July 12 Quotations

Quotes of the day from previous years:

2003

It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit. ~ Harry S. Truman

selected by Nanobug

2004

What kind of peace do we seek? Not a Pax Americana enforced on the world by American weapons of war. Not the peace of the grave or the security of the slave. I am talking about genuine peace, the kind of peace that makes life on earth worth living, the kind that enables men and nations to grow and to hope and to build a better life for their children — not merely peace for Americans but peace for all men and women — not merely peace in our time but peace for all time. ~ John F. Kennedy

selected by Kalki

2005

I don't know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody. ~ Bill Cosby, (born 12 July 1937)

proposed by MosheZadka

2006

In the country of the blind the one eyed man is king. ~ Desiderius Erasmus (died 12 July 1536)

proposed by AllanHainey

2007

There will never be a really free and enlightened State until the State comes to recognize the individual as a higher and independent power, from which all its own power and authority are derived, and treats him accordingly. ~ Henry David Thoreau (born 12 July 1817)

proposed by Kalki

2008

To affect the quality of the day, that is the highest of arts. Every man is tasked to make his life, even in its details, worthy of the contemplation of his most elevated and critical hour. ~ Henry David Thoreau

proposed by Kalki

2009

The philosophies of one age have become the absurdities of the next, and the foolishness of yesterday has become the wisdom of tomorrow. ~ William Osler

proposed by Zarbon

2010
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Quotes by people born this day, already used as QOTD:

The law will never make men free; it is men who have got to make the law free. ~ Henry David Thoreau
- used 29 July 2003, selected by Nanobug

That virtue we appreciate is as much ours as anothers. We see so much only as we possess. ~ Henry David Thoreau
- used 18 December 2003, selected by Kalki

In human intercourse the tragedy begins, not when there is misunderstanding about words, but when silence is not understood. ~ Henry David Thoreau
- used 6 September 2004, selected by Kalki

There are a thousand hacking at the branches of evil to one who is striking at the root. ~ Henry David Thoreau
- used 17 November 2004, selected by Kalki

Who knows what beautiful and winged life, whose egg has been buried for ages under many concentric layers of woodenness in the dead dry life of society ... may unexpectedly come forth ... to enjoy its perfect summer life at last! ... such is the character of that morrow which mere lapse of time can never make to dawn. ... Only that day dawns to which we are awake. There is more day to dawn. The sun is but a morning star. ~ Henry David Thoreau in Walden
- used 6 May 2007, proposed by Aphaia

Suggestions

When I get a little money I buy books; and if any is left I buy food and clothes. - Desiderius Erasmus died today

3 AllanHainey 7 July 2005 14:06 (UTC)
2 Kalki 8 July 2005 21:31 (UTC)
2 Jeff Q (talk) 10:43, 10 July 2006 (UTC)
2 InvisibleSun 08:27, 11 July 2007 (UTC)
2 Zarbon 05:25, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

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This type of man who is devoted to the study of wisdom is always most unlucky in everything, and particularly when it comes to procreating children; I imagine this is because Nature wants to ensure that the evils of wisdom shall not spread further throughout mankind. - Desiderius Erasmus, The Praise of Folly

4 AllanHainey 7 July 2005 14:06 (UTC)
1 Kalki 8 July 2005 21:31 (UTC)
2 Aphaia
0 Jeff Q (talk) 10:43, 10 July 2006 (UTC). Don't know if this was supposed to be ironic, but it seems a rather seriously taken POV these days, to the point of ushering in a new Dark Age (IMHO).
- If we do go for this quote, we really should include the title of the work (which I've added, thanks to InvisibleSun), lest we encourage folks to use it without irony. ~ Jeff Q (talk) 02:07, 12 July 2006 (UTC)
2 InvisibleSun 08:27, 11 July 2007 (UTC)
1 Zarbon 05:25, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

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Time is but the stream I go a-fishing in. I drink at it; but while I drink I see the sandy bottom and detect how shallow it is. Its thin current slides away, but eternity remains. ~ Henry David Thoreau (birth date)

3 Kalki 8 July 2005 21:31 (UTC)
3 Aphaia 21:29, 9 July 2005 (UTC)
2 Jeff Q (talk) 10:43, 10 July 2006 (UTC)
3 InvisibleSun 08:27, 11 July 2007 (UTC)
1 Zarbon 05:25, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

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You've been rejected more times than Doctor Octopus has arms! ~ Gregory Helms

2 for comedic value. Zarbon 04:57, 21 May 2008 (UTC)
1 Kalki 07:49, 11 July 2008 (UTC)
1 InvisibleSun 16:17, 11 July 2008 (UTC)

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If you're not getting better, you're getting worse. ~ Gregory Helms

2 Zarbon 04:57, 21 May 2008 (UTC)
1 Kalki 07:49, 11 July 2008 (UTC)
1 InvisibleSun 16:17, 11 July 2008 (UTC)

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The natural man has only two primal passions, to get and to beget. ~ William Osler

2 Zarbon 04:57, 21 May 2008 (UTC)
2 Kalki 07:49, 11 July 2008 (UTC)
2 InvisibleSun 16:17, 11 July 2008 (UTC)

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War is primarily not about victory or defeat but about death and the infliction of death. It represents the total failure of the human spirit. ~ Robert Fisk

2 although I don't particularly agree with Fisk here. Zarbon 04:57, 21 May 2008 (UTC)
3 Kalki 07:49, 11 July 2008 (UTC)
3 InvisibleSun 16:17, 11 July 2008 (UTC)

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We can only instill principles, put the student in the right path, give him method, teach him how to study, and early to discern between essentials and non-essentials. ~ William Osler

3 Kalki 19:04, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

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One of the first essentials in securing a good-natured equanimity is not to expect too much of the people amongst whom you dwell. ~ William Osler

3 Kalki 19:04, 11 September 2009 (UTC) with a lean toward 4.

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The greater the ignorance the greater the dogmatism. ~ William Osler

3 Kalki 19:04, 11 September 2009 (UTC) with a lean toward 4.

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When schemes are laid in advance, it is surprising how often the circumstances fit in with them. ~ William Osler

3 Kalki 19:04, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

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Acquire the art of detachment, the virtue of method, and the quality of thoroughness, but above all the grace of humility. ~ William Osler

3 Kalki 19:04, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

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The best preparation for tomorrow is to do today's work superbly well. ~ William Osler

3 Kalki 19:04, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

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Do the day's work well and not to bother about tomorrow. You may say that is not a satisfactory ideal. It is; and there is not one which the student can carry with him into practice with greater effect. To it more than anything else I owe whatever success I have had — to this power of settling down to the day's work and trying to do it well to the best of my ability, and letting the future take care of itself. ~ William Osler

3 Kalki 19:04, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

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No human being is constituted to know the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth; and even the best of men must be content with fragments, with partial glimpses, never the full fruition. ~ William Osler

4 Kalki 19:04, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

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