Quotes of the day from previous years:
| Dreams — are well — but Waking's better, IfOne wake atmorn — IfOne wake atMidnight — better — Dreaming — of theDawn — |
| ~Emily Dickinson ~ |
| The best thing you can do for your fellow, next to rousing hisconscience, is — not to give him things tothink about, but to wake things up that are in him; or say, to make him think things for himself. |
| ~George MacDonald ~ |
| A genuinework ofartmustmean many things; thetruer its art, the more things it will mean. If my drawing, on the other hand, is so far from being awork of art that itneeds THIS IS AHORSE written under it, what can it matter that neither you nor yourchild shouldknow what it means? It is there not so much to convey ameaning as towake a meaning. If it do not even wake an interest, throw it aside. A meaning may be there, but it is not for you. If, again, you do not know a horse when yousee it, thename written under it will notserve you much. |
| ~George MacDonald ~ |
| Who has not found theheaven below Willfail of it above. God’sresidence is next to mine, His furniture islove. |
| ~Emily Dickinson ~ |
| I firmlybelieve people have hitherto been a great deal too much taken up aboutdoctrine and far too little aboutpractice. The word doctrine, as used inthe Bible, means teaching ofduty, nottheory. I preached a sermon about this. We are far too anxious to be definite and to have finished, well-polished, sharp-edgedsystems — forgetting that the more perfect a theory about theinfinite, the surer it is to bewrong, the more impossible it is to beright. |
| ~George MacDonald ~ |
| One difference betweenGod'swork andman's is, that, while God's work cannot mean more than hemeant, man'smust mean more than he meant. For in everything that God has made, there is layer upon layer of ascendingsignificance; also he expresses the samethought in higher and higher kinds of that thought: it is God's things, his embodied thoughts, which alone a man has to use, modified and adapted to his ownpurposes, for theexpression of his thoughts; therefore he cannot help his words and figures falling into such combinations in themind of another as he had himself not foreseen, so many are the thoughts allied to every other thought, so many are the relations involved in every figure, so many thefacts hinted in everysymbol. A man may well himself discovertruth in what hewrote; for he was dealingall thetime with things that came from thoughts beyond his own. |
| ~George MacDonald ~ |
 Whereasrecognition of the inherentdignity and of theequal and inalienablerights of all members of thehuman family is the foundation offreedom,justice andpeace in theworld, Whereas disregard andcontempt forhuman rights have resulted in barbarous acts which have outraged theconscience ofmankind, and the advent of a world in which human beings shall enjoyfreedom of speech andbelief and freedom fromfear and want has been proclaimed as the highest aspiration of the common people, Whereas it isessential, if man is not to be compelled to have recourse, as a last resort, to rebellion againsttyranny andoppression, that human rights should be protected by therule oflaw, Whereas it is essential to promote the development offriendly relations betweennations, Whereas the peoples of theUnited Nations have in the Charter reaffirmed theirfaith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity andworth of the human person and in the equal rights of men and women and have determined to promote socialprogress and better standards oflife in larger freedom, Whereas Member States have pledged themselves to achieve, in co-operation with the United Nations, the promotion of universalrespect for and observance of human rights and fundamental freedoms, Whereas a commonunderstanding of these rights and freedoms is of the greatestimportance for the full realization of this pledge, Now, ThereforeTHE GENERAL ASSEMBLY proclaims THISUNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS as a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations, to the end that every individual and every organ ofsociety, keeping this Declaration constantly inmind, shall strive byteaching andeducation to promote respect for these rights and freedoms and by progressive measures, national and international, to secure their universal and effective recognition and observance, both among the peoples of Member States themselves and among the peoples of territories under their jurisdiction. Article 1. All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed withreason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit ofbrotherhood. Article 2. Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such asrace, colour,sex,language,religion,political or otheropinion, national or social origin,property, birth or other status. Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional or international status of the country or territory to which a person belongs, whether it be independent, trust, non-self-governing or under any other limitation ofsovereignty. Article 3. Everyone has the right to life,liberty andsecurity of person. Article 4. No one shall be held inslavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms. Article 5. No one shall be subjected totorture or tocruel, inhuman or degrading treatment orpunishment. Article 6. Everyone has the right to recognition everywhere as a person before the law. Article 7. All are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to equalprotection of the law. All are entitled to equal protection against any discrimination in violation of this Declaration and against any incitement to such discrimination. |
| ~Universal Declaration of Human Rights ~ |
| I TOOK mypower in myhand And went against theworld; ’T was not so much asDavid had, But I was twice asbold. Iaimed my pebble, butmyself Was all the one that fell. Was it Goliath was too large, Or only I too small? |
| ~Emily Dickinson ~ |
| Let it never be said byfuturegenerations thatindifference,cynicism orselfishness made usfail tolive up to theideals ofhumanism which theNobel Peace Prize encapsulates. Let the strivings of us all,proveMartin Luther King Jr. to have beencorrect, when he said thathumanity can no longer betragically bound to the starless midnight ofracism andwar. Let theefforts of us all, prove that he was not a meredreamer when he spoke of thebeauty ofgenuinebrotherhood andpeace being more precious thandiamonds orsilver orgold. Let a new age dawn! |
| ~Nelson Mandela ~ |
| I would not care whethertruth ispleasant or unpleasant, and in consonance with or opposed to current views. I would not mind in the least whether truth is, or is not, a blow to theglory of mycountry. Ifnecessary, I shall bear inpatience theridicule andslander offriends andsociety for the sake of preaching truth. But still I shall seek truth,understand truth, andaccept truth. This should be the firmresolve of ahistorian. |
| ~Jadunath Sarkar ~ |
| LOVE is anterior tolife, Posterior todeath, Initial ofcreation, and The exponent of breath. |
| ~Emily Dickinson ~ |
| It's such a little thing toweep — So short a thing tosigh — And yet — by Trades — the size of these Wemen andwomendie! |
| ~Emily Dickinson ~ |
| At long last, theAssadregime has fallen. This regime brutalized andtortured andkilled literally hundreds of thousands of innocent Syrians. A fall of the regime is a fundamental act ofjustice. It’s amoment ofhistoricopportunity for the long-sufferingpeople ofSyria to build a betterfuture for their proud country. It’s also a moment ofrisk anduncertainty. As we all turn to the question of what comes next, theUnited States will work with our partners and the stakeholders in Syria to help them seize an opportunity to manage the risks. … this is a moment of considerable risk and uncertainty, but I also believe this is the best opportunity in generations for Syrians to forge their own future free of opposition. |
| ~Joe Biden ~ |
IMMORTAL is an ampleword Ofheaven above the firmestproof |
| ~Emily Dickinson ~ |
The Quote of the Day (QOTD) is a prominent feature of theWikiquote Main Page. Thank you for submitting, reviewing, and ranking suggestions!
A person is a person because he recognizes others as persons. ~Desmond Tutu, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize on this day in 1984.
It's better to light one candle than to curse the darkness. ~Emily Dickinson (date of birth)
Hey, what's up with the Weasel? She's locked herself in the bathroom singing, 'On the first day of Christmas, I murdered Santa Claus.' ~Eric Matthews fromA Boy Meets World (episode with quote aired first today in 1993)
A Grave — is a restricted Breadth —
Yet ampler than the Sun —
And all the Seas He populates
And lands he looks upon
To Him who on its small Repose
Bestows a single Friend —
Circumference without Relief —
Or Estimate — or End
~Emily Dickinson
More than the Grave is closed to me —
The Grave and that Eternity
To which the Grave adheres —
I cling to nowhere till I fall —
The Crash of nothing, yet of all —
How similar appears —
~Emily Dickinson
If Aims impel these Astral Ones
The ones allowed to know
Know that which makes them as forgot
As Dawn forgets them — now
~Emily Dickinson
You can't get too attached to stuff. And you have to remember that people must never become possessions. People are spheres intersecting. You have to make sure that one sphere doesn't ever take over the other. Individuality is absolutely the most important thing. ~Brian Molko
GLEE! the great storm is over!
Four have recovered the land;
Forty gone down together
Into the boiling sand.
Ring, for the scant salvation!
Toll, for the bonnie souls,—
Neighbor and friend and bridegroom,
Spinning upon the shoals!
How they will tell the shipwreck
When winter shakes the door,
Till the children ask, “But the forty?
Did they come back no more?”
Then a silence suffuses the story,
And a softness the teller’s eye;
And the children no
further question,
And only the waves reply.
-Emily Dickinson
IF I can stop one heart from breaking,
I shall not live in vain;
If I can ease one life the aching,
Or cool one pain,
Or help one fainting robin
Unto his nest again,
I shall not live in vain.
-Emily Dickinson
MUCH madness is divinest sense
To a discerning eye;
Much sense the starkest madness.
’T is the majority
In this, as all, prevails.
Assent, and you are sane;
Demur,—you ’re straightway dangerous,
And handled with a chain.
-Emily Dickinson
I NEVER hear the word “escape”
Without a quicker blood,
A sudden expectation,
A flying attitude.
I never hear of prisons broad
By soldiers battered down,
But I tug childish at my bars,—
Only to fail again!
-Emily Dickinson
SURGEONS must be very careful
When they take the knife!
Underneath their fine incisions
Stirs the culprit,—Life!
-Emily Dickinson
IT tossed and tossed,—
A little brig I knew,—
O’ertook by blast,
It spun and spun,
And groped delirious, for morn.
It slipped and slipped,
As one that drunken stepped;
Its white foot tripped,
Then dropped from sight.
Ah, brig, good-night
To crew and you;
The ocean’s heart too smooth, too blue,
To break for you.
-Emily Dickinson
MINE enemy is growing old,—
I have at last revenge.
The palate of the hate departs;
If any would avenge,—
Let him be quick, the viand flits,
It is a faded meat.
Anger as soon as fed is dead;
’T is starving makes it fat.
-Emily Dickinson
DROWNING is not so pitiful
As the attempt to rise.
Three times, ’t is said, a sinking man
Comes up to face the skies,
And then declines forever
To that abhorred abode
Where hope and he part company,—
For he is grasped of God.
The Maker’s cordial visage,
However good to see,
Is shunned, we must admit it,
Like an adversity.
-Emily Dickinson
UPON the gallows hung a wretch,
Too sullied for the hell
To which the law entitled him.
As nature’s curtain fell
The one who bore him tottered in,
For this was woman’s son.
“’T was all I had,” she stricken gasped;
Oh, what a livid boon!
-Emily Dickinson
FATE slew him, but he did not drop;
She felled—he did not fall—
Impaled him on her fiercest stakes—
He neutralized them all.
She stung him, sapped his firm advance,
But, when her worst was done,
And he, unmoved, regarded her,
Acknowledged him a man.
-Emily Dickinson
IT might be easier
To fail with land in sight,
Than gain my blue peninsula
To perish of delight.
-Emily Dickinson
HOW happy is the little stone
That rambles in the road alone,
And does n’t care about careers,
And exigencies never fears;
Whose coat of elemental brown
A passing universe put on;
And independent as the sun,
Associates or glows alone,
Fulfilling absolute decree
In casual simplicity.
-Emily Dickinson
NEW feet within my garden go,
New fingers stir the sod;
A troubadour upon the elm
Betrays the solitude.
New children play upon the green,
New weary sleep below;
And still the pensive spring returns,
And still the punctual snow!
-Emily Dickinson
THE PEDIGREE of honey
Does not concern the bee;
A clover, any time, to him
Is aristocracy.
-Emily Dickinson
THE GRASS so little has to do,—
A sphere of simple green,
With only butterflies to brood,
And bees to entertain,
And stir all day to pretty tunes
The breezes fetch along,
And hold the sunshine in its lap
And bow to everything;
And thread the dews all night, like pearls,
And make itself so fine,-
A duchess were too common
For such a noticing.
And even when it dies, to pass
In odors so divine,
As lowly spices gone to sleep,
Or amulets of pine.
And then to dwell in sovereign barns,
And dream the days away,—
The grass so little has to do,
I wish I were a hay!
-Emily Dickinson
PRESENTIMENT is that long shadow on the lawn
Indicative that suns go down;
The notice to the startled grass
That darkness is about to pass.
-Emily Dickinson
IT makes no difference abroad,
The seasons fit the same,
The mornings blossom into noons,
And split their pods of flame.
Wild-flowers kindle in the woods,
The brooks brag all the day;
No blackbird bates his jargoning
For passing Calvary.
Auto-da-fé and judgment
Are nothing to the bee;
His separation from his rose
To him seems misery.
-Emily Dickinson
THERE is a word
Which bears a sword
Can pierce an armed man.
It hurls its barbed syllables,—
At once is mute again.
But where it fell
The saved will tell
On patriotic day,
Some epauletted brother
Gave his breath away.
Wherever runs the breathless sun,
Wherever roams the day,
There is its noiseless onset,
There is its victory!
Behold the keenest marksman!
The most accomplished shot!
Time’s sublimest target
Is a soul “forgot”!
-Emily Dickinson
HEART, we will forget him!
You and I, to-night!
You may forget the warmth he gave,
I will forget the light.
When you have done, pray tell me,
That I my thoughts may dim;
Haste! lest while you’re lagging,
I may remember him!
-Emily Dickinson
I NEVER saw a moor,
I never saw the sea;
Yet know I how the heather looks,
And what a wave must be.
I never spoke with God,
Nor visited in heaven;
Yet certain am I of the spot
As if the chart were given.
-Emily Dickinson
I REASON, earth is short,
And anguish absolute.
And many hurt;
But what of that?
I reason, we could die:
The best vitality
Cannot excel decay;
But what of that?
I reason that in heaven
Somehow, it will be even,
Some new equation given;
But what of that?
-Emily Dickinson
NO rack can torture me,
My soul ’s at liberty.
Behind this mortal bone
There knits a bolder one
You cannot prick with saw,
Nor rend with scymitar.
Two bodies therefore be;
Bind one, and one will flee.
The eagle of his nest
No easier divest
And gain the sky,
Than mayest thou,
Except thyself may be
Thine enemy;
Captivity is consciousness,
So’s liberty.
-Emily Dickinson
A DEATH-BLOW is a life-blow to some
Who, till they died, did not alive become;
Who, had they lived, had died, but when
They died, vitality begun.
-Emily Dickinson
OUR journey had advanced;
Our feet were almost come
To that odd fork in Being’s road,
Eternity by term.
Our pace took sudden awe,
Our feet reluctant led.
Before were cities, but between,
The forest of the dead.
Retreat was out of hope,—
Behind, a sealed route,
Eternity’s white flag before,
And God at every gate.
-Emily Dickinson
THAT such have died enables us
The tranquiller to die;
That such have lived, certificate
For immortality.
-Emily Dickinson
THE DISTANCE that the dead have gone
Does not at first appear;
Their coming back seems possible
For many an ardent year.
And then, that we have followed them
We more than half suspect,
So intimate have we become
With their dear retrospect.
-Emily Dickinson
BLESS God, he went as soldiers,
His musket on his breast;
Grant, God, he charge the bravest
Of all the martial blest.
Please God, might I behold him
In epauletted white,
I should not fear the foe then,
I should not fear the fight.
-Emily Dickinson
SO proud she was to die
It made us all ashamed
That what we cherished, so unknown
To her desire seemed.
So satisfied to go
Where none of us should be,
Immediately, that anguish stooped
Almost to jealousy.
-Emily Dickinson
FAME is a fickle food
Upon a shifting plate,
Whose table once a Guest, but not
The second time, is set.
Whose crumbs the crows inspect,
And with ironic caw
Flap past it to the Farmer’s corn;
Men eat of it and die.
-Emily Dickinson
THERE is a solitude of space,
A solitude of sea,
A solitude of death, but these
Society shall be,
Compared with that profounder site,
That polar privacy,
A Soul admitted to Itself:
Finite Infinity.
-Emily Dickinson
NATURE is what we see,
The Hill, the Afternoon—
Squirrel, Eclipse, the Bumble-bee,
Nay—Nature is Heaven.
Nature is what we hear,
The Bobolink, the Sea—
Thunder, the Cricket—
Nay,—Nature is Harmony.
Nature is what we know
But have no art to say,
So impotent our wisdom is
To Her simplicity.
-Emily Dickinson
SOME Days retired from the rest
In soft distinction lie,
The Day that a companion came—
Or was obliged to die.
-Emily Dickinson
THE SWEETS of Pillage can be known
To no one but the Thief,
Compassion for Integrity
Is his divinest Grief.
-Emily Dickinson
THE FACE we choose to miss,
Be it but for a day—
As absent as a hundred years
When it has rode away.
-Emily Dickinson
| Everyone has the right to own property alone as well as in association with others. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his property. |
| ~Universal Declaration of Human Rights ~ |
| "Laws aren’t perfect, because humans who created laws aren’t perfect. It’s impossible to be perfect. However, the laws are evidence of the human struggle to be righteous." |
| ~ Soichiro Yagami,Death Note ~ |