May 23 Quotations

Quotes of the day from previous years:

2004

I try to make everyone's day a little more surreal. ~ Bill Watterson

selected by Kalki

2005

It seems that it is madder never to abandon one's self than often to be infatuated; better to be wounded, a captive and a slave, than always to walk in armor. ~ Margaret Fuller (born 23 May 1810)

selected by Kalki

2006

Cynicism isn't smarter, it's only safer. There's nothing fluffy about optimism. ~ Jewel (born 23 May 1974)

selected by Kalki

2007

What I mean by the Muse is that unimpeded clearness of the intuitive powers, which a perfectly truthful adherence to every admonition of the higher instincts would bring to a finely organized human being. It may appear as prophecy or as poesy. ... should these faculties have free play, I believe they will open new, deeper and purer sources of joyous inspiration than have as yet refreshed the earth. ~ Margaret Fuller

selected by Kalki

2008

Genius will live and thrive without training, but it does not the less reward the watering–pot and pruning–knife. ~ Margaret Fuller (born May 23)

proposed by Zarbon

2009

Let no one dare to call another mad who is not himself willing to rank in the same class for every perversion and fault of judgment. Let no one dare aid in punishing another as criminal who is not willing to suffer the penalty due to his own offenses. ~ Margaret Fuller

proposed by Zarbon

2010

Suggestions

After the deed is done, one always becomes clever and philosophical. ~ Hans Frank (born May 23)

3 because one realizes after it is too late. Irony and moral go together, especially when learning too late. Zarbon 04:24, 18 April 2008 (UTC)
- SOURCE: The Nuremberg Interviews by Leon Goldensohn, Robert Gellately - History - 2004 - Page 29
2 InvisibleSun 22:17, 22 May 2008 (UTC)
1 Kalki 22:55, 22 May 2008 (UTC)

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Time always has some reconciling effect. On every ruin there eventually grows grass, and then some shrubbery, and finally, before you realize it, what is really an old hideous ruin becomes a romantic sight and legend. ~ Hans Frank (born May 23)

4 because time mends and heals, and even in the worst case scenario, under the worst conditions, a positive outlook can be seen. And I am giving this a 4 for this year. Zarbon 04:21, 17 May 2008 (UTC)
- SOURCE: The Nuremberg Interviews by Leon Goldensohn, Robert Gellately - History - 2004 - Page 36
3 InvisibleSun 22:17, 22 May 2008 (UTC)
2 Kalki 22:55, 22 May 2008 (UTC)

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Plants of great vigor will almost always struggle into blossom, despite impediments. But there should be encouragement, and a free genial atmosphere for those of more timid sort, fair play for each in its own kind. ~ Margaret Fuller

3 Kalki 22:55, 22 May 2008 (UTC)
3 InvisibleSun 23:15, 22 May 2008 (UTC)
1 Zarbon 01:07, 23 May 2008 (UTC)

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Always the soul says to us all, Cherish your best hopes as a faith, and abide by them in action. Such shall be the effectual fervent means to their fulfilment. ~ Margaret Fuller

3 Kalki 22:55, 22 May 2008 (UTC) but I would now prefer to extend this to:

Climbing the dusty hill, some fair effigies that once stood for symbols of human destiny have been broken; those I still have with me show defects in this broad light. Yet enough is left, even by experience, to point distinctly to the glories of that destiny; faint, but not to be mistaken streaks of the future day. I can say with the bard,
"Though many have suffered shipwreck, still beat noble hearts."
Always the soul says to us all, Cherish your best hopes as a faith, and abide by them in action. Such shall be the effectual fervent means to their fulfilment. ~ Margaret Fuller

3 InvisibleSun 23:15, 22 May 2008 (UTC)
1 Zarbon 01:07, 23 May 2008 (UTC)

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To one who has enjoyed the full life of any scene, of any hour, what thoughts can be recorded about it, seem like the commas and semicolons in the paragraph, mere stops. ~ Margaret Fuller

3 Kalki 09:49, 22 May 2009 (UTC)
1 Zarbon 02:39, 23 May 2009 (UTC)

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Only the dreamer shall understand realities, though, in truth, his dreaming must not be out of proportion to his waking! ~ Margaret Fuller

3 Kalki 09:49, 22 May 2009 (UTC)
1 Zarbon 02:39, 23 May 2009 (UTC)

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The better part of wisdom is a sublime prudence, a pure and patient truth that will receive nothing it is not sure it can permanently lay to heart. ~ Margaret Fuller

3 Kalki 09:49, 22 May 2009 (UTC) with a strong lean toward 4.
2 Zarbon 02:39, 23 May 2009 (UTC)

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We would have every arbitrary barrier thrown down. We would have every path laid open to Woman as freely as to Man. Were this done, and a slight temporary fermentation allowed to subside, we should see crystallizations more pure and of more various beauty. We believe the divine energy would pervade nature to a degree unknown in the history of former ages, and that no discordant collision, but a ravishing harmony of the spheres, would ensue.
Yet, then and only then will mankind be ripe for this, when inward and outward freedom for Woman as much as for Man shall be acknowledged as a right, not yielded as a concession. ~ Margaret Fuller

3 Kalki 09:49, 22 May 2009 (UTC) with a very strong lean toward 4.
1 Zarbon 02:39, 23 May 2009 (UTC)

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Might the simple maxim, that honesty is the best policy be laid to heart! Might a sense of the true aims of life elevate the tone of politics and trade, till public and private honor become identical! ~ Margaret Fuller

3 Kalki 09:49, 22 May 2009 (UTC) with a very strong lean toward 4.
2 Zarbon 02:39, 23 May 2009 (UTC)

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Every relation, every gradation of nature is incalculably precious, but only to the soul which is poised upon itself, and to whom no loss, no change, can bring dull discord, for it is in harmony with the central soul. ~ Margaret Fuller

4 Kalki 09:49, 22 May 2009 (UTC)
1 Zarbon 02:39, 23 May 2009 (UTC)

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