 +0000

When the savages of Louisiana want some fruit, they cut down the tree at the base and gather the fruit. That is how a despotic government works.

[Quand les sauvages de la Louisiane veulent avoir du fruit, ils coupent l’arbre au pied, & cueillent le fruit. Voilà le gouvernement despotique.]

Charles-Lewis de Secondat, Baron de Montesquieu (1689–1755) French political philosopher
Spirit of Laws [The Spirit of the Laws; De l’esprit des lois], Book 5, ch. 13 (5.13) (1748) [tr. Stewart (2018)]
(Source)

(Source (French)). Other translations:

When the savages of Louisiana are desirous of fruit, they cut the tree to the root, and gather the fruit. This is an emblem of despotic government.
[tr. Nugent (1750)]

When the savages of Louisiana want fruit, they cut down the tree and gather the fruit. There you have despotic government.
[tr. Cohler/Miller/Stone (1989)]

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)
(Source)

Referring to Talleyrand. Quoting Herr Teufelsdröckh.

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

Hood, Thomas -- “The Lady’s Dream,” st. 16 (1844)

Dave — Tue, 02 Aug 2022 03:53:51 +0000

But evil is wrought by want of Thought,
As well as want of Heart!

Thomas Hood (1799–1845) British humorist and poet
“The Lady’s Dream,” st. 16 (1844)
(Source)

First printed in Hood’s Magazine.

Commager, Henry Steele -- Civil Liberties under Attack (1951)

Dave — Wed, 01 Dec 2021 14:34:09 +0000

The greatest danger that threatens us is neither heterodox thought nor orthodox thought, but the absence of thought.

Henry Steele Commager (1902–1998) American historian, writer, activist
Civil Liberties under Attack (1951)
(Source)

Tuchman, Barbara -- The March of Folly: From Troy to Vietnam, ch. 1 (1984)

Dave — Wed, 03 Nov 2021 19:04:31 +0000

Folly is a child of power. We all know, from unending repetitions of Lord Acton’s dictum, that power corrupts. We are less less aware that it breeds folly: that the power to command frequently causes failure to think: that the responsibility of power often fades as its exercise augments.

Barbara W. Tuchman (1912–1989) American historian and author
The March of Folly: From Troy to Vietnam, ch. 1 (1984)
(Source)

See Acton.

Arendt, Hannah -- Lecture (1971), “Thinking and Moral Considerations,” Social Research (1971 Fall)

Dave — Thu, 18 Mar 2021 20:12:22 +0000

Clichés, stock phrases, adherence to conventional, standardized codes of expression and conduct have the socially recognized function of protecting us against reality, that is, against the claim on our thinking attention that all events and facts make by virtue of their existence.

Hannah Arendt (1906–1975) German-American philosopher, political theorist
Lecture (1971), “Thinking and Moral Considerations,” Social Research (1971 Fall)
(Source)

Referring to Adolf Eichmann's use of "cliché-ridden language" as a sign of his "thoughtlessness."

Collected in The Life of the Mind, Part 1 "Thinking," Introduction (1974).

Wilcox, Ella Wheeler -- Poem (1896-10), “Life’s Scars,” st. 3, Frank Leslie’s Popular Monthly, Vol. 42, No. 4

Dave — Fri, 01 Jul 2016 17:54:08 +0000

The choicest garb, the sweetest grace,
Are oft to strangers shown;
The careless mien, the frowning face,
Are given to our own.
We flatter those we scarcely know,
We please the fleeting guest,
And deal full many a thoughtless blow
To those who love us best.

Ella Wheeler Wilcox (1850–1919) American author, poet, temperance advocate, spiritualist
Poem (1896-10), “Life’s Scars,” st. 3, Frank Leslie’s Popular Monthly, Vol. 42, No. 4
(Source)

Originally published in Frank Leslie's Popular Monthly, Vol. 42, #4 (1896-10)

Auden, W. H. -- “Shorts,” No. 7 (c. 1930), Collected Poems, Part 2 “1927-1932” (1976 ed.) [ed. Mendelson]

Dave — Tue, 15 Jul 2014 12:48:07 +0000

Those who will not reason
Perish in the act:
Those who will not act
Perish for that reason.

W. H. Auden (1907–1973) Anglo-American poet [Wystan Hugh Auden]
“Shorts,” No. 7 (c. 1930), Collected Poems, Part 2 “1927-1932” (1976 ed.) [ed. Mendelson]
(Source)

Arendt, Hannah -- Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil, Postscript (1963)

Dave — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 12:07:23 +0000

… the strange interdependence between thoughtlessness and evil ….

Hannah Arendt (1906–1975) German-American philosopher, political theorist
Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil, Postscript (1963)
(Source)

Arendt, Hannah -- Life of the Mind, Vol. 1 “Thinking,” Part 3, ch. 18 “The two-in-one” (1977)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 19:00:00 +0000

The sad truth of the matter is that most evil is done by people who never made up their minds to be or do either evil or good.

Hannah Arendt (1906–1975) German-American philosopher, political theorist
Life of the Mind, Vol. 1 “Thinking,” Part 3, ch. 18 “The two-in-one” (1977)
(Source)

Sometimes shortened as: "The sad truth is that most evil is done by people who never make up their minds to be good or evil."

Originally printed as an essay (1977-11-28), "Thinking -- III," The New Yorker (1977-12-05). That version is slightly longer:

The sad truth of the matter is that most evil is done by people who never made up their minds to be either good or bad or to do either good or evil.