A quotation from Herrick, Robert

Gather ye rosebuds while ye may,
Old Time is still a-flying,
And this same flower that smiles today
Tomorrow will be dying.

Robert Herrick (1591-1674) English poet
“To the Virgins to Make Much of Time,” Hesperides, # 208 (1648)

#quote #quotes #quotation #beauty #carpediem #marchoftime #mortality #passageoftime #seizetheday #youth
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"To the Virgins to Make Much of Time," Hesperides, # 208 (1648) - Herrick, Robert | WIST Quotations

Gather ye rosebuds while ye may, Old Time is still a-flying, And this same flower that smiles today Tomorrow will be dying. See Schulman.

With one hand we say to one who is angry, or to an oppressor, or to an unjust system, “Stop what you are doing. I refuse to honor the role you are choosing to play, I refuse to obey you. I refuse to cooperate with your demands. I refuse to build the walls and the bombs. I refuse to pay for the guns. With this hand I will even interfere with the wrong you are doing. I want to disrupt the easy pattern of your life.”

But then the advocate of nonviolence lowers the other hand. It is lowered outstretched—maybe with love and sympathy, maybe not — but always outstretched. [...] With this hand we say, “I won’t let go of you or cast you out of the human race. I have faith that you can make a better choice than you are making now, and I’ll be here when you are ready. Like it or not, we are part of one another.”

--- Barbara Deming, On Revolution and Equilibrium

#BarbaraDeming #nonviolence #quote #quotes

The aim of literature is to help man to understand himself, to strengthen the trust in himself, and to develop in him the striving toward truth; it is to fight meanness in people, to learn how to find the good in them, to awake in their souls shame, anger, courage; to do all in order that man should become nobly strong.

--- Maxim Gorky

#MaximGorky #quote #quotes #literature

A quotation from Russell, Bertrand

However that may be, it is always disastrous when governments set to work to uphold opinions for their utility rather than for their truth. As soon as this is done it becomes necessary to have a censorship to suppress adverse arguments, and it is thought wise to discourage thinking among the young for fear of encouraging “dangerous thoughts.” When such mal-practices are employed against religion as they are in Soviet Russia, the theologians can see that they are bad, but they are still bad when employed in defence of what the theologians think good. Freedom of thought and the habit of giving weight to evidence are matters of far greater moral import than the belief in this or that theological dogma. On all these grounds it cannot be maintained that theological beliefs should be upheld for their usefulness without regard to their truth.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
“Is There a God?” (1952)

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"Is There a God?" (1952) - Russell, Bertrand | WIST Quotations

However that may be, it is always disastrous when governments set to work to uphold opinions for their utility rather than for their truth. As soon as this is done it becomes necessary to have a censorship to suppress adverse arguments, and it is...

A quotation from Bierce, Ambrose

EDIBLE, adj. Good to eat, and wholesome to digest, as a worm to a toad, a toad to a snake, a snake to a pig, a pig to a man, and a man to a worm.

Ambrose Bierce (1842-1914?) American writer and journalist
“Edible,” The Cynic’s Word Book (1906)

#quote #quotes #quotation #circleoflife #consumption #death #edible #life #predation
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"Edible," The Cynic's Word Book (1906) - Bierce, Ambrose | WIST Quotations

EDIBLE, adj. Good to eat, and wholesome to digest, as a worm to a toad, a toad to a snake, a snake to a pig, a pig to a man, and a man to a worm. Included in The Devil's Dictionary (1911). Originally published in the "Devil's Dictionary" column in…

The Doctor would have called this a "fixed point in time". The choice has been made and how time proceeds past this point is dependent on it.

♲ Great Quotes ✅ - 2024-04-21 22:49:52 GMT

The vote to help arm #Ukraine will likely go down as a hinge in history, a moment when freedom and decency triumphed over tyranny and evil. In that moment, the majority of #Republicans voted against freedom and decency. Never forget. Never forgive. Hold them #accountable — Stuart Stevens #quotes #quote #Vote

Great Quotes ✅ (@StephenRamirez@universeodon.com)

5.25K Posts, 80 Following, 378 Followers · #quotes #quote

Then again, Marge the Barge is always angry. If she doesn't have an excuse-du-jour, she'll think of one.

♲ Great Quotes ✅ - 2024-04-21 02:06:30 GMT

#MAGA #MTG is angry that Congress is not addressing our border problems after she voted against addressing our border problems — @SNerd #quotes #quote #MoscowMarge #UsefulIdiot #RussianAsset #WillingDupe #Compromised #ObstructionistCaucus #Isolationist

Great Quotes ✅ (@StephenRamirez@universeodon.com)

5.24K Posts, 80 Following, 378 Followers · #quotes #quote

A quotation from Pratchett, Terry

If there was anything that depressed him more than his own cynicism, it was that quite often it still wasn’t as cynical as real life.

Terry Pratchett (1948-2015) English author
Guards! Guards! (1989)

#quote #quotes #quotation #cynicism #life #reallife #realworld #reality
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Guards! Guards! (1989) - Pratchett, Terry | WIST Quotations

If there was anything that depressed him more than his own cynicism, it was that quite often it still wasn’t as cynical as real life. Vimes, reflecting.

A quotation from Franklin, Ben

He that waits upon Fortune, is never sure of a Dinner.

Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) American statesman, scientist, philosopher, aphorist
Poor Richard (1734 ed.)

#quote #quotes #quotation #expectations #fate #fortune #presumption #security #waiting #inaction #passivity
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Poor Richard (1734 ed.) - Franklin, Benjamin | WIST Quotations

He that waits upon Fortune, is never sure of a Dinner.

A quotation from Pratchett, Terry

They say a little knowledge is a dangerous thing, but it’s not one half so bad as a lot of ignorance.

Terry Pratchett (1948-2015) English author
Equal Rites [Granny Weatherwax] (1987)

#quote #quotes #quotation #danger #education #ignorance #knowledge #learning
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Equal Rites [Granny Weatherwax] (1987) - Pratchett, Terry | WIST Quotations

They say a little knowledge is a dangerous thing, but it's not one half so bad as a lot of ignorance. After Pope.

A quotation from Longworth, Alice Roosevelt

Having a baby is like trying to push a grand piano through a transom.

Alice Roosevelt Longworth (1884-1980) American writer and socialite
(Attributed)

#quote #quotes #quotation #birth #givingbirth #baby
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(Attributed) - Longworth, Alice Roosevelt | WIST Quotations

Having a baby is like trying to push a grand piano through a transom. On the birth of her daughter. Though widely attributed to Longworth, she in turn (as she did with many of her attributed witticisms) attributed it to someone else. Quoted in...

A quotation from Gaiman, Neil

ROWLAND: I think Hell is something you carry around with you, not somewhere you go.

Neil Gaiman (b. 1960) British author, screenwriter, fabulist
Sandman, Book 4. Season of Mists, # 25 “Chapter 4” (1991-04)

#quote #quotes #quotation #eternity #fear #guilt #hell #innerdemons #meme #punishment #selfimage #selfpunishment
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Sandman, Book 4. Season of Mists, # 25 "Chapter 4" (1991-04) - Gaiman, Neil | WIST Quotations

ROWLAND: I think Hell is something you carry around with you, not somewhere you go. Charles Rowland to Edwin Paine (the "Dead Boy Detectives"). Paine disagrees in a following panel: "I think maybe Hell is a place. But you don't have to stay...

A quotation from Russell, Bertrand

Since freedom of opinion can only exist when the government thinks itself secure, it is important that the government should have the approval of the great majority of the population and should deal with discontented minorities, wherever possible, in a manner calculated to allay their discontent. A government must possess force, but cannot be a satisfactory government unless force is seldom necessary.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
“Freedom and Government,” in Ruth Nanda Anshen, ed., Freedom: Its Meaning (1940)

#quote #quotes #quotation #force #freedom #government #security #freedomofopinion #freedomofthought #liberty #majority #minority #populargovernment
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"Freedom and Government," in Ruth Nanda Anshen, ed., Freedom: Its Meaning (1940) - Russell, Bertrand | WIST Quotations

Since freedom of opinion can only exist when the government thinks itself secure, it is important that the government should have the approval of the great majority of the population and should deal with discontented minorities, wherever possible,...

This Power Elite directly employs several millions of the country´s working force in its factories, offices and stores, controls many millions more by lending them the money to buy its products, and, through its ownership of the media of mass communication, influences the thoughts, the feelings and the actions of virtually everybody.

--- Aldous Huxley

#AldousHuxley #RulingClass #capitalism #tyranny #quotes

Rumi, a 13th century Persian spiritual teacher, was asked:

What is spiritual maturity?

1. It's when we stop trying to change others and focus on changing ourselves.
2. It is when we accept people as they are.
3. It is when we understand that everyone is correct according to their own perspective.
4. It is when we learn to "let go".
5. It is when we are able to not have "expectations" in a relationship, and we give of ourselves for the pleasure of giving.
6. It is when we understand that what we do, we do for our own peace.
7. It's when we stop showing the world how smart we are.
8. It's when we stop seeking approval from others.
9. It's when we stop comparing ourselves to others.
10. It is when we are at peace with ourselves.
11. It is when we are able to distinguish between "need" and "want" and we are able to let go of that want.
12. Spiritual maturity is gained when we stop attaching "happiness" to material things!

#rumi #quotes #spirituality #maturity #perspective #attachment #freedom #peace #spiritual #wisdom

A quotation from Pratchett, Terry

She was already learning that if you ignore the rules people will, half the time, quietly rewrite them so that they don’t apply to you.

Terry Pratchett (1948-2015) English author
Equal Rites (1987)

#quote #quotes #quotation #boldness #conformity #disobedience #exception #nonconformity #rules #society #shamelessness #brazenness
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Equal Rites (1987) - Pratchett, Terry | WIST Quotations

She was already learning that if you ignore the rules people will, half the time, quietly rewrite them so that they don’t apply to you. Of the character Eskarina "Esk" Smith, modeled after Pratchett's daughter, Rhianna.

A quotation from Chamfort

History is the only consolation left to the peoples, for it teaches them that their ancestors were as unhappy as themselves, or more unhappy.

[En effet, il ne reste guère, pour consoler les peuples, que de leur apprendre que leurs ancêtres ont été aussi malheureux, ou plus malheureux.]

Nicolas Chamfort (1741-1794) French writer, epigrammist (b. Nicolas-Sébastien Roch)
Products of Perfected Civilization [Produits de la Civilisation Perfectionée], Part 1 “Maxims and Thoughts [Maximes et Pensées],” ch. 8, ¶ 474 (1795) [tr. Mathers (1926)]

#quote #quotes #quotation #ancestors #consolation #history #improvement #misery #past #perspective
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Products of Perfected Civilization [Produits de la Civilisation Perfectionée], Part 1 "Maxims and Thoughts [Maximes et Pensées]," ch. 8, ¶ 474 (1795) [tr. Mathers (1926)] - Chamfort, Nicolas | WIST Quotations

History is the only consolation left to the peoples, for it teaches them that their ancestors were as unhappy as themselves, or more unhappy.   [En effet, il ne reste guère, pour consoler les peuples, que de leur apprendre que leurs ancêtres ont...

Sounds familiar, doesn't it?

#fascism #Quotes

A quotation from Russell, Bertrand

When one admits that nothing is certain one must, I think, also admit that some things are much more nearly certain than others. It is much more nearly certain that we are assembled here tonight than it is that this or that political party is in the right. Certainly there are degrees of certainty, and one should be very careful to emphasize that fact, because otherwise one is landed in an utter skepticism, and complete skepticism would, of course, be totally barren and completely useless.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
“Am I an Atheist or an Agnostic?” sec. “Skepticism” (1949)

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"Am I an Atheist or an Agnostic?" sec. "Skepticism" (1949) - Russell, Bertrand | WIST Quotations

When one admits that nothing is certain one must, I think, also admit that some things are much more nearly certain than others. It is much more nearly certain that we are assembled here tonight than it is that this or that political party is in...

A quotation from Jacobs, Jane

Science doesn’t supply happiness; but neither does its lack. The same can be said of social utopias: they aren’t created by science, but neither does lack of science provide them. Science has cast up dangerous and cruel knowledge, which has been exploited for warfare and dictatorial power; but so have cultures so little gifted with scientists that they either make do with imported weapons or rely on clubs, axes, and daggers. Scientific information about our mistakes — for instance, that deforestation invites mud slides and deserts, that overfishing depletes fish stocks — doesn’t guarantee we will avoid such mistakes or correct them, but that is owing to failure to heed what science uncovers.

Jane Jacobs (1916-2006) American-Canadian journalist, author, urban theorist, activist
Dark Age Ahead, ch. 3 “Science Abandoned” (2004)

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Dark Age Ahead, ch. 3 "Science Abandoned" (2004) - Jacobs, Jane | WIST Quotations

Science doesn’t supply happiness; but neither does its lack. The same can be said of social utopias: they aren’t created by science, but neither does lack of science provide them. Science has cast up dangerous and cruel knowledge, which has been...