April 21
Quotes of the day from previous years:
- 2004
- It is not only for what we do that we are held responsible, but also for what we do not do. ~ Molière
- selected by Kalki
- 2005
- When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the Universe. ~ John Muir (born 21 April 1838)
- selected by Kalki
- 2006
- This grand show is eternal. It is always sunrise somewhere; the dew is never all dried at once; a shower is forever falling; vapor ever rising. Eternal sunrise, eternal sunset, eternal dawn and gloaming, on seas and continents and islands, each in its turn, as the round earth rolls. ~ John Muir (born 21 April 1838)
- selected by Kalki
- 2007
- Conventionality is not morality. Self-righteousness is not religion. To attack the first is not to assail the last. ~ Charlotte Brontë
- proposed by InvisibleSun
- 2008
- How hard to realize that every camp of men or beast has this glorious starry firmament for a roof! In such places standing alone on the mountaintop it is easy to realize that whatever special nests we make — leaves and moss like the marmots and birds, or tents or piled stone — we all dwell in a house of one room — the world with the firmament for its roof — and are sailing the celestial spaces without leaving any track. ~ John Muir
- proposed by InvisibleSun
- 2009
- We live in a world ruled by fictions of every kind — mass merchandising, advertising, politics conducted as a branch of advertising, the instant translation of science and technology into popular imagery, the increasing blurring and intermingling of identities within the realm of consumer goods, the preempting of any free or original imaginative response to experience by the television screen. We live inside an enormous novel. For the writer in particular it is less and less necessary for him to invent the fictional content of his novel. The fiction is already there. The writer's task is to invent the reality. ~ J. G. Ballard
- proposed by Ningauble
- 2010
- We define religion as the assumption that life has meaning. Religion, or lack of it, is shown not in some intellectual or verbal formulations but in one's total orientation to life. Religion is whatever the individual takes to be his ultimate concern. One's religious attitude is to be found at that point where he has a conviction that there are values in human existence worth living and dying for. ~ Rollo May (born 21 April 1909)
- proposed by Zarbon
- 2011
- Therapy isn't curing somebody of something; it is a means of helping a person explore himself, his life, his consciousness. My purpose as a therapist is to find out what it means to be human. Every human being must have a point at which he stands against the culture, where he says, "This is me and the world be damned!" Leaders have always been the ones to stand against the society — Socrates, Christ, Freud, all the way down the line. ~ Rollo May
- proposed by Zarbon
- 2012
- Constant and frequent questioning is the first key to wisdom … For through doubting we are led to inquire, and by inquiry we perceive the truth. ~ Peter Abelard
- proposed by Zarbon
- 2013
| To love means to open ourselves to the negative as well as the positive — to grief, sorrow, and disappointment as well as to joy, fulfillment, and an intensity of consciousness we did not know was possible before. |
| ~ Rollo May ~ |
- proposed by Zarbon
- 2014
| Is not the real experience of each individual very limited? And, if a writer dwells upon that solely or principally, is he not in danger of repeating himself, and also of becoming an egotist? Then, too, imagination is a strong, restless faculty, which claims to be heard and exercised: are we to be quite deaf to her cry, and insensate to her struggles? When she shows us bright pictures, are we never to look at them, and try to reproduce them? And when she is eloquent, and speaks rapidly and urgently in our ear, are we not to write to her dictation? |
| ~ Charlotte Brontë ~ |
- proposed by InvisibleSun
- 2015
| Memory is not just the imprint of the past time upon us; it is the keeper of what is meaningful for our deepest hopes and fears. |
| ~ Rollo May ~ |
- proposed by Zarbon
- 2016
| The purpose and cause of the incarnation was that He might illuminate the world by His wisdom and excite it to the love of Himself. |
| ~ Peter Abelard ~ |
- proposed by Kalki
- 2017
| It is not violence that best overcomes hate — nor vengeance that most certainly heals injury. … Read the New Testament, and observe what Christ says, and how he acts — make his word your rule, and his conduct your example. … Love your enemies; bless them that curse you; do good to them that hate you and despitefully use you. |
| ~ Charlotte Brontë ~ |
- proposed by InvisibleSun
- 2018
| A "war against terrorism" is an impracticable conception if it means fighting terrorism with terrorism. The feelings on both sides are not that they are taking part in some evil and criminal act but risking their lives heroically for what they consider to be a just cause. |
| ~ John Mortimer ~ |
- proposed by InvisibleSun
- 2019
| The word "resurrection" has for many people the connotation of dead bodies leaving their graves or other fanciful images. But resurrection means the victory of the New state of things, the New Being born out of the death of the Old. Resurrection is not an event that might happen in some remote future, but it is the power of the New Being to create life out of death, here and now, today and tomorrow. Where there is a New Being, there is resurrection, namely, the creation into eternity out of every moment of time. The Old Being has the mark of disintegration and death. The New Being puts a new mark over the old one. Out of disintegration and death something is born of eternal significance. That which is immersed in dissolution emerges in a New Creation. Resurrection happens now, or it does not happen at all. It happens in us and around us, in soul and history, in nature and universe. Reconciliation, reunion, resurrection — this is the New Creation, the New Being, the New state of things. |
| ~ Paul Tillich ~ |
- 2020
| Beneath our feet and o'er our head Is equal warning given: Beneath us lie the countless dead, Above us is the heaven! Death rides on every passing breeze, And lurks in every flower; Each season has its own disease, Its peril every hour. |
| ~ Reginald Heber ~ |
- proposed by Zarbon
- 2021
| If you are sure you understand everything that is going on, you are hopelessly confused. |
| ~ Walter Mondale ~ |
- proposed by Kalki, in regard to his recent death.
- 2022
| I made a decision to carry out a special military operation. The purpose of this operation is to protect people who, for eight years now, have been facing humiliation and genocide perpetrated by the Kiev regime. To this end, we will seek to demilitarize and denazify Ukraine, as well as bring to trial those who perpetrated numerous bloody crimes against civilians, including against citizens of the Russian Federation. It is not our plan to occupy the Ukrainian territory. We do not intend to impose anything on anyone by force. … The current events have nothing to do with a desire to infringe on the interests of Ukraine and the Ukrainian people. … I would now like to say something very important for those who may be tempted to interfere in these developments from the outside. No matter who tries to stand in our way or all the more so create threats for our country and our people, they must know that Russia will respond immediately, and the consequences will be such as you have never seen in your entire history. |
| ~ Vladimir Putin ~ |
- proposed by Kalki
- 2023
| Imagination is the outreaching of mind … the bombardment of the conscious mind with ideas, impulses, images and every sort of psychic phenomena welling up from the preconscious. It is the capacity to "dream dreams and see visions…" |
| ~ Rollo May ~ |
- proposed by Zarbon
- 2024
| The human being cannot live in a condition of emptiness for very long: if he is not growing toward something, he does not merely stagnate; the pent-up potentialities turn into morbidity and despair, and eventually into destructive activities. |
| ~ Rollo May ~ |
- proposed by Zarbon
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Suggestions
editNo right way is easy in this rough world. We must risk our lives to save them. ~ John Muir (born April 21, 1838)
- 3 InvisibleSun 06:24, 18 April 2007 (UTC)
- 3 Kalki 18:43, 18 April 2007 (UTC)
- 1 Zarbon 00:01, 23 April 2008 (UTC)
A barrister's job is to put the case for the defense as effectively and clearly as would his client if he had an advocate's skills. The barrister's belief or disbelief in the truth of the story is irrelevant: it's for the jury to decide this often difficult question. ~ John Mortimer (born April 21, 1923)
- 3 InvisibleSun 06:24, 18 April 2007 (UTC)
- 1 Zarbon 00:01, 23 April 2008 (UTC)
- 2 Kalki 17:08, 20 April 2009 (UTC)
Beliefs about how you live your life, matters of private decision, views best kept for private enjoyment, prejudice or entertainment, can't be imposed by the operation of criminal law. Attempts to enforce such views can only make the government the subject of ridicule. ~ John Mortimer
- 3 InvisibleSun 06:24, 18 April 2007 (UTC)
- 3 Kalki 18:43, 18 April 2007 (UTC)
- 1 Zarbon 00:01, 23 April 2008 (UTC)
I often said that never in the history of the world did one man receive so much faith and trust as Hitler. Similary, no one has ever betrayed so many people and abused so much good faith as he did. ~ Hans Fritzsche (born April 21)
What I would like to emanate from the darkness of this tragedy is one spark of life. I mean, the realization that crime does not begin when you murder people. Crime begins with propaganda, even if such propaganda is for a good cause. The moment propaganda turns against another nation or against any human being, evil starts. ~ Hans Fritzsche
- 3 Zarbon 16:26, 15 April 2009 (UTC)
- 3 Kalki 17:03, 20 April 2009 (UTC) but trimmed to begin at "Crime does not begin when you murder people..."
The mind, if slackened even a little, will cause defeat, the same as fearing the opponent will make you unable to use full strength. ~ Kyuzo Mifune
True spirit of Judo is nothing but the gentle and diligent free spirit. Judo rests on flexible action of mind and body. The word flexible however never means weakness but something more like adaptability and open-mindedness. Gentleness always overcomes strength. ~ Kyuzo Mifune
The weed crushed and pressed by the heavy rock may slowly and gently grow up anew helped by the fresh air, sunshine, and sympathetic rain. On the other hand, the rock is often broken through exposure to nature and weathering. Life is a strong power to grow in tenderness; this fact may be considered as having a close relation with human life. At the same time tenderness has sometimes stronger power against stiffness or hardening due to extreme strain. ~ Kyuzo Mifune
The Son of God goes forth to war,
A kingly crown to gain;
His blood red banner streams afar:
Who follows in His train? ~ Reginald Heber
- 3 Zarbon 16:26, 15 April 2009 (UTC)
- 2 Kalki 17:03, 20 April 2009 (UTC) but would extend this to include the lines which follow it: Who best can drink his cup of woe,
Triumphant over pain,
Who patient bears his cross below,
He follows in His train.
Holy, Holy, Holy! Lord God Almighty!
Early in the morning our song shall rise to Thee:
Holy, Holy, Holy! Merciful and Mighty!
God in Three Persons, Blessed Trinity. ~ Reginald Heber
Ruin is the destination toward which all men rush, each pursuing his own best interest in a society that believes in the freedom of the commons. Freedom in a commons brings ruin to all. ~ Garrett Hardin
Continuity is at the heart of conservatism: ecology serves that heart. ~ Garrett Hardin
Why are ecologists and environmentalists so feared and hated? This is because in part what they have to say is new to the general public, and the new is always alarming. Moreover, the practical recommendations deduced from ecological principles threaten the vested interests of commerce; it is hardly surprising that the financial and political power created by these investments should be used sometimes to suppress environmental impact studies. However, I think the major opposition to ecology has deeper roots than mere economics; ecology threatens widely held values so fundamental that they must be called religious. An attack on values is inevitably seen as an act of subversion. ~ Garrett Hardin
It may sound surprising when I say, on the basis of my own clinical practice as well as that of my psychological and psychiatric colleagues, that the chief problem of people in the middle decade of the twentieth century is emptiness. ~ Rollo May
Freedom is man's capacity to take a hand in his own development. It is our capacity to mold ourselves. ~ Rollo May
You can live without a father who accepts you, but you cannot live without a world that makes some sense to you. ~ Rollo May
If we admit our depression openly and freely, those around us get from it an experience of freedom rather than the depression itself. ~ Rollo May
We are more apt to feel depressed by the perpetually smiling individual than the one who is honestly sad. If we admit our depression openly and freely, those around us get from it an experience of freedom rather than the depression itself.
I like to praise and reward loudly, to blame quietly. ~ Catherine II of Russia
OR
I praise loudly. I blame softly. ~ Catherine II of Russia
- 3 for both versions. Zarbon 16:26, 15 April 2009 (UTC)
- 3 Kalki 17:03, 20 April 2009 (UTC) with a lean toward 4.
Power without a nation's confidence is nothing. ~ Catherine II of Russia
It is better to be subject to the Laws under one Master, than to be subservient to many. ~ Catherine II of Russia
To tempt, and to be tempted, are things very nearly allied, and, in spite of the finest maxims of morality impressed upon the mind, whenever feeling has anything to do in the matter, no sooner is it excited than we have already gone vastly farther than we are aware of, and I have yet to learn how it is possible to prevent its being excited. ~ Catherine II of Russia
Let a man set his heart only on doing the will of God and he is instantly free. ~ Aiden Wilson Tozer
Apart from sin we have nothing of which to be ashamed. Only an evil desire to shine makes us want to appear other than we are. ~ Aiden Wilson Tozer
In many churches Christianity has been watered down until the solution is so weak that if it were poison it would not hurt anyone, and if it were medicine it would not cure anyone! ~ Aiden Wilson Tozer
The story of Romulus and Remus being suckled by a wolf is not a meaningless fable. The founders of every State which has risen to eminence have drawn their nourishment and vigor from a similar wild source. It was because the children of the Empire were not suckled by the wolf that they were conquered and displaced by the children of the Northern forests who were. ~Henry David Thoreau, Walking, 1862
- 4 It is the traditional date that Romulus and Remus founded Rome SuperJew 08:10, 20 April 2009 (UTC)
- 1 Zarbon 14:56, 20 April 2009 (UTC)
- 2 Kalki 17:03, 20 April 2009 (UTC) but would probably prefer some other quotes on the subject of Romulus and Remus