Wikiquote

October 5

date

Quotes of the day from previous years:

2004
You cannot hope to build a better world without improving the individuals. To that end each of us must work for his own improvement, and at the same time share a general responsibility for all humanity, our particular duty being to aid those to whom we think we can be most useful. ~ Marie Curie
2005
Politicians at international forums may reiterate a thousand times that the basis of the new world order must be universal respect for human rights, but it will mean nothing as long as this imperative does not derive from the respect of the miracle of Being, the miracle of the universe, the miracle of nature, the miracle of our own existence. ~ Václav Havel (born 5 October 1936)
2006
Almost all men, and those that seem to be very miserable, love life, because they cannot bear to lose sight of such a beautiful and lovely world. The ideas, that every moment whilst we live have a beauty that we take not distinct notice of, brings a pleasure that, when we come to the trial, we had rather live in much pain and misery than lose. ~ Jonathan Edwards
2007
The philosopher forms his principles on an infinity of particular observations. … He does not confuse truth with plausibility; he takes for truth what is true, for false what is false, for doubtful what is doubtful, and probable what is probable. … The philosophical spirit is thus a spirit of observation and accuracy. ~ Denis Diderot
2008
Anyone who takes himself too seriously always runs the risk of looking ridiculous; anyone who can consistently laugh at himself does not. ~ Václav Havel
2009
There are things I can't force. I must adjust. There are times when the greatest change needed is a change of my viewpoint. ~ Denis Diderot
2010
The only real hope of people today is probably a renewal of our certainty that we are rooted in the earth and, at the same time, in the cosmos. This awareness endows us with the capacity for self-transcendence. Politicians at international forums may reiterate a thousand times that the basis of the new world order must be universal respect for human rights, but it will mean nothing as long as this imperative does not derive from the respect of the miracle of Being, the miracle of the universe, the miracle of nature, the miracle of our own existence. Only someone who submits to the authority of the universal order and of creation, who values the right to be a part of it and a participant in it, can genuinely value himself and his neighbors, and thus honor their rights as well. ~ Václav Havel
2011
There are no exact guidelines. There are probably no guidelines at all. The only thing I can recommend at this stage is a sense of humor, an ability to see things in their ridiculous and absurd dimensions, to laugh at others and at ourselves, a sense of irony regarding everything that calls out for parody in this world. In other words, I can only recommend perspective and distance. Awareness of all the most dangerous kinds of vanity, both in others and in ourselves. A good mind. A modest certainty about the meaning of things. Gratitude for the gift of life and the courage to take responsibility for it. Vigilance of spirit. ~ Václav Havel
2012
Periods of history when values undergo a fundamental shift are certainly not unprecedented. … The distinguishing features of such transitional periods are a mixing and blending of cultures and a plurality or parallelism of intellectual and spiritual worlds. These are periods when all consistent value systems collapse, when cultures distant in time and space are discovered or rediscovered. They are periods when there is a tendency to quote, to imitate, and to amplify, rather than to state with authority or integrate. New meaning is gradually born from the encounter, or the intersection, of many different elements. … an amalgamation of cultures is taking place. I see it as proof that something is happening, something is being born, that we are in a phase when one age is succeeding another, when everything is possible.
~ Václav Havel ~
2013
No man has received from nature the right to give orders to others. Freedom is a gift from heaven, and every individual of the same species has the right to enjoy it as soon as he is in enjoyment of his reason.
~ Denis Diderot ~
2014
The real test of a man is not how well he plays the role he has invented for himself, but how well he plays the role that destiny assigned to him.
~ Václav Havel ~
2015
The good of the people must be the great purpose of government. By the laws of nature and of reason, the governors are invested with power to that end. And the greatest good of the people is liberty. It is to the state what health is to the individual.
~ Denis Diderot ~
2016
We are not here alone nor for ourselves alone … we are an integral part of higher, mysterious entities against whom it is not advisable to blaspheme. This forgotten awareness is encoded in all religions. All cultures anticipate it in various forms. It is one of the things that form the basis of man's understanding of himself, of his place in the world, and ultimately of the world as such.
~ Václav Havel ~
2017
Watch out for the fellow who talks about putting things in order! Putting things in order always means getting other people under your control.
~ Denis Diderot ~
2018
A human action becomes genuinely important when it springs from the soil of a clearsighted awareness of the temporality and the ephemerality of everything human. It is only this awareness that can breathe any greatness into an action.
~ Václav Havel ~
2019
We swallow greedily any lie that flatters us, but we sip only little by little at a truth we find bitter.
~ Denis Diderot ~
2020
Without free, self-respecting, and autonomous citizens there can be no free and independent nations. Without internal peace, that is, peace among citizens and between the citizens and the state, there can be no guarantee of external peace.
~ Václav Havel ~
2021
The dissident does not operate in the realm of genuine power at all. He is not seeking power. He has no desire for office and does not gather votes. He does not attempt to charm the public, he offers nothing and promises nothing. He can offer, if anything, only his own skin — and he offers it solely because he has no other way of affirming the truth he stands for. His actions simply articulate his dignity as a citizen, regardless of the cost.
~ Václav Havel ~
2022
Sometimes I think some people were disappointed when they met me and found out I wasn't any smarter or happier than they were. I'm proud and I've got my own ideas, but I ain't no better than nobody else. I've often wondered why I became so popular, and maybe that's the reason. I think I reach people because I'm with 'em, not apart from 'em.
~ Loretta Lynn ~
  • proposed by Kalki; in regard of her recent death.
2023
Yes, the universe had a beginning. Yes, the universe continues to evolve. And yes, every one of our body's atoms is traceable to the big bang and to the thermonuclear furnace within high-mass stars. We are not simply in the universe, we are part of it. We are born from it. One might even say we have been empowered by the universe to figure itself out — and we have only just begun.
~ Neil deGrasse Tyson ~
2024
Today's world, as we all know, is faced with multiple threats. From whichever angle I look at this menace, I always come to the conclusion that salvation can only come through a profound awakening of man to his own personal responsibility, which is at the same time a global responsibility. Thus, the only way to save our world, as I see it, lies in a democracy that recalls its ancient Greek roots: democracy based on an integral human personality personally answering for the fate of the community.
~ Václav Havel ~
2025
Rank or add further suggestions…

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The salvation of this human world lies nowhere else than in the human heart, in the human power to reflect, in human meekness and human responsibility. ~ Václav Havel (date of birth)

  • 3 Kalki 22:53, 3 October 2005 (UTC)
  • 3 InvisibleSun 07:52, 1 October 2006 (UTC)
  • 1 Zarbon 04:01, 25 April 2008 (UTC)
  • 3 N6n 15:15, 15 September 2010 (UTC)

When I am giving the relation of a thing, remember to abstain from altering either in the matter or manner of speaking, so much, as that, if every one, afterwards, should alter as much, it would at last come to be properly false. ~ Jonathan Edwards (born 5 October 1703)

  • 3 InvisibleSun 07:52, 1 October 2006 (UTC)
  • 3 Kalki 00:22, 4 October 2007 (UTC)
  • 1 Zarbon 04:01, 25 April 2008 (UTC)
  • 3 N6n 15:15, 15 September 2010 (UTC)

Resolved, never to do anything out of revenge. ~ Jonathan Edwards

  • 3 InvisibleSun 07:52, 1 October 2006 (UTC)
  • 3 Kalki 00:22, 4 October 2007 (UTC) with a strong lean toward 4.
  • 1 Zarbon 04:01, 25 April 2008 (UTC)
  • 3 N6n 15:15, 15 September 2010 (UTC)

The beauty of the world consists wholly of sweet mutual consents, either within itself or with the supreme being. ~ Jonathan Edwards

  • 3 InvisibleSun 07:52, 1 October 2006 (UTC)
  • 3 Kalki 00:22, 4 October 2007 (UTC) with a very strong lean toward 4.
  • 1 Zarbon 04:01, 25 April 2008 (UTC)
  • 3 N6n 15:15, 15 September 2010 (UTC)

A thing is not proved just because no one has ever questioned it. What has never been gone into impartially has never been properly gone into. Hence skepticism is the first step toward truth. It must be applied generally, because it is the touchstone. ~ Denis Diderot

  • 3 Kalki 00:32, 5 October 2007 (UTC) with a VERY strong lean toward 4.
  • 1 Zarbon 04:01, 25 April 2008 (UTC)
  • 3 InvisibleSun 23:44, 4 October 2008 (UTC)
  • 3 N6n 15:15, 15 September 2010 (UTC)
  • 4 Wallacegromit1 (talk) 18:09, 4 October 2021 (UTC)

A good heavy book holds you down. It’s an anchor that keeps you from getting up and having another gin and tonic. ~ Roy Blount, Jr.

It's easy to have principles when you're rich. The important thing is to have principles when you're poor. ~ Ray Kroc

  • 2 because principles are the foundation. Zarbon 03:53, 2 July 2008 (UTC)
  • 2 Kalki 19:17, 2 October 2008 (UTC) but I would not actually use this unless it was sourced.
  • 2 InvisibleSun 23:44, 4 October 2008 (UTC)

Luck is a dividend of sweat. The more you sweat, the luckier you get. ~ Ray Kroc

  • 2 because luck comes to those who try. Zarbon 03:53, 2 July 2008 (UTC)
  • 3 Kalki 19:17, 2 October 2008 (UTC) but I would not actually use this unless it was sourced.
  • 3 InvisibleSun 23:44, 4 October 2008 (UTC)

None of us is as good as all of us. ~ Ray Kroc

  • 3 for the emphasis on "divided we fall, united we stand" message. Zarbon 03:53, 2 July 2008 (UTC)
  • 3 Kalki 19:17, 2 October 2008 (UTC) but I would not actually use this unless it was sourced.
  • 3 InvisibleSun 23:44, 4 October 2008 (UTC)

No seed shall perish which the soul hath sown. ~ John Addington Symonds

  • 3 Zarbon 03:53, 2 July 2008 (UTC)
  • 3 Kalki 19:17, 2 October 2008 (UTC) with a strong lean toward 4.
  • 3 InvisibleSun 23:44, 4 October 2008 (UTC)

She smiled, and the shadows departed;
She shone, and the snows were rain;
And he who was frozen-hearted
Bloomed up into love again. ~ John Addington Symonds

  • 2 Zarbon 03:53, 2 July 2008 (UTC)
  • 3 Kalki 19:17, 2 October 2008 (UTC)
  • 2 InvisibleSun 23:44, 4 October 2008 (UTC)
  • 3 N6n 15:15, 15 September 2010 (UTC)

Gods fade; but God abides and in man's heart
Speaks with the clear unconquerable cry
Of energies and hopes that can not die. ~ John Addington Symonds

  • 2 Zarbon 03:53, 2 July 2008 (UTC)
  • 3 Kalki 23:32, 4 October 2008 (UTC) with a very strong lean toward 4.
  • 3 InvisibleSun 23:44, 4 October 2008 (UTC)
  • 3 N6n 15:15, 15 September 2010 (UTC)

Men may die, but the fabric of our free institutions remains unshaken. ~ Chester A. Arthur

  • 4 Zarbon 03:53, 2 July 2008 (UTC)
  • 2 ♞☤☮♌︎Kalki ⚚⚓︎⊙☳☶⚡ 08:09, 3 October 2012 (UTC) 3 Kalki 19:17, 2 October 2008 (UTC) still with a lean toward 3, but there are other better quotes by others I would rank higher for now.
  • 3 InvisibleSun 23:44, 4 October 2008 (UTC)

I do hope you realize that every time you use disinterested to mean uninterested, an angel dies. ~ Roy Blount, Jr.

  • 3 Kalki 20:49, 4 October 2009 (UTC)

People don't necessarily want or need to be done unto as you would have them do unto you. They want to be done unto as they want to be done unto. ~ Roy Blount, Jr.

  • 3 Kalki 20:49, 4 October 2009 (UTC)

Usage ain't always a matter of ought. ~ Roy Blount, Jr.

  • 3 Kalki 20:49, 4 October 2009 (UTC)

I believe in God, although I live very happily with atheists... It is very important not to mistake hemlock for parsley; but not at all so to believe or not in God. ~ Denis Diderot

  • 3 Kalki 20:49, 4 October 2009 (UTC)

We are far more liable to catch the vices than the virtues of our associates. ~ Denis Diderot

  • 3 Kalki 20:49, 4 October 2009 (UTC)

Genius is present in every age, but the men carrying it within them remain benumbed unless extraordinary events occur to heat up and melt the mass so that it flows forth. ~ Denis Diderot

  • 3 Kalki 20:49, 4 October 2009 (UTC)
  • 3 N6n 15:15, 15 September 2010 (UTC)

We are constantly railing against the passions; we ascribe to them all of man’s afflictions, and we forget that they are also the source of all his pleasures… But what provokes me is that only their adverse side is considered … and yet only passions, and great passions, can raise the soul to great things. Without them there is no sublimity, either in morals or in creativity. Art returns to infancy, and virtue becomes small-minded. ~ Denis Diderot

  • 3 Kalki 20:49, 4 October 2009 (UTC) with a lean toward 4.
  • 3 N6n 15:15, 15 September 2010 (UTC)

Power acquired by violence is only a usurpation, and lasts only as long as the force of him who commands prevails over that of those who obey. ~ Denis Diderot

  • 3 Kalki 20:49, 4 October 2009 (UTC) with a very strong lean toward 4.
  • 3 N6n 15:15, 15 September 2010 (UTC)

Pithy sentences are like sharp nails which force truth upon our memory. ~ Denis Diderot

  • 3 Kalki 20:49, 4 October 2009 (UTC)

Truth is not for the philosopher a mistress who corrupts his imagination and whom he believes to be found everywhere; he contents himself with being able to unravel it where he can perceive it. He does not confound it with probability; he takes for true what is true, for false what is false, for doubtful what is doubtful, and probable what is only probable. He does more, and here you have a great perfection of the philosopher: when he has no reason by which to judge, he knows how to live in suspension of judgment...
The philosophical spirit is, then, a spirit of observation and exactness, which relates everything to true principles... ~ Denis Diderot

  • 3 Kalki 20:49, 4 October 2009 (UTC) with a strong lean toward 4.
  • 3 N6n 15:15, 15 September 2010 (UTC)

In order to shake a hypothesis, it is sometimes not necessary to do anything more than push it as far as it will go. ~ Denis Diderot

  • 3 Kalki 20:49, 4 October 2009 (UTC)

Every man has his dignity. I'm willing to forget mine, but at my own discretion and not when someone else tells me to. ~ Denis Diderot

  • 3 Kalki 20:49, 4 October 2009 (UTC) with a lean toward 4.

Salvation is so great a thing, so glorious an attainment, that 'tis worth the while for a man to do his utmost every day during his whole life in the use of all proper means that he may attain. ~ Jonathan Edwards

  • 3 Kalki 20:49, 4 October 2009 (UTC)
  • 3 N6n 15:15, 15 September 2010 (UTC)

I felt God, if I may so speak, at the first appearance of a thunderstorm; and used to take the opportunity, at such times, to fix myself in order to view the clouds, and see the lightnings play, and hear the majestic and awful voice of God's thunder, which oftentimes was exceedingly entertaining, leading me to sweet contemplations of my great and glorious God. While thus engaged, it always seemed natural for me to sing, or chant forth my meditations; or to speak my thoughts in soliloquies with a singing voice. ~ Jonathan Edwards

  • 3 Kalki 20:49, 4 October 2009 (UTC) with a lean toward 4.
  • 3 N6n 15:15, 15 September 2010 (UTC)

I assert that nothing ever comes to pass without a cause. ~ Jonathan Edwards

  • 3 Kalki 20:49, 4 October 2009 (UTC)

Resolved, never to lose one moment of time; but improve it the most profitable way I possibly can. ~ Jonathan Edwards

  • 3 Kalki 20:49, 4 October 2009 (UTC) with a lean toward 4.

It would be very unreasonable to understand the sad legacy of the last forty years as something alien, which some distant relative bequeathed to us. On the contrary, we have to accept this legacy as a sin we committed against ourselves. If we accept it as such, we will understand that it is up to us all, and up to us alone to do something about it. We cannot blame the previous rulers for everything, not only because it would be untrue, but also because it would blunt the duty that each of us faces today: namely, the obligation to act independently, freely, reasonably and quickly. Let us not be mistaken: the best government in the world, the best parliament and the best president, cannot achieve much on their own. And it would be wrong to expect a general remedy from them alone. Freedom and democracy include participation and therefore responsibility from us all. ~ Václav Havel

  • 3 Kalki 20:49, 4 October 2009 (UTC) with a strong lean toward 4.
  • 3 N6n 15:15, 15 September 2010 (UTC)

People who live in the post-totalitarian system know only too well that the question of whether one or several political parties are in power, and how these parties define and label themselves, is of far less importance than the question of whether or not it is possible to live like a human being. ~ Václav Havel

  • 3 Kalki 20:49, 4 October 2009 (UTC) with a strong lean toward 4.
  • 3 --> 4 N6n 15:15, 15 September 2010 (UTC)

There is only one Art, whose sole criterion is the power, the authenticity, the revelatory insight, the courage and suggestiveness with which it seeks its truth. … Thus, from the standpoint of the work and its worth it is irrelevant to which political ideas the artist as a citizen claims allegiance, which ideas he would like to serve with his work or whether he holds any such ideas at all. ~ Václav Havel

  • 3 Kalki 20:49, 4 October 2009 (UTC)
  • 3 N6n 15:15, 15 September 2010 (UTC)

None of us know all the potentialities that slumber in the spirit of the population, or all the ways in which that population can surprise us when there is the right interplay of events. ~ Václav Havel

  • 3 Kalki 20:49, 4 October 2009 (UTC) with a strong lean toward 4. [After considering ALL of these, this was actually my top preference for 2014, but decided to go with one that had another high ranking vote for it. ~ ♞☤☮♌︎Kalki ⚚⚓︎⊙☳☶⚡ 22:33, 3 October 2014 (UTC)]

The truth is not simply what you think it is; it is also the circumstances in which it is said, and to whom, why, and how it is said. ~ Václav Havel

  • 3 Kalki 20:49, 4 October 2009 (UTC)
  • 1 Truth resides in the Platonic world, it doesn't interact with the physical world. N6n 15:15, 15 September 2010 (UTC)

Disturbances in society are never more fearful than when those who are stirring up the trouble can use the pretext of religion to mask their true designs. ~ Denis Diderot

  • 4 bystander (talk) 16:44, 3 October 2014 (UTC) Seems apropos to the current state of affairs
  • 2 ♞☤☮♌︎Kalki ⚚⚓︎⊙☳☶⚡ 22:33, 3 October 2014 (UTC) This is perhaps true, but seems to have too narrow a focus on "religion", almost as if it were a "motive" or primary cause, rather than an excuse or cover for evil aims.

The most dangerous madmen are those created by religion, and … people whose aim is to disrupt society always know how to make good use of them on occasion. ~ Denis Diderot

  • 4 bystander (talk) 16:44, 3 October 2014 (UTC) Seems apropos to the current state of affairs
  • 1 ♞☤☮♌︎Kalki ⚚⚓︎⊙☳☶⚡ 22:33, 3 October 2014 (UTC) I could agree with the fact that among the most dangerous of the deluded are those created by religious zealotry, but not with the assumption or implication that this is an exclusive group of exclusionist personalities or partisans. There are many forms of bigoted zealotry just as foully oppressive as the foulest of religious zealots who overtly profess a religious motive to their brutal lusts and aims.

The Theory of Evolution, like the Theory of Gravity, is a scientific fact. Evolution really happened. Accepting our kinship with all life on Earth is not only solid science, in my view, it's also a soaring spiritual experience. ~ Neil deGrasse Tyson (born October 5, 1958), astrophysicist and host of the 2014 science documentary television series, Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey.

  • 4 Pithy Francoln (talk) 16:24, 6 October 2016 (UTC) An awesome endorsement from a notable scientist for the idea that we can find spiritual significance in the diversity and beauty wrought through evolution.
  • 2 ♞☤☮♌︎Kalki ⚚⚓︎⊙☳☶⚡ 22:52, 4 October 2017 (UTC) but perhaps extended.
  • 3 Wallacegromit1 (talk) 18:09, 4 October 2021 (UTC)

Science is a cooperative enterprise, spanning the generations. It's the passing of a torch from teacher, to student, to teacher. A community of minds reaching back to antiquity and forward to the stars. ~ Neil deGrasse Tyson (born October 5, 1958), astrophysicist and host of the 2014 science documentary television series, Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey, discussing the first time he met Carl Sagan.

The difference between seeing nothing but a pebble and reading the history of the cosmos inscribed inside it is science. ~ Neil deGrasse Tyson, discussing a slow-growing manganese nodule from the ocean floor which shows that a star near the Earth went supernova within the last two million years or so. From the thirteenth episode of the science documentary television series Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey (2014).

  • 3 Pithy Francoln (talk) 21:28, 13 October 2016 (UTC) This was one of the best lines from the 2014 Cosmos. I just didn't give it a "4" ranking because I think the Evolution really happened quote, above (also from Cosmos: ASO) is a more important QOTD candidate.
  • 2 ♞☤☮♌︎Kalki ⚚⚓︎⊙☳☶⚡ 22:52, 4 October 2017 (UTC) with a lean toward 3, but perhaps extended.
  • 3 Wallacegromit1 (talk) 18:09, 4 October 2021 (UTC)
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