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Joined: Sep 2000
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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“I hate quotation” Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882), [Journals, 1849]When Emerson wrote that phrase, how amazed he would have been to think of his words being despatched all the way around the world to many thousands of people simultaneously. As an additional tribute to Anu’s work on the AWAD service I thought it might be worth calling attention to the quotation feature, which I believe adds significantly to AWAD’s popularity. Here are some thoughts culled from the archives, under rather arbitrary headings. QuotationI quote others only in order to better express myself Michel de MontaigneA proverb is a short sentence based on long experience. CervantesPoliticsAll that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing Edmund BurkeNever doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has Margaret MeadFateThe problem is not that there are problems. The problem is expecting otherwise and thinking that having problems is a problem Theodore RubinOne often meets destiny in the road taken to avoid it French ProverbReligionMan is certainly stark mad: he cannot make a flea, yet he makes gods by the dozen Michel de MontaigneMen will wrangle for religion, write for it, fight for it, die for it, anything but live for it Charles Caleb CottonHistoryHistory is an account mostly false, of events mostly unimportant, which are brought about by rulers, mostly knaves, and soldiers, mostly fools Ambrose Bierce (1842-1914)History is fables agreed upon Voltaire (1694-1778)WarWar is an instrument entirely inefficient toward redressing wrong; and multiplies, instead of indemnifying losses Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) [The New Dictionary of Thoughts]No army can withstand the strength of an idea whose time has come Victor Hugo, poet, novelist and dramatist (1802-1885)LanguageAll language reflects the prejudices of the society in which it evolved. Casey MillerThanks to words, we have been able to rise above the brutes, and thanks to words, we have sunk to the level of the demons. Aldous HuxleyParoleWhat we say is important... for in most cases the mouth speaks what the heart is full of Jim BeggsFolks that blurt out just what they think wouldn't be so bad if they thought Kin HubbardFamilyWe should measure affection, not like youngsters by the ardour of its passion, but by its strength and constancy Marcus Tullius Cicero, statesman, orator, writer (106-43 BCE)If you bungle raising your children, I don't think whatever else you do well matters very much Jacqueline Kennedy OnassisFriendshipsA sense of duty is useful in work but offensive in personal relations. Bertrand Russell, philosopher, mathematician, author (1872-1970) Instead of loving your enemies, treat your friends a little better Edgar W. HoweSelf-knowledgeReal knowledge is to know the extent of one's ignorance Confucius (551-479 BC)The highest reward for a man's toil is not what he gets for it but what he becomes by it John Ruskin (1819-1900)ConscienceConscience is the inner voice that warns us somebody may be looking H.L. MenckenHe who sacrifices his conscience to ambition burns a picture to obtain the ashes. Chinese ProverbAnd finally, a unique voice of America…Mark TwainI believe I have no prejudices whatsoever. All I need to know is that a man is a member of the human race. That's bad enough for me Mark Twain, U.S. Author (1835-1910)The truth is a precious commodity. That's why I use it so sparingly Mark Twain, U.S. Author (1835-1910)
Do you have any particular favourites, on these or other topics? Put ‘em here as votive offerings 
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,156
old hand
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old hand
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,156 |
My current favourite, which ran fairly recently, is now in my email signature file:
"It is well to remember that the entire universe, with one trifling exception, is composed of others."
-John Andrew Holmes
This sort of summarizes my worldview in one neat sentence.
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Anonymous
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Anonymous
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I have these two posted above my computer area:
The sun, the moon and the stars would have disappeared long ago, had they
happened to be within reach of predatory human hands. -Havelock Ellis
and:
Because we don't think about future generations,
they will never forget us. -Henrik Tikkanen
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 275
enthusiast
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enthusiast
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 275 |
Dear Maverick, I have something to say to you and about you and of you, but that will be in another place and time.
For now this is a gem I would like to offer on the altar of quotations:
The more I thought,.... the more I saw myself clearly, and the more I realized that I had no more control over being white than [he] had over being black. And I thought to myself: why am I so proud of something over which I have no control and was in no way a matter of achievement? It was all a matter of chance.
Red Barber
(Does this qualify as a quotation? Please let me know.)
chronist
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Joined: Dec 2000
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newbie
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newbie
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 46 |
I read this list somewhere, attributed to Mahatma Gandhi, with the eighth one attributed to his grandson, Arun
The Seven Blunders of the World
• Wealth without work
• Pleasure without conscience
• Knowledge without character
• Commerce without morality
• Science without humanity
• Worship without sacrifice
• Politics without principle
• Rights without responsibilities
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Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 819
old hand
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old hand
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 819 |
Here's one that touches on most of the subject headings:
Nothing defines humans better than their willingness to do irrational things in
the pursuit of phenomenally unlikely payoffs. This is the principle behind
lotteries, dating, and religion. -- Scott Adams
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 275
enthusiast
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enthusiast
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 275 |
We are all queer fish, queerer behind our faces and voices than we want anyone to know or that we know ourselves.
F. Scott Fitzgerald
chronist
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Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613 |
Thank you, maverick, for doing this. In giving the following, from the W.A.D. from Aug. 28th, 2000,
I salute our beloved Anu, for his inspiration--both for us and to us--and his true, human wisdom, as well as the person he quoted on that day.
I'll part with the words of Kabir, a medieval
Indian mystic poet, who never set foot in a classroom. Here is one of his
couplets, rendered in my less than poetic translation:
The world passes while reading tomes, none any wiser;
Truly learned is the one who learns the meaning of love."
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Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Apr 2000
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Children
"All bachelors love dogs, and we would love children just as
much if they could be taught to retrieve."
-P J O'Rourke
"With the birth of each child you lose two novels."
-Candia McWilliam
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Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 3,146
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 3,146 |
PJ O'Rourke is probably the ONLY author today who can have me laughing so hard that my sides hurt. His combination of wit and keen observation of the human condition is impossible to beat.
The idiot also known as Capfka ...
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