November 11 Quotations

Quotes of the day from previous years:

2004

All the people of all the nations which had fought in the First World War were silent during the eleventh minute of the eleventh hour of Armistice Day, which was the eleventh day of the eleventh month. It was during that minute in nineteen hundred and eighteen, that millions upon millions of human beings stopped butchering one another. I have talked to old men who were on battlefields during that minute. They have told me in one way or another that the sudden silence was the Voice of God. So we still have among us some men who can remember when God spoke clearly to mankind. ~ Kurt Vonnegut (born 11 November 1922)

selected by Kalki

2005

Wars may be fought with weapons, but they are won by men. It is the spirit of the men who follow and of the man who leads that gains that victory. ~ George S. Patton, (born 11 November 1885)

proposed by MosheZadka

2006

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie,
In Flanders fields.
~ John McCrae ~

proposed by IP 65.110.28.123

2007

A purpose of human life, no matter who is controlling it, is to love whoever is around to be loved. ~ Kurt Vonnegut

proposed by Kalki

2008

These are times in which a genius would wish to live. It is not in the still calm of life, or in the repose of a pacific station, that great characters are formed. The habits of a vigorous mind are formed in contending with difficulties. Great necessities call out great virtues. ~ Abigail Adams

proposed by Kalki

2009

Suggestions

We have too many high sounding words, and too few actions that correspond with them. ~ Abigail Adams, born that day

3 Kalki 08:10, 9 November 2007 (UTC)
2 Zarbon 06:09, 26 April 2008 (UTC)
2 Waheedone 05:14, 4 November 2008 (UTC)
3 InvisibleSun 21:25, 10 November 2008 (UTC)

----

I come bearing an olive branch in one hand, and the freedom fighter's gun in the other. Do not let the olive branch fall from my hand. ~ Yasser Arafat, died that day

1 Kalki 08:10, 9 November 2007 (UTC) No real desire to use this on "Remembrance Day/Armistice Day/Veteran's Day"
1 but 4 if this is used on another date. Zarbon 06:09, 26 April 2008 (UTC)
- Fossil, you are mimicing my comments far too much, along with my initial votes. Please refrain from doing so. Zarbon 15:28, 8 November 2008 (UTC)
1 Waheedone 05:14, 4 November 2008 (UTC)
1 InvisibleSun 21:25, 10 November 2008 (UTC)

----

In Flanders fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses, row on row,

That mark our place; and in the sky

The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

Loved and were loved, and now we lie,

In Flanders fields.
(This portion was used in 2006)

Take up our quarrel with the foe:

To you from failing hands we throw

The torch; be yours to hold it high.

If ye break faith with us who die

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

In Flanders fields.

-John McCrae, poem written during World War I, recited during Remembrance Day Ceremonies on Nov 11, normally in countries from the 'then British Empire'.

4 ~ If the whole poem is deemed too long, perhaps only the second and/or final paragraphs should be used. I don't think this has been used before. --(Person who suggested the quote but is not a registered user.) :
3 ~ Kalki 23:59, 10 November 2005 (UTC) (for portions of this, not the whole poem)
2. The second stanza was previously used in QotD. InvisibleSun 13:28, 10 November 2006 (UTC)
1 Zarbon 06:09, 26 April 2008 (UTC)
0 Waheedone 05:14, 4 November 2008 (UTC)

----

There are plenty of good reasons for fighting, but no good reason ever to hate without reservation, to imagine that God Almighty Himself hates with you, too. Where's evil? It's that large part of every man that wants to hate without limit, that wants to hate with God on its side. ~ Kurt Vonnegut (date of birth)

3 Kalki 23:59, 10 November 2005 (UTC)
3 InvisibleSun 13:28, 10 November 2006 (UTC)
2 Zarbon 06:09, 26 April 2008 (UTC)
1 Waheedone 05:14, 4 November 2008 (UTC)
3 ~ Ningauble 15:24, 10 November 2008 (UTC)
3 Lyle 20:26, 2 December 2008 (UTC)

----

A great swindle of our time is the assumption that science has made religion obsolete. All science has damaged is the story of Adam and Eve and the story of Jonah and the Whale. Everything else holds up pretty well, particularly lessons about fairness and gentleness. People who find those lessons irrelevant in the twentieth century are simply using science as an excuse for greed and harshness. Science has nothing to do with it, friends. ~ Kurt Vonnegut

3 InvisibleSun 13:28, 10 November 2006 (UTC)
3 Kalki 08:10, 9 November 2007 (UTC)
1 Zarbon 06:09, 26 April 2008 (UTC)
1 Waheedone 05:14, 4 November 2008 (UTC)
3 Lyle 20:26, 2 December 2008 (UTC)

----

The two real political parties in America are the Winners and the Losers. The people don’t acknowledge this. They claim membership in two imaginary parties, the Republicans and the Democrats, instead. ~ Kurt Vonnegut

3 InvisibleSun 13:28, 10 November 2006 (UTC)
3 Zarbon 06:09, 26 April 2008 (UTC)
2 Waheedone 05:14, 4 November 2008 (UTC)
2 Kalki 14:00, 10 November 2008 (UTC)
1 Lyle 20:26, 2 December 2008 (UTC)

----

I am a humanist, which means, in part, that I have tried to behave decently without any expectation of rewards or punishments after I’m dead. ~ Kurt Vonnegut

3 InvisibleSun 13:28, 10 November 2006 (UTC)
2 Zarbon 06:09, 26 April 2008 (UTC)
1 Waheedone 05:14, 4 November 2008 (UTC)
2 Kalki 14:00, 10 November 2008 (UTC)
3 Lyle 20:26, 2 December 2008 (UTC)

----

So it goes. ~ Kurt Vonnegut, recurring statement whenever someone or something dies in Slaughterhouse-Five

3 Lyle 20:24, 2 December 2008 (UTC)

----

Every man has some reminiscences which he would not tell to everyone, but only to his friends. He has others which he would not reveal even to his friends, but only to himself, and that in secret. But finally there are still others which a man is even afraid to tell himself, and every decent man has a considerable number of such things stored away. That is, one can even say that the more decent he is, the greater the number of such things in his mind. ~ Fyodor Dostoevsky (born November 11, 1821, N.S.)

3 InvisibleSun 13:28, 10 November 2006 (UTC)
1 Zarbon 06:09, 26 April 2008 (UTC)
1 Waheedone 05:14, 4 November 2008 (UTC)
2 Kalki 14:00, 10 November 2008 (UTC)

----

Inventors and geniuses have almost always been looked on as no better than fools at the beginning of their career, and very frequently at the end of it also. ~ Fyodor Dostoevsky

3 InvisibleSun 13:28, 10 November 2006 (UTC)
3 Kalki 08:10, 9 November 2007 (UTC)
2 Zarbon 06:09, 26 April 2008 (UTC)
2 Waheedone 05:14, 4 November 2008 (UTC)

----

I think the devil doesn't exist, but man has created him, he has created him in his own image and likeness. ~ Fyodor Dostoevsky

3 InvisibleSun 13:28, 10 November 2006 (UTC)
3 because the representation of man in history has been built into this quote. Zarbon 06:09, 26 April 2008 (UTC)
3 Waheedone 05:14, 4 November 2008 (UTC)
2 Kalki 14:00, 10 November 2008 (UTC)

----

Men reject their prophets and slay them, but they love their martyrs and honor those they have slain. ~ Fyodor Dostoevsky

4 InvisibleSun 13:28, 10 November 2006 (UTC)
3 because this is true. I for one believe that martyrs are made of those whom are slain and history has proven this to be true. Zarbon 06:09, 26 April 2008 (UTC)
3 Waheedone 05:14, 4 November 2008 (UTC)
2 Kalki 14:00, 10 November 2008 (UTC)

----

It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather we should thank God that such men lived.
~ George S. Patton

Freddyclaw 4:56, December 18 2007
3 because this is a good quote. The fact that men of this caliber lived should never be forgotten. Zarbon 06:09, 26 April 2008 (UTC)
3 Waheedone 05:14, 4 November 2008 (UTC)
2 Kalki 14:00, 10 November 2008 (UTC) I will probably rank this a 3 or 4 at some other time, but not this year.
3 InvisibleSun 21:25, 10 November 2008 (UTC)

----

The man who sailed around his soul
From East to West, from pole to pole
With ego as his drunken captain
Greed, the mutineer, had trapped all reason in the hold
~ Andy Partridge

3 Zarbon 03:59, 3 October 2008 (UTC)
1 Waheedone 05:14, 4 November 2008 (UTC)
1 Kalki 14:07, 10 November 2008 (UTC)
1 InvisibleSun 21:25, 10 November 2008 (UTC)

----

I can't see how a single man could spend his time to better advantage than in the Marines. ~ Daniel Daly

3 Zarbon 03:59, 3 October 2008 (UTC)
1 Waheedone 05:14, 4 November 2008 (UTC)
2 Kalki 14:07, 10 November 2008 (UTC)
1 InvisibleSun 21:25, 10 November 2008 (UTC)

----

Recognizing and respecting differences in others, and treating everyone like you want them to treat you, will help make our world a better place for everyone. Care... be your best. You don't have to be handicapped to be different. Everyone is different! ~ Kim Peek

3 Zarbon 03:59, 3 October 2008 (UTC)
1 Waheedone 05:14, 4 November 2008 (UTC)
3 Kalki 14:07, 10 November 2008 (UTC)

----

All is interrelated. Heaven and earth, air and water. All are but one thing; not four, not two and not three, but one. Where they are not together, there is only an incomplete piece. ~ Paracelsus

2 Zarbon 03:59, 3 October 2008 (UTC)
1 Waheedone 05:14, 4 November 2008 (UTC)
3 Kalki 14:07, 10 November 2008 (UTC)
3 InvisibleSun 21:25, 10 November 2008 (UTC)

----

Practice humility at first with man and only then before God. He who despises man, has also no respect for God. ~ Paracelsus

2 Zarbon 03:59, 3 October 2008 (UTC)
3 Waheedone 05:14, 4 November 2008 (UTC)
3 Kalki 14:07, 10 November 2008 (UTC)
3 InvisibleSun 21:25, 10 November 2008 (UTC)

----

All substances are poisons; there is none which is not a poison. The right dose differentiates a poison and a remedy. ~ Paracelsus

4 because too much of anything becomes poison. Zarbon 03:59, 3 October 2008 (UTC)
4 Waheedone 05:14, 4 November 2008 (UTC)
- Waheedone, you are mimicing my ratings without explanation. I like this quote a lot. Please when you choose your preference, do not mimic my votes exactly. For example, many times that I rate something a 4, you also tend to give it a 4. Please refrain from doing this. If you truly like my suggestions, please explain the reason why for each time you rate it so highly. Zarbon 15:47, 8 November 2008 (UTC)
2 Kalki 14:07, 10 November 2008 (UTC)

----

I couldn't wait for success, so I went ahead without it. ~ Jonathan Winters

2 Zarbon 03:59, 3 October 2008 (UTC)
3 Waheedone 05:14, 4 November 2008 (UTC)
2 Kalki 14:07, 10 November 2008 (UTC)

----

Nothing is impossible. Some things are just less likely than others. ~ Jonathan Winters

2 Zarbon 03:59, 3 October 2008 (UTC)
2 Waheedone 05:14, 4 November 2008 (UTC)
2 Kalki 14:07, 10 November 2008 (UTC)

----

If your ship doesn't come in, swim out to it! ~ Jonathan Winters

2 Zarbon 03:59, 3 October 2008 (UTC)
2 Waheedone 05:14, 4 November 2008 (UTC)
2 Kalki 14:07, 10 November 2008 (UTC)

----

I begin to think, that a calm is not desirable in any situation in life. Every object is beautiful in motion; a ship under sail, trees gently agitated with the wind, and a fine woman dancing, are three instances in point. Man was made for action and for bustle too, I believe. ~ Abigail Adams

3 Kalki 14:00, 10 November 2008 (UTC)
3 Zarbon 14:56, 10 November 2008 (UTC)
3 InvisibleSun 21:25, 10 November 2008 (UTC)

----

Learning is not attained by chance, it must be sought for with ardor and attended to with diligence. ~ Abigail Adams

3 Kalki 14:00, 10 November 2008 (UTC)
3 Zarbon 14:56, 10 November 2008 (UTC)
3 InvisibleSun 21:25, 10 November 2008 (UTC)

----

Whatever occurs, may justice and righteousness be the stability of our times, and order arise out of confusion. Great difficulties may be surmounted by patience and perseverance. ~ Abigail Adams

3 Kalki 14:00, 10 November 2008 (UTC)
2 Zarbon 14:56, 10 November 2008 (UTC)
3 InvisibleSun 21:25, 10 November 2008 (UTC)

----

I've got one, two, three, four, five
Senses working overtime,
Trying to take this all in,
I've got one, two, three, four, five
Senses working overtime,
Trying to taste the difference,
'Tween the lemons and limes,
The pain and the pleasure,
And the church bells softly chime.
~ Andy Partridge ~

3 Kalki 14:00, 10 November 2008 (UTC)
1 far too repetitive. This is obviously the person's writing style. Zarbon 14:56, 10 November 2008 (UTC)
3 InvisibleSun 21:25, 10 November 2008 (UTC)

----

I wonder wonder why the wonder falls
I wonder why the wonder falls on me
I wonder wonder why the wonder falls
With everything I touch and hear and see
~ Andy Partridge ~

3 Kalki 14:00, 10 November 2008 (UTC)
1 I don't particularly like the triple repetition here. Zarbon 14:56, 10 November 2008 (UTC)
2 InvisibleSun 21:25, 10 November 2008 (UTC)

----

Well I don't know how many pounds make up a ton
of all the Nobel prizes that I've never won,
and I may be the Mayor of Simpleton,
but I know one things and that's I love you.
~ Andy Partridge ~

3 Kalki 14:00, 10 November 2008 (UTC)
2 Zarbon 14:56, 10 November 2008 (UTC)
2 InvisibleSun 21:25, 10 November 2008 (UTC)

----

Tiger got to hunt,
Bird got to fly;
Man got to sit and wonder , "Why, why, why?"
Tiger got to sleep,
Bird got to land;
Man got to tell himself he understand.
~ Kurt Vonnegut, Cat's Cradle

4 Ningauble 22:03, 7 March 2009 (UTC) (Quirky, but one of my favorites.)

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