WIST Quotations

Doyle, Arthur Conan -- Story (1891-10), “The Boscombe Valley Mystery” [Holmes], The Strand Magazine, Vol. 2, No. 4

2026-11-12T22:36:52Z

Singularity is almost invariably a clue. The more featureless and commonplace a crime is, the more difficult it is to bring it home.

Arthur Conan Doyle (1859–1930) British writer and physician
Story (1891-10), “The Boscombe Valley Mystery” [Holmes], The Strand Magazine, Vol. 2, No. 4

Collected in The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, No. 4 (1892).

Roosevelt, Theodore -- Autobiography, ch. 9 “Outdoors and Indoors” (1913)

2026-11-12T22:14:31Z

But, in the final event, the statesman, and the publicist, and the reformer, and the agitator for new things, and the upholder of what is good in old things, all need more than anything else to know human nature, to know the needs of the human soul; and they will find this nature and these needs set forth as nowhere else by the great imaginative writers, whether of prose or of poetry.

Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919) American politician, statesman, conservationist, writer; US President (1901–09)
Autobiography, ch. 9 “Outdoors and Indoors” (1913)

Carlyle, Thomas -- Essay (1828-04), “Goethe’s Helena,” Foreign Review, No. 2, Art. 5

2026-11-12T21:51:51Z

Experience is the best of schoolmasters; only the school-fees are heavy.

Thomas Carlyle (1795–1881) Scottish essayist and historian
Essay (1828-04), “Goethe’s Helena,” Foreign Review, No. 2, Art. 5

The essay reviews Goethe's Sämmtliche Werke, Vollständige Ausgabe Letzter Hand, First Portion (1827). Collected in Carlyle, Critical and Miscellaneous Essays (1838–1839).

Carlyle enclosed the phrase in quotation marks, which may mean it was from someone else or a common adage at the time. On the other hand, Carlyle sometimes similarly quoted himself.

Also attributed to Jean-Paul Richter, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Heinrich Heine, and Minna Antrim. See, as a predecessor, Franklin (1743).

For more discussion about this quote's origin and variants, see Quote Origin: Experience Is the Best of Schoolmasters; Only the School-Fees Are Heavy – Quote Investigator®.

Doctor Who (1963) -- 25×01 “Remembrance of the Daleks,” Part 4 (1988-10-26) [w. Ben Aaronovitch]

2026-11-12T20:08:49Z

ACE: Doctor?
THE DOCTOR: Yes?
ACE: We did good, didn’t we?
THE DOCTOR: Perhaps. Time will tell. Always does.

Doctor Who (1963–1989) British science fiction television series, original run (BBC)
25×01 “Remembrance of the Daleks,” Part 4 (1988-10-26) [w. Ben Aaronovitch]

(Source (Video))

Hoffer, Eric -- True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements, Part 3, ch. 14, § 66 (3.14.66) (1951)

2026-11-12T18:04:52Z

Common hatred unites the most heterogenous elements. To share a common hatred, with an enemy even, is to infect him with a feeling of kinship, and thus sap his powers of resistance. Hitler used anti-Semitism not only to unify his Germans but also to sap the resoluteness of Jew-hating Poland, Rumania, Hungary, and finally even France. He made a similar use of anti-communism.

Eric Hoffer (1902–1983) American writer, philosopher, longshoreman
True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements, Part 3, ch. 14, § 66 (3.14.66) (1951)

See also Chekhov (1914), Inge (1948).

King, Martin Luther -- Sermon (1963 ed.), “Three Dimensions of a Complete Life,” sec. 3, Strength to Love, ch. 9

2026-11-12T16:53:04Z

What then is the conclusion of the matter? Love yourself, if that means rational and healthy self-interest. You are commanded to do that. That is the length of life. Love your neighbor as you love yourself. You are commanded to do that. That is the breadth of life. But never forget that there is a first and even greater commandment: “Love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.” This is the height of life. Only by a painstaking development of all three of these dimensions can you expect to have a complete life.

Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929–1968) American clergyman, civil rights leader, social activist, preacher
Sermon (1963 ed.), “Three Dimensions of a Complete Life,” sec. 3, Strength to Love, ch. 9

For the Biblical text on the commandments mentioned, see here.

This was one of King's favorite sermons, possibly originating in 1952, and he reworked and delivered it (or reprinted it) throughout his life. The length/breadth/height concept was inspired by a sermon by Episcopal bishop Phillips Brooks (1835–1893), "The Symmetry of Life."

Other versions:

Look up beyond your self interest. Look up beyond your concern for humanity. Look up to the very height of life itself and then you find God who makes life complete. We are commanded to love ourselves and we are commanded to love our neighbors as we love ourselves, but still there is a greater commandment which says “Love the Lord thy God …”
[Sermon (1954-01-24), "The Dimensions of a Complete Life," Dexter Avenue Baptist Church, Montgomery, Alabama]

Love yourself, if that means rational, healthy, and moral self-interest. You are commanded to do that. That is the length of life. Love your neighbor as you love yourself. You are commanded to do that. That is the breadth of life. But never forget that there is a first and even greater commandment, "Love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and all thy soul and all thy mind." This is the height of life. And when you do this you live the complete life.
[Sermon (1959), "Dimensions of a Complete Life," The Measure of a Man]

Love yourself, you are commanded to do that. That is the length of life. Love your neighbor as you love yourself, you are commanded to do that. That’s the breadth of life. But never forget that there is a first and even greater commandment: Love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. That is the height of life. And when you do this, you’ll live the complete life.
[Sermon (1960-02-28), "The Three Dimensions of a Complete Life," Friendship Baptist Church, Pasadena, California]

Love yourself if that means rational, healthy, and moral self-interest. You are commanded to do that; that is the length of life. Love your neighbor as you love yourself. You are commanded to do that; that is the breadth of life. But never forget there is a first and even greater commandment: Love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul and with all thy mind. That is the height of life. When an individual does this, he lives a complete life.
[Sermon (1960-12-11), "The Three Dimensions of a Complete Life," Unitarian Church, Germantown, Pennsylvania]

Go out this morning. Love yourself. That means rational and healthy self-interest; you were commanded to do that. That's the length of life. Then follow that, love your neighbor as you love yourself; you're commanded to do that. That's then breadth of life. I'm going to take my seat now by letting you know that there's a first and even greater commandment: Love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, with all our strength. I think the psychologists all , with all thy personality. And when you do that, you've got the [height] of life, and when you get all three of these together, you can walk and never get weary ...
[Sermon (1967-04-09), "The Three Dimensions of a Complete Life," New Covenant Baptist Church, Chicago (audio)]

Cicero, Marcus Tullius -- Tusculan Disputations [Tusculanae Disputationes], Book 5, ch. 38 (5.38) / sec. 111 (5.111) (45 BC) [tr. Otis (1839)]

2026-11-12T16:11:39Z

MARCUS: For I speak of a man of learning and erudition, for whom to live, is to think.

[Loquor enim de docto homine et erudito, cui vivere est cogitare.]

Marcus Tullius Cicero (106–43 BC) Roman orator, statesman, philosopher
Tusculan Disputations [Tusculanae Disputationes], Book 5, ch. 38 (5.38) / sec. 111 (5.111) (45 BC) [tr. Otis (1839)]

Noting that even blindness would not rob a wise man of happiness because thought does not require sight.

(Source (Latin)). Other translations:

I speak as to the Scholar, and ingenuous Artist, whose Life is Contemplation.
[tr. Wase (1643)]

I am speaking of a learned and wise man, with whom to think is to live.
[tr. Main (1824)]

I am speaking of a learned and a wise man, with whom to think is to live.
[tr. Yonge (1853)]

I am speaking of the educated and learned man, to whom to think is to live.
[tr. Peabody (1886)]

I speak of a man of learning and erudition, to whom to live is to think.
[ed. Harbottle (1897); tr. Taylor/Hunt (1916)]

I am speaking of the learned and educated man, for whom living is thinking.
[tr. Douglas (1990)]

I am speaking of a learned and educated man, for whom living is thinking.
[tr. Davie (2017)]

Franklin, Benjamin -- Poor Richard Improved (1749 ed.)

2026-11-12T15:19:47Z

Doing an Injury puts you below your Enemy; Revenging one makes you but even with him; Forgiving it sets you above him.

Benjamin Franklin (1706–1790) American statesman, scientist, philosopher, aphorist
Poor Richard Improved (1749 ed.)

Armour, Richard -- Poem (1974), “Age-Old Problem,” Going Like Sixty, ch. 2 “How Old Is Old?”

2026-11-11T21:12:47Z

Of late I appear
To have reached that stage
When people look old
Who are only my age.

Richard Armour (1906–1989) American poet and author
Poem (1974), “Age-Old Problem,” Going Like Sixty, ch. 2 “How Old Is Old?”

Thoreau, Henry David -- Walden; or, Life in the Woods, ch. 1 “Economy” (1854)

2026-11-11T20:42:50Z

Most men appear never to have considered what a house is, and are actually though needlessly poor all their lives because they think that they must have such a one as their neighbors have.

Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862) American philosopher and writer
Walden; or, Life in the Woods, ch. 1 “Economy” (1854)

Montaigne, Michel de -- Essays, Book 3, ch. 2 (3.2), “Of Repentance [Du repentir]” (1586) [tr. Cotton/Hazlitt (1877)]

2026-11-11T20:32:10Z

Malice sucks up the greatest part of its own venom, and poisons itself.

[La malice hume la pluspart de son propre venin, & s’en empoisonne.]

Michel de Montaigne (1533–1592) French essayist
Essays, Book 3, ch. 2 (3.2), “Of Repentance [Du repentir]” (1586) [tr. Cotton/Hazlitt (1877)]

This essay first appeared in the 2nd (1588) edition, but this passage was added for the 3rd (1595) edition.

Though not attributed by Montaigne, or even flagged by him as a quote, this seems to be a variant on Seneca the Younger, Epistulae Morales ad Lucilium 81.22: "Malitia ipsa maximam partem veneni sui bibit [Malice itself drinks the greater part of its own poison.]" Seneca, in turn, attributes it to his teacher, the Stoic philosopher Attalus.

(Source (French)). Other translations:

Malice sucks up the greatest part of her owne venome, and therewith impoysoneth herselfe.
[tr. Florio (1603)]

Malice sucks up the greatest part of her own Venom, and poysons her self.
[tr. Cotton (1686)]

Wickedness swallows the greater part of its own venom, and poisons itself therewith.
[tr. Ives (1925)]

Malice sucks up the greater part of its own venom and poisons itself with it.
[tr. Zeitlin (1934); Frame (1943)]

Malice sucks up the greater part of its venom, and so poisons itself.
[tr. Cohen (1958)]

Evil swallows most of its own venom and poisons itself.
[tr. Screech (1987)]

Malice sucks in most of its own venom and is poisoned by it.
[tr. Atkinson/Sices (2012)]

Feynman, Richard -- Speech (1955-11), “The Value of Science,” National Academy of Sciences Autumn Meeting, California Institute of Technology

2026-11-11T19:26:45Z

The scientist has a lot of experience with ignorance and doubt and uncertainty, and this experience is of very great importance, I think. When a scientist doesn’t know the answer to a problem, he is ignorant. When he has a hunch as to what the result is, he is uncertain. And when he is pretty darn sure of what the result is going to be, he is in some doubt. We have found it of paramount importance that in order to progress we must recognize the ignorance and leave room for doubt. Scientific knowledge is a body of statements of varying degrees of certainty — some most unsure, some nearly sure, none absolutely certain.

Richard Feynman (1918–1988) American physicist
Speech (1955-11), “The Value of Science,” National Academy of Sciences Autumn Meeting, California Institute of Technology

Collected in (1955-12), "The Value of Science," Engineering and Science, Vol. 19.

Arnold, Matthew -- Literature and Dogma (1873)

2026-11-11T18:03:26Z

Conduct is three-fourths of life.

Matthew Arnold (1822–1888) English poet and critic
Literature and Dogma (1873)

Arnold makes multiple references to this concept throughout the book, though never quite in that simple a formulation. The earliest is in chapter 1:

Yet surely the difficulty of religion is great enough by itself, if men would but consider it, to satisfy the most voracious appetite for difficulties. It extends to rightness in the whole range of what we call conduct; in three-fourths, therefore, at the very lowest computation, of human life. The only doubt is whether we ought not to make the range of conduct wider still, and to say it is four-fifths of human life, or five-sixths. But it is better to be under the mark than over it; so let us be content with reckoning conduct as three-fourths of human life.

He goes on to mention the notion multiple times through the book.

By conduct Arnold is referring to action, activity, including religion (ritual and good deeds): things driven by the instincts of self-preservation and sensuality/reproduction; what we do versus what we think. He reserved the other one-fourth to aesthetic and intellectual disciplines (arts and science).

Adams, Douglas -- Dirk Gently No. 1, Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency, ch. 32 [Reg] (1987)

2026-11-11T16:45:22Z

If the Universe came to an end every time there was some uncertainty about what had happened in it, it would never have got beyond the first picosecond. And many of course don’t. It’s like a human body, you see. A few cuts and bruises here and there don’t hurt it. Not even major surgery if it’s done properly. Paradoxes are just the scar tissue. Time and space heal themselves up around them and people simply remember a version of events which makes as much sense as they require it to make.

Douglas Adams (1952–2001) English author, humorist, screenwriter
Dirk Gently No. 1, Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency, ch. 32 [Reg] (1987)

Russell, Bertrand -- Education and the Social Order [Education and the Modern World], ch. 12 “Competition in Education” (1932)

2026-11-11T15:54:00Z

Another intellectual defect of almost all teaching, except the highest grade of university tuition, is that it encourages docility and the belief that definite answers are known on questions which are legitimate matters of debate.

Bertrand Russell (1872–1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Education and the Social Order [Education and the Modern World], ch. 12 “Competition in Education” (1932)