WIST QuotationsMar 2

A quotation from Henry Commager

We do not need to fear ideas, but the censorship of ideas. We do not need to fear criticism, but the silencing of criticism. We do not need to fear excitement or agitation in the academic community, but timidity and apathy. We do not need to fear resistance to political leaders, but unquestioning acquiescence in whatever policies those leaders adopt.

Henry Steele Commager (1902-1998) American historian, writer, activist
Essay (1965-12-18), “The Problem of Dissent,” Saturday Review

More about this quote: wist.info/commager-henry-steel…

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #commager #henrycommager #acquiescence #agitation #apathy #censorship #criticism #dissent #intellectualfreedom #resistance #silencing #timidity #academicfreedom

Commager, Henry Steele - Essay (1965-12-18), "The Problem of Dissent," Saturday Review | WIST Quotations

We do not need to fear ideas, but the censorship of ideas. We do not need to fear criticism, but the silencing of criticism. We do not need to fear excitement or agitation in the academic community, but timidity and apathy. We do not need to fear resistance to political…

WIST Quotations
WIST QuotationsFeb 27

A quotation from Horace

Dear sire, and offspring worthy of your fire!
We bards are dupes to what ourselves admire.
Would I be brief — I grow confused and coarse;
Who aims at smoothness, fails in fire and force;
In him who soars aloft, bombast is found;
Who fears to face the tempest, crawls aground.
Who courts variety and fain would ring
A thousand changes on the self-same string,
Will paint, as ’twere in fancy’s wildest mood
Boars in the wave and dolphins in the wood.
Thus even error, shun’d without address,
Breeds error, diff’rent in its kind, not less.
 
[Maxima pars vatum, pater et iuvenes patre digni,
decipimur specie recti: brevis esse laboro,
obscurus fio; sectantem levia nervi
deficiunt animique; professus grandia turget;
serpit humi tutus nimium timidusque procellae:
qui variare cupit rem prodigialiter unam,
delphinum silvis adpingit, fluctibus aprum:
in vitium ducit culpae fuga, si caret arte.]

Horace (65–8 BC) Roman poet, satirist, soldier, politician [Quintus Horatius Flaccus]
Epistles [Epistularum, Letters], Book 2, ep. 3 “Art of Poetry [Ars Poetica; To the Pisos],” l. 24ff (2.3.24-31) (19 BC) [tr. Howes (1845)]

More about (and translations of) this quote: wist.info/horace/14582/

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Horace - Epistles [Epistularum, Letters], Book 2, ep. 3 "Art of Poetry [Ars Poetica; To the Pisos]," l. 24ff (2.3.24-31) (19 BC) [tr. Howes (1845)] | WIST Quotations

Dear sire, and offspring worthy of your fire! We bards are dupes to what ourselves admire. Would I be brief -- I grow confused and coarse; Who aims at smoothness, fails in fire and force; In him who soars aloft, bombast is found; Who fears to face the tempest, crawls…

WIST Quotations
RonSupportsYouFeb 26

RE: https://mastodon.social/@RonSupportsYou/116139507213132096

Paul Farhi wrote about this, saying: "An organization dedicated to the First Amendment seeks to avoid hiring an entertainer who might say something protected by the First Amendment."
#WHCA #media #cowardice #timidity

RonSupportsYouFeb 26
Last year the White House Correspondents' Association hired comedian Amber Ruffin to perform at their dinner, but then its cowardly leader Eugene Daniels fired her before she performed. This year cowardice at the WHCA continues: they are again too afraid to have a comedian perform at their dinner.
#media #timidity #entertainment #WHCA
WIST QuotationsJan 1

A quotation from Eric Hoffer

When cowardice is made respectable, its followers are without number both from among the weak and the strong; it easily becomes a fashion.

Eric Hoffer (1902-1983) American writer, philosopher, longshoreman
Passionate State of Mind, Aphorism 203 (1955)

More about this quote: wist.info/hoffer-eric/81117/

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #erichoffer #acceptability #acquiescence #cowardice #cowardliness #fashion #fear #respectability #socialcontract #socialill #timidity #weakness

Hoffer, Eric - Passionate State of Mind, Aphorism 203 (1955) | WIST Quotations

When cowardice is made respectable, its followers are without number both from among the weak and the strong; it easily becomes a fashion. See also Hoffer (1971).

WIST Quotations
Show threadlmemsmDec 31
Another fun idea for #NewYearsEve is to play some #Karaoke tunes. #ABCNotation is great for creating your own Karaoke #midi files. #TiMidity++ is a helpful midi player. What's your favorite #FOSS Karoke software. #FreeSoftware #OpenSource
WIST Quotations Has Moved!Oct 29

A quotation from Franklin Roosevelt

Many voices are heard as we face a great decision. Comfort says, “Tarry a while.” Opportunism says, “This is a good spot.” Timidity asks, “How difficult is the road ahead?” […] If I know aught of the spirit and purpose of our Nation, we will not listen to Comfort, Opportunism, and Timidity. We will carry on.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1882-1945) American lawyer, politician, statesman, US President (1933-1945)
Speech (1937-01-20), Inaugural Address, Washington, D.C.

More info about this quote: wist.info/roosevelt-franklin-d…

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #franklinroosevelt #franklindroosevelt #franklindelanoroosevelt #fdr #resolution #determination #advancement #comfort #decision #decisionmaking #excuse #opportunism #progress #timidity

WIST Quotations Has Moved!May 9, 2025

A quotation from C. C. Colton

When young, we trust ourselves too much, and we trust others too little when old. Rashness is the error of youth, timid caution of age.

Charles Caleb "C. C." Colton (1780-1832) English cleric, writer, aphorist
Lacon: Or, Many Things in Few Words, Vol. 1, § 363 (1820)

Sourcing, notes: wist.info/colton-charles-caleb…

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #age #caution #gettingold #growingold #maturity #mistrust #overconfidence #rashness #selfconfidence #timidity #trust #youth

WIST Quotations Has Moved!Mar 11, 2025

A quotation from Hugo

Strange to say, the first symptom of true love in a young man is timidity; in a young girl it is boldness. This is surprising, and yet nothing is more simple. It is the two sexes tending to approach each other and assuming each the other’s qualities.
 
[Et puis, chose bizarre, le premier symptôme de l’amour vrai chez un jeune homme, c’est la timidité, chez une jeune fille, c’est la hardiesse. Ceci étonne, et rien n’est plus simple pourtant. Ce sont les deux sexes qui tendent à se rapprocher et qui prennent les qualités l’un de l’autre.]

Victor Hugo (1802-1885) French writer
Les Misérables, Part 4 “St. Denis,” Book 3 “The House in the Rue Plumet,” ch. 6 (4.3.6) (1862) [tr. Hapgood (1887)]

Sourcing, notes, alternate translations: wist.info/hugo-victor/75527/

#quote #quotes #quotation #boldness #courage #fear #love #men #rolereversal #timidity #truelove #women #youth #courtship #shyness

WIST Quotations Has Moved!Feb 27, 2025

A quotation from John Adams

The true source of our sufferings, has been our timidity.

John Adams (1735-1826) American lawyer, Founding Father, statesman, US President (1797-1801)
Essay (1765-09-30), “A Dissertation on the Canon and the Feudal Law,” No. 3, Boston Gazette

Sourcing, notes: wist.info/adams-john/75227/

#quote #quotes #quotation #apprehension #fear #selfinflicted #selfrestraint #suffering #timidity #trouble