WIST Quotations

Doctor Who (1963) -- 21×03 “Frontios,” Part 2 (1984-01-27) [w. Christopher H. Bidmead]

Dave — Sat, 31 Oct 2026 18:51:42 +0000

THE DOCTOR: Oh, marvelous. You’re going to kill me. What a finely tuned response to the situation.

Doctor Who (1963–1989) British science fiction television series, original run (BBC)
21×03 “Frontios,” Part 2 (1984-01-27) [w. Christopher H. Bidmead]

(Source (Video))

Twain, Mark -- Novel (1889), A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court, Part 3 “The Tale of the Lost Land,” ch. 17 “A Royal Banquet”

Dave — Sat, 24 Oct 2026 19:14:10 +0000

Arguments have no chance against petrified training; they wear it as little as the waves wear a cliff.

Mark Twain (1835–1910) American writer [pseud. of Samuel Clemens]
Novel (1889), A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court, Part 3 “The Tale of the Lost Land,” ch. 17 “A Royal Banquet”

Watterson, Bill -- Calvin and Hobbes (1993-02-15)

Dave — Sun, 02 Aug 2026 19:30:05 +0000

CALVIN: (building a snowman) I should be doing my homework now. But the way I look at it, playing in the snow is a lot more important. Out here I’m learning real skills that I can apply throughout the rest of my life.

HOBBES: Such as?

CALVIN: Procrastinating and rationalizing.

Bill Watterson (b. 1958) American cartoonist
Calvin and Hobbes (1993-02-15)

Whitehead, Alfred North -- Speech (1916-01), “The Aims of Education — a Plea for Reform,” Presidential Address to the Mathematical Association

Dave — Tue, 22 Apr 2025 16:20:21 +0000

In the conditions of modern life the rule is absolute, the race which does not value trained intelligence is doomed. Not all your heroism, not all your social charm, not all your wit, not all your victories on land or at sea, can move back the finger of fate. To-day we maintain ourselves. To-morrow science will have moved forward yet one more step, and there will be no appeal from the judgment which will then be pronounced on the uneducated.

Alfred North Whitehead (1861–1947) English mathematician and philosopher
Speech (1916-01), “The Aims of Education — a Plea for Reform,” Presidential Address to the Mathematical Association

Collected in The Organisation of Thought: Educational and Scientific, ch. 1 (1917).

Banksy -- Wall and Piece, Introduction (2005)

Dave — Wed, 16 Apr 2025 15:34:04 +0000

All artists are willing to suffer for their work. But why are so few prepared to learn to draw?

Banksy (b. 1974?) England-based pseudonymous street artist, political activist, film director
Wall and Piece, Introduction (2005)

Twain, Mark -- Pudd’nhead Wilson, ch. 5, Epigraph (1894)

Dave — Fri, 05 Jul 2024 16:46:45 +0000

Training is everything. The peach was once a bitter almond; cauliflower is nothing but cabbage with a college education.

Mark Twain (1835–1910) American writer [pseud. of Samuel Clemens]
Pudd’nhead Wilson, ch. 5, Epigraph (1894)

Martin, Judith -- Common Courtesy, “In the Quest for Equality, Civilization Itself Is Maligned” (1985)

Dave — Mon, 10 Jun 2024 14:56:29 +0000

We are all born rude. No infant has ever appeared yet with the grace to understand how inconsiderate it is to disturb others in the middle of the night.

Judith Martin (b. 1938) American author, journalist, etiquette expert [a.k.a. Miss Manners]
Common Courtesy, “In the Quest for Equality, Civilization Itself Is Maligned” (1985)

Du Bois, W.E.B. -- John Brown, ch. 13 “The Legacy of John Brown” (1909)

Dave — Thu, 30 Nov 2023 17:31:46 +0000

Liberty trains for liberty. Responsibility is the first step in responsibility.

W. E. B. Du Bois (1868–1963) American writer, historian, social reformer [William Edward Burghardt Du Bois]
John Brown, ch. 13 “The Legacy of John Brown” (1909)

On the policy among white colonial powers that non-whites "ought to be under the restraint and benevolent tutelage of stronger and wiser nations for their own benefit," until they are "capable" of being free.

Virgil -- Georgics [Georgica], Book 2, l. 272ff (2.272) (29 BC) [tr. Greenough (1900)]

Dave — Wed, 02 Aug 2023 23:15:43 +0000

So strong is custom formed in early years.

[Adeo in teneris consuescere multum est.]

Virgil (70–19 BC) Roman poet [b. Publius Vergilius Maro; also Vergil]
Georgics [Georgica], Book 2, l. 272ff (2.272) (29 BC) [tr. Greenough (1900)]

Discussing how, when transplanting vines, wise farmers try to match the soil and orientation of the plant toward the sun to the conditions where they first sprouted. The same phrase is often extended (when extracted like this) to the lasting effects of early training on children. See also Pope.

(Source (Latin)). Other translations:

Such strength hath custome in each tender soule.
[tr. Ogilby (1649)]

So strong is Custom; such Effects can Use
In tender Souls of pliant Plants produce.
[tr. Dryden (1709), ll. 366-367]

So strong is habit's force in tender age.
[tr. Nevile (1767), l. 302]

So custom strongly sways the youthful year.
[tr. Sotheby (1800)]

Of such avail is custom in tender years.
[tr. Davidson (1854)]

So custom lords it o'er the youthful wood.
[tr. Blackmore (1871), l. 324]

Such is the force of habits formed in early years.
[tr. Wilkins (1873)]

So strong is custom formed in early years.
[tr. Rhoades (1881)]

So powerful is habit in things of tender age.
[tr. Bryce (1897)]

So strong is the habit of infancy.
[tr. Mackail (1899)]

So potent is early habit's control.
[tr. Way (1912)]

So loth to change
Are a young creature's ways.
[tr. Williams (1915)]

So strong is habit in tender years.
[tr. Fairclough (Loeb) (1916)]

So important are habits developed in early days.
[tr. Day-Lewis (1940)]

For habit dominates the early stage.
[tr. Bovie (1956)]

So much effect has habit on the young.
[tr. Wilkinson (1982)]

We grow accustomed to so much in tender years.
[tr. Kline (2001)]

How powerful the innate habits of tender plants!
[tr. Lembke (2004)]

So powerfully runs habit in the tender stems.
[tr. Johnson (2009)]

Such is the need, when young, of what's familiar.
[tr. Ferry (2015)]

Byron, George Gordon, Lord -- “English Bards and Scotch Reviewers,” l. 63ff (1809)

Dave — Thu, 13 Jul 2023 14:28:23 +0000

A man must serve his time to every trade
Save Censure — Critics all are ready made.

George Gordon, Lord Byron (1788–1824) English poet
“English Bards and Scotch Reviewers,” l. 63ff (1809)

Holland, Barbara -- The Name of the Cat (1998)

Dave — Mon, 27 Dec 2021 18:54:41 +0000

By and large, people who enjoy teaching animals to roll over will find themselves happier with a dog.

Barbara Holland (1933–2010) American author
The Name of the Cat (1998)

Homer -- The Iliad [Ἰλιάς], Book 9, l. 442 (9.442) (c. 750 BC) [tr. Leaf/Lang/Myers (1891)]

Dave — Tue, 24 Nov 2020 21:55:38 +0000

Be both a speaker of words and a doer of deeds.

[Μύθων τε ῥητῆρ’ ἔμεναι πρηκτῆρά τε ἔργων.]

Homer (fl. 7th-8th C. BC) Greek author
The Iliad [Ἰλιάς], Book 9, l. 442 (9.442) (c. 750 BC) [tr. Leaf/Lang/Myers (1891)]

Phoenix, on what he was sent to teach Achilles as a child to become. (Source (Greek)). Other translations:

That thou might'st speak, when speech was fit, and do, when deeds were done,
Not sit as dumb, for want of words, idle, for skill to move.
[tr. Chapman (1611)]

To shine in councils and in camps to dare.
[tr. Pope (1715-20)]

Both elocution and address in arms.
[tr. Cowper (1791)]

An orator in words and a performer in deeds.
[tr. Buckley (1860)]

Be both a speaker of words and a doer of deeds.
[tr. Murray (1924)]

A speaker of words and one accomplished in action.
[tr. Lattimore (1951)]

A man of eloquence and action.
[tr. Fitzgerald (1974)]

A man of words, and a man of action, too.
[tr. Fagles (1990), l. 538]

To be both a speaker of words and a doer of actions.
[tr. Merrill (2007)]

To be a speaker of words and a doer of deeds.
[tr. @Sentantiq (2016)]

Holland, Barbara -- Endangered Pleasures (1995)

Dave — Tue, 29 Sep 2020 18:58:57 +0000

Coaches and headmasters praise sport as a preparation for the great game of life, but this is absurd. Nothing could be more different from life. For one thing sports, unlike life, are played according to rules. Indeed, the rules are the sport: life may behave bizarrely and still be life, but if the runner circles the bases clockwise it’s no longer baseball.

Barbara Holland (1933–2010) American author
Endangered Pleasures (1995)

Brault, Robert -- (Attributed)

Dave — Tue, 25 Aug 2020 14:34:09 +0000

I guess, when you get down to it, a loving touch compensates for an unskilled hand about everywhere except in an airplane cockpit.

Robert Brault (b. c. 1945) American aphorist, programmer
(Attributed)

Baldwin, James -- “The Negro Child — His Self-Image,” speech (16 Oct 1963)

Dave — Thu, 07 Mar 2019 01:24:40 +0000

The paradox of education is precisely this — that as one begins to become conscious one begins to examine the society in which he is being educated. The purpose of education, finally, is to create in a person the ability to look at the world for himself, to make his own decisions, to say to himself this is black or this is white, to decide for himself whether there is a God in heaven or not. To ask questions of the universe, and then learn to live with those questions, is the way he achieves his own identity. But no society is really anxious to have that kind of person around. What societies really, ideally, want is a citizenry which will simply obey the rules of society. If a society succeeds in this, that society is about to perish. The obligation of anyone who thinks of himself as responsible is to examine society and try to change it and to fight it -– at no matter what risk. This is the only hope society has. This is the only way societies change.

James Baldwin (1924–1987) American novelist, playwright, activist
“The Negro Child — His Self-Image,” speech (16 Oct 1963)

Speech to educators, first published as "A Talk to Teachers," The Saturday Review (21 Dec 1963). The thesis above is restatated at the end in these words, more frequently quoted: "I began by saying that one of the paradoxes of education was that precisely at the point when you begin to develop a conscience, you must find yourself at war with your society. It is your responsibility to change society if you think of yourself as an educated person."

Aristippus of Cyrene -- (Attributed)

Dave — Tue, 18 Jul 2017 04:23:16 +0000

Native ability without education is like a tree which bears no fruit.

Aristippus of Cyrene (c. 435 – c. 356 BC) Cyrenaic philosopher, Hedonist
(Attributed)

Quoted in Edward Parsons Day, Day’s Collacon: An Encyclopaedia of Prose Quotations (1884). Not found in original source material.

Kennedy, Florynce -- “Institutionalized Oppression vs. the Female” (1970)

Dave — Tue, 18 Apr 2017 00:28:45 +0000

Oppressed people are frequently very oppressive when first liberated. And why wouldn’t they be? They know best two positions. Somebody’s foot on their neck or their foot on somebody’s neck.

Florynce "Flo" Kennedy (1916–2000) American lawyer, feminist, civil rights activist
“Institutionalized Oppression vs. the Female” (1970)

Goethe, Johann von -- Torquato Tasso, Act 1, sc. 2, ll. 304-305 [Leonora] (1790) [tr. Ryder (1993)]

Dave — Tue, 14 Feb 2017 15:03:16 +0000

A talent forms itself in solitude,
A character amid the stream of life.

[Es bildet ein Talent sich in der Stille,
Sich ein Charakter in dem Strom der Welt.]

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749–1832) German poet, statesman, scientist
Torquato Tasso, Act 1, sc. 2, ll. 304-305 [Leonora] (1790) [tr. Ryder (1993)]

(Source (German)). Other translations:

"A talent doth in stillness form itself -- / A character on life's unquiet stream." [tr. Des Voeux (1827)]
"Talents are nurtured best in solitude, -- / A character on life's tempestuous sea." [tr. Swanwick (1843)]
"Man's talent ripens in tranquility, / His character in battling with the world." [tr. Cartwright (1861)]
"A talent in tranquility is formed, / A character in the turbulence of affairs." [tr. Hamburger (20th C)]
"Talent develops in quiet places, / Character in the full current of human life."
Talents are best nurtured in solitude; / Character is best formed in the stormy billows of the world.
"Genius is formed in quiet, / Character in the stream of human life."

Carriger, Gail -- Etiquette & Espionage (2013)

Dave — Fri, 14 Oct 2016 04:02:47 +0000

Sophronia took a deep breath. “What, precisely, will I be expected to learn here?”

Lady Linette twirled one curl of blonde hair around the tip of one finger. “Information gathering and object retrieval, of course. But mostly, you should learn how to finish.”

“Finish what, exactly?”

“Why, anything or anyone who needs finishing, my dear.”

Gail Carriger (b. 1976) American archaeologist, author [pen name of Tofa Borregaard]
Etiquette & Espionage (2013)

Adams, John -- (Misattributed)

Dave — Thu, 18 Aug 2016 00:24:26 +0000

There are obviously two educations. One should teach us how to make a living and the other how to live.

John Adams (1735–1826) American lawyer, Founder, statesman; US President (1797–1801)
(Misattributed)

While often misattributed to the 2nd President of the United States, it was actually written by American writer and historian James Truslow Adams (1878–1949) in his essay (1929-06), "To 'Be' or to 'Do,'" Forum magazine, Vol. 81, No. 6.

Variants:

"There are two types of education. One should teach us how to make a living, and the other how to live."
"There are two educations. One should teach us how to make a living and the other how to live."

Jay, Antony -- (Attributed)

Dave — Mon, 18 Jul 2016 15:36:59 +0000

The only real training for leadership is leadership.

Antony Jay (1930–2016) English writer, broadcaster, director
(Attributed)

Branson, Richard -- Tweet (27 Mar 2014)

Dave — Tue, 03 May 2016 20:33:55 +0000

Train people well enough so they can leave. Treat them well enough so they don’t want to.

Richard Branson (b. 1950) English business magnate, investor, philanthropist
Tweet (27 Mar 2014)

Nader, Ralph -- Time Leadership Conference, Washington, DC (Sep 1976)

Dave — Mon, 09 Nov 2015 15:32:31 +0000

The function of leadership is to produce more leaders, not more followers.

Ralph Nader (b. 1934) American attorney, author, lecturer, political activist
Time Leadership Conference, Washington, DC (Sep 1976)

In "Leadership: The Biggest Issue," Time (8 Nov 1976).

Reade, Charles -- (Attributed)

Dave — Mon, 07 Sep 2015 16:51:32 +0000

Sow an act, and you reap a habit. Sow a habit, and you reap a character. Sow a character, and you reap a destiny.

Charles Reade (1814–1884) English novelist and dramatist
(Attributed)

Attributed in Notes and Queries, 9th series, vol. 12 (7 Nov 1903). Not found in any of his works, but attributed to many other authors over time. See here for more discussion.

Adams, Douglas -- Dirk Gently No. 1, Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency, ch. 4 [Richard] (1987)

Dave — Mon, 08 Jun 2015 13:07:13 +0000

What I mean is that if you really want to understand something, the best way is to try and explain it to someone else. That forces you to sort it out in your mind. And the more slow and dim-witted your pupil, the more you have to break things down into more and more simple ideas. And that’s really the essence of programming. By the time you’ve sorted out a complicated idea into little steps that even a stupid machine can deal with, you’ve learned something about it yourself.

Douglas Adams (1952–2001) English author, humorist, screenwriter
Dirk Gently No. 1, Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency, ch. 4 [Richard] (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)

Barbauld, Anna -- “An Inquiry into those Kinds of Distress which Excite Agreeable Sensations” (1773)

Dave — Mon, 06 Apr 2015 12:11:12 +0000

The awakenings of remorse, virtuous shame and indignation, the glow of moral approbation,– if they do not lead to action, grow less and less vivid every time they recur, till at length the mind grows absolutely callous.

Anna Laetitia Barbauld (1743–1825) English woman of letters, educator, editor [née Aikin]
“An Inquiry into those Kinds of Distress which Excite Agreeable Sensations” (1773)

Huxley, Aldous -- Ends and Means (1937)

Dave — Wed, 24 Dec 2014 17:40:36 +0000

First Shakespeare sonnets seem meaningless; first Bach fugues, a bore; first differential equations, sheer torture. But training changes the nature of our spiritual experiences. In due course, contact with an obscurely beautiful poem, an elaborate piece of counterpoint or of mathematical reasoning, causes us to feel direct intuitions of beauty and significance. It is the same in the moral world.

Aldous Huxley (1894–1963) English novelist, essayist and critic
Ends and Means (1937)

Thoreau, Henry David -- Speech (1860-07-04), “The Last days of John Brown,” North Elba, Massachusetts

Dave — Tue, 15 Jul 2014 12:55:26 +0000

We seem to have forgotten that the expression “a liberal education” originally meant among the Romans one worthy of free men; while the learning of trades and professions by which to get your livelihood merely, was considered worthy of slaves only.

Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862) American philosopher and writer
Speech (1860-07-04), “The Last days of John Brown,” North Elba, Massachusetts

Collected in A Yankee in Canada (1866).

~Proverbs and Sayings -- Chinese proverb

Dave — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 12:27:03 +0000

Learning is like rowing upstream; not to advance is to drop back.

Proverbs, Sayings, and Adages
Chinese proverb

Schopenhauer, Arthur -- Parerga and Paralipomena, Vol. 2, ch. 26 “Psychological Observations [Psychologische Bemerkungen],” § 344 (1851) [tr. Payne (1974)]

Dave — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 15:45:51 +0000

There is no absurdity, however palpable, which cannot be firmly implanted in the minds of all, if only one begins to inculcate it before the early age of six by constantly repeating it to them with an air of great solemnity.

[Es giebt keine Absurdität , die so handgreiflich wäre , daß man sie nicht allen Menden fest in den Kopf regen könnte, wenn man nur schon vor ihrem sechsten Jahre anfienge, sie ihnen einzuprägen, indem manunabläffig und mit feierlichstem Ernst sie ihnen vorsagte.]

Arthur Schopenhauer (1788–1860) German philosopher
Parerga and Paralipomena, Vol. 2, ch. 26 “Psychological Observations [Psychologische Bemerkungen],” § 344 (1851) [tr. Payne (1974)]

(Source (German)). Other translations:

There is no absurdity so palpable but that it may be firmly planted in the human head if you only begin to inculcate it before the age of five, by constantly repeating it with an air of great solemnity.
[tr. Saunders (1851)]

There is no absurdity, however palpable it may be, which may not be fixed in the minds of all men, if it is inculcated before they are six years old by continual and earnest repetition.
[tr. Dircks(1897)]

Emerson, Ralph Waldo -- “Progress of Culture,” Letters and Social Aims (1876)

Dave — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 12:35:05 +0000

Every artist was first an amateur.

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

Full text.

Martin, Judith -- “Miss Manners,” syndicated column (1978-04-23)

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

We are all born charming, frank, and spontaneous and must be civilized before we are fit to participate in society.

Judith Martin (b. 1938) American author, journalist, etiquette expert [a.k.a. Miss Manners]
“Miss Manners,” syndicated column (1978-04-23)

Reprinted in Miss Manners' Guide to Excruciatingly Correct Behavior, Part 2 "Basic Civilization," "Concerning Children" (1983).

Pratchett, Terry -- Discworld No. 10, Moving Pictures (1990)

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

People who used magic without knowing what they were doing usually came to a sticky end.
All over the entire room, sometimes.

Terry Pratchett (1948–2015) English author
Discworld No. 10, Moving Pictures (1990)

Watterson, Bill -- Calvin and Hobbes (1993-07-03)

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

CALVIN: The only skills I have the patience to learn are those that have no real application in life.

Bill Watterson (b. 1958) American cartoonist
Calvin and Hobbes (1993-07-03)

After performing a series of tricks with a yo-yo.

Lewis, C.S. -- “Answers to Questions on Christianity”

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

If you think of this world as a place intended simply for our happiness, you find it quite intolerable: think of it as a place of training and correction and it’s not so bad.

C. S. Lewis (1898–1963) English writer, literary scholar, lay theologian [Clive Staples Lewis]
“Answers to Questions on Christianity”