Mastodawn

It iz one ov the hardest things on earth for a man to learn,—that he plays a third rate game ov whist.

[It is one of the hardest things on earth for a man to learn — that he plays a third-rate game of whist.]

Josh Billings (1818-1885) American humorist, aphorist [pseud. of Henry Wheeler Shaw]
Josh Billings’ Farmer’s Allminax, 1871-09 (1871 ed.)

More about this quote: wist.info/billings-josh/82836/

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #joshbillings #cardgames #cards #competitiveness #inferiority #limitations #mediocrity #quality #selfassessment #selfawareness #selfjudgment #whist

Billings, Josh - Josh Billings' Farmer's Allminax, 1871-09 (1871 ed.) | WIST Quotations

It iz one ov the hardest things on earth for a man to learn,—that he plays a third rate game ov whist. [It is one of the hardest things on earth for a man to learn -- that he plays a third-rate game of whist.] Whist was a very popular…

WIST Quotations

ClaraTheWriter Mar 14

Here's the irony: striving for balance was making me more exhausted than imbalance ever did.

Good intentions become rules. Balance becomes another mountain.

Has your commitment to balance ever quietly become a way of controlling yourself?

#balance #yoga #wellness
#perfectionism #selfjudgment #mindfulpractice
#practicewithoutpressure #compassion #breathe

ClaraTheWriter Feb 24

Here's the irony: striving for balance was making me more exhausted than imbalance ever did.

Good intentions become rules. Balance becomes another mountain.

Has your commitment to balance ever quietly become a way of controlling yourself?

#balance #yoga #wellness
#perfectionism #selfjudgment #mindfulpractice
#practicewithoutpressure #compassion #breathe

WIST Quotations Feb 6

A quotation from Samuel Johnson

But when thoughts and words are collected and adjusted, and the whole composition at last concluded, it seldom gratifies the author, when he comes coolly and deliberately to review it, with the hopes which had been excited in the fury of the performance: novelty always captivates the mind; as our thoughts rise fresh upon us, we readily believe them just and original, which, when the pleasure of production is over, we find to be mean and common, or borrowed from the works of others, and supplied by memory rather than invention.

Samuel Johnson (1709-1784) English writer, lexicographer, critic
Essay (1754-03-02), The Adventurer, No. 138

More about this quote: wist.info/johnson-samuel/81911…

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Johnson, Samuel - Essay (1754-03-02), The Adventurer, No. 138 | WIST Quotations

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WIST Quotations Has Moved!Oct 22

A quotation from Thomas Fuller

Dare not to be guilty of ill Things, tho’ thou wert sure to be secret and unpunished. Conscience will sit upon it, and that is Witness, Jury, Judge, and Executioner.

Thomas Fuller (1654-1734) English physician, preacher, aphorist, writer
Introductio ad Prudentiam, Vol. 2, # 2216 (1727)

More info about this quote: wist.info/ivins-molly/79900/

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WIST Quotations Has Moved!Jul 29, 2025

A quotation from Hannah Arendt

For behind the unwillingness to judge lurks the suspicion that no one is a free agent, and hence the doubt that anyone is responsible or could be expected to answer for what he has done. The moment moral issues are raised, even in passing, he who raises them will be confronted with this frightful lack of self-confidence and hence of pride, and also with a kind of mock-modesty that in saying, Who am I to judge? actually means We’re all alike, equally bad, and those who try, or pretend that they try, to remain halfway decent are either saints or hypocrites, and in either case should leave us alone.

Hannah Arendt (1906-1975) German-American philosopher, political theorist
Essay (1964-08), “Personal Responsibility Under Dictatorship,” The Listener Magazine

Sourcing, notes: wist.info/arendt-hannah/43944/

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Essay (1964-08), "Personal Responsibility Under Dictatorship," The Listener Magazine - Arendt, Hannah | WIST Quotations

WIST Quotations

WIST Quotations Has Moved!Jul 28, 2025

A quotation from Joseph Addison

A man’s first care should be to avoid the reproaches of his own heart; his next to escape the censures of the world: if the last interferes with the former, it ought to be entirely neglected; but otherwise there cannot be a greater satisfaction to an honest mind, than to see those approbations which it gives itself seconded by the applauses of the public: a man is more sure of his conduct, when the verdict which he passes upon his own behaviour is thus warranted and confirmed by the opinion of all that know him.

Joseph Addison (1672-1719) English essayist, poet, statesman
Essay (1711-07-20), The Spectator, No. 122

Sourcing, notes: wist.info/addison-joseph/6872/

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