September 24

day of the year

Quotes of the day from previous years:

2003
Since love and fear can hardly exist together, if we must choose between them, it is far safer to be feared than loved. ~ Niccolo Machiavelli
2004
To do evil that good may come of it is for bunglers in politics as well as morals. ~ William Penn
2005
I wait . . . Wait for the mists and for the blacker rain — Heavier winds that stir the veil of fate, happier winds that pile her hair; Again they tear me, teach me, strew the heavy air upon me, winds that I know, and storm. ~ F. Scott Fitzgerald (born 24 September 1896, and correlation to the current period of powerful storms)
2006
To act with common sense, according to the moment, is the best wisdom I know; and the best philosophy, to do one's duties, take the world as it comes, submit respectfully to one's lot, bless the goodness that has given us so much happiness with it, whatever it is, and despise affectation. ~ Horace Walpole
2007
My generation of radicals and breakers-down never found anything to take the place of the old virtues of work and courage and the old graces of courtesy and politeness. ~ F. Scott Fitzgerald
2008
At any rate, let us love for a while, for a year or so, you and me. That's a form of divine drunkenness that we can all try. There are only diamonds in the whole world, diamonds and perhaps the shabby gift of disillusion. ~ F. Scott Fitzgerald
2009
Extremism. It is an almost infallible sign — a kind of death-rattle — when a human institution is forced by its members into stressing those and only those factors which are identificatory, at the expense of others which it necessarily shares with competing institutions because human beings belong to all of them. ~ John Brunner (born 24 September 1934)
2010
Once one is caught up into the material world not one person in ten thousand finds the time to form literary taste, to examine the validity of philosophic concepts for himself, or to form what, for lack of a better phrase, I might call the wise and tragic sense of life. ~ F. Scott Fitzgerald
2011
The whole secret of life is to be interested in one thing profoundly and in a thousand things well. ~ Hugh Walpole
  • proposed by Kalki — this was originally proposed and selected as a statement cited to Horace Walpole — but this has since been determined to be a misattribution which began as early as the 1930s. ~ ♌︎Kalki ⚓︎ 00:49, 13 March 2020 (UTC)
2012
If there is such a phenomenon as absolute evil, it consists in treating another human being as a thing.
~ John Brunner ~
2013
Either you think — or else others have to think for you and take power from you, pervert and discipline your natural tastes, civilize and sterilize you.
~ F. Scott Fitzgerald ~
2014
Great art is the contempt of a great man for small art.
~ F. Scott Fitzgerald ~
2015
Papa Hegel he say that all we learn from history is that we learn nothing from history. I know people who can't even learn from what happened this morning. Hegel must have been taking the long view.
~ John Brunner ~
2016
If a passion for freedom is not in vogue, patriots may sound the alarm till they are weary.
The Act of Habeas Corpus, by which prisoners may insist on being brought to trial within a limited time, is the corner-stone of our liberty.
~ Horace Walpole ~
2017
The world is a comedy to those that think; a tragedy to those that feel.
~ Horace Walpole ~
2018
Whenever you feel like criticizing any one... just remember that all the people in this world haven't had the advantages that you've had.
~ F. Scott Fitzgerald ~
2019
First you use machines, then you wear machines, and then ...? Then you serve machines.
~ John Brunner ~
2020
You have many years to live — do things you will be proud to remember when you're old.
~ John Brunner ~
2021
Men are often capable of greater things than they perform. They are sent into the world with bills of credit, and seldom draw to their full extent.
~ Horace Walpole ~
2022
None of us chose this war. Not the Ukrainians, who knew the crushing toll it would take. Not the United States, which warned that it was coming and worked to prevent it. Not the vast majority of countries at the United Nations.
And neither did our people, or the people of virtually every UN member-state, who are feeling the war's consequences in greater food insecurity and higher energy prices.
Nor did the Russian mothers and fathers whose children are being sent off to fight and die in this war, or the Russian citizens who continue to risk their freedom to protest against it, including those who came out into the streets of Moscow after President Putin announced his mobilization to chant, "Let our children live!"
Indeed, it must be asked: How has this aggression against Ukraine by President Putin improved the lives or prospects of a single Russian citizen?
One man chose this war. One man can end it.
Because if Russia stops fighting, the war ends. If Ukraine stops fighting, Ukraine ends.
~ Antony Blinken ~
2023
LOGIC The principle governing human intellection. Its nature may be deduced from examining the following propositions, both of which are held by human beings to be true and often by the same people: “I can’t so you musn’t,” and “I can but you musn’t.”
~ John Brunner ~
2024
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Quotes by people born this day, already used as QOTD:


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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.
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Suggestions edit


The people made the Constitution, and the people can unmake it. It is the creature of their own will, and lives only by their will. ~ John Marshall

  • 2 Zarbon 04:03, 10 June 2008 (UTC)
  • 2 InvisibleSun 22:24, 23 September 2008 (UTC)
  • 2 Kalki 23:57, 23 September 2008 (UTC)
  • 2 Ningauble 23:42, 23 September 2009 (UTC)

There are two kinds of fool. One says, "This is old, and therefore good." And one says, "This is new, and therefore better." ~ John Brunner (born September 24, 1934)

  • 3.5 ~ Ningauble 23:42, 23 September 2009 (UTC) * 3 Ningauble 15:57, 23 September 2009 (UTC)
  • 0 – Misattributed: this is a close paraphrase of Dean Inge ~ Ningauble 12:33, 3 October 2010 (UTC)
  • 3 Kalki 17:17, 23 September 2009 (UTC) with a strong lean toward 4.

It is emphatically the province and duty of the judicial department to say what the law is … If two laws conflict with each other, the courts must decide on the operation of each...This is of the very essence of judicial duty. ~ John Marshall

  • 3 Kalki 17:17, 23 September 2009 (UTC)
  • 2.5 Ningauble 23:42, 23 September 2009 (UTC) An important quote, but maybe not for this context

Prognostics do not always prove prophecies, — at least the wisest prophets make sure of the event first. ~ Horace Walpole

  • 3 Kalki 17:17, 23 September 2009 (UTC)
  • 2 Ningauble 23:42, 23 September 2009 (UTC)

HIPCRIME You committed one when you opened this book. Keep it up. It's our only hope. ~ John Brunner