Mastodawn

Unless a man has talents to make something of himself, freedom is an irksome burden. Of what avail is freedom to choose if the self be ineffectual? We join a mass movement to escape individual responsibility, or, in the words of the ardent young Nazi, “to be free from freedom.” It was not sheer hypocrisy when the rank-and-file Nazis declared themselves not guilty of all the enormities they had committed. They considered themselves cheated and maligned when made to shoulder responsibility for obeying orders. Had they not joined the Nazi movement in order to be free from responsibility?

Eric Hoffer (1902-1983) American writer, philosopher, longshoreman
True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements, Part 2, ch. 5, § 26 (1951)

More about this quote: wist.info/hoffer-eric/10751/

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #erichoffer #burden #cause #collectiveguilt #control #escape #freedom #individual #movement #obedience #orders #responsibility #selfcontempt #selfdeprecation #selfdoubt #selfimage #selfliberation #selfopinion #selfregard #selfrespect #selfresponsibility #truebeliever

Hoffer, Eric - True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements, Part 2, ch. 5, § 26 (1951) | WIST Quotations

WIST Quotations

Justice for Willie Simmons Apr 26

The Magic of Having a Glass Mirror in Prison

The metal mirrors that Alabama prisons use distort our faces. When a glass one suddenly appeared, I truly saw myself for the first time in 26 years.

> Symptoms include persistent anxiety, depression, the fear of losing touch with reality, feeling like you’re living in a dream, or watching your life from outside of your body. I immediately recognized a couple traits in myself, specifically anxiety and the fear of losing touch with reality.

https://prisonjournalismproject.org/2026/04/24/mirrors-in-prison/

#selfimage #alabama #prisonjournalismproject

The Magic of Having a Glass Mirror in Prison

The metal mirrors in Alabama prisons distort our faces. When a glass one suddenly appeared, I truly saw myself for the first time in 26 years.

Prison Journalism Project

WIST Quotations Apr 21

A quotation from Euripides

MEDEA: Let no one think of me
As humble or weak or passive; let them understand
I am of a different kind: dangerous to my enemies,
Loyal to my friends. To such a life glory belongs.

[ΜΉΔΕΙΑ:μηδείς με φαύλην κἀσθενῆ νομιζέτω
μηδ᾽ ἡσυχαίαν, ἀλλὰ θατέρου τρόπου,
βαρεῖαν ἐχθροῖς καὶ φίλοισιν εὐμενῆ:
810τῶν γὰρ τοιούτων εὐκλεέστατος βίος.]

Euripides (485?-406? BC) Greek tragic dramatist
Medea [Μήδεια], l. 807ff (431 BC) [tr. Vellacott (1963)]

More about (and translations of) this quote: wist.info/euripides/83545/

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #euripides #medea #appearances #enemies #friends #selfassessment #selfevaluation #selfimage #underestimation #weakness

Euripides - Medea [Μήδεια], l. 807ff (431 BC) [tr. Vellacott (1963)] | WIST Quotations

MEDEA: Let no one think of me As humble or weak or passive; let them understand I am of a different kind: dangerous to my enemies, Loyal to my friends. To such a life glory belongs. [ΜΉΔΕΙΑ:μηδείς με φαύλην κἀσθενῆ νομιζέτω μηδ᾽ ἡσυχαίαν, ἀλλὰ θατέρου τρόπου, βαρεῖαν ἐχθροῖς καὶ φίλοισιν…

WIST Quotations

WIST Quotations Mar 27

A quotation from Montaigne

There is another kind of “glory”: conceiving too high an opinion of our worth. This is an undeserved feeling by which we value ourselves, and that makes us think ourselves different than we are, just as the passion of love lends beauties and graces to the object it embraces and makes those smitten by it — with their judgment blurred and altered — find what they love different, and more perfect, than it is.

[Il y a une autre sorte de gloire, qui est une trop bonne opinion, que nous concevons de nostre valeur. C’est un’affection inconsideree, dequoy nous nous cherissons, qui nous represente à nous mesmes, autres que nous ne sommes. Comme la passion amoureuse preste des beautez, & des graces, au subject qu’elle embrasse ; & fait que ceux qui en sont espris, trouvent d’un jugement trouble & alteré, ce qu’ils aiment, autre & plus parfait qu’il n’est.]

Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592) French essayist
Essays, Book 2, ch. 17 (2.17), “Of Presumption [De la Presomption]” (1578) [tr. Atkinson/Sices (2012)]

More about (and translations of) this quote: wist.info/montaigne-michel-de/…

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #montaigne #micheldemontaigne #ego #glory #pride #selfadmiration #selfapproval #selfassessment #selfdeception #selfdelusion #selfevaluation #selfglorification #selfimage #selflove #selfperception #selfregard #selfrighteousness #selfvalue #selfworth #vainglory #vanity #humility

Montaigne, Michel de - Essays, Book 2, ch. 17 (2.17), "Of Presumption [De la Presomption]" (1578) [tr. Atkinson/Sices (2012)] | WIST Quotations

There is another kind of "glory": conceiving too high an opinion of our worth. This is an undeserved feeling by which we value ourselves, and that makes us think ourselves different than we are, just as the passion of love lends beauties and graces to the object it embraces and…

WIST Quotations

WIST Quotations Mar 4

A quotation from Marcus Aurelius

Often have I marvelled how each one of us loves himself above all men, yet sets less store by his own opinion of himself than by that of everyone else.

[Πολλάκις ἐθαύμασα πῶς ἑαυτὸν μὲν ἕκαστος μᾶλλον πάντων φιλεῖ, τὴν δὲ ἑαυτοῦ περὶ αὑτοῦ ὑπόληψιν ἐν ἐλάττονι λόγῳ τίθεται ἢ τὴν τῶν ἄλλων.]

Marcus Aurelius (AD 121-180) Roman emperor (161-180), Stoic philosopher
Meditations [To Himself; Τὰ εἰς ἑαυτόν], Book 12, ch. 4 (12.4) (AD 161-180) [tr. Haines (Loeb) (1916)]

More about (and translations of) this quote: wist.info/marcus-aureleus/4378…

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #marcusaurelius #marcusaureliusmeditations #codependency #ego #insecurity #integrity #opinion #opinionofothers #reputation #selfassessment #selfesteem #selfimage #selflove #selfopinion #support #validation #vanity

Marcus Aurelius - Meditations [To Himself; Τὰ εἰς ἑαυτόν], Book 12, ch. 4 (12.4) (AD 161-180) [tr. Haines (Loeb) (1916)] | WIST Quotations

Often have I marvelled how each one of us loves himself above all men, yet sets less store by his own opinion of himself than by that of everyone else. [Πολλάκις ἐθαύμασα πῶς ἑαυτὸν μὲν ἕκαστος μᾶλλον πάντων φιλεῖ, τὴν δὲ ἑαυτοῦ περὶ αὑτοῦ ὑπόληψιν ἐν ἐλάττονι λόγῳ τίθεται ἢ…

WIST Quotations

WIST Quotations Feb 18

A quotation from Douglas Adams

Grown men, he told himself, in flat contradiction of centuries of accumulated evidence about the way grown men behave, do not behave like this.

Douglas Adams (1952-2001) English author, humorist, screenwriter
Hitchhiker’s Guide No. 4, So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish, ch. 11 [Arthur] (1984)

More about this quote: wist.info/adams-douglas/82214/

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #douglasadams #hitchhikersguide #hitchhikersguidetothegalaxy #solongandthanksforallthefish #adult #humannature #maturity #precedent #principle #realworld #reality #selfimage #truth

Adams, Douglas - Hitchhiker's Guide No. 4, So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish, ch. 11 [Arthur] (1984) | WIST Quotations

Grown men, he told himself, in flat contradiction of centuries of accumulated evidence about the way grown men behave, do not behave like this.

WIST Quotations

ScrollBots.com Feb 9

Leveraging inherent human complexity, this discussion pivots to internal leadership – shifting focus from superficial attributes to a holistic self-assessment for sustainable growth. 💼 #beauty #selfimage Deep https://scrollbots.com