Wikiquote

July 17

date

Quotes of the day from previous years:

2003
All animals are equal — but some animals are more equal than others. ~ Animal Farm by George Orwell
2004
Of all the creatures that creep, swim or fly,
Peopling the earth, waters and the sky,
From Rome to Iceland, Paris to Japan,
I really think, the greatest fool is man.
~ Nicolas Boileau-Despréaux ~
2005
Most of the books, music and movies ever released are not available for sale, anywhere in the world. In the brief time that P2P nets have flourished, the ad-hoc masses of the Internet have managed to put just about everything online. What's more, they've done it far cheaper than any other archiving/revival effort ever. ~ Cory Doctorow (born 17 July 1971)
2006
Were I so tall to reach the pole,
Or grasp the ocean with my span,
I must be measured by my soul;
The mind's the standard of the man.
~ Isaac Watts ~ (born 17 July 1674)
2007
Maintain a constant watch at all times against a dogmatical spirit: fix not your assent to any proposition in a firm and unalterable manner, till you have some firm and unalterable ground for it, and till you have arrived at some clear and sure evidence. ~ Isaac Watts
2008
Error is a hardy plant; it flourisheth in every soil;
In the heart of the wise and good, alike with the wicked and foolish;
For there is no error so crooked, but it hath in it some lines of truth;
Nor is any poison so deadly, that it serveth not some wholesome use.
~ Martin Farquhar Tupper ~
2009
They told us not to wish in the first place, not to aspire, not to try; to be quiet, to play nice, to shoot low and aspire not at all. They are always wrong. Follow your dreams. Make your wishes. Create the future. And above all, believe in yourself. ~ J. Michael Straczynski
2010
God, from a beautiful necessity, is Love in all he doeth,
Love, a brilliant fire, to gladden or consume:
The wicked work their woe by looking upon love, and hating it:
The righteous find their joys in yearning on its loveliness for ever.
~ Martin Farquhar Tupper ~
2011
Never give up! it is wiser and better
Always to hope, than once to despair.
~ Martin Farquhar Tupper ~
2012
Well-timed silence hath more eloquence than speech.
~ Martin Farquhar Tupper ~
2013
Were the whole realm of nature mine,
That were a present far too small.
Love so amazing, so divine,
Demands my soul, my life, my all.
~ Isaac Watts ~
2014
We are not powerless. We have tremendous potential for good or ill. How we choose to use that power is up to us; but first we must choose to use it. We're told every day, "You can't change the world." But the world is changing every day. Only question is...who's doing it? You or somebody else?
~ J. Michael Straczynski ~
2015
Blessed is He Who made constellations in the skies, and placed therein a Lamp and a Moon giving light;
And it is He Who made the Night and the Day to follow each other: for such as have the will to celebrate His praises or to show their gratitude.
And the servants of (Allah) Most Gracious are those who walk on the earth in humility, and when the ignorant address them, they say, "Peace!"
~ The Qur'an ~
2016
The real damage from terrorist attacks doesn't come from the explosion. The real damage is done after the explosion, by the victims, who repeatedly and determinedly attack themselves, giving over reason in favor of terror. Every London cop who stops someone from taking a picture of a public building, every TSA agent who takes away your kid's toothpaste, every NSA spook who wiretaps your email, does the terrorist's job for him. Terrorism is about magnifying one mediagenic act of violence into one hundred billion acts of terrorized authoritarian idiocy.
~ Cory Doctorow ~
2017
Of all the people who failed to buy one of my books today, the vast majority did so because they never heard of them, not because they got a free digital copy from the Internet.
~ Cory Doctorow ~
2018
Today’s press conference in Helsinki was one of the most disgraceful performances by an American president in memory. The damage inflicted by President Trump’s naiveté, egotism, false equivalence, and sympathy for autocrats is difficult to calculate. … President Trump proved not only unable, but unwilling to stand up to Putin. He and Putin seemed to be speaking from the same script as the president made a conscious choice to defend a tyrant against the fair questions of a free press, and to grant Putin an uncontested platform to spew propaganda and lies to the world. … No prior president has ever abased himself more abjectly before a tyrant. Not only did President Trump fail to speak the truth about an adversary; but speaking for America to the world, our president failed to defend all that makes us who we are — a republic of free people dedicated to the cause of liberty at home and abroad. American presidents must be the champions of that cause if it is to succeed. Americans are waiting and hoping for President Trump to embrace that sacred responsibility. One can only hope they are not waiting totally in vain.
~ John McCain ~
  • proposed by Kalki, in regard to a major historical events of secrecies and revelations which occurred on this day of this year, with McCaine's official statement one of many private and public responses to them.
2019
How doth the little busy bee
Improve each shining hour,
And gather honey all the day
From every opening flower!
~ Isaac Watts ~
2020
"Let byegones be byegones,”—they foolishly say,
And bid me be wise and forget them;
But old recollections are active to-day,
And I can do nought but regret them;
Though the present be pleasant, all joyous and gay,
And promising well for the morrow,
I love to look back on the years past away,
Embalming my byegones in sorrow.
~ Martin Farquhar Tupper ~
2021
First-time novelists have a tough row to hoe. Our publishers don't have a lot of promotional budget to throw at unknown factors like us. Mostly, we rise and fall based on word-of-mouth.
~ Cory Doctorow ~
2022
We have an obligation to one another, responsibilities and trusts. That does not mean we must be pigeons, that we must be exploited. But it does mean that we should look out for one another when and as much as we can; and that we have a personal responsibility for our behavior; and that our behavior has consequences of a very real and profound nature. We are not powerless. We have tremendous potential for good or ill. How we choose to use that power is up to us; but first we must choose to use it. We're told every day, "You can't change the world." But the world is changing every day. Only question is … who's doing it? You or somebody else?
~ J. Michael Straczynski ~
2023
As an atheist, I believe that all life is unspeakably precious, because it’s only here for a brief moment, a flare against the dark, and then it’s gone forever. No afterlives, no second chances, no backsies. So there can be nothing crueler than the abuse, destruction or wanton taking of a life.
~ J. Michael Straczynski ~
2024
Wait, thou child of hope, for Time shall teach thee all things.
~ Martin Farquhar Tupper ~
2025
Rank or add further suggestions…

Quotes by people born this day, already used as QOTD:

Only an idiot fights a war on two fronts. Only the heir to the throne of the kingdom of idiots would fight a war on twelve fronts.
~ J. Michael Straczynski ~
in
~ Babylon 5 : Ceremonies of Light and Dark ~

The Quote of the Day (QOTD) is a prominent feature of the Wikiquote Main Page. Thank you for submitting, reviewing, and ranking suggestions!

Ranking system
4 : Excellent – should definitely be used. (This is the utmost ranking and should be used by any editor for only one quote at a time for each date.)
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.
An averaging of the rankings provided to each suggestion produces it’s general ranking in considerations for selection of Quote of the Day. The selections made are usually chosen from the top ranked options existing on the page, but the provision of highly ranked late additions, especially in regard to special events (most commonly in regard to the deaths of famous people, or other major social or physical occurrences), always remain an option for final selections.
Thank you for participating!

Suggestions

edit

The Bitchun Society has had much experience with restores from backup — in the era of the cure for death, people live pretty recklessly. Some people get refreshed a couple dozen times a year. ~ Cory Doctorow, Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom. Cory was born that day.

  • 3 ~ MosheZadka (Talk) 09:17, 25 Jun 2005 (UTC)
  • 2 121a0012 June 27, 2005 03:52 (UTC) (OK; markup needs work)
  • 1 Kalki 22:20, 16 July 2005 (UTC) this uses obscure terms without much context to go on; I have added a few Cory Doctorow quotes below, that I think would be better.
  • 1 Zarbon 06:24, 24 April 2008 (UTC)
  • 1 //Gbern3 (talk) 10:04, 10 July 2013 (UTC)

I'd seen how Imagineering worked when they were on their own, building prototypes and conceptual mockups — I knew that the real bottleneck was the constant review and revisions, the ever-fluctuating groupmind consensus of the ad-hoc that commissioned their work. ~ Cory Doctorow

The Bitchun Society had all but done away with any sort of dull, repetitious labor, and what remained—tending bar, mopping toilets —commanded Whuffie aplenty and a life of leisure in your off-hours.

  • 2 Kalki 22:20, 16 July 2005 (UTC) this also uses obscure terms, as the first suggestion for Doctorow did, but fuller context is implied a bit more clearly.
  • 1 Zarbon 06:24, 24 April 2008 (UTC)
  • 2 InvisibleSun 22:53, 16 July 2008 (UTC)
  • 1 //Gbern3 (talk) 10:04, 10 July 2013 (UTC)

Your assumption, and the truth, dine at totally separate tables. ~ J. Michael Straczynski

  • 3 Zarbon 12:03, 21 May 2008 (UTC)
  • 1 Kalki 22:44, 16 July 2008 (UTC) I am inclined to believe such an expression predates this use of it.
  • 2 InvisibleSun 22:53, 16 July 2008 (UTC)
  • 2 //Gbern3 (talk) 10:04, 10 July 2013 (UTC)

It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest. We address ourselves, not to their humanity but to their self-love, and never talk to them of our own necessities but of their advantages. ~ Adam Smith, he died on July 17, 1790



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