Wikiquote:Quote of the day/December

From Wikiquote

Jump to: navigation, search
QOTD : January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December
Today is Friday, December 5, 2008; it is now 13:03 (UTC)


November << December 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 >> January

This page lists quote of the day proposals specifically for dates in the month of December, and quotes proposed should ideally have some relation to the day, or persons born on it, though sometimes exceptions can be made, usually for notable quotes that relate to recent events, such as the death of prominent individuals. Developing ideas of people or works to quote on specific days can be explored through the Wikipedia page: List of historical anniversaries. The numeric section heading of each date is also a direct link to the Wikipedia list of births, deaths, and other events which occured on that date.

See also: December 2007 - December 2008

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.
2003
For myself, I am an optimist — it does not seem to be much use being anything else. ~ Winston Churchill
2004
Ooh, with a little luck — December will be magic again. ~ Kate Bush
2005
The important thing, I think, is not to be bitter... if it turns about that there is a God, I don't think that he is evil. I think that the worst thing you could say is that he is, basically, an under-achiever. ~ Woody Allen (born 1 December 1935)
2006
If only God would give me some clear sign! Like making a large deposit in my name in a Swiss bank. ~ Woody Allen
2007
December will be magic again.
Don't miss the brightest star.
Kiss under mistletoe.
I want to hear you laugh.
Don't let the mystery go now.
~ Kate Bush ~
2008
There's an old joke... two elderly women are at a Catskill mountain resort, and one of 'em says, "Boy, the food at this place is really terrible." The other one says, "Yeah, I know; and such small portions." Well, that's essentially how I feel about life — full of loneliness, and misery, and suffering, and unhappiness — and it's all over much too quickly. ~ Woody Allen
2009

[edit] Suggestions

If an expert says it can't be done, get another expert. ~ David Ben-Gurion (date of death)

  • 3 ~ UDScott 23:09, 28 November 2005 (UTC)
  • 3 InvisibleSun 09:28, 5 January 2007 (UTC)
  • 3 Kalki 18:27, 30 November 2007 (UTC)
  • 3 Zarbon 15:17, 26 April 2008 (UTC)

The AIDS crisis is evidence of a world in which nothing important is regional, local, limited; in which everything that can circulate does, and every problem is, or is destined to become, worldwide. ~ Susan Sontag (anniversary of World AIDS Day)

  • 4 InvisibleSun 09:28, 5 January 2007 (UTC)
  • 2 Kalki 18:27, 30 November 2007 (UTC)
  • 2 Zarbon 15:17, 26 April 2008 (UTC)
  • 3 Antiquary 17:44, 30 November 2008 (UTC)

I have always been amazed at the way an ordinary observer lends so much more credence and attaches so much more importance to waking events than to those occurring in dreams... Man... is above all the plaything of his memory. ~ Andre Breton

—This unsigned comment is by 123.201.89.84 (talk • contribs) .
  • 2 Kalki 21:23, 20 December 2007 (UTC) Good quote, but no clear relation to the date; it would be better on a birthday, but might be usable here if there's ever a shortage of date-related quotes.
  • 1 Zarbon 15:17, 26 April 2008 (UTC)

Only in our dreams are we free. The rest of the time we need wages. ~ Terry Pratchett

—This unsigned comment is by 123.201.89.84 (talk • contribs) .
  • 2 Kalki 21:23, 20 December 2007 (UTC) Another good quote, but no clear relation to the date.
  • 2 Zarbon 15:17, 26 April 2008 (UTC)
  • 1 76.0.79.210 02:48, 8 June 2008 (UTC)

If the nation only knew their hands dripped with innocent blood, it would have met them not with applause but with stones. ~ Georgy Zhukov (born December 1)

  • 4 because hell hath no fury like that of a scorned nation. Zarbon 04:11, 18 April 2008 (UTC)
    • SOURCE: A Century of Violence in Soviet Russia - Page 3 by Alexander N. Yakovlev, Anthony Austin - Political Science - 2002
  • 1 Kalki 00:08, 29 November 2008 (UTC)
  • 2 Antiquary 17:44, 30 November 2008 (UTC)
  • 2 InvisibleSun 19:08, 30 November 2008 (UTC)

The mere existence of atomic weapons implies the possibility of their use. ~ Georgy Zhukov (born December 1)

  • 3 Zarbon 02:47, 27 September 2008 (UTC)
  • 2 Kalki 00:08, 29 November 2008 (UTC)
  • 3 Antiquary 17:44, 30 November 2008 (UTC)
  • 3 InvisibleSun 19:08, 30 November 2008 (UTC)

I really feel pressure to create something that is as strong as possible.The war has really swept away eveything from the past. ~ Karl Schmidt-Rottluff

  • 2 Zarbon 03:32, 27 October 2008 (UTC)
  • 1 Kalki 00:08, 29 November 2008 (UTC)

Is your mind so big that it can encompass galaxies or is the universe little enough to fit in one's head? ~ John Crowley

  • 2 Zarbon 03:32, 27 October 2008 (UTC)

Note: This is a paraphrase. I have corrected the author article. Ningauble 16:57, 29 November 2008 (UTC)

  • 3 Kalki 00:08, 29 November 2008 (UTC) — originally ranked for the first suggestion, but ranking remains the same for the corrected version added to the author's page by Ninguable:
She wondered whether her head were so big as to be able to contain all this starry universe, or whether the universe were so little that it would fit within the compass of her human head. She alternated between these feelings, expanding and diminishing.


2004
Although the world is full of suffering, it is full also of the overcoming of it. My optimism, then, does not rest on the absence of evil, but on a glad belief in the preponderance of good and a willing effort always to cooperate with the good, that it may prevail. ~ Helen Keller
2005
I do not believe that friendship today can flower out — can come out — of political life. I do believe that if there is something like a political life-to-be — to remain for us, in this world of technology — then it begins with friendship. ~ Ivan Illich (died 2 December 2002)
2006
The current search for new educational funnels must be reversed into the search for their institutional inverse: educational webs which heighten the opportunity for each one to transform each moment of his living into one of learning, sharing, and caring. ~ Ivan Illich (date of death)
2007
Ultimately, leadership requires action: daring to take steps that are necessary but unpopular, challenging the status quo in order to reach a brighter future. And to push for peace is ultimately personal sacrifice, for leadership is not easy. It is born of a passion, and it is a commitment. Leadership is a commitment to an idea, to a dream, and to a vision of what can be. And my dream is for my land and my people to cease fighting and allow our children to reach their full potential regardless of sex, status, or belief. ~ Benazir Bhutto (became first female Prime Minister of Pakistan on 2 December 1988)
2008
Learned and leisured hospitality is the only antidote to the stance of deadly cleverness that is acquired in the professional pursuit of objectively secured knowledge. I remain certain that the quest for truth cannot thrive outside the nourishment of mutual trust flowering into a commitment to friendship. ~ Ivan Illich (date of death)
2009

[edit] Suggestions

At all times, in every century, every age, there has been such a connection between despotism and religion that it is infinitely apparent and demonstrated a thousand times over, that in destroying one, the other must be undermined, for the simple reason that the first will always put the law into the service of the second. ~ Marquis de Sade (date of death)

  • 3 ~ UDScott 23:09, 28 November 2005 (UTC)
  • 1 Kalki 18:40, 30 November 2007 (UTC)
  • 1 Zarbon 15:25, 26 April 2008 (UTC)

I do think that if I had to choose one word to which hope can be tied it is "hospitality". ~ Ivan Illich (date of death)

There is no point in hiding that before the war we mostly learned to attack, and did not pay enough attention to such an important manoeuvre as retreat. Now we have paid for this. It turned out that the commanders and the staff were not sufficiently prepared to prepare and execute the retreat manoeuvre. Now, in the second week of war, we had in fact to learn from the beginning the most difficult art - the art of the execution of retreat. ~ Hovhannes Bagramyan (born December 2)

  • 3 because the art of retreat is important, whether it be for a military tactician or merely someone who needs to escape from a dangerous situation. Zarbon 06:39, 21 April 2008 (UTC)
    • SOURCE: The System of the International Organizations of the Communist Countries - Page 36 by Richard Szawlowski - Law - 1976
  • 1 Kalki 00:18, 29 November 2008 (UTC)
  • 1 Antiquary 20:35, 1 December 2008 (UTC)
  • 1 InvisibleSun 21:41, 1 December 2008 (UTC)

Eastern Prussia (Germany) was a battlefield during World War I years. And right from here, on September 1, 1939, began the spark of fire for the coming of the second world war. And in 1941, Eastern Prussia invaded Soviet soil with a powerful military onslaught, unleashing a grip of heavy burden, tragedy, and torture into the Soviet pre-Baltic and also the inhabitants of Leningrad, Pskov, and the Novgorod regions. Right from the very first days of the second world war, Eastern Prussia was completely transformed into a diabolic system of concentration camp strongholds for captured military people, and became a cruel prison for the young and females, who were brought from many European countries. In the first place, from the Soviet Union. And, aha! Now, after the winter of 1945, Soviet forces captured the descendants of these royal hounds in their very own doghouse! ~ Hovhannes Bagramyan (born December 2)

  • 4 because it states what happened, when Bagramyan's forces entered the Berlin bunker, because I like the ending of this description heavily. Especially the bit "And aha! Now, after the winter of 1945, Soviet forces captured the descendants of these royal hounds in their very own doghouse!" The comparison of the high ranking Germans to royal hounds is very powerful and just as the German shepherd was slain, so was its master. And in its very own doghouse no less. A magnificent and enthralling quote, but it might be best if trimmed, a matter of personal preference to just "And aha! Now, after the winter of 1945, Soviet forces captured the descendants of these royal hounds in their very own doghouse!" but still great either way. Zarbon 06:39, 21 April 2008 (UTC)
    • SOURCE: I. C. Bagramyan: A Photo Album About A Soviet Marshal - Yerevan - 1987
  • 1 Kalki 00:18, 29 November 2008 (UTC)
  • 1 Antiquary 20:35, 1 December 2008 (UTC)
  • 1 InvisibleSun 21:41, 1 December 2008 (UTC)

No matter what you do, at the end of the day you can't please everybody. ~ Britney Spears

  • 2 Zarbon 03:49, 27 October 2008 (UTC)
  • 2 Kalki 00:18, 29 November 2008 (UTC)
  • 0 Ningauble 17:35, 1 December 2008 (UTC) (unremarkably unoriginal)
  • 1 Antiquary 20:35, 1 December 2008 (UTC)
  • 1 InvisibleSun 21:41, 1 December 2008 (UTC)

Some say I have a beautiful voice, some say I have not. It is a matter of opinion. All I can say, those who don't like it shouldn't come to hear me. ~ Maria Callas

  • 2 Kalki 00:45, 29 November 2008 (UTC)
  • 1 Zarbon 22:03, 29 November 2008 (UTC)
  • 2 Antiquary 20:35, 1 December 2008 (UTC)
  • 2 InvisibleSun 21:41, 1 December 2008 (UTC)

I would not kill my enemies, but I will make them get down on their knees. I will, I can, I must. ~ Maria Callas

  • 2 Kalki 00:45, 29 November 2008 (UTC)
  • 2 Zarbon 22:03, 29 November 2008 (UTC)
  • 1 Antiquary 20:35, 1 December 2008 (UTC)
  • 1 InvisibleSun 21:41, 1 December 2008 (UTC)


2003
I have never let my schooling get in the way of my education. ~ Mark Twain
2004
The free expression of the hopes and aspirations of a people is the greatest and only safety in a sane society. ~ Emma Goldman
2005
All idealization makes life poorer. To beautify it is to take away its character of complexity - it is to destroy it. ~ Joseph Conrad in The Secret Agent (born 3 December 1857)
2006
There is no credulity so eager and blind as the credulity of covetousness, which, in its universal extent, measures the moral misery and the intellectual destitution of mankind. ~ Joseph Conrad
2007
All creative art is magic, is evocation of the unseen in forms persuasive, enlightening, familiar and surprising, for the edification of mankind, pinned down by the conditions of its existence to the earnest consideration of the most insignificant tides of reality. ~ Joseph Conrad
2008
The belief in a supernatural source of evil is not necessary; men alone are quite capable of every wickedness. ~ Joseph Conrad
2009

[edit] Suggestions

Our business in this world is not to succeed, but to continue to fail, in good spirits. ~ Robert Louis Stevenson (date of death)

Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap, but by the seeds you plant. ~ Robert Louis Stevenson (date of death)

  • 3 ~ UDScott 23:09, 28 November 2005 (UTC)
  • This one was used in July 2004 ~ Kalki 00:17, 4 December 2005 (UTC)
  • 2 Zarbon 15:29, 26 April 2008 (UTC)

The truth is that there is no terror untempered by some great moral idea. ~ Jean-Luc Godard (born December 3, 1930)

All you need for a movie is a gun and a girl. ~ Jean-Luc Godard.

The cinema is truth twenty-four times per second. ~ Jean-Luc Godard.

  • 4. Fys. “Ta fys aym”. 23:18, 24 November 2006 (UTC)
  • 3 InvisibleSun 00:19, 1 December 2006 (UTC)
  • 2 Zarbon 15:29, 26 April 2008 (UTC)
  • 2 Kalki 00:53, 29 November 2008 (UTC)
  • 2 Antiquary 19:32, 2 December 2008 (UTC)

The good author is he who contemplates without marked joy or excessive sorrow the adventures of his soul amongst criticisms. ~ Joseph Conrad

  • 3 Kalki 21:58, 2 December 2006 (UTC)
  • 3 InvisibleSun 20:29, 2 December 2007 (UTC)
  • 1 Zarbon 15:29, 26 April 2008 (UTC)

He who wants to persuade should put his trust, not in the right argument, but in the right word. ~ Joseph Conrad

  • 3 Kalki 21:58, 2 December 2006 (UTC) with a strong lean toward 4
  • 3 InvisibleSun 20:29, 2 December 2007 (UTC)
  • 1 Zarbon 15:29, 26 April 2008 (UTC)
  • 3 Antiquary 19:32, 2 December 2008 (UTC)

Of all the things I've lost, I miss my mind the most. ~ Ozzy Osbourne

  • 2 Zarbon 04:09, 27 October 2008 (UTC)
  • 2 Kalki 00:53, 29 November 2008 (UTC)


2003
I'm completely in favor of the separation of Church and State. My idea is that these two institutions screw us up enough on their own, so both of them together is certain death. ~ George Carlin
  • selected by IP 68.227.198.159
2004
Who, if I cried out, would hear me among the angels'
hierarchies? and even if one of them suddenly
pressed me against his heart, I would perish
in the embrace of his stronger existence.
For beauty is nothing but the beginning of terror
which we are barely able to endure and are awed
because it serenely disdains to annihilate us.
Each single angel is terrifying.
~ Rainer Maria Rilke ~
2005
Make your ego porous. Will is of little importance, complaining is nothing, fame is nothing. Openness, patience, receptivity, solitude is everything. ~ Rainer Maria Rilke (born 4 December 1875)
2006
No sadder proof can be given by a man of his own littleness than disbelief in great men. ~ Thomas Carlyle (date of birth)
2007
You don't get very far in life without having to be brave an awful lot. Because we all have our frightening moments and difficult trials and we don't have much of a choice but to get through them, and it takes a lot of bravery to do that. The most important thing about bravery is this — It's not about not being scared — it's about being scared and doing it anyway — that's bravery. ~ Ysabella Brave
2008
Is there any religion whose followers can be pointed to as distinctly more amiable and trustworthy than those of any other? If so, this should be enough. I find the nicest and best people generally profess no religion at all, but are ready to like the best men of all religions. ~ Samuel Butler
2009

[edit] Suggestions

That there should one Man die ignorant who had capacity for Knowledge, this I call a tragedy. ~ Thomas Carlyle (date of birth)

  • 3 ~ UDScott 23:09, 28 November 2005 (UTC)
  • 3 ~ Kalki 00:08, 2 December 2005 (UTC)
  • 3 InvisibleSun 08:53, 3 December 2006 (UTC)
  • 3 Zarbon 15:36, 26 April 2008 (UTC)
  • 2 Ningauble 21:12, 3 December 2008 (UTC)

What we become depends on what we read after all of the professors have finished with us. The greatest university of all is a collection of books. ~ Thomas Carlyle (date of birth)

  • 3 ~ UDScott 23:09, 28 November 2005 (UTC)
  • 3 ~ Kalki 00:08, 2 December 2005 (UTC)
  • 3 InvisibleSun 08:53, 3 December 2006 (UTC)
  • 2 Zarbon 15:36, 26 April 2008 (UTC)
  • 3 Ningauble 21:12, 3 December 2008 (UTC)

There is more stupidity than hydrogen in the universe, and it has a longer shelf life. ~ Frank Zappa (date of death)

  • 2 ~ UDScott 23:09, 28 November 2005 (UTC)
  • 2 InvisibleSun 08:53, 3 December 2006 (UTC)
  • 2 Kalki 22:55, 3 December 2007 (UTC)
  • 2 Zarbon 15:36, 26 April 2008 (UTC)
  • Note: The quote on the Frank Zappa page is now: "I say there is more stupidity than hydrogen, and that is the basic building block of the universe." - InvisibleSun 21:01, 3 December 2008 (UTC)

Every new idea has something of the pain and peril of childbirth about it; ideas are just as mortal and just as immortal as organised beings are. ~ Samuel Butler (born December 4, 1835)

  • 3 InvisibleSun 08:53, 3 December 2006 (UTC)
  • 3 Kalki 22:55, 3 December 2007 (UTC)
  • 1 Zarbon 15:36, 26 April 2008 (UTC)

The great characters of fiction live as truly as the memories of dead men. For the life after death it is not necessary that a man or woman should have lived. ~ Samuel Butler

  • 3 InvisibleSun 08:53, 3 December 2006 (UTC)
  • 3 Kalki 22:55, 3 December 2007 (UTC)
  • 1 and I seriously don't agree with the second half of this. It's fine to believe that a work of fiction is as grandiose as that which lived, but to say that a life is worth nothing after its death is just plain wrong, for a life truly never dies if it is kept alive in the minds of many. Zarbon 15:36, 26 April 2008 (UTC)

If people were to demand cash payment in irrefragable certainty for everything that they have taken hitherto as paper money on the credit of the bank of public opinion, is there money enough behind it all to stand so great a drain even on so great a reserve? ~ Samuel Butler

  • 4 InvisibleSun 08:53, 3 December 2006 (UTC)
  • 2 Kalki 22:55, 3 December 2007 (UTC) This is good, and I like it, but I much prefer the Butler quote above as a QOTD, and might rank it a 4 eventually.
  • 1 Zarbon 15:36, 26 April 2008 (UTC)

You need to laugh more. Life is filled with too many problems, to not laugh every day. ... We need to have a sense of humor going into this because it's too tough without it. ~ Ysabella Brave (born 4 December 1979)

  • 3 Kalki 22:55, 3 December 2007 (UTC)
  • 1 Zarbon 15:36, 26 April 2008 (UTC)
  • 2 InvisibleSun 21:01, 3 December 2008 (UTC)

It's like not only does he shit on our heads, we're supposed to say thanks for the hat. ~ from The Sopranos Brendan Filone Anthony DeSando (born December 4)

  • 3 because I like the message behind the quote. I'm curious if the word "shit" is considered profanity. I don't agree with curses appearing on quote of the day, but is that specific word excessive, I'd like Kalki's thoughts since we both seem to disagree with profanity for the most part. Zarbon 16:41, 24 April 2008 (UTC)
  • 0 Kalki 01:05, 29 November 2008 (UTC) this is fine by me as a quote within the article, but a bit too extreme for QOTD.
  • 1 InvisibleSun 21:01, 3 December 2008 (UTC)

Kids, you think you can protect 'em, well you can't. ~ from The Sopranos Brendan Filone Anthony DeSando (born December 4)

  • 4 because children seem to do things that places them in danger and no matter how hard one may try, a child finds a way. Zarbon 16:41, 24 April 2008 (UTC)
  • 1 Kalki 01:05, 29 November 2008 (UTC)
  • 1 InvisibleSun 21:01, 3 December 2008 (UTC)

There are more fools than knaves in the world, else the knaves would not have enough to live upon. ~ Samuel Butler

  • 3 Zarbon 22:24, 27 October 2008 (UTC)
  • 2 Kalki 01:05, 29 November 2008 (UTC)
  • 0. This is the 17th century Samuel Butler, whose DOB has now been corrected as February 8, 1612. - InvisibleSun 21:01, 3 December 2008 (UTC)

Neither have they hearts to stay,
Nor wit enough to run away.
~ Samuel Butler

  • 2 Zarbon 22:24, 27 October 2008 (UTC)
  • 2 Kalki 01:05, 29 November 2008 (UTC)
  • 0. This is the 17th century Samuel Butler, whose DOB has now been corrected as February 8, 1612. - InvisibleSun 21:01, 3 December 2008 (UTC)

I have no fear nor shrinking; I have seen death so often that it is not strange or fearful to me. ~ Edith Cavell

  • 3 Zarbon 23:19, 27 October 2008 (UTC)
  • 2 Kalki 01:05, 29 November 2008 (UTC)
  • 2 InvisibleSun 21:01, 3 December 2008 (UTC)

I thank God for this ten weeks' quiet before the end... Life has always been hurried and full of difficulty... This time of rest has been a great mercy. ~ Edith Cavell

  • 2 Zarbon 23:19, 27 October 2008 (UTC)
  • 2 Kalki 01:05, 29 November 2008 (UTC)
  • 2 InvisibleSun 21:01, 3 December 2008 (UTC)

Standing as I do in view of God and eternity, I realize that patriotism is not enough. I must have no hatred or bitterness towards any one. ~ Edith Cavell

  • 3 Kalki 16:51, 3 December 2008 (UTC) 4 Kalki 01:05, 29 November 2008 (UTC)
  • 1 Zarbon 22:05, 29 November 2008 (UTC)
  • 3 InvisibleSun 21:01, 3 December 2008 (UTC)



2004
To be a catalyst is the ambition most appropriate for those who see the world as being in constant change, and who, without thinking that they can control it, wish to influence its direction. ~ Theodore Zeldin
2005
If you can dream it, you can do it. Always remember that this whole thing was started with a dream and a mouse. ~ Walt Disney (born 5 December 1901)
2006
What we observe is not nature itself, but nature exposed to our method of questioning. ~ Werner Heisenberg (born 5 December 1901)
  • proposed by Fys
2007
Leadership means that a group, large or small, is willing to entrust authority to a person who has shown judgement, wisdom, personal appeal, and proven competence. ~ Walt Disney
2008
Fantasy, if it's really convincing, can't become dated, for the simple reason that it represents a flight into a dimension that lies beyond the reach of time. ~ Walt Disney
2009

[edit] Suggestions

Some things are so serious that one can only joke about them. ~ Werner Heisenberg.

  • 4. Fys. “Ta fys aym”. 22:13, 3 December 2006 (UTC)
  • 0 (for this date) Kalki 01:22, 29 November 2008 (UTC) This appears to be a misattribution, with at least one published citation indicating it was made by Niels Bohr.
  • 1 Zarbon 15:38, 26 April 2008 (UTC)
  • 1 Lyle 21:00, 4 December 2008 (UTC)

Girls bored me — they still do. I love Mickey Mouse more than any woman I've ever known. ~ Walt Disney

  • 2 because this quote is just plain...comical. I believe what he meant to say is that the image of Mickey Mouse entertained him moreso. But I like the comparison of a cartoon character to all females of the planet. We can see Disney's perspective is a cute one, assessing the difficulty women have most likely posed for him in his life, annoying him...and probably boring him as he stated. Zarbon 04:25, 1 May 2008 (UTC)
  • 1 Kalki 01:22, 29 November 2008 (UTC)
  • 1 Ningauble 18:05, 4 December 2008 (UTC)
  • 2 Lyle 21:00, 4 December 2008 (UTC)
  • 2 InvisibleSun 22:54, 4 December 2008 (UTC)
  • 2 Antiquary 23:13, 4 December 2008 (UTC)

For every laugh, there should be a tear. ~ Walt Disney

  • 2 because laughter is all fine and good, but a drama and tragedy does so much more...for me at least. Zarbon 04:25, 1 May 2008 (UTC)
  • 2 Kalki 01:22, 29 November 2008 (UTC)
  • 2 Ningauble 18:05, 4 December 2008 (UTC)
  • 2 Lyle 21:00, 4 December 2008 (UTC)
  • 2 InvisibleSun 22:54, 4 December 2008 (UTC)
  • 2 Antiquary 23:13, 4 December 2008 (UTC)

I always like to look on the optimistic side of life, but I am realistic enough to know that life is a complex matter. ~ Walt Disney

  • 2 because it's good to be optimistic, but one must also stay attuned and be realistic enough to expect difficulties under some circumstances. Zarbon 04:25, 1 May 2008 (UTC)
  • 3 Kalki 01:22, 29 November 2008 (UTC)
  • 2 Ningauble 18:05, 4 December 2008 (UTC)
  • 3 Lyle 21:00, 4 December 2008 (UTC)
  • 2 InvisibleSun 22:54, 4 December 2008 (UTC)
  • 2 Antiquary 23:13, 4 December 2008 (UTC)

Without inspiration, we would perish. ~ Walt Disney

  • 2 because inspiration keeps many people from cracking under pressure. Zarbon 04:25, 1 May 2008 (UTC)
  • 3 Kalki 01:22, 29 November 2008 (UTC)
  • 2 Ningauble 18:05, 4 December 2008 (UTC)
  • 3 Lyle 21:00, 4 December 2008 (UTC)
  • 2 InvisibleSun 22:54, 4 December 2008 (UTC)
  • 2 Antiquary 23:13, 4 December 2008 (UTC)

To be defeated and not submit, is victory; to be victorious and rest on one's laurels, is defeat. ~ Józef Piłsudski (born December 5)

  • 4 because this is the ideology which I believe in most of all. This is the grand soldier principle, more important than petty squabbles and emotional derelict conversation. There is, quite frankly, a beauty in defeat without submission. But to be a slave to another country willingly is a fate worse than death. This is why some of the greatest rulers in history committed suicide before being captured by their enemies. Magnificent charm in never surrendering to the enemy, taking one's own life in order to be spared the wrath of the enemy. This is most commonly referenced in the Roman Emperor deaths, whom cut their own veins while laying in the bathtub in order to escape the clutches of the oncoming enemy. The same can be said of previous and future military minds that I hold respect for, for sheer honor and admiration comes from the ferocity of this, to choose to die by one's own hand instead of face the enemy knocking on heaven's door. What a charming quote this is. Zarbon 05:52, 3 May 2008 (UTC)
  • 2 Kalki 01:22, 29 November 2008 (UTC)
  • 2 Ningauble 18:05, 4 December 2008 (UTC)
  • 3 I like the quote, but I do not see it the way you do. To me, suicide is submission, or acceptance of defeat. Fighting till the end is victorious. Lyle 21:00, 4 December 2008 (UTC)
  • 2 InvisibleSun 22:54, 4 December 2008 (UTC)
  • 2 Antiquary 23:13, 4 December 2008 (UTC)

Whenever we proceed from the known into the unknown we may hope to understand, but we may have to learn at the same time a new meaning of the word "understanding." ~ Werner Heisenberg

  • 3 Kalki 01:22, 29 November 2008 (UTC)
  • 2 Zarbon 22:01, 29 November 2008 (UTC)
  • 3 Ningauble 18:05, 4 December 2008 (UTC)
  • 2 Lyle 21:00, 4 December 2008 (UTC)
  • 3 InvisibleSun 22:54, 4 December 2008 (UTC)
  • 3 Antiquary 23:13, 4 December 2008 (UTC)

There is a fundamental error in separating the parts from the whole, the mistake of atomizing what should not be atomized. Unity and complementarity constitute reality. ~ Werner Heisenberg

  • 3 Kalki 01:22, 29 November 2008 (UTC)
  • 1 Zarbon 22:01, 29 November 2008 (UTC)
  • 3 Ningauble 18:05, 4 December 2008 (UTC)
  • 1 Lyle 21:00, 4 December 2008 (UTC)
  • 3 InvisibleSun 22:54, 4 December 2008 (UTC)
  • 2 Antiquary 23:13, 4 December 2008 (UTC)

The existing scientific concepts cover always only a very limited part of reality, and the other part that has not yet been understood is infinite. ~ Werner Heisenberg

  • 3 Kalki 01:22, 29 November 2008 (UTC)
  • 1 Zarbon 22:01, 29 November 2008 (UTC)
  • 2 Ningauble 18:05, 4 December 2008 (UTC)
  • 1 True, but uninspired. Lyle 21:00, 4 December 2008 (UTC)
  • 3 InvisibleSun 22:54, 4 December 2008 (UTC)
  • 3 Antiquary 23:13, 4 December 2008 (UTC)

Life is composed of lights and shadows, and we would be untruthful, insincere, and saccharine if we tried to pretend there were no shadows. Most things are good, and they are the strongest things; but there are evil things too, and you are not doing a child a favor by trying to shield him from reality. The important thing is to teach a child that good can always triumph over evil, and that is what our pictures attempt to do. ~ Walt Disney

  • 3 Kalki 23:23, 3 December 2008 (UTC)
  • 1 Zarbon 00:09, 4 December 2008 (UTC)
  • 2 Ningauble 18:05, 4 December 2008 (UTC)
  • 2 Lyle 21:00, 4 December 2008 (UTC)
  • 2 InvisibleSun 22:54, 4 December 2008 (UTC)
  • 2 Antiquary 23:13, 4 December 2008 (UTC)

All our dreams can come true — if we have the courage to pursue them. ~ Walt Disney

  • 3 Kalki 23:23, 3 December 2008 (UTC)
  • 2 Zarbon 00:09, 4 December 2008 (UTC)
  • 2 Ningauble 18:05, 4 December 2008 (UTC)
  • 2 This is too much like the famous "If you can dream it, you can do it." Lyle 21:00, 4 December 2008 (UTC)
  • 2 InvisibleSun 22:54, 4 December 2008 (UTC)
  • 2 Antiquary 23:13, 4 December 2008 (UTC)

Faith I have, in myself, in humanity, in the worthwhileness of the pursuits in entertainment for the masses. But wide awake, not blind faith, moves me. My operations are based on experience, thoughtful observation and warm fellowship with my neighbors at home and around the world. ~ Walt Disney

  • 4 Kalki 23:23, 3 December 2008 (UTC)
  • 1 this is like a descriptive narrative. Zarbon 00:09, 4 December 2008 (UTC)
  • 3 Ningauble 18:05, 4 December 2008 (UTC)
  • 1 I very much dislike the "worthwhileness of the pursuits in entertainment for the masses" part. This bit seems very introverted, referring specifically to his career, for a quote that is supposed to be about fellowship. Lyle 21:00, 4 December 2008 (UTC)
  • 3 InvisibleSun 22:54, 4 December 2008 (UTC)
  • 2 Antiquary 23:13, 4 December 2008 (UTC)


2003
What we cannot speak of we must pass over in silence. ~ Ludwig Wittgenstein
2004
Every man's work, whether it be literature or music or pictures or architecture or anything else, is always a portrait of himself. ~ Samuel Butler
2005
Love is made out of ecstasy and wonder;
Love is a poignant and accustomed pain.
It is a burst of Heaven-shaking thunder;
It is a linnet's fluting after rain.
~ Joyce Kilmer (born 6 December 1886)
2006
Never think that you're not good enough. A man should never think that. People will take you very much at your own reckoning. ~ Anthony Trollope ( (died 6 December 1882))
2007
It is stern work, it is perilous work, to thrust your hand in the sun and pull out a spark of immortal flame to warm the hearts of men: but Prometheus, torn by the claws and beaks whose task is never done, would be tortured another eternity to go stealing fire again. ~ Joyce Kilmer (date of birth)
2008

[edit] Suggestions

There is no royal road to learning; no short cut to the acquirement of any art. ~ Anthony Trollope in Barchester Towers (date of death)

  • 3 ~ UDScott 23:09, 28 November 2005 (UTC)
  • 2 InvisibleSun 07:29, 5 December 2006 (UTC)
  • 1 Zarbon 15:39, 26 April 2008 (UTC)
  • 3 Kalki 01:44, 29 November 2008 (UTC)

Book love... is your pass to the greatest, the purest, and the most perfect pleasure that God has prepared for His creatures. ~ Anthony Trollope (date of death)

  • 3 ~ UDScott 23:09, 28 November 2005 (UTC)
  • 2 InvisibleSun 07:29, 5 December 2006 (UTC)
  • 1 Zarbon 15:39, 26 April 2008 (UTC)
  • 2 Kalki 01:44, 29 November 2008 (UTC)

They shall not live who have not tasted death. They only sing who are struck dumb by God. ~ Joyce Kilmer (date of birth)

  • 3 Kalki 21:10, 5 December 2005 (UTC)
  • 3 InvisibleSun 07:29, 5 December 2006 (UTC)
  • 2 Zarbon 15:39, 26 April 2008 (UTC)

Is Freedom only a Will-o'-the-wisp
To cheat a poet's eye?
Be it phantom or fact, it's a noble cause
In which to sing and to die!
~ Joyce Kilmer ~ (date of birth)

  • 3 Kalki 21:10, 5 December 2005 (UTC)
  • 3 InvisibleSun 07:29, 5 December 2006 (UTC)
  • 4 Zarbon 15:39, 26 April 2008 (UTC)

The Science of Language has taught us that there is order and wisdom in all languages, and even the most degraded jargons contain the ruins of former greatness and beauty. The Science of Religion, I hope, will produce a similar change in our views of barbarous forms of faith and worship. ~ Max Müller

  • 3 Zarbon 23:32, 27 October 2008 (UTC)
  • 3 Kalki 01:44, 29 November 2008 (UTC)

The difficulties which trouble us, have troubled the hearts and minds of men as far back as we can trace the beginnings of religious life. The great problems touching the relation of the Finite to the Infinite, of the human mind as the recipient, and of the Divine Spirit as the source of truth, are old problems indeed; and while watching their appearance in different countries, and their treatment under varying circumstances, we shall be able, I believe, to profit ourselves, both by the errors which others committed before us, and by the truth which they discovered. We shall know the rocks that threaten every religion in this changing and shifting world of ours, and having watched many a storm of religious controversy and many a shipwreck in distant seas, we shall face with greater calmness and prudence the troubled waters at home. ~ Max Müller

  • 3 Zarbon 23:32, 27 October 2008 (UTC)
  • 2 Kalki 01:44, 29 November 2008 (UTC)

Whenever we can trace back a religion to its first beginnings, we find it free from many of the blemishes that offend us in its later phases. The founders of the ancient religions of the world, as far as we can judge, were minds of a high stamp, full of noble aspirations, yearning for truth, devoted to the welfare of their neighbors, examples of purity and unselfishness. What they desired to found upon earth was but seldom realized, and their sayings, if preserved in their original form, offer often a strange contrast to the practice of those who profess to be their disciples. ~ Max Müller

  • 4 Kalki 01:44, 29 November 2008 (UTC)
  • 2 Zarbon 22:07, 29 November 2008 (UTC)


2004
Oh, if a man tried to take his time on earth and prove before he died what one man's life could be worth, I wonder what would happen to this world? ~ Harry Chapin
2005
That is happiness; to be dissolved into something complete and great. ~ Willa Cather (born (7 December 1873)
2006
I know that every good and excellent thing in the world stands moment by moment on the razor-edge of danger and must be fought for. ~ Thornton Wilder (died 7 December 1975)
2007
It's an alethiometer. It's one of only six that were ever made. Lyra, I urge you again: keep it private. ... It tells you the truth. As for how to read it, you'll have to learn by yourself. Now go — it's getting lighter... ~ Philip Pullman (Quote from The Golden Compass (1995) the movie adaptation opening on 7 December 2007)
2008

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

[edit] Suggestions

My advice to you is not to inquire why or whither, but just enjoy your ice cream while it's on your plate — that's my philosophy. ~ Thornton Wilder in The Skin of Our Teeth (date of death)

  • 3 ~ UDScott 23:09, 28 November 2005 (UTC)
  • 3 InvisibleSun 07:26, 5 December 2006 (UTC)
  • 3 Kalki 23:51, 6 December 2006 (UTC)
  • 2 Zarbon 15:49, 26 April 2008 (UTC)

Providence has nothing good or high in store for one who does not resolutely aim at something high or good. A purpose is the eternal condition of success. ~ Thornton Wilder (date of death)

  • 3 ~ UDScott 23:09, 28 November 2005 (UTC)
  • 2 InvisibleSun 07:26, 5 December 2006 (UTC)
  • 3 Kalki 23:51, 6 December 2006 (UTC)
  • 1 Zarbon 15:49, 26 April 2008 (UTC)

Seek the lofty by reading, hearing and seeing great work at some moment every day. ~ Thornton Wilder (date of death)

  • 3 ~ UDScott 23:09, 28 November 2005 (UTC)
  • 3 InvisibleSun 07:26, 5 December 2006 (UTC)
  • 3 Kalki 23:51, 6 December 2006 (UTC)
  • 1 Zarbon 15:49, 26 April 2008 (UTC)

In a three-minute stretch between commercials, or in seven hundred words, it is impossible to present unfamiliar thoughts or surprising conclusions with the argument and evidence required to afford them credibility. Regurgitation of welcome pieties faces no such problem. ~ Noam Chomsky (born December 7, 1928}

  • 3 InvisibleSun 07:26, 5 December 2006 (UTC)
  • 3 Kalki 23:51, 6 December 2006 (UTC)
  • 1 Zarbon 15:49, 26 April 2008 (UTC)

Being able to do as one pleases is the natural goal of the libertarian, but having nothing to do is not. While it may be correct to say that the human species is badly prepared for having nothing to do, it is quite a different matter to say that it is badly prepared for the freedom to do as one pleases. People who are able to do as they please may work very hard, given the opportunity to do interesting work. ~ Noam Chomsky

  • 3 InvisibleSun 07:26, 5 December 2006 (UTC)
  • 3 Kalki 23:51, 6 December 2006 (UTC)
  • 1 Zarbon 15:49, 26 April 2008 (UTC)

The most effective way to restrict democracy is to transfer decision-making from the public arena to unaccountable institutions: kings and princes, priestly castes, military juntas, party dictatorships, or modern corporations. ~ Noam Chomsky

  • 3 InvisibleSun 07:26, 5 December 2006 (UTC)
  • 3 Kalki 23:51, 6 December 2006 (UTC)
  • 1 Zarbon 15:49, 26 April 2008 (UTC)

Jingoism, fear, racism, religious fundamentalism: these are the ways of appealing to people if you’re trying to organize a mass base of support for policies that are really intended to crush them. ~ Noam Chomsky

A reporter can write equally well about everything that is presented to his view, but a creative writer can do his best only with what lies within the range and character of his deepest sympathies. ~ Willa Cather

  • 3 Kalki 23:51, 6 December 2006 (UTC)
  • 3 InvisibleSun 06:02, 6 December 2007 (UTC)
  • 2 Zarbon 15:49, 26 April 2008 (UTC)

Artistic growth is, more than it is anything else, a refining of the sense of truthfulness. The stupid believe that to be truthful is easy; only the artist, the great artist, knows how difficult it is. ~ Willa Cather

  • 3 Kalki 23:51, 6 December 2006 (UTC)
  • 4 InvisibleSun 06:02, 6 December 2007 (UTC)
  • 1 but I might rate this higher another year. Zarbon 15:49, 26 April 2008 (UTC)

There are some things you learn best in calm, and some in storm. ~ Willa Cather

  • 3 Kalki 23:51, 6 December 2006 (UTC)
  • 3 InvisibleSun 06:02, 6 December 2007 (UTC)
  • 3 Zarbon 15:49, 26 April 2008 (UTC)

Ever hear the old saying that beauty is only skin deep? Well, right now, all you can see is the beauty. ~ DragonBall Z's Zarbon Paul Dobson (born December 7)

  • 4 because the quote defines me. And furthermore, the dynamic parallel of beauty outside and beast inside is drawn here. Zarbon 06:11, 24 April 2008 (UTC)
  • 1 Kalki 01:58, 29 November 2008 (UTC)

You only saw the beauty side of me before, now with great pleasure, I introduce you to the beast! ~ DragonBall Z's Zarbon Paul Dobson (born December 7)

  • 3 because anger compensates where beauty cannot and in all fury, takes a life of its own. Zarbon 06:11, 24 April 2008 (UTC)
  • 1 Kalki 01:58, 29 November 2008 (UTC)

God made the integers, all the rest is the work of man. ~ Leopold Kronecker

  • 2 Zarbon 03:45, 29 October 2008 (UTC)
  • 2 Kalki 01:58, 29 November 2008 (UTC)

No one conquers who doesn't fight. ~ Gabriel Biel (date of death)

  • 2 Zarbon 03:45, 29 October 2008 (UTC)
  • 1 Kalki 01:58, 29 November 2008 (UTC) Omnia Vincit Amor


2004
You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one; I hope some day you'll join us, and the world will live as one. ~ John Lennon
2005
It is better to ask some of the questions than to know all the answers. ~ James Thurber (born 8 December 1894)
2006
May memory restore again and again
The smallest color of the smallest day:
Time is the school in which we learn,
Time is the fire in which we burn.
~ Delmore Schwartz ~ (born 8 December 1913)
2007
A hero is someone who rebels or seems to rebel against the facts of existence and seems to conquer them. Obviously that can only work at moments. It can't be a lasting thing. That's not saying that people shouldn't keep trying to rebel against the facts of existence. Someday, who knows, we might conquer death, disease and war. ~ Jim Morrison (born 8 December 1943)
2008

[edit] Suggestions

You can check out any time you like
But you can never leave
~ Hotel California, The Eagles (from the Hotel California album, released that day 1976

  • 2 ~ UDScott 23:09, 28 November 2005 (UTC)
  • 2 InvisibleSun 03:11, 1 December 2006 (UTC)
  • 0 Zarbon 15:54, 26 April 2008 (UTC)
  • 3 Kalki 02:09, 29 November 2008 (UTC) but would extend it a bit for context.

There is a distinction between fact and truth. Truth has an element of revelation about it. If something is true, it does more than strike one as merely being so. ~ Lucian Freud (born December 8, 1922)

  • 3 InvisibleSun 03:11, 1 December 2006 (UTC)
  • 3 Kalki 21:41, 7 December 2006 (UTC)
  • 2 Zarbon 15:54, 26 April 2008 (UTC)

Force without wisdom falls of its own weight. ~ Horace (born December 8, 65 B.C.)

  • 3 InvisibleSun 07:55, 5 December 2006 (UTC)
  • 3 Kalki 21:41, 7 December 2006 (UTC)
  • 3 Zarbon 15:54, 26 April 2008 (UTC)

The covetous man is ever in want. ~ Horace

  • 3 InvisibleSun 07:55, 5 December 2006 (UTC)
  • 1 Zarbon 15:54, 26 April 2008 (UTC)
  • 3 Kalki 02:09, 29 November 2008 (UTC)

He wins every hand who mingles profit with pleasure, by delighting and instructing the reader at the same time. ~ Horace

  • 3 InvisibleSun 07:55, 5 December 2006 (UTC)
  • 1 Zarbon 15:54, 26 April 2008 (UTC)
  • 2 Kalki 02:09, 29 November 2008 (UTC)

The wit makes fun of other persons; the satirist makes fun of the world; the humorist makes fun of himself, but in so doing, he identifies himself with people — that is, people everywhere, not for the purpose of taking them apart, but simply revealing their true nature. ~ James Thurber (born December 8, 1894)

  • 3 InvisibleSun 07:55, 5 December 2006 (UTC)
  • 4 Kalki 02:26, 29 November 2008 (UTC) * 3 Kalki 21:41, 7 December 2006 (UTC)
  • 2 Zarbon 15:54, 26 April 2008 (UTC)

There is no safety in numbers, or in anything else. ~ James Thurber

  • 3 InvisibleSun 07:55, 5 December 2006 (UTC)
  • 3 Kalki 21:41, 7 December 2006 (UTC)
  • 2 Zarbon 15:54, 26 April 2008 (UTC)

Child labor! The child must carry
His fathers on his back.
~ Delmore Schwartz (born December 8, 1913)

  • 3 InvisibleSun 07:55, 5 December 2006 (UTC)
  • 1 Zarbon 15:54, 26 April 2008 (UTC)
  • 2 Kalki 02:09, 29 November 2008 (UTC)

Whence, if ever, shall come the actuality
Of a voice speaking the mind's knowing,
The sunlight bright on the green windowshade,
And the self articulate, affectionate, and flowing,
Ease, warmth, light, the utter showing,
When in the white bed all things are made.
~ Delmore Schwartz

  • 4 InvisibleSun 07:55, 5 December 2006 (UTC)
  • 3 Kalki 21:41, 7 December 2006 (UTC)
  • 1 Zarbon 15:54, 26 April 2008 (UTC)

For we are incomplete and know no future,
And we are howling or dancing out our souls
In beating syllables before the curtain:
We are Shakespearean, we are strangers.
~ Delmore Schwartz

How could I think the brief years were enough
To prove the reality of endless love?
~ Delmore Schwartz

  • 3 Kalki 21:41, 7 December 2006 (UTC)
  • 3 InvisibleSun 22:13, 7 December 2007 (UTC)
  • 2 Zarbon 15:54, 26 April 2008 (UTC)

All we are saying is give peace a chance! ~ John Lennon (Died that die in 1980 after being shot by Mark David Chapman)

—This unsigned comment is by Mrfandango (talk • contribs) .
  • 3 Kalki 03:49, 4 December 2007 (UTC)
  • 3 InvisibleSun 22:13, 7 December 2007 (UTC)
  • 1 Zarbon 15:54, 26 April 2008 (UTC)

It is sweet and honorable to die for one's country. ~ Horace

  • 4 Zarbon 04:10, 29 October 2008 (UTC)
  • 2 Kalki 02:09, 29 November 2008 (UTC)

I am not bound over to swear allegiance to any master; where the storm drives me I turn in for shelter. ~ Horace

  • 3 Zarbon 04:10, 29 October 2008 (UTC)
  • 3 Kalki 02:09, 29 November 2008 (UTC)

I very much consider the Internet a garden, and I'm a gardener, and I plant things in it and I work within the framework of the soil, the seasons, the climate, and the temperature, to produce plants. ~ Mark Pesce

  • 3 Zarbon 04:10, 29 October 2008 (UTC)
  • 2 Kalki 02:09, 29 November 2008 (UTC)


2003
If your morals make you dreary, depend upon it, they are wrong. I do not say give them up, for they may be all you have, but conceal them like a vice lest they spoil the lives of better and simpler people. ~ Robert Louis Stevenson
2004
Love alone is capable of uniting living beings in such a way as to complete and fulfill them, for it alone takes them and joins them by what is deepest in themselves. ~ Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
2005
We take men for what they are worth — and that is why we hate the government of man by man, and that we work with all our might — perhaps not strong enough — to put an end to it. ~ Peter Kropotkin (born 9 December 1842)
2006
Give me the liberty to know, to utter, and to argue freely according to my conscience, above all liberties. ~ John Milton (born 9 December 1608)
2007
Man is appealed to to be guided in his acts, not merely by love, which is always personal, or at the best tribal, but by the perception of his oneness with each human being. In the practice of mutual aid, which we can retrace to the earliest beginnings of evolution, we thus find the positive and undoubted origin of our ethical conceptions; and we can affirm that in the ethical progress of man, mutual support not mutual struggle — has had the leading part. ~ Peter Kropotkin
2008

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

  • The mind is its own place, and in itself, can make heaven of Hell, and a hell of Heaven. ~ John Milton
  • As good almost kill a man as kill a good book. Who kills a man kills a reasonable creature, God's image; but he who destroys a good book, kills reason itself, kills the image of God, as it were in the eye. ~ John Milton in Areopagitica
  • One single war — we all know — may be productive of more evil, immediate and subsequent, than hundreds of years of the unchecked action of the mutual-aid principle may be productive of good. ~ Peter Kropotkin

[edit] Suggestions

It's fun to stay at the Y-M-C-A
It's fun to stay at the Y-M-C-A
They have everything for you men to enjoy,
You can hang out with all the boys ~ Y-M-C-A, The Village People in honor of the first YMCA established in North America, this day on 1851

  • 2 ~ UDScott 23:09, 28 November 2005 (UTC)
  • 2 ~ Kalki 19:29, 8 December 2006 (UTC)
  • 0 Zarbon 16:01, 26 April 2008 (UTC)

The mind is its own place, and in itself
Can make a heaven of hell, a hell of heaven. ~ John Milton, from Paradise Lost (date of birth)

  • 3 ~ UDScott 23:09, 28 November 2005 (UTC)
  • This has already been used ~ Kalki 23:50, 8 December 2005 (UTC)
  • 3 Zarbon 16:01, 26 April 2008 (UTC)

When we ask for the abolition of the State and its organs we are always told that we dream of a society composed of men better than they are in reality. But no; a thousand times, no. All we ask is that men should not be made worse than they are, by such institutions! ~ Peter Kropotkin (born December 9, 1842)

  • 3 InvisibleSun 05:51, 8 December 2006 (UTC)
  • 3 Kalki 19:29, 8 December 2006 (UTC)
  • 2 Zarbon 16:01, 26 April 2008 (UTC)

With thee conversing I forget all time,
All seasons, and their change; all please alike.
Sweet is the breath of morn, her rising sweet,
With charm of earliest birds.
~ John Milton (born December 9, 1608)

  • 3 InvisibleSun 05:51, 8 December 2006 (UTC)
  • 3 Kalki 19:29, 8 December 2006 (UTC)
  • 1 Zarbon 16:01, 26 April 2008 (UTC)

Freely we serve,
Because we freely love, as in our will
To love or not; in this we stand or fall.
~ John Milton

  • 3 InvisibleSun 05:51, 8 December 2006 (UTC)
  • 3 Kalki 19:29, 8 December 2006 (UTC)
  • 1 Zarbon 16:01, 26 April 2008 (UTC)

Accuse not Nature: she hath done her part;
Do thou but thine.
~ John Milton

  • 3 InvisibleSun 05:51, 8 December 2006 (UTC)
  • 3 Kalki 19:29, 8 December 2006 (UTC)
  • 2 Zarbon 16:01, 26 April 2008 (UTC)

Fame is the spur that the clear spirit doth raise
(That last infirmity of noble mind)
To scorn delights, and live laborious days;
But the fair guerdon when we hope to find,
And think to burst out into sudden blaze,
Comes the blind Fury with th' abhorrèd shears,
And slits the thin-spun life.
~ John Milton

  • 3 InvisibleSun 05:51, 8 December 2006 (UTC)
  • 2 Kalki 19:29, 8 December 2006 (UTC)
  • 1 Zarbon 16:01, 26 April 2008 (UTC)

Sabrina fair,
Listen where thou art sitting
Under the glassy, cool, translucent wave,
In twisted braids of lillies knitting
The loose train of thy amber-dropping hair;
Listen for dear honor's sake,
Goddess of the silver lake,
Listen and save.
~ John Milton

  • 3 InvisibleSun 05:51, 8 December 2006 (UTC)
  • 2 Kalki 19:29, 8 December 2006 (UTC)
  • 1 Zarbon 16:01, 26 April 2008 (UTC)

A different conception of society, very different from that which now prevails, is in process of formation. ... Acknowledging, as a fact, the equal rights of all its members to the treasures accumulated in the past ... it seeks to establish a certain harmonious compatibility in its midst — not by subjecting all its members to an authority that is fictitiously supposed to represent society, not by trying to establish uniformity, but by urging all men to develop free initiative, free action, free association. ~ Peter Kropotkin

  • 3 Kalki 16:10, 4 December 2007 (UTC)
  • 3 InvisibleSun 21:28, 8 December 2007 (UTC)
  • 1 Zarbon 16:01, 26 April 2008 (UTC)

A ship in port is safe; but that is not what ships are built for. Sail out to sea and do new things. ~ Grace Hopper

  • 3 Zarbon 04:21, 29 October 2008 (UTC)

For never can true reconcilement grow, Where wounds of deadly hate have pierced so deep. ~ John Milton

  • 3 Zarbon 06:28, 22 November 2008 (UTC)


2004
Whereas Member States have pledged themselves to achieve, in cooperation with the United Nations, the promotion of universal respect for and observance of human rights and fundamental freedoms,
Whereas a common understanding of these rights and freedoms is of the greatest importance for the full realization of this pledge,
Now, therefore, The General Assembly, Proclaims this Universal Declaration of Human Rights as a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations...
~ From the Preamble of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights ~
Adopted and proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly, 10 December 1948
2005
Tell all the Truth but tell it slant —
Success in Circuit lies
Too bright for our infirm Delight
The Truth's superb surprise
As Lightning to the Children eased
With explanation kind
The Truth must dazzle gradually
Or every man be blind —
~ Emily Dickinson (born 10 December 1830)
2006
The opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference. The opposite of art is not ugliness, it's indifference. The opposite of faith is not heresy, it's indifference. And the opposite of life is not death, it's indifference. ~ Elie Wiesel, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize on this date in 1986.
2007
If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality. ~ Desmond Tutu, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize on this day in 1984.
2008

[edit] Suggestions

We despise and abhor the bully, the brawler, the oppressor, whether in private or public life, but we despise no less the coward and the voluptuary. No man is worth calling a man who will not fight rather than submit to infamy or see those that are dear to him suffer wrong. ~ Theodore Roosevelt, from his Nobel prize speech, the prize was awarded to him this day on 1906

  • 3 ~ UDScott 23:09, 28 November 2005 (UTC)
  • 3 Kalki 18:10, 9 December 2006 (UTC)
  • 3 InvisibleSun 23:33, 9 December 2006 (UTC)
  • 1 because I don't despise any of those people, neither the oppressor, nor the coward. Zarbon 16:07, 26 April 2008 (UTC)

A person is a person because he recognizes others as persons. ~ Desmond Tutu, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize on this day in 1984.

  • 3 ~ UDScott 23:09, 28 November 2005 (UTC)
  • 2 Kalki 18:10, 9 December 2006 (UTC)
  • 2 InvisibleSun 23:33, 9 December 2006 (UTC)
  • 1 Zarbon 16:07, 26 April 2008 (UTC)

It's better to light one candle than to curse the darkness. ~ Emily Dickinson (date of birth)

  • 3 ~ UDScott 23:09, 28 November 2005 (UTC)
This is a statement that is the motto of the "The Christophers", which they state is derived from a Chinese proverb (which has sometimes been attributed to Confucius); it has also sometimes been rendered as "It is better to light one small candle than to curse the darkness" or "Don't curse the darkness — light a candle." It was added to the Dickinson page by an anonymous editor some time ago, but it does not seem to be commonly attributed to her, so I am removing it from there. ~ Kalki 21:02, 9 December 2005 (UTC)
  • 4 if it is correctly attributed because it is one of my favorite sayings. Zarbon 16:07, 26 April 2008 (UTC)

Hey, what's up with the Weasel? She's locked herself in the bathroom singing, 'On the first day of Christmas, I murdered Santa Claus.' ~ Eric Matthews from A Boy Meets World (episode with quote aired first today in 1993)

Dreams — are well — but Waking's better,
If One wake at morn —
If One wake at Midnight — better —
Dreaming — of the Dawn —
~ Emily Dickinson ~

  • 3 Kalki 21:02, 9 December 2005 (UTC)
  • 4 InvisibleSun 23:33, 9 December 2006 (UTC)
  • 1 Zarbon 16:07, 26 April 2008 (UTC)

"Hope" is the thing with feathers —
That perches in the soul —
And sings the tune without the words —
And never stops — at all —
And sweetest — in the Gale — is heard —
And sore must be the storm —
That could abash the little Bird
That kept so many warm —
~ Emily Dickinson ~

  • 3 Kalki 18:10, 9 December 2006 (UTC)
  • 3 InvisibleSun 23:33, 9 December 2006 (UTC)
  • 3 Zarbon 16:07, 26 April 2008 (UTC)

A Grave — is a restricted Breadth —
Yet ampler than the Sun —
And all the Seas He populates
And lands he looks upon

To Him who on its small Repose
Bestows a single Friend —
Circumference without Relief —
Or Estimate — or End
~ Emily Dickinson

  • 3 InvisibleSun 23:33, 9 December 2006 (UTC)
  • 2 Kalki 18:53, 9 December 2007 (UTC)
  • 1 Zarbon 16:07, 26 April 2008 (UTC)

More than the Grave is closed to me —
The Grave and that Eternity
To which the Grave adheres —
I cling to nowhere till I fall —
The Crash of nothing, yet of all —
How similar appears —
~ Emily Dickinson

  • 3 InvisibleSun 23:33, 9 December 2006 (UTC)
  • 2 Kalki 18:53, 9 December 2007 (UTC)
  • 1 Zarbon 16:07, 26 April 2008 (UTC)

If Aims impel these Astral Ones
The ones allowed to know
Know that which makes them as forgot
As Dawn forgets them — now
~ Emily Dickinson

  • 3 InvisibleSun 23:33, 9 December 2006 (UTC)
  • 3 Kalki 18:53, 9 December 2007 (UTC)
  • 1 Zarbon 16:07, 26 April 2008 (UTC)

You can't get too attached to stuff. And you have to remember that people must never become possessions. People are spheres intersecting. You have to make sure that one sphere doesn't ever take over the other. Individuality is absolutely the most important thing. ~ Brian Molko

  • 2 Zarbon 05:27, 9 November 2008 (UTC)


2003
Some mornings it just doesn't seem worth it to gnaw through the leather straps. ~ Emo Phillips
2004
I have never been especially impressed by the heroics of people convinced that they are about to change the world. I am more awed by those who struggle to make one small difference after another. ~ Ellen Goodman
2005
Woe to that nation whose literature is cut short by the intrusion of force. This is not merely interference with freedom of the press but the sealing up of a nation's heart, the excision of its memory. ~ Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn (born 11 December 1918)
2006
In all our associations; in all our agreements let us never lose sight of this fundamental maxim — that all power was originally lodged in, and consequently is derived from, the people. ~ George Mason
2007
Let us not forget that violence does not live alone and is not capable of living alone: it is necessarily interwoven with falsehood. Between them lies the most intimate, the deepest of natural bonds. Violence finds its only refuge in falsehood, falsehood its only support in violence. Any man who has once acclaimed violence as his METHOD must inexorably choose falsehood as his PRINCIPLE. ~ Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
2008

[edit] Suggestions

Oh, Be A Fine Girl - Kiss Me! ~ Mnemonic for remembering the star classification established by Annie Jump Cannon, born that day

  • 2 ~ UDScott 23:09, 28 November 2005 (UTC)
  • 1 InvisibleSun 22:37, 10 December 2006 (UTC)
  • 1 Kalki 23:35, 10 December 2006 (UTC)
  • 1 Zarbon 16:10, 26 April 2008 (UTC)

Taught to regard a part of our own Species in the most abject and contemptible Degree below us, we lose that Idea of the dignity of Man which the Hand of Nature had implanted in us, for great and useful purposes. ~ George Mason (born December 11, 1725)

  • 3 InvisibleSun 22:37, 10 December 2006 (UTC)
  • 3 Kalki 23:35, 10 December 2006 (UTC)
  • 1 Zarbon 16:10, 26 April 2008 (UTC)

That all men are by nature equally free and independent, and have certain inherent rights, of which, when they enter into a state of society, they cannot by any compact deprive or divest their posterity; namely, the enjoyment of life and liberty, with the means of acquiring and possessing property, and pursuing and obtaining happiness and safety. ~ George Mason

  • 3 InvisibleSun 22:37, 10 December 2006 (UTC)
  • 3 Kalki 23:35, 10 December 2006 (UTC) - but truncated without the article's prefatory "That"
  • 1 Zarbon 16:10, 26 April 2008 (UTC)

There are metaphysical problems, which cannot be disposed of by declaring them meaningless. ... We have to accept this fact to be honest. There are two objectionable types of believers: those who believe the incredible and those who believe that "belief" must be discarded and replaced by "the scientific method." ~ Max Born (born December 11, 1882)

  • 3 Kalki 21:26, 9 December 2007 (UTC)
  • 3 InvisibleSun 21:51, 10 December 2007 (UTC)
  • 2 Zarbon 16:10, 26 April 2008 (UTC)

The belief that there is only one truth and that oneself is in possession of it, seems to me the deepest root of all that is evil in the world. ~ Max Born (born December 11, 1882)

  • 4 Kalki 21:26, 9 December 2007 (UTC)
  • 3 InvisibleSun 21:51, 10 December 2007 (UTC)
  • 3 because this is a distant hint at the Greek saying, which I love, on the lines of "he who says he knows everything, knows nothing." Zarbon 16:10, 26 April 2008 (UTC)

Sins are not forgiven to anyone, unless when the priest forgives them he believes they are forgiven. ~ Pope Leo X (born December 11, 1475)

  • 3 Zarbon 05:37, 9 November 2008 (UTC)

Nobody can teach you love. Love you have to find yourself, within your being, by raising your consciousness to higher levels. ~ Osho (born December 11, 1931)

  • 2 Zarbon 05:37, 9 November 2008 (UTC)

How do you ask a man to be the last man to die in Vietnam? How do you ask a man to be the last man to die for a mistake? John Kerry, Testimony before subcommittees of the U.S. Senate, April, 1971 (this is his birthday)

  • 3 Matchups 20:51, 4 December 2008 (UTC)


2004
Every single moment of a person's life, both of the understanding and of the will, is a new beginning. ~ Emanuel Swedenborg
2005
I had some great things and I had some bad things. The best and the worst... In other words, I had a life. ~ Richard Pryor (recent death)
2006
The most glorious moments in your life are not the so-called days of success, but rather those days when out of dejection and despair you feel rise in you a challenge to life, and the promise of future accomplishments. ~ Gustave Flaubert (Date of birth)
2007
I am aware that many object to the severity of my language; but is there not cause for severity? I will be as harsh as truth, and as uncompromising as justice. On this subject, I do not wish to think, or to speak, or write, with moderation. ... I am in earnest — I will not equivocate — I will not excuse — I will not retreat a single inch — AND I WILL BE HEARD. ~ William Lloyd Garrison
2008

[edit] Suggestions

I feel sorry for people who don't drink. When they wake up in the morning, that's as good as they're going to feel all day. ~ Frank Sinatra, born that day

  • 2 ~ UDScott 23:09, 28 November 2005 (UTC)
  • 2 Kalki 19:28, 11 December 2006 (UTC)
  • 2 InvisibleSun 23:13, 11 December 2006 (UTC)
  • 1 Zarbon 16:13, 26 April 2008 (UTC)

That which is not just is not law. ~ William Lloyd Garrison (Date of birth)

  • 3 ~ UDScott 23:09, 28 November 2005 (UTC)
  • 0 Kalki 23:11, 11 December 2007 (UTC) 3 Kalki 19:28, 11 December 2006 (UTC) Though Garrison used this phrase, he was quoting Algernon Sydney: "That which is not just is not law, and that which is not law ought not to be obeyed."
  • 3 InvisibleSun 23:13, 11 December 2006 (UTC)
  • 1 Zarbon 16:13, 26 April 2008 (UTC)

The critical ingredient is getting off your butt and doing something. It's as simple as that. A lot of people have ideas, but there are few who decide to do something about them now. Not tomorrow. Not next week. But today. The true entrepreneur is a doer, not a dreamer. ~ Robert Browning (Date of death)

  • 4 ~ UDScott 23:09, 28 November 2005 (UTC)
  • 0 for this date, as this a mis-attribution... it is widely attributed to Nolan Bushnell (Founder of Atari), not to Browning.
  • 0 - InvisibleSun 23:43, 11 December 2007 (UTC)
  • 0 for the reason stated above Zarbon 16:13, 26 April 2008 (UTC)

What is beautiful is moral, that is all there is to it. ~ Gustave Flaubert

  • 3 Kalki 19:28, 11 December 2006 (UTC)
  • 3 InvisibleSun 23:13, 11 December 2006 (UTC)
  • 4 because this is what it's all about. Zarbon 16:13, 26 April 2008 (UTC)

An ignorant doctor is the aide-de-camp of death. ~ Avicenna (born 980, died 1037, I couldn't find a specific date to relate him to)

  • 4 Fossil 19:35, 7 November 2008 (UTC)
  • 2 I think this means that a doctor who is not helpful, aids in killing the patient...am I understanding this right...? Zarbon 04:43, 10 November 2008 (UTC)

It seems to me that understanding that our theories are the source of all our conflicts would go a long way in helping people with different belief systems to get along. ~ Michael Gazzaniga

  • 3 Zarbon 04:43, 10 November 2008 (UTC)

We should have known better after the first war. ~ Gerd von Rundstedt

  • 2 Zarbon 04:43, 10 November 2008 (UTC)

Nothing is more humiliating than to see idiots succeed in enterprises we have failed in. ~ Gustave Flaubert

  • 2 Zarbon 04:43, 10 November 2008 (UTC)

An author in his book must be like God in the universe, present everywhere and visible nowhere.