July 8

Quotes of the day from previous years:

2004

Why is all around us here as if some lesser god had made the world, but had not force to shape it as he would, till the High God behold it from beyond, and enter it, and make it beautiful? Or else as if the world were wholly fair, but that these eyes of men are dense and dim, and have not power to see it as it is: perchance, because we see not to the close... ~ Alfred, Lord Tennyson in Idylls of the King

selected by Kalki

2005

Anyone entrusted with power will abuse it if not also animated with the love of truth and virtue, no matter whether he be a prince, or one of the people. ~ Jean de La Fontaine (born 8 July 1621)

proposed by Kalki

2006

It is not the end of the physical body that should worry us. Rather, our concern must be to live while we're alive — to release our inner selves from the spiritual death that comes with living behind a facade designed to conform to external definitions of who and what we are. ~ Elisabeth Kübler-Ross (born 8 July 1926)

proposed by Kalki

2007

Our destiny is frequently met in the very paths we take to avoid it. ~ Jean de La Fontaine

proposed by Kalki

2008

As far as service goes, it can take the form of a million things. To do service, you don't have to be a doctor working in the slums for free, or become a social worker. Your position in life and what you do doesn't matter as much as how you do what you do. ~ Elisabeth Kübler-Ross

proposed by Kalki

2009

Man is so made that when anything fires his soul, impossibilities vanish. ~ Jean de La Fontaine

proposed by Kalki

2010

There must be understanding between the artist and the people. In the best ages of art that has always been the case. Genius can probably run on ahead and seek out new ways. But the good artists who follow after genius — and I count myself among these — have to restore the lost connection once more. ~ Käthe Kollwitz (born July 8, 1867)

proposed by InvisibleSun

2011

People are like stained-glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in, their true beauty is revealed only if there is a light from within. ~ Elisabeth Kübler-Ross (date of birth)

proposed by Kalki

2012

By the work one knows the workman.

~ Jean de La Fontaine ~

proposed by Kalki

2013

We make progress in society only if we stop cursing and complaining about its shortcomings and have the courage to do something about them.

~ Elisabeth Kübler-Ross ~

proposed by Kalki

2014

Come to the bridal chamber, Death,
Come to the mother's, when she feels,
For the first time, her first born's breath;
Come, when the blessed seals
That close the pestilence are broke,
And crowded cities wail its stroke:
Come in consumption's ghastly form,
The earthquake shock, the ocean storm;
Come when the heart beats high and warm
With banquet song and dance and wine;
And thou art terrible: — the tear,
The groan, the knell, the pall, the bier,
And all we know, or dream, or fear,
Of agony, are thine.

But to the hero, when his sword
Has won the battle for the free,
Thy voice sounds like a prophet's word,
And in its hollow tones are heard
The thanks of millions yet to be.

~ Fitz-Greene Halleck ~

proposed by Zarbon

2015

Bring me your children hither.
...
Unto this twain, man-child and womanchild,
I give the passion of this element;
This seed of longing, substance of this love;
This power, this purity, this annihilation.
Let their hands light the altar of the world.
'T is yours forever. I have brought it home!

~ William Vaughn Moody ~

proposed by Kalki

2016

I would rather hire a man with enthusiasm, than a man who knows everything.

~ John D. Rockefeller ~

proposed by Zarbon

2017

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people will not feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It is not just in some of us; it is in everyone and as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give others permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.

~ Marianne Williamson ~

proposed by Kalki

2018

The thought system that dominates our culture is laced with selfish values, and relinquishing those values is a lot easier said than done. The journey to a pure heart can be highly disorienting. For years we may have worked for power, money and prestige. Now all of a sudden we’ve learned that those are just the values of a dying world. ... The news isn’t how bad things are. The news is how good they could be. And our own activity could be part of the unfolding of Heaven on earth. There is no more powerful motivation than to feel we’re being used in the creation of a world where love has healed all wounds.
We are no longer ambitious for ourselves, but are rather inspired by the vision of a healed world. Inspiration rearranges our energies. It sources within us a new power and direction.

~ Marianne Williamson ~

proposed by Kalki

2019

A miracle worker is an artist of the soul. There’s no higher art than living a good life. An artist informs the world of what’s available behind the masks we all wear. That’s what we’re all here to do. The reason so many of us are obsessed with becoming stars is because we’re not yet starring in our own lives. The cosmic spotlight isn’t pointed at you; it radiates from within you.

~ Marianne Williamson ~

proposed by Kalki

2020

The ground on which we’ll unite as Americans is the higher ground of moral repair. Not Left or Right, or even Democrats or Republicans. We’ll unite as Americans, having come to realize that aligning public policy with the goodness in our hearts is our best and only path forward.

~ Marianne Williamson ~

proposed by Kalki

2021

Purity of heart will not make us poor. The exaltation of poverty as a spiritual virtue is of the ego, not the spirit. A person acting from a motivation of contribution and service rises to such a level of moral authority, that worldly success is a natural result.
Give all your gifts away in service to the world. If you want to paint, don’t wait for a grant. Paint a wall in your town that looks drab and uninviting. You never know who’s going to see that wall. Whatever it is you want to do, give it away in service to your community.

~ Marianne Williamson ~

proposed by Kalki

2022

It is clearly now the will of the parliamentary Conservative Party that there should be a new leader of that party and therefore a new prime minister. … I know that there will be many people who are relieved and perhaps quite a few who will also be disappointed. And I want you to know how sad I am to be giving up the best job in the world. But them's the breaks. … I want to thank you, the British public, for the immense privilege that you have given me. And I want you to know that from now on until the new prime minister is in place, your interests will be served and the government of the country will be carried on.

~ Boris Johnson ~

proposed by Kalki

2023

Passion is power,
And, kindly tempered, saves. All things declare
Struggle hath deeper peace than sleep can bring.

~ William Vaughn Moody ~

proposed by Kalki

2024

People must help one another; it is nature's law.

~ Jean de La Fontaine ~

proposed by Kalki

2025: 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

Remember Cedric. Remember, if the time should come when you have to make a choice between what is right and what is easy, remember what happened to a boy who was good, and kind, and brave, because he strayed across the path of Lord Voldemort. Remember Cedric Diggory. ~ Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter#Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2000), published that day

3 ~ MosheZadka (Talk) 08:42, 25 Jun 2005 (UTC)
2 AllanHainey 7 July 2005 13:38 (UTC)
1 InvisibleSun 08:14, 6 July 2007 (UTC)
1 Zarbon 05:09, 24 April 2008 (UTC)
1 //Gbern3 (talk) 15:39, 4 July 2013 (UTC)

And on the pedestal these words appear:
"My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:
Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!"
Nothing beside remains: round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare,
The lone and level sands stretch far away. - (Ozymandias of Egypt -1818) Percy Bysshe Shelley died this day

3 AllanHainey 7 July 2005 13:38 (UTC)
0. This quotation was already used on August 4, 2005. InvisibleSun 08:14, 6 July 2007 (UTC)
1 Zarbon 05:09, 24 April 2008 (UTC)
1 //Gbern3 (talk) 15:39, 4 July 2013 (UTC)