WIST Quotations

Murray, Gilbert -- Essay (1912), “Introduction,” Sophocles, Medea

Dave — Tue, 01 Sep 2026 17:28:36 +0000

It is a scheme which occurs again and again in Euripides, a study of oppression and revenge. Such a subject in the hands of a more ordinary writer would probably take the form of a triumph of oppressed virtue. But Euripides gives us nothing so sympathetic, nothing so cheap and unreal. If oppression usually made people virtuous, the problems of the world would be very different from what they are. Euripides seems at times to hate the revenge of the oppressed almost as much as the original cruelty of the oppressor; or, to put the same fact in a different light, he seems deliberately to dwell upon the twofold evil of cruelty, that it not only causes pain to the victim, but actually by means of the pain makes him a worse man, so that when his turn of triumph comes, it is no longer a triumph of justice or a thing to make men rejoice. This is a grim lesson; taught often enough by history, though seldom by the fables of the poets.

Gilbert Murray (1866–1957) Australian-British classical scholar and public intellectual
Essay (1912), “Introduction,” Sophocles, Medea
(Source)

For quotes from Euripides, see here. For quotes from his Medea, see here.

Hoffer, Eric -- Passionate State of Mind, Aphorism 120 (1955)

Dave — Thu, 31 Jul 2025 16:57:04 +0000

We derive a certain satisfaction from being sinned against. It is not only that a grievance adds content to our lives, but also that it makes less monstrous the flame of malice which like a vigil light flickers in the dimness of our souls.

Eric Hoffer (1902–1983) American writer, philosopher, longshoreman
Passionate State of Mind, Aphorism 120 (1955)
(Source)

Stanley, Jason -- How Fascism Works: The Politics of Us and Them, ch. 1 (2018)

Dave — Thu, 12 May 2022 14:24:25 +0000

It is typical for fascist politicians to represent a country’s actual history in conspiratorial terms, as a narrative concocted by liberal elites and cosmopolitans to victimize the people of the true “nation.”

Jason Stanley (b. 1969) American philosopher, epistemologist, academic
How Fascism Works: The Politics of Us and Them, ch. 1 (2018)
(Source)

Eldridge, Paul -- Maxims for a Modern Man, #952 (1965)

Dave — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 14:01:59 +0000

We are more apt to persecute the unfortunates than the scoundrels; the scoundrels may retaliate.

Paul Eldridge (1888–1982) American educator, novelist, poet
Maxims for a Modern Man, #952 (1965)
(Source)