WIST

Wilcox, Ella Wheeler

2009-04-10T16:51:38Z

The two kinds of people I mean
Are the people who lift and the people who lean.

]]> -- Ella Wheeler Wilcox (1850-1919) American author and poet. • "Lifting and Leaning

Nash, Ogden

2009-04-10T16:37:22Z

Here is a good rule of thumb
Too clever is dumb.

]]> -- Ogden Nash (1902-1971) American poet • Many Long Years Ago (1945)

Wilde, Oscar

2009-04-10T16:36:34Z

It is absurd to divide people into good and bad. People are either charming or tedious.

]]> -- Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) Irish poet, wit, dramatist • Lady Windemere's Fan, 1 (1892)

Hawthorne, Nathaniel

2009-04-10T16:35:29Z

Every individual has a place to fill in the world, and is important, in some respect, whether he chooses to be so or not.

]]> -- Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864) American writer • American Notebooks (25 Oct 1836)]]> • In Passages from the American Note-Books of Nathaniel Hawthorne, ed. S. Hawthorne (1868). Full text.

Smith, Sydney

2009-04-10T16:31:42Z

Marriage resembles a pair of shears, so joined that they can not be separated; often moving in opposite directions, yet always punishing anyone who comes between them.

]]> -- Sydney Smith (1771-1845) English clergyman, essayist, wit • Lady Holland's Memoir, ol. I, ch. 11 (1855)]]> • Full text.

Shakespeare, William

2009-04-10T16:30:03Z

We are not all alone unhappy.

]]> -- William Shakespeare (1564-1616) English dramatist and poet • As You Like It, II.vii.136

Thoreau, Henry David

2009-04-10T16:28:49Z

Beware of all enterprises that require new clothes, and not rather a new wearer of clothes.

]]> -- Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862) American philosopher and writer • Walden, "Economy" (1854)

Sun-Tzu

2009-04-10T16:28:08Z

Know the enemy, know yourself; in a hundred battles you will not be in peril.

]]> -- Sun-Tzu (fl. 6th C. AD) Chinese general and philosopher [a.k.a. Sun Wu] • The Art of War, "Offensive Strategy" (31) [tr. S. Griffith (1963)]

Bierce, Ambrose

2009-04-10T16:24:26Z

Predicament, n. The wage of consistency.

]]> -- Ambrose Bierce (1842-1914?) American writer and journalist • The Devil's Dictionary (1911)

Butler, Samuel

2009-04-10T16:05:17Z

A hen is only an egg's way of making another egg.

]]> -- Samuel Butler (1835-1902) English novelist, satirist, scholar • Life and Habit, ch. 8 (1877)]]> • Full text.

Administrivia - Technical difficulties

2009-04-10T15:59:34Z

Apologies for the lack of WIST entries yesterday. Technical difficulties on my PC (still ongoing) caused the problem, but I'm going to work around them today.

Meantime, I'll catch up on the gap, and, hopefully, have some Big News for you later this weekend.

Again, thanks for your patience.

~Other

2009-04-08T13:38:22Z

Let your fountain be blessed, and rejoice in the wife of your youth, a lovely deer, a graceful doe. May her breasts satisfy you at all times; may you be intoxicated always by her love.

]]> -- Other Authors • Bible. Proverbs 5:18-19

Kennedy, John Fitzgerald

2009-04-08T13:36:53Z

Once you say you're going to settle for second, that's what happens to you in life.

]]> -- John Fitzgerald Kennedy (1917-1963) US President (1961-63) • Comment on the Vice Presidency (1960) • Quoted in T. Sorensen, Kennedy, ch. 1 (1965)

Franklin, Benjamin

2009-04-08T13:34:01Z

Good Sense is Thing all need, few have,
and none think they lack.

]]> -- Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) American statesman, scientist, philosopher • Poor Richard's Almanack (Jun 1746)

Publilius Syrus

2009-04-08T13:29:51Z

Consult your conscience, rather than popular opinion.

]]> -- Publilius Syrus (d. 42 BC) Assyrian slave, writer, philosopher • Sententiae #146 [tr. D. Lyman, Jr. (1862)]

Smith, Logan Pearsall

2009-04-08T13:23:49Z

That we should practise what we preach is generally admitted; but anyone who preaches what he and his hearers practise must incur the gravest moral disapprobation.

]]> -- Logan Pearsall Smith (1865-1946) American-English essayist, editor, anthologist • Afterthoughts, "Life and Human Nature" (1931)

Steinbeck, John

2009-04-07T12:54:23Z

A red is any son-of-a-bitch who wants thirty cents when we're payin' twenty-five.

]]> -- John Steinbeck (1902-1968) American writer • The Grapes of Wrath, ch. 22 (1939)

Mill, John Stuart

2009-04-07T12:53:29Z

Judging by common sense is merely another phrase judging by first appearances; and everyone who has mixed among mankind with any capacity for observing them, knows that the men who place implicit faith in their own common sense, are, without any exception, the most wrong-headed and impracticable persons with whom he ever had to deal.

]]> -- John Stuart Mill (1806-1873) English philosopher and economist • The Examiner (English journal) (6-29 May 1831)

Wordsworth, William

2009-04-07T12:52:24Z

Worse than idle is compassion
If it ends in tears and sighs.

]]> -- William Wordsworth (1770-1850) English poet • "The Armenian Lady's Love" (1835)

Tomlin, Lily

2009-04-07T12:51:13Z

The trouble with the rat race is that even if you win, you're still a rat.

]]> -- Lily Tomlin (b. 1939) American comedian and actress • Forbes (4 Mar 1991)

Heinlein, Robert A.

2009-04-07T12:50:21Z

What I fear most are affirmative actions of sober and well-intentioned men, granting to government powers to do something that appears to need doing.

]]> -- Robert A. Heinlein (1909-1988) American writer • The Moon is a Harsh Mistress (1966)

Russell, Bertrand

2009-04-06T12:47:05Z

We have in fact, two kinds of morality, side by side: one that we preach, but do not practice, and another that we practice, but seldom preach.

]]> -- Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher • Sceptical Essays (1928)

Roosevelt, Theodore

2009-04-06T12:45:00Z

He must walk warily and fearlessly, and while he should never brawl if he can avoid it, he must be ready to hit hard if the need arises. Let him remember ... that the unforgivable crime is soft hitting. Do not hit at all if it can be avoided; but never hit softly.

]]> -- Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919) US President (1901-1909) • Autobiography, ch. 3 (1913)

Holmes, Jr., Oliver Wendell (Justice)

2009-04-06T12:43:58Z

It is revolting to have no better reason for a rule of law than that so it was laid down in the time of Henry IV. It is still more revolting if the grounds upon which it was laid down have vanished long since, and the rule simply persists from blind imitation of the past.

]]> -- Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. (1841-1935) American jurist, Supreme Court Justice • "The Path of the Law", 10 Harvard Law Review 457 (1897) • Full text.

Anderson, Margaret

2009-04-06T12:42:26Z

As I look at the human story I see two stories. They run parallel and never meet. One is of people who live, as they can or must, the events that arrive; the other is of people who live, as they intend, the events they create.

]]> -- Margaret Anderson (1886-1973) American editor, memoirist • The Fiery Fountains, Part 1 (1951)

Havel, Václav

2009-04-06T12:41:27Z

The only thing I can recommend at this stage is a sense of humor, an ability to see things in their ridiculous and absurd dimensions, to laugh at others and at ourselves, a sense of irony regarding everything that calls out for parody in this world. In other words, I can only recommend perspective and distance. Awareness of all the most dangerous kinds of vanity, both in others and in ourselves. A good mind. A modest certainty about the meaning of things. Gratitude for the gift of life and the courage to take responsibility for it. Vigilance of spirit.

]]> -- Václav Havel (b. 1936) Czech poet, politician • Address upon receiving the Open Society Prize, Central European University (24 Jun 1999) • Full text.

Alt. trans.: "The only things that I am able to recommend at this moment are: a sense of humour; an ability to see the ridiculous and the absurd dimensions of things; an ability to laugh about others as well as about ourselves; a sense of irony; and, of everything that invites parody in this world. In other words: rising above things, or looking at them from a distance; sensibility to the hidden presence of all the more dangerous types of conceit in others, as well as in ourselves; good cheer; an unostentatious certainty of the meaning of things; gratitude for the gift of life and courage to assume responsibility for it; and, a vigilant mind."

Maugham, William Somerset

2009-04-03T13:01:27Z

Common sense appears to be only another name for the thoughtlessness of the unthinking. It is made of the prejudices of childhood, the idiosyncracies of individual character, and the opinion of the newspapers.

]]> -- William Somerset Maugham (1874-1965) English novelist and playwright • American Mercury (Nov 1924)

Fuller, Thomas (Doctor)

2009-04-03T12:58:50Z

Do as most do and few will speak ill of thee.

]]> -- Dr. Thomas Fuller (1654-1734) English writer, physician • Introductio ad Prudentiam, #135 (1731)

Hawthorne, Nathaniel

2009-04-03T12:54:24Z

Our Creator would never have made such lovely days, and have given us the deep hearts to enjoy them, above and beyond all thought, unless we were meant to be immortal.

]]> -- Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864) American writer • Mosses from an Old Manse (1846)

Smith, Sydney

2009-04-03T12:39:18Z

Avoid shame but do not seek glory — nothing so expensive as glory.

]]> -- Sydney Smith (1771-1845) English clergyman, essayist, wit • Memoir, vol. 1, ch. 4 "Lady Holland" (1855)

Gaiman, Neil

2009-04-03T12:14:32Z

I've never been convinced that there's any meaningful division between high culture and pop culture -- I think there's good stuff out there, and there's stuff that's not much good, and that Sturgeon's Law applies to high culture and popular culture: 90% of it will be crap, which means that 10% of it will be amazing.

]]> -- Neil Gaiman (b. 1960) British fabulist • Neil Gaiman's Journal (2 Apr 2009)]]> • Full text.

Hobbes, Thomas

2009-04-02T13:00:01Z

During the time men live without a common Power to keep them all in awe, they are in that condition which is called War; and such a war, as is of every man, against every man.

]]> -- Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679) English philosopher • Leviathan ch. 13 (1651)

Euripides

2009-04-02T12:59:10Z

No man on earth is truly free,
All are slaves of money or necessity.
Public opinion or fear of prosecution
forces each one, against his conscience,
to conform.

]]> -- Euripides (485?-406? BC) Greek tragic dramatist • Hecuba, l. 860 [tr. W.Arrowsmith (1956)]

~Other

2009-04-02T12:57:57Z

We have left undone those things which we ought to have done, and we have done those things we ought not to have done.

]]> -- Other Authors • Book of Common Prayer, "Morning Prayer (General Confession)" (1662)

Hayes, Helen

2009-04-02T12:57:03Z

We relish news of our heroes, forgetting that we are extraordinary to somebody too.

]]> -- Helen Hayes (1900-1993) American actress • (Attributed)

Butler, Samuel

2009-04-02T12:56:22Z

Everything matters more than we think it does, and, at the same time, nothing matters so much as we think it does. The merest spark may set all Europe in a blaze, but though all Europe be set in a blaze twenty times over, the world will wag itself right again.

]]> -- Samuel Butler (1835-1902) English novelist, satirist, scholar • Notebooks, "Sparks" (1912)]]> • Full text.

Friedman, Milton

2009-04-01T12:57:39Z

History suggests only that capitalism is a necessary condition for political freedom. Clearly it is not a sufficient condition.

]]> -- Milton Friedman (1912-2006) American economist, intellectual • Capitalism and Freedom, ch. 1 (1962)

Harris, Joel Chandler

2009-04-01T12:56:59Z

Youk'n hide de fier, but w'at you gwine do wid de smoke?

]]> -- Joel Chandler Harris (1848-1908) American writer • Plantation Proverbs

Johnson, Samuel

2009-04-01T12:56:06Z

Self-confidence is the first requisite to great undertakings.

]]> -- Dr. Samuel Johnson (1709-1784) English writer, lexicographer, critic • Lives of the English Poets, "Pope" (1781)

Sagan, Carl

2009-04-01T12:54:23Z

Advances in medicine and agriculture have saved vastly more lives than have been lost in all the wars in history.

]]> -- Carl Sagan (1934-1996) American scientist and writer • The Demon-Haunted World, ch. 1 "The Most Precious Thing" (1995)

Smith, Logan Pearsall

2009-04-01T12:53:18Z

Most people sell their souls, and live with a good conscience on the proceeds.

]]> -- Logan Pearsall Smith (1865-1946) American-English essayist, editor, anthologist • Afterthoughts, "Other People" (1931)

Pascal, Blaise

2009-03-31T13:57:35Z

It is natural for the mind to believe, and for the will to love; so that, for want of true objects, they must attach themselves to false.

]]> -- Blaise Pascal (1623-1662) French scientist and philosopher • Pensées, #81 (1670) [tr. W. Totter (1931)]

Heinlein, Robert A.

2009-03-31T12:55:34Z

Love is the condition in which the happiness of another person is essential to your own.

]]> -- Robert A. Heinlein (1909-1988) American writer • Stranger in a Strange Land [Jubal] (1961)]]> • Not in the "Uncut" 1991 re-issue; Heinlein added this line in place of other cuts in the first edition manuscript.

Einstein, Albert

2009-03-31T12:53:04Z

Then there are the fanatical atheists whose intolerance is of the same kind as the intolerance of the religious fanatics and comes from the same source. They are like slaves who are still feeling the weight of their chains which they have thrown off after hard struggle. They are creatures who -— in their grudge against the traditional "opium of the people" -— cannot hear the music of the spheres. The Wonder of nature does not become smaller because one cannot measure it by the standards of human morals and human aims.

]]> -- Albert Einstein (1879-1955) German-American physicist • Letter (7 Aug 1941) [Einstein Archive, reel 54-927]

Thoreau, Henry David

2009-03-31T12:49:33Z

It is an interesting question how far men would retain their relative rank if they were divested of their clothes.

]]> -- Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862) American philosopher and writer • Walden (1854)

Mill, John Stuart

2009-03-31T12:48:44Z

If competition has its evils, it prevents greater evils. ... It is the common error of Socialists to overlook the natural indolence of mankind; their tendency to be passive, to be the slaves of habit, to persist indefnitely in a course once chosen. Let them one attain any state of existence which they consider tolerable, and the danger to be apprehended is that they will thenceforth stagnate. ... Competition may not be the best conceivable stimulus, but it is at present a necessary one, and no one can foresee the time when it will not be indspensable to progress.

]]> -- John Stuart Mill (1806-1873) English philosopher and economist • Principles of Political Economy, 4.7.7 (1848)

Jung, Carl Gustav

2009-03-31T12:47:04Z

Deep down, below the surface of the average man's conscience, he hears a voice whispering, "There is something not right," no matter how much his rightness is supported by public opinion or by the moral code.

]]> -- Carl Gustav Jung (1875-1961) Swiss psychologist • Analyse der Kinderseele" (1931), The Development of Personality [tr. R. Hull (1954)]

Fuller, Thomas

2009-03-30T13:06:45Z

He that's cheated twice by the same Man is an Accomplice with the Cheater.

]]> -- Thomas Fuller (1608-1661) English churchman, historian • Gnomologia, #2281 (1732)

La Rochefoucauld, François, Duc de

2009-03-30T13:05:50Z

Circumstances reveal us to others and still more to ourselves.

]]> -- François VI, Duc de La Rochefoucauld (1613-1680) French author, maximist, noble • Maxims, #345 (1665) [tr. L. Tancock (1959)]

King, Martin Luther

2009-03-30T13:04:56Z

Vanity asks the question -- is it popular? Conscience asks the question -- is it right?

]]> -- Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929-1968) American clergyman and reformer • Sermon, Passion Sunday, National Cathedral, Washington, DC (31 Mar 1968)