WIST QuotationsDec 27

A quotation from La Rochefoucauld

It is generally pride rather than lack of intelligence which prompts men to dispute so obstinately generally accepted opinions; they find all the front seats taken on the popular side, and do not wish to sit behind.
 
[C’est plus souvent par orgueil que par défaut de lumières qu’on s’oppose avec tant d’opiniâtreté aux opinions les plus suivies: on trouve les premières places prises dans le bon parti, et on ne veut point des dernières.]

François VI, duc de La Rochefoucauld (1613-1680) French epigrammatist, memoirist, noble
Réflexions ou sentences et maximes morales [Reflections; or Sentences and Moral Maxims], ¶234 (1665-1678) [tr. Stevens (1939)]

More info about (and translations of) this quote: wist.info/la-rochefoucauld-fra…

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La Rochefoucauld, Francois - Réflexions ou sentences et maximes morales [Reflections; or Sentences and Moral Maxims], ¶234 (1665-1678) [tr. Stevens (1939)] | WIST Quotations

It is generally pride rather than lack of intelligence which prompts men to dispute so obstinately generally accepted opinions; they find all the front seats taken on the popular side, and do not wish to sit behind. [C’est plus souvent par orgueil que par défaut de lumières qu’on s’oppose avec…

WIST Quotations
WIST Quotations moves again!Dec 29, 2023

A quotation from Martial:

«
I flee you, Dindymus, when chased; I chase you when you flee.
It’s not your wanting me I want; it’s your not wanting me.
 
[Insequeris, fugio; fugis, insequor; haec mihi mens est:
Velle tuum nolo, Dindyme, nolle volo.]
»

Full quote, sourcing, notes:
https://wist.info/martial/65894/

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Epigrams [Epigrammata], Book 5, epigram 83 (5.83) (AD 90) [tr. McLean (2014)] - Martial | WIST Quotations

I flee you, Dindymus, when chased; I chase you when you flee. It’s not your wanting me I want; it’s your not wanting me.   [Insequeris, fugio; fugis, insequor; haec mihi mens est: Velle tuum nolo, Dindyme, nolle volo.] "To Dindymus." (Source (Latin)). Alternate translations: I fly, you follow; fly…

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WIST Quotations moves again!Dec 21, 2023

A quotation from Gaiman, Neil:

«
Little one, I would like to see anyone — prophet, king or God — persuade a thousand cats to do anything at the same time.
»

Full quote, sourcing, notes:
https://wist.info/gaiman-neil/9282/

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Sandman, Book 3. Dream Country, # 18 "A Dream of a Thousand Cats" [Cynical Cat] (1990-08) - Gaiman, Neil | WIST Quotations

Little one, I would like to see anyone -- prophet, king or God -- persuade a thousand cats to do anything at the same time.

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WIST Quotations moves again!Dec 20, 2023

A quotation from La Bruyere, Jean de:

«
There are some men who listen neither to reason nor to good advice, and who deliberately go astray through fear of being dominated.

[Il se trouve des hommes qui n’écoutent ni la raison ni les bons conseils, et qui s’égarent volontairement par la crainte qu’ils ont d’être gouvernés.]
»

Full quote, sourcing, notes:
https://wist.info/la-bruyere-jean-de/65596/

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The Characters [Les Caractères], ch. 4 "Of the Affections [Du Coeur]," § 71 (4.71) (1688) [tr. Stewart (1970)] - La Bruyere, Jean de | WIST Quotations

There are some men who listen neither to reason nor to good advice, and who deliberately go astray through fear of being dominated. [Il se trouve des hommes qui n'écoutent ni la raison ni les bons conseils, et qui s'égarent volontairement par la crainte qu'ils ont d'être gouvernés.] (Source (French)).…

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WIST Quotations moves again!Dec 4, 2023

A quotation from Gracián, Baltasar:

«
The vulgar ignorance of stubborn people makes them prefer contention to truth and utility. Prudent people are on the side of reason, not passion, whether because they foresaw it from the first, or because they improved their position later.
»

Full quote, sourcing, notes:
https://wist.info/gracian-y-morales-baltasar/52495/

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The Art of Worldly Wisdom [Oráculo Manual y Arte de Prudencia], § 142 (1647) [tr. Maurer (1992)] - Gracián, Baltasar | WIST Quotations

The vulgar ignorance of stubborn people makes them prefer contention to truth and utility. Prudent people are on the side of reason, not passion, whether because they foresaw it from the first, or because they improved their position later. [Vulgaridad de temáticos, no reparar en la verdad, por contradecir, ni…

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WIST Quotations moves again!Jan 17, 2023

A quotation from Von Clausewitz, Karl:

«««««
We would therefore argue that strength of character turns to obstinacy as soon as a man resists another point of view, not from some superior insight or attachment to some higher principle, but because he objects instinctively.
[Wir sagen also: die Charakterstärke wird zum Eigensinn, sobald das Widerstreben gegen fre…
»»»»»

Full quote, sourcing, notes:
https://wist.info/von-clausewitz-karl/58359/

#quote #quotes #quotation #contrariness #obstinacy #stubbornness