Wikiquote

September 5

date

Quotes of the day from previous years:

2003
Most people today still believe, perhaps unconsciously, in the heliocentric universe … every newspaper in the land has a section on astrology, yet few have anything at all on astronomy. ~ Hannes Alfven
2004
Be silent as to services you have rendered, but speak of favours you have received. ~ Seneca the Younger
2005
The role of the Supreme Court is to uphold those claims of individual liberty that it finds are well-founded in the Constitution, and to reject other claims against the government that it concludes are not well-founded. Its role is no more to exclusively uphold the claims of the individual than it is to exclusively uphold the claims of the government: It must hold the constitutional balance true between these claims. ~ William Rehnquist (recent death)
2006
I've probably saved thousands of peoples' lives with my educational message on snake bites — how to get in around venomous anything. Yeah, I'm a thrill seeker — but crikey, education's the most important thing. ~ Steve Irwin (recent death)
2007
The pure, frank sentiments we hold in our hearts are the only truthful sources of art. … All authentic art is conceived at a sacred moment and nourished in a blessed hour; an inner impulse creates it, often without the artist being aware of it. ~ Caspar David Friedrich (born 4 September 1774)
2008
A planet is the cradle of mind, but one cannot live in a cradle forever. ~ Konstantin Eduardovich Tsiolkovsky
2009
I must stay alone and know that I am alone to contemplate and feel nature in full; I have to surrender myself to what encircles me, I have to merge with my clouds and rocks in order to be what I am. ~ Caspar David Friedrich
2010
Crazy Horse dreamed and went into the world where there is nothing but the spirits of all things. That is the real world that is behind this one, and everything we see here is something like a shadow from that one. ~ Black Elk (Crazy Horse died on this date in 1877; his birth date is unknown)
2011
Whether religion is a divisive or reconciling force depends on our certainty or our humility as we practice our faith in our politics. If we believe that we know God's truth and that we can embody that truth in a political agenda, we divid the realm of politics into those who are God's side, which is our side, and those with whom we disagree, who oppose the side of God. This is neither good religion nor good politics. It is not consistent with following a Lord who reached out to a variety of people — prostitutes, tax collectors, lepers. If politics is the art of compromise, certainty is not really politics, for how can one compromise with God's own truth? Reconciliation depends on acknowledging that God's truth is greater than our own, that we cannot reduce it to any political platform we create, no matter how committed we are to that platform, and that God's truth is large enough to accommodate the opinions of all kinds of people, even those with whom we strongly disagree. ~ John Danforth
2012
A very great vision is needed, and the man who has it must follow it as the eagle seeks the deepest blue of the sky.
~ Crazy Horse ~
2013
Plenty of kind, decent, caring people have no religious beliefs, and they act out of the goodness of their hearts. Conversely, plenty of people who profess to be religious, even those who worship regularly, show no particular interest in the world beyond themselves.
~ John Danforth ~
2014
In the mystic traditions of the different religions we have a remarkable unity of spirit. Whatever religion they may profess, they are spiritual kinsmen. While the different religions in their historic forms bind us to limited groups and militate against the development of loyalty to the world community, the mystics have already stood for the fellowship of humanity in harmony with the spirit of the mystics of ages gone by.
~ Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan ~
2015
Before we can build a stable civilization worthy of humanity as a whole, it is necessary that each historical civilization should become conscious of its limitations and it's unworthiness to become the ideal civilization of the world.
~ Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan ~
2016
While no tradition coincides with experience, every tradition is essentially unique and valuable. While all traditions are of value, none is finally binding.
~ Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan ~
2017
The artist should not only paint what he sees before him, but also what he sees in himself. If, however, he sees nothing within him, then he should also refrain from painting what he sees before him. Otherwise his pictures will be like those folding screens behind which one expects to find only the sick or the dead.
~ Caspar David Friedrich ~
2018
Close your bodily eye, so that you may see your picture first with the spiritual eye. Then bring to the light of day that which you have seen in the darkness so that it may react upon others from the outside inwards. A picture must not be invented but felt. Observe the form exactly, both the smallest and the large and do not separate the small from the large, but rather the trivial from the important.
~ Caspar David Friedrich ~
2019
When you see your neighbors, their needs, their joys, their sorrows, when you see them next door or halfway around the world, you will know what to do. It is concern that precedes and inspires agendas, and survives when agendas fail, and it causes us to try again, always trying our best, never certain about our own judgment. It is knowing that God's purpose exceeds whatever we can put in an agenda. For Christians, it is trusting in the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
~ John Danforth ~
2020
We cannot allow Donald Trump to redefine the Republican Party. That is what he is doing, as long as we give the impression by our silence that his words are our words and his actions are our actions. We cannot allow that impression to go unchallenged.
As has been true since our beginning, we Republicans are the party of Lincoln, the party of the Union. We believe in our founding principle. We are proud of our illustrious history. We believe that we are an essential part of present-day American politics. Our country needs a responsibly conservative party. But our party has been corrupted by this hateful man, and it is now in peril.
~ John Danforth ~
2021
The divine is everywhere, even in a grain of sand…
~ Caspar David Friedrich ~
2022
I'm a proud capitalist. I spent most of my career representing the corporate state of Delaware. I know America can't succeed unless American business succeeds.
But let me be very clear: Capitalism without competition isn't capitalism; it's exploitation.
~ Joe Biden ~
2023
Faith brings recognition that our quest never leads us to certainty. We are always uncertain, always in doubt that our way is God's way. That self-doubt makes it possible to be reconciled to one another. It is faith that makes the reconciling work of politics possible.
~ John Danforth ~
2024
The public display of religion is not God. We do not put God in our nation's life by placing the Ten Commandments in courthouses, nor do we evict God by removing the Ten Commandments from public property.
~ John Danforth ~
2025
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I say to you that the VCR is to the American film producer and the American public as the Boston strangler is to the woman home alone. ~ Jack Valenti, born this day

There is only one possible route of action, Greenhouse gases have to be radically reduced and it has to happen worldwide. Until now, the US has kept its eyes shut to this emergency. (Americans) make up a mere 4 percent of the population, but are responsible for close to a quarter of emissions. ~ Jürgen Trittin, because of the recent political relevance

  • 3 Lehmann 14:38, 3 September 2005 (UTC)
  • 1 Kalki 20:31, 4 September 2007 (UTC) No clear relation to the date, and I feel that more interesting quotes on environmental concerns can be found than this for such dates where there are clear correlations.
  • 1 Zarbon 21:54, 24 April 2008 (UTC)
  • 1 InvisibleSun 23:10, 4 September 2008 (UTC)

Man will not always stay on Earth; the pursuit of light and space will lead him to penetrate the bounds of the atmosphere, timidly at first, but in the end to conquer the whole of solar space. ~ Konstantin Eduardovich Tsiolkovsky

  • 2 Zarbon 05:40, 30 May 2008 (UTC)
  • 2 InvisibleSun 23:10, 4 September 2008 (UTC)
  • 3 with a VERY strong lean toward 4.

I am going away, but the State will always remain... ~ Louis XIV of France

  • 2 Zarbon 05:40, 30 May 2008 (UTC)
  • 3 InvisibleSun 23:10, 4 September 2008 (UTC)
  • 2 Kalki 16:09, 4 September 2009 (UTC)

In a political struggle, never get personal — else the dagger digs too deep. ~ Jack Valenti

  • 3 Zarbon 05:40, 30 May 2008 (UTC)
  • 2 InvisibleSun 23:10, 4 September 2008 (UTC)
  • 2 Kalki 16:09, 4 September 2009 (UTC)

I believe the common denominator of the Universe is not harmony, but chaos, hostility and murder. ~ Werner Herzog

  • 3 Zarbon 05:40, 30 May 2008 (UTC)
  • 2 InvisibleSun 23:10, 4 September 2008 (UTC)
  • 1 Kalki 16:09, 4 September 2009 (UTC)

I think a lot of us share a fear that we and people we love will lose control of our own destinies at the end of life. ~ John Danforth

  • 3 Zarbon 04:02, 29 March 2009 (UTC)
  • 2 Kalki 16:09, 4 September 2009 (UTC)

We are seekers of the truth, but we do not embody the truth. And in humility, we should recognize that the same can be said about our most ardent foes. ~ John Danforth

  • 3 Zarbon 04:02, 29 March 2009 (UTC)
  • 2 Kalki 16:09, 4 September 2009 (UTC)

The old adage that polite conversation should not include talk of politics or religion is understandable because both subjects are so heavily laden with emotion that discussion can quickly turn to shouting. Blood is shed over politics, religion and the two in combination. ~ John Danforth

  • 3 Zarbon 18:11, 4 April 2009 (UTC)
  • 2 Kalki 16:09, 4 September 2009 (UTC)

The starting point is the recognition that throughout history, religion has been a cause of bloodshed, and it remains so today. Because religion has contributed to the world's problems, it must develop specific and practical ways to help solve those problems. ~ John Danforth

  • 3 Zarbon 18:11, 4 April 2009 (UTC)
  • 2 Kalki 16:09, 4 September 2009 (UTC) but either trimmed or extended to eliminate ambiguity as to the context of "the starting point".

We have a God-given commission, but it is not a commission to be self-righteous know-it-alls- quite the contrary. Our work in God's world begins with the acknowledgment that we are not God, and that our most bitter rivals are made in God's image. ~ John Danforth

  • 3 Zarbon 18:11, 4 April 2009 (UTC)
  • 2 Kalki 16:09, 4 September 2009 (UTC) with a lean toward 3.

The Senate is indeed a deliberative body, and that quality serves the nation well. A slow-moving government helps us maintain a stable government. But slow moving is not the same as immobile. ~ John Danforth

  • 2 Zarbon 18:11, 4 April 2009 (UTC)
  • 2 Kalki 16:09, 4 September 2009 (UTC)

We preferred our own way of living. We were no expense to the government. All we wanted was peace and to be left alone. ~ Crazy Horse

The problem is not that Christians are conservative or liberal, but that some are so confident that their position is God's position that they become dismissive and intolerant toward others and divisive forces in our national life.
~ John Danforth ~


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