January 23

Quotes of the day from previous years:

2004
All the ill that is in us comes from fear, and all the good from love. ~ Eleanor Farjeon
2005
So long as there is death there will be sorrow, and so long as there is sorrow it can be no part of the duty of human beings to increase its amount, in spite of the fact that a few rare spirits know how to transmute it. ~ Bertrand Russell
2006
To minimize suffering and to maximize security were natural and proper ends of society and Caesar. But then they became the only ends, somehow, and the only basis of law — a perversion. Inevitably, then, in seeking only them, we found only their opposites: maximum suffering and minimum security. ~ Walter M. Miller, Jr. (born 23 January 1923)
2007
Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants; it is the creed of slaves. ~ William Pitt the Younger (anniversary of death)
2008
Almost all our misfortunes in life come from the wrong notions we have about the things that happen to us. To know men thoroughly, to judge events sanely is, therefore, a great step towards happiness. ~ Stendhal
2009
One can acquire everything in solitude — except character. ~ Stendhal
2010
Love has always been the most important business in my life, I should say the only one. ~ Stendhal
2011
There is no such thing as natural law, the expression is nothing more than a silly anachronism … There is no such thing as right, except when there is a law to forbid a certain thing under pain of punishment. Before law existed, the only natural thing was the strength of the lion, or the need of a creature who was cold or hungry, to put it in one word, need. ~ Stendhal
  • first proposed by InvisibleSun in a more abbreviated form of a different translation: "There is no such thing as "natural law": this expression is nothing but old nonsense. Prior to laws, what is natural is only the strength of the lion, or the need of the creature suffering from hunger or cold, in short, need."
2012
O to be a dragon,
a symbol of the power of Heaven — of silkworm
size or immense; at times invisible.
Felicitous phenomenon!
~ Marianne Moore ~
2013
I no longer find such pleasure in that preeminently good society, of which I was once so fond. It seems to me that beneath a cloak of clever talk it proscribes all energy, all originality. If you are not a copy, people accuse you of being ill-mannered. And besides, good society usurps its privileges. It had in the past the privilege of judging what was proper, but now that it supposes itself to be attacked, it condemns not what is coarse and disagreeable without compensation, but what it thinks harmful to its interest.
~ Stendhal ~
2014 
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

I return you many thanks for the honour you have done me; but Europe is not to be saved by any single man. England has saved herself by her exertions, and will, as I trust, save Europe by her example. ~ William Pitt the Younger (anniversary of death). This was Pitt's last speech in public.

  • 4 Tamino 20:09, 17 January 2007 (UTC) A classic, and in a way appropriate given that it was his last public speech.
  • 3 InvisibleSun 05:40, 22 January 2007 (UTC)
  • 1 Kalki (talk · contributions) 23:59, 15 January 2011 (UTC) * 2 Kalki 20:37, 22 January 2007 (UTC) Out of the context of his times and circumstances (responding to a toast to him as "Savior of Europe") this can (somewhat ironically) seem a bit chauvinistic, but if this were to be used, I think it should begin at "Europe is not to be saved by any single man..."
  • 1 Zarbon 18:37, 22 April 2008 (UTC)

I see but one rule: to be clear. If I am not clear, all my world crumbles to nothing. ~ Stendhal

  • 3 Kalki 20:37, 22 January 2007 (UTC)
  • 3 InvisibleSun 21:05, 22 January 2007 (UTC)
  • 1 Zarbon 18:37, 22 April 2008 (UTC)

In matters of sentiment, the public has very crude ideas; and the most shocking fault of women is that they make the public the supreme judge of their lives. ~ Stendhal

Prudery is a kind of avarice, the worst of all. ~ Stendhal

Beauty is nothing other than the promise of happiness. ~ Stendhal

A wise woman never yields by appointment. It should always be an unforeseen happiness. ~ Stendhal

I call "crystallization" that action of the mind that discovers fresh perfections in its beloved at every turn of events. ~ Stendhal

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Last modified on 22 January 2013, at 22:51