WIST Quotations

Shakespeare, William -- Merchant of Venice, Act 3, sc. 2, l. 77ff (3.2.77-79) (1597)

Dave — Mon, 16 Mar 2026 16:14:51 +0000

BASSANIO: In law, what plea so tainted and corrupt
But, being seasoned with a gracious voice,
Obscures the show of evil?

William Shakespeare (1564-1616) English dramatist and poet
Merchant of Venice, Act 3, sc. 2, l. 77ff (3.2.77-79) (1597)
(Source)

Commager, Henry Steele -- Essay (1965-12-18), “The Problem of Dissent,” Saturday Review

Dave — Mon, 26 Jan 2026 16:38:41 +0000

The rich and respectable have always had their ways of making their discontent heard; the poor and unorganized must resort to protests and marches and demonstrations.

Henry Steele Commager (1902-1998) American historian, writer, activist
Essay (1965-12-18), “The Problem of Dissent,” Saturday Review
(Source)

Reprinted in Freedom and Order, Part 6 (1966).

Maurois, Andre -- Conversation, “Confidences” (1930)

Dave — Tue, 20 Aug 2024 22:32:55 +0000

The voice of a man when he reads reveals not what he is, but what he wants to be. It is the voice of the personage whom he visualizes when he thinks of himself.

André Maurois (1885-1967) French author [b. Émile Salomon Wilhelm Herzog]
Conversation, “Confidences” (1930)
(Source)

Gladwell, Malcolm -- David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants (2013)

Dave — Mon, 15 May 2023 14:07:37 +0000

Legitimacy is based on three things. First of all, the people who are asked to obey authority have to feel like they have a voice — that if they speak up, they will be heard. Second, the law has to be predictable. There has to be a reasonable expectation that the rules tomorrow are going to be roughly the same as the rules today. And third, the authority has to be fair. It can’t treat one group differently from another.

Malcolm Gladwell (b. 1963) Anglo-Canadian journalist, author, public speaker
David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants (2013)
(Source)

Schulman, Tom -- Dead Poets Society (1989)

Dave — Fri, 01 Jul 2022 14:09:59 +0000

KEATING: Boys, you must strive to find your own voice. Because the longer you wait to begin, the less likely you are to find it at all. Thoreau said, “Most men lead lives of quiet desperation.” Don’t be resigned to that. Break out! Break out!

Tom Schulman (b. 1951) American screenwriter, director
Dead Poets Society (1989)
(Source)

See Thoreau.

Achebe, Chinua -- Interview by Jerome Brooks, “The Art of Fiction,” #139, The Paris Review (Winter 1994)

Dave — Tue, 01 Dec 2020 00:25:33 +0000

There is that great proverb — that until the lions have their own historians, the history of the hunt will always glorify the hunter.

Chinua Achebe (1930-2013) Nigerian novelist, poet, professor, critic [Albert Chinualumogu Achebe]
Interview by Jerome Brooks, “The Art of Fiction,” #139, The Paris Review (Winter 1994)
(Source)

Referring to an African proverb, usually rendered, "Until the lion learns to write, every story will glorify the hunter."

Homer -- The Iliad [Ἰλιάς], Book 5, l. 785ff (5.785-786) (c. 750 BC) [tr. Derby (1864)]

Dave — Wed, 18 Nov 2020 16:15:59 +0000

In form of Stentor of the brazen voice,
Whose shout was as the shout of fifty men.

[Στέντορι εἰσαμένη μεγαλήτορι χαλκεοφώνῳ,
ὃς τόσον αὐδήσασχ’ ὅσον ἄλλοι πεντήκοντα.]

Homer (fl. 7th-8th C. BC) Greek author
The Iliad [Ἰλιάς], Book 5, l. 785ff (5.785-786) (c. 750 BC) [tr. Derby (1864)]
(Source)

Alt. trans.:

Stentor the strong, endued with brazen lungs,
Whose throat surpassed the force of fifty tongues.
[tr. Pope (1715-20)]

Stentor for his voice
Of brass renown’d, audible as the roar
Of fifty throats.
[tr. Cowper (1791), ll. 931-33]

Great-hearted, brazen-voiced Stentor, who was accustomed to shout as loud as fifty other men.
[tr. Buckley (1860)]

Great-hearted Stentor with voice of bronze, whose cry was loud as the cry of fifty other men.
[tr. Leaf/Lang/Myers (1891)]

Bronze-voiced Stentor,
who could cry out in as great a voice as fifty other men
[tr. Lattimore (1951)]

Stentor, whose brazen lungs could give a battle-shout as loud as fifty soldiers.
[tr. Fitzgerald (1974)]

Stentor, a lord greathearted and bronze-voiced,
one who was always shouting as loudly as shout fifty others.
[tr. Merrill (2007)]

The brazen voice of great-lunged Stentor
who cries out with the blast of fifty other men.
[tr. Fagles (1990), ll. 903-04]

Brewster, Kingman -- “The Enduring American Press” symposium, Harvard (30 Oct 1964)

Dave — Wed, 09 Nov 2016 05:01:45 +0000

While the spoken word can travel faster, you can’t take it home in your hand. Only the written word can be absorbed wholly at the convenience of the reader.

Kingman Brewster, Jr. (1919-1988) American educator, diplomat
“The Enduring American Press” symposium, Harvard (30 Oct 1964)

Pratchett, Terry -- Discworld No. 30, The Wee Free Men (2003)

Dave — Wed, 03 Jun 2015 12:54:54 +0000

Them as can do has to do for them as can’t. And someone has to speak up for them as has no voices.

Terry Pratchett (1948-2015) English author
Discworld No. 30, The Wee Free Men (2003)

Bible, Vol. 1. Old Testament -- Book 11. 1 Kings 19:11ff (1 Kgs 19:11-12) [tr. KJV (1611)]

Dave — Wed, 10 Sep 2014 12:32:20 +0000

And, behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake: And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.

The Bible (The Old Testament) (14th - 2nd C BC) Judeo-Christian sacred scripture [Tanakh, Hebrew Bible], incl. the Apocrypha (Deuterocanonicals)
Book 11. 1 Kings 19:11ff (1 Kgs 19:11-12) [tr. KJV (1611)]
(Source)

Alternate translations:

Then Yahweh himself went by. There came a mighty wind, so strong it tore the mountains and shattered the rocks before Yahweh. But Yahweh was not in the wind. After the wind came an earthquake. But Yahweh was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire. But Yahweh was not in the fire. And after the fire there came the sound of a gentle breeze.
[Jerusalem (1966)]

Then the Lord passed by and sent a furious wind that split the hills and shattered the rocks -- but the Lord was not in the wind. The wind stopped blowing, and then there was an earthquake -- but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake there was a fire -- but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire there was the soft whisper of a voice.
[GNT (1976)]

Now there was a great wind, so strong that it was splitting mountains and breaking rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind, and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake, and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire, and after the fire a sound of sheer silence.
[NRSV (1989)]

Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper.
[NIV (2011)]

Romero, Oscar -- (Attributed)

Dave — Thu, 04 Sep 2014 10:41:18 +0000

We who have a voice must speak for the voiceless.

Óscar Romero (1917-1980) El Salvadoran Catholic bishop
(Attributed)

La Bruyere, Jean de -- The Characters [Les Caractères], ch. 3 “Of Women [Des Femmes],” § 10 (3.10) (1688) [Bullord ed. (1696)]

Dave — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 13:27:53 +0000

The sweetest Musick is the Sound of her Voice whom we love.

[L’harmonie la plus douce est le son de voix de celle que l’on aime.]

Jean de La Bruyère (1645-1696) French essayist, moralist
The Characters [Les Caractères], ch. 3 “Of Women [Des Femmes],” § 10 (3.10) (1688) [Bullord ed. (1696)]
(Source)

(Source (French)). Alternate translations:

The sweetest Musick, the Sound of her Voice whom we love.
[Curll ed. (1713)]

The sweetest Musick the Voice of her whom we love.
[Browne ed. (1752)]

The sweetest music is the sound of the voice of the woman we love.
[tr. Van Laun (1885)]

The sweetest music is the sound of the voice of her whom we love.
[tr. Lee (1903)]

No harmony is sweeter than the sound of a loved one's voice.
[tr. Stewart (1970)]