March 18

Quotes of the day from previous years:

2004
I will permit no man to narrow and degrade my soul by making me hate him. ~ Booker T. Washington
2005
We take our bearings, daily, from others. To be sane is, to a great extent, to be sociable. ~ John Updike (born 18 March 1932)
2006
The very essence of a free government consists in considering offices as public trusts, bestowed for the good of the country, and not for the benefit of an individual or a party. ~ John C. Calhoun (born 18 March 1782)
2007
I mistake the American people if they favor the odious doctrine that there is no such thing as international morality; that there is one law for a strong nation and another for a weak one, and that even by indirection a strong power may with impunity despoil a weak one of its territory. ~ Grover Cleveland (born 18 March 1837)
2008
The mark of the immature man is that he wants to die nobly for a cause, while the mark of a mature man is that he wants to live humbly for one. ~ Wilhelm Stekel
2009
Candor is always a double-edged sword; it may heal or it may separate. ~ Wilhelm Stekel
2010
I am inventing a language which must necessarily burst forth from a very new poetics, that could be defined in a couple of words: Paint, not the thing, but the effect it produces. ~ Stéphane Mallarmé
2011
None will break ranks, though nations trek from progress.
Courage was mine, and I had mystery;
Wisdom was mine, and I had mastery;
To miss the march of this retreating world
Into vain citadels that are not walled.
~ Wilfred Owen ~ (born 18 March 1893)
2012
A leader is one who, out of madness or goodness, volunteers to take upon himself the woe of the people. There are few men so foolish, hence the erratic quality of leadership in the world. ~ John Updike
2013
The Government of the absolute majority instead of the Government of the people is but the Government of the strongest interests; and when not efficiently checked, it is the most tyrannical and oppressive that can be devised.
~ John C. Calhoun ~


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

Suspect each moment, for it is a thief, tiptoeing away with more than it brings. ~ John Updike

  • 3 because this is a very nice personification of "moments". The idea that a thief exists, taking more than giving, in the form of time...is but a chiefly grand understanding, for one grows older and physically gains nothing from it. Zarbon 01:09, 3 May 2008 (UTC)
  • 3 UDScott 20:26, 10 March 2009 (UTC)
  • 2 Kalki 09:40, 13 March 2009 (UTC)
  • 2 InvisibleSun 23:20, 17 March 2009 (UTC)

From infancy on, we are all spies; the shame is not this but that the secrets to be discovered are so paltry and few. ~ John Updike

  • 2 because this is somewhat true. What Updike is trying to dictate here is the bitterness of life. Although the attribution of being a spy is admirable to some degree, the fact that life holds few surprises and secrets is what is being stressed. This image is well illustrated with this statement. Zarbon 01:09, 3 May 2008 (UTC)
  • 3 UDScott 20:26, 10 March 2009 (UTC)
  • 2 Kalki 09:40, 13 March 2009 (UTC)
  • 3 InvisibleSun 23:20, 17 March 2009 (UTC)

Truth is not always the best basis for happiness. There are certain lies which may constitute a far better and more secure foundation of happiness. There are people who perish when their eyes are opened. ~ Wilhelm Stekel

  • 3 because sometimes is is better to live a lie than to open eyes to see the truth. The truth may make things more difficult than they are, hence maintaining a camouflage of one's foundation of happiness will furthermore create happiness for that person. I love this quote. Zarbon 01:14, 3 May 2008 (UTC)
  • 3 UDScott 20:26, 10 March 2009 (UTC)
  • 2 Kalki 09:40, 13 March 2009 (UTC)
  • 3 InvisibleSun 23:20, 17 March 2009 (UTC)

The surrender of life is nothing to sinking down into acknowledgment of inferiority. ~ John C. Calhoun

  • 3 because death is nowhere near as terrible as comparative to being lesser...being pathetic...or best described, unaccomplished. Zarbon 01:18, 3 May 2008 (UTC)
  • 2 UDScott 20:26, 10 March 2009 (UTC)
  • 2 Kalki 09:40, 13 March 2009 (UTC)
  • 2 InvisibleSun 23:20, 17 March 2009 (UTC)

It is harder to preserve than to obtain liberty. ~ John C. Calhoun

  • 3 because obtaining is easier than maintaining, sustaining, and in the long run, preserving. Zarbon 01:18, 3 May 2008 (UTC)
  • 3 UDScott 20:26, 10 March 2009 (UTC)
  • 2 Kalki 09:40, 13 March 2009 (UTC)
  • 3 InvisibleSun 23:20, 17 March 2009 (UTC)

In war, whichever side may call itself the victor, there are no winners, but all are losers. ~ Neville Chamberlain

  • 2 Zarbon 03:04, 11 March 2009 (UTC)
  • 2 Kalki 09:40, 13 March 2009 (UTC) with a lean toward 3.
  • 3 InvisibleSun 23:20, 17 March 2009 (UTC)

As you know I have always been more afraid of a peace offer than of an air raid. ~ Neville Chamberlain

  • 3 because hidden under a peace offer is an even deadlier strike. - Zarbon 03:04, 11 March 2009 (UTC)
  • 2 Kalki 09:40, 13 March 2009 (UTC)
  • 2 InvisibleSun 23:20, 17 March 2009 (UTC)

The world was made in order to result in a beautiful book. ~ Stéphane Mallarmé

Customs and convictions change; respectable people are the last to know, or to admit, the change, and the ones most offended by fresh reflections of the facts in the mirror of art. ~ John Updike

Yes, there is a ton of information on the web, but much of it is egregiously inaccurate, unedited, unattributed and juvenile. ~ John Updike

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Last modified on 16 March 2013, at 02:32