Mastodawn

However, it is the Part of a great Politician to make the Character of his People; to extinguish among them the Follies and Vices that he sees, and to create in them the Virtues and Abilities which he sees wanting. I wish I was sure that America has one such Politician, but I fear she has not.

John Adams (1735–1826) American lawyer, Founding Father, statesman, US President (1797–1801)
Letter (1776-01-08) to Mercy Otis Warren

More about this quote: wist.info/adams-john/81614/

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #johnadams #America #character #growth #leader #leadership #moralcharacter #politician #progress #statesman #virtue

Adams, John - Letter (1776-01-08) to Mercy Otis Warren | WIST Quotations

WIST Quotations

WIST Quotations Has Moved!Oct 25

A quotation from Moliere

DON LOUIS: No, no, birth is nothing where virtue is not. […] Know that a man of noble birth who leads an evil life is a monster in nature; virtue is the prime title of nobility; I care much less for the name a man signs than for the deeds he does; and I should feel more esteem for the son of a porter who was a true man, than for the son of a king who lived as you do.

[Non, non, la naissance n’est rien où la vertu n’est pas. […] Apprenez enfin qu’un gentilhomme qui vit mal est un monstre dans la nature ; que la vertu est le premier titre de noblesse ; que je regarde bien moins au nom qu’on signe, qu’aux actions qu’on fait, et que je ferais plus d’état du fils d’un crocheteur, qui serait honnête homme, que du fils d’un monarque qui vivrait comme vous.]

Molière (1622-1673) French playwright, actor [stage name for Jean-Baptiste Poquelin]
Don Juan [Dom Juan], Act 4, sc. 6 (1665) [tr. Page (1908)]

More info about (and translations of) this quote: wist.info/moliere/79973/

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #moliere #donjuan #action #birth #character #deeds #elite #moralcharacter #nobility #rank #status #virtue #goodperson #badperson

Don Juan [Dom Juan], Act 4, sc. 6 (1665) [tr. Page (1908)] - Moliere | WIST Quotations

DON LOUIS: No, no, birth is nothing where virtue is not. [...] Know that a man of noble birth who leads an evil life is a monster in nature; virtue is the prime title of nobility; I care much less for the name a man signs than for the deeds…

WIST Quotations

WIST Quotations Has Moved!Aug 22, 2025

A quotation from Horace

The Rash, the Lazy, Lover, none’s so wild,
But may be tame, and may be wisely mild,
If they consult true Vertue’s Rules with care,
And lend to good advice a patient ear.

[Invidus, iracundus, iners, vinosus, amator,
nemo adeo ferus est, ut non mitescere possit,
si modo culturae patientem commodet aurem.]

Horace (65-8 BC) Roman poet, satirist, soldier, politician [Quintus Horatius Flaccus]
Epistles [Epistularum, Letters], Book 1, ep. 1, l. 38ff (1.1.38-40) (20 BC) [tr. Creech (1684)]

Sourcing, notes, other translations: wist.info/horace/78567/

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #horace #advice #anger #brutalishness #character #coarseness #culture #degradation #drunkenness #envy #faults #gluttony #lust #moralcharacter #norms #reform #rehabilitation #selfcontrol #selfimprovement #sloth #society #temperament #vice #virtue #wisdom #wrath

WIST Quotations Has Moved!Jun 2, 2025

A quotation from Mignon McLaughlin

Many who would not take the last cookie would take the last lifeboat.

Mignon McLaughlin (1913-1983) American journalist and author
The Neurotic’s Notebook, ch. 3 (1963)

Sourcing, notes: wist.info/mclaughlin-mignon/61…

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #character #danger #moralcharacter #opportunity #politeness #selfpreservation #pettiness

7of9

Nov 5, 2024

#DonaldTrump If even Jeffrey Epstein says that you are a bad person https://youtu.be/8JaI7LUKXTo #JeffreyEpstein
#BadPerson
#Politics
#Corruption
#CriminalCharges
#Accountability
#Justice
#SocialMedia
#YouTube
#SecularTalk
#KyleKulinski
#PoliticalCommentary
#LeftWing
#Progressive
#PoliticalAccountability
#Transparency
#Ethics
#MoralCharacter
#PublicFigure
#Responsibility

EXPOSED: INSANE Trump Epstein Story You Have To See To Believe | The Kyle Kulinski Show

YouTube

WIST Quotations moves again!Jun 3, 2024

A quotation from Chamfort, Nicolas:

«
In great actions men show themselves as they ought to be, in small actions as they are.

[Dans les grandes choses, les hommes se montrent comme il leur convient de se montrer; dans les petites, ils se montrent comme ils sont.]
»

Full quote, sourcing, notes:
https://wist.info/chamfort-nicolas/69612/

#quote #quotes #quotation #appearance #character #expectations #facade #importance #insight #moralcharacter #personality #event #challenge

Products of Perfected Civilization [Produits de la Civilisation Perfectionée], Part 1 "Maxims and Thoughts [Maximes et Pensées]," ch. 1, ¶ 52 (1795) [tr. Hutchinson (1902), "The Cynic's Breviary"] - Chamfort, Nicolas | WIST Quotations

In great actions men show themselves as they ought to be, in small actions as they are. [Dans les grandes choses, les hommes se montrent comme il leur convient de se montrer ; dans les petites, ils se montrent comme ils sont.] (Source (French)). Alternate translations: In great matters men…

WIST

WIST Quotations moves again!Jun 8, 2023

A quotation from McLaughlin, Mignon:

«««««
Many who would not take the last cookie would take the last lifeboat.
»»»»»

Full quote, sourcing, notes:
https://wist.info/mclaughlin-mignon/61091/

#quote #quotes #quotation #character #danger #moralcharacter #opportunity #politeness #selfpreservation

Education and Sharing Day Apr 2, 2023

Education must not only impart knowledge but also teach students how to live by forming and strengthening their moral character to make a better life for themselves, their families, and for society as a whole.
— Governor Tim Walz

#EducationAndSharingDay #Minnesota #TimWalz #Education #MoralCharacter