A quotation from Twain

The question as to whether there is such a thing as divine right of kings is not settled in this book. It was found too difficult. That the executive head of a nation should be a person of lofty character and extraordinary ability, was manifest and indisputable; that none but the Deity could select that head unerringly, was also manifest and indisputable; that the Deity ought to make that selection, then, was likewise manifest and indisputable; consequently, that He does make it, as claimed, was an unavoidable deduction. I mean, until the author of this book encountered the Pompadour, and Lady Castlemaine, and some other executive heads of that kind; these were found so difficult to work into the scheme, that it was judged better to take the other tack in this book (which must be issued this fall), and then go into training and settle the question in another book. It is, of course, a thing which ought to be settled, and I am not going to have anything particular to do next winter anyway.

Mark Twain (1835-1910) American writer [pseud. of Samuel Clemens]
Novel (1889), A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court, Preface

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Twain, Mark - Novel (1889), A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, Preface | WIST Quotations

The question as to whether there is such a thing as divine right of kings is not settled in this book. It was found too difficult. That the executive head of a nation should be a person of lofty character and extraordinary ability, was manifest and indisputable; that none but…

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A quotation from Orwell

It is commonly assumed that what human beings want is to be comfortable. Well, we now have it in our power to be comfortable, as our ancestors had not. Nature may occasionally hit back with an earthquake or a cyclone, but by and large she is beaten. And yet exactly at the moment when there is, or could be, plenty of everything for everybody, nearly our whole energies have to be taken up in trying to grab territories, markets and raw materials from one another. Exactly at the moment when wealth might be so generally diffused that no government need fear serious opposition, political liberty is declared to be impossible and half the world is ruled by secret police forces. Exactly at the moment when superstition crumbles and a rational attitude towards the universe becomes feasible, the right to think one’s own thoughts is denied as never before. The fact is that human beings only started fighting one another in earnest when there was no longer anything to fight about.

George Orwell (1903-1950) English journalist, essayist, writer [pseud. of Eric Arthur Blair]
Essay (1946-11-29), “As I Please” column, Tribune Newspaper

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Orwell, George - Essay (1946-11-29), "As I Please" column, Tribune Newspaper | WIST Quotations

It is commonly assumed that what human beings want is to be comfortable. Well, we now have it in our power to be comfortable, as our ancestors had not. Nature may occasionally hit back with an earthquake or a cyclone, but by and large she is beaten. And yet exactly…

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A quotation from Steinbeck

In uncertainty I am certain that underneath their topmost layers of frailty men want to be good and want to be loved. Indeed, most of their vices are attempted short cuts to love. When a man comes to die, no matter what his talents and influence and genius, if he dies unloved his life must be a failure to him and his dying a cold horror. It seems to me that if you or I just choose between two courses of thought or action, we should remember our dying and try so to live that our death brings no pleasure to our world.

John Steinbeck (1902-1968) American writer
East of Eden, ch. 34 (1952)

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Steinbeck, John - East of Eden, ch. 34 (1952) | WIST Quotations

In uncertainty I am certain that underneath their topmost layers of frailty men want to be good and want to be loved. Indeed, most of their vices are attempted short cuts to love. When a man comes to die, no matter what his talents and influence and genius, if he…

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A quotation from Josh Billings

I am allwuss more than haff afraid ov the man, who kant talk 5 minnitts with me, on enny subjekt, without expressing grate anxiety about my soul.
 
[I am always more than half afraid of the man who can’t talk five minutes with me, on any subject, without expressing great anxiety about my soul.]

Josh Billings (1818-1885) American humorist, aphorist [pseud. of Henry Wheeler Shaw]
Josh Billings’ Farmer’s Allminax, 1876-07 (1876 ed.)

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Billings, Josh - Josh Billings' Farmer's Allminax, 1876-07 (1876 ed.) | WIST Quotations

I am allwuss more than haff afraid ov the man, who kant talk 5 minnitts with me, on enny subjekt, without expressing grate anxiety about my soul. [I am always more than half afraid of the man who can't talk five minutes with me, on any subject, without expressing great…

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A quotation from Wallace Stegner

Order is indeed the dream of man, but chaos, which is only another word for dumb, blind, witless chance, is still the law of nature.

Wallace Stegner (1909-1993) American novelist
Crossing to Safety, ch. 13 (1987)

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Stegner, Wallace - Crossing to Safety, ch. 13 (1987) | WIST Quotations

Order is indeed the dream of man, but chaos, which is only another word for dumb, blind, witless chance, is still the law of nature.

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A quotation from Ben Franklin

He that won’t be counsell’d, can’t be help’d.

Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) American statesman, scientist, philosopher, aphorist
Poor Richard (1747 ed.)

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Franklin, Benjamin - Poor Richard (1747 ed.) | WIST Quotations

He that won’t be counsell’d, can’t be help’d.

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A quotation from Andrew Oliver

Politics is the most hazardous of all professions. There is not another in which a man can hope to do so much good to his fellow creatures; neither is there any in which by a mere loss of nerve he may do such widespread harm. Nor is there another in which he may so easily lose his own soul; nor is there another in which a positive and strict veracity is so difficult. But danger is the inseparable companion of honor. With all the temptations and degradations that beset it, politics is still the noblest career any man can choose.

Andrew Oliver (1706-1774) American Colonial merchant, politician, government official
Speech (1774?)

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Oliver, Andrew - Speech (1774?) | WIST Quotations

Politics is the most hazardous of all professions. There is not another in which a man can hope to do so much good to his fellow creatures; neither is there any in which by a mere loss of nerve he may do such widespread harm. Nor is there another in…

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A quotation from Olivia Butler

Wishful thinking is no more help in predicting the future than fear, superstition or depression.

Octavia Butler (1947-2006) American writer
Essay (2000-05), “A Few Rules for Predicting the Future,” Essence Magazine

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WIST Quotations | Wish I'd Said That!

WIST is a collection of quotes, quotations, aphorisms, epigrams, proverbs, adages, maxims, and excerpts, all individually curated and researched.

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A quotation from Olivia Butler

Wishful thinking is no more help in predicting the future than fear, superstition or depression.

Octavia Butler (1947-2006) American writer
Essay (2000-05), “A Few Rules for Predicting the Future,” Essence Magazine

More about this quote: wist.info/#:~:text=on%2017%2DJ…

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WIST Quotations | Wish I'd Said That!

WIST is a collection of quotes, quotations, aphorisms, epigrams, proverbs, adages, maxims, and excerpts, all individually curated and researched.

WIST Quotations

A quotation from Teddy Roosevelt

Under the spoils system a man is appointed to an ordinary clerical or ministerial position in the municipal, Federal, or State government, not primarily because he is expected to be a good servant, but because he has rendered help to some big boss or to the henchman of some big boss. His stay in office depends not upon how he performs service, but upon how he retains his influence in the party. This necessarily means that his attention to the interests of the public at large, even though real, is secondary to his devotion to his organization, or to the interest of the ward leader who put him in his place.

Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919) American politician, statesman, conservationist, writer, US President (1901–1909)
Autobiography, ch. 5 “Applied Idealism” (1913)

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Roosevelt, Theodore - Autobiography, ch. 5 "Applied Idealism" (1913) | WIST Quotations

Under the spoils system a man is appointed to an ordinary clerical or ministerial position in the municipal, Federal, or State government, not primarily because he is expected to be a good servant, but because he has rendered help to some big boss or to the henchman of some big…

WIST Quotations