December 24
Quotes of the day from previous years:
- 2003
- Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven. ~ Yeshua (Jesus Christ)
- selected by Kalki
- 2004
- I danced in the morning
When the world was begun,
And I danced in the moon
And the stars and the sun,
And I came down from heaven
And I danced on the earth,
At Bethlehem
I had my birth.
Dance, then, wherever you may be,
I am the Lord of the Dance, said he,
And I'll lead you all, wherever you may be,
And I'll lead you all in the Dance, said he.
~ Sydney Carter ~- selected by Kalki
- 2005
- 'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there.
~ "A Visit from St. Nicholas"- proposed by UDScott
- 2006
- A few minutes ago every tree was excited, bowing to the roaring storm, waving, swirling, tossing their branches in glorious enthusiasm like worship. But though to the outer ear these trees are now silent, their songs never cease. Every hidden cell is throbbing with music and life, every fiber thrilling like harp strings, while incense is ever flowing from the balsam bells and leaves. No wonder the hills and groves were God's first temples, and the more they are cut down and hewn into cathedrals and churches, the farther off and dimmer seems the Lord himself. ~ John Muir
- proposed by UDScott
- 2007
- Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the world. You tear apart the baby's rattle and see what makes the noise inside, but there is a veil covering the unseen world which not the strongest man, nor even the united strength of all the strongest men that ever lived, could tear apart. Only faith, fancy, poetry, love, romance, can push aside that curtain and view and picture the supernal beauty and glory beyond. Is it all real? Ah, Virginia, in all this world there is nothing else real and abiding. No Santa Claus! Thank God! he lives, and he lives forever. A thousand years from now, Virginia, nay, ten times ten thousand years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood. ~ Francis Pharcellus Church in "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus"
- proposed by Kalki
- 2008
- Nature is ever at work building and pulling down, creating and destroying, keeping everything whirling and flowing, allowing no rest but in rhythmical motion, chasing everything in endless song out of one beautiful form into another. ~ John Muir (Date of death)
- proposed by UDScott
- 2009
- People become really quite remarkable when they start thinking that they can do things. When they believe in themselves they have the first secret of success. ~ Norman Vincent Peale (Date of death)
- proposed by UDScott
- 2010
- Calm soul of all things! make it mine
To feel, amid the city’s jar,
That there abides a peace of thine,
Man did not make, and cannot mar.
~ Matthew Arnold ~ (born December 24, 1822)- proposed by InvisibleSun
- 2011
- For poetry the idea is everything; the rest is a world of illusion, of divine illusion. Poetry attaches its emotion to the idea; the idea is the fact. The strongest part of our religion today is its unconscious poetry. ~ Matthew Arnold
- The last sentence proposed by InvisibleSun, extension proposed by Kalki
- 2012
| The purpose of arts education is not to produce more artists, though that is a byproduct. The real purpose of arts education is to create complete human beings capable of leading successful and productive lives in a free society. |
| ~ Dana Gioia ~ |
-
- proposed by InvisibleSun
- 2013
- Rank or add further suggestions…
Ranking system:
- 4 : Excellent - should definitely be used.
- 3 : Very Good - strong desire to see it used.
- 2 : Good - some desire to see it used.
- 1 : Acceptable - but with no particular desire to see it used.
- 0 : Not acceptable - not appropriate for use as a quote of the day.
Suggestions
But often, in the world’s most crowded streets,
But often, in the din of strife,
There rises an unspeakable desire
After the knowledge of our buried life;
A thirst to spend our fire and restless force
In tracking out our true, original course;
A longing to inquire
Into the mystery of this heart which beats
So wild, so deep in us, to know
Whence our lives come and where they go.
~ Matthew Arnold
- 4 InvisibleSun 09:32, 23 December 2006 (UTC)
- 3 Kalki 23:50, 23 December 2006 (UTC)
- 1 Zarbon 20:25, 26 April 2008 (UTC)
It is important, therefore, to hold fast to this: that poetry is at bottom a criticism of life; that the greatness of a poet lies in his powerful and beautiful application of ideas to life — to the question: How to live. ~ Matthew Arnold
- 3 InvisibleSun 09:32, 23 December 2006 (UTC)
- 3 Kalki 23:50, 23 December 2006 (UTC) with a strong lean toward 4.
- 1 Zarbon 20:25, 26 April 2008 (UTC)
To see a red stone is less than seeing it as jasper —
metamorphic quartz, cousin to the flint the Kiowa
carved as arrowheads. To name is to know and remember.
~ Dana Gioia (born December 24, 1950)
- 3 InvisibleSun 13:09, 22 December 2007 (UTC)
- 1 Zarbon 20:25, 26 April 2008 (UTC)
So listen to them, heed them: Who never touch the earth, can never be in heaven. ~ Adam Mickiewicz
If one has not given everything, one has given nothing. ~ Georges Guynemer
So you're tired of living
Feel like you might give in
Well don't.
It's not your time ~ Tomas Kalnoky
So tell me: how long do you think you can go before you lose it all?
Before they call you bluff and watch you fall?
I don't know, but I'd like to think I had control
At some point, but I let it go and lost my soul ~ Tomas Kalnoky
Temperate, sincere, and intelligent inquiry and discussion are only to be dreaded by the advocates of error. The truth need not fear them... Benjamin Rush (dob O.S.)
- 3 bystander (talk) 20:04, 20 December 2012 (UTC)
- May be moved to January 4th if that is more suitable.
- 3 ♞☮♌Kalki·†·⚓⊙☳☶⚡ 20:52, 20 December 2012 (UTC) with a strong lean toward 4, for either date.
Freedom can exist only in the society of knowledge. Without learning, men are incapable of knowing their rights. Benjamin Rush
- 3 bystander (talk) 20:04, 20 December 2012 (UTC)
- May be moved to January 4th if that is more suitable.
- 3 ♞☮♌Kalki·†·⚓⊙☳☶⚡ 20:52, 20 December 2012 (UTC)
What is superstition, but misguided, unobjective science? And when it comes down to that, is it to be wondered if people grasp at superstition in this rotten, hate-filled, half-doomed world of today? Lord knows, I'd welcome the blackest of black magic, if it could do anything to stave off the atom bomb. ~ Fritz Leiber (dob)
What was life worth, anyway, if you had to sit around remembering not to mention this, that, and the other thing because someone else might be upset? ~ Fritz Leiber
- 3 bystander (talk) 20:04, 20 December 2012 (UTC)
- 3 ♞☮♌Kalki·†·⚓⊙☳☶⚡ 20:52, 20 December 2012 (UTC) with a strong lean toward 4.
In the wake of a Big Change, cultures and individuals are transposed, it’s true, yet in the main they continue much as they were, except for the usual scattering of unfortunate but statistically meaningless accidents. ~ Fritz Leiber
They’ve heard about space but they still don’t believe in it. They haven’t been out here to see for themselves that there isn’t any giant elephant under the earth, holding it up, and a giant tortoise holding up the elephant. If I say “planet” and “spaceship” to them, they still think “horoscope” and “flying saucer”. ~ Fritz Leiber