September 5 Quotations

Quotes of the day from previous years:

2003

Most people today still believe, perhaps unconsciously, in the heliocentric universe ... every newspaper in the land has a section on astrology, yet few have anything at all on astronomy. ~ Hannes Alfven

selected by Nanobug

2004

Be silent as to services you have rendered, but speak of favours you have received. ~ Seneca

selected by Kalki

2005

The role of the Supreme Court is to uphold those claims of individual liberty that it finds are well-founded in the Constitution, and to reject other claims against the government that it concludes are not well-founded. Its role is no more to exclusively uphold the claims of the individual than it is to exclusively uphold the claims of the government: It must hold the constitutional balance true between these claims. ~ William Rehnquist (recent death)

proposed by Kalki

2006

I've probably saved thousands of peoples' lives with my educational message on snake bites — how to get in around venomous anything. Yeah, I'm a thrill seeker — but crikey, education's the most important thing. ~ Steve Irwin (recent death)

proposed by Kalki

2007

The pure, frank sentiments we hold in our hearts are the only truthful sources of art. ... All authentic art is conceived at a sacred moment and nourished in a blessed hour; an inner impulse creates it, often without the artist being aware of it. ~ Caspar David Friedrich (born 4 September 1774)

proposed by Kalki

2008

A planet is the cradle of mind, but one cannot live in a cradle forever. ~ Konstantin Eduardovich Tsiolkovsky

proposed by Zarbon

2009

I must stay alone and know that I am alone to contemplate and feel nature in full; I have to surrender myself to what encircles me, I have to merge with my clouds and rocks in order to be what I am. ~ Caspar David Friedrich

proposed by Kalki

2010

Suggestions

I say to you that the VCR is to the American film producer and the American public as the Boston strangler is to the woman home alone. ~ Jack Valenti, born this day

3 ~ MosheZadka (Talk) 13:31, 1 August 2005 (UTC)
1 Kalki 16:09, 4 September 2009 (UTC) * 2 Kalki 20:31, 4 September 2007 (UTC)
1 Zarbon 21:54, 24 April 2008 (UTC)
2 InvisibleSun 23:10, 4 September 2008 (UTC)

----

There is only one possible route of action, Greenhouse gases have to be radically reduced and it has to happen worldwide. Until now, the US has kept its eyes shut to this emergency. (Americans) make up a mere 4 percent of the population, but are responsible for close to a quarter of emissions. ~ Jürgen Trittin, because of the recent political relevance

3 Lehmann 14:38, 3 September 2005 (UTC)
1 Kalki 20:31, 4 September 2007 (UTC) No clear relation to the date, and I feel that more interesting quotes on environmental concerns can be found than this for such dates where there are clear correlations.
1 Zarbon 21:54, 24 April 2008 (UTC)
1 InvisibleSun 23:10, 4 September 2008 (UTC)

----

Man will not always stay on Earth; the pursuit of light and space will lead him to penetrate the bounds of the atmosphere, timidly at first, but in the end to conquer the whole of solar space. ~ Konstantin Eduardovich Tsiolkovsky

2 Zarbon 05:40, 30 May 2008 (UTC)
2 InvisibleSun 23:10, 4 September 2008 (UTC)
3 with a VERY strong lean toward 4.

----

I am going away, but the State will always remain... ~ Louis XIV of France

2 Zarbon 05:40, 30 May 2008 (UTC)
3 InvisibleSun 23:10, 4 September 2008 (UTC)
2 Kalki 16:09, 4 September 2009 (UTC)

----

In a political struggle, never get personal — else the dagger digs too deep. ~ Jack Valenti

3 Zarbon 05:40, 30 May 2008 (UTC)
2 InvisibleSun 23:10, 4 September 2008 (UTC)
2 Kalki 16:09, 4 September 2009 (UTC)

----

I believe the common denominator of the Universe is not harmony, but chaos, hostility and murder. ~ Werner Herzog

3 Zarbon 05:40, 30 May 2008 (UTC)
2 InvisibleSun 23:10, 4 September 2008 (UTC)
1 Kalki 16:09, 4 September 2009 (UTC)

----

I think a lot of us share a fear that we and people we love will lose control of our own destinies at the end of life. ~ John Danforth

3 Zarbon 04:02, 29 March 2009 (UTC)
2 Kalki 16:09, 4 September 2009 (UTC)

----

But the public display of religion is not God. We do not put God in our nation's life by placing the Ten Commandments in courthouses, nor do we evict God by removing the Ten Commandments from public property. God is not portable. Bland prayers, offered as noncontroversial formalities after the National Anthem and the Pledge of Allegiance do little to honor God. ~ John Danforth

4 Zarbon 04:02, 29 March 2009 (UTC)
1 Kalki 23:54, 4 September 2009 (UTC) ~~2 Kalki 16:09, 4 September 2009 (UTC)~~ but with a lean toward 2, or perhaps even 3, but only if trimmed to the "The public display of religion is not God. We do not put God in our nation's life by placing the Ten Commandments in courthouses, nor do we evict God by removing the Ten Commandments from public property." (I might agree with the rest of the sentiments he expresses here, but I don't feel they make great material for a QOTD.)

----

Most of all, faith brings recognition that our quest never leads us to certainty. We are always uncertain, always in doubt that our way is God's way. That self-doubt makes it possible to be reconciled to one another. It is faith that makes the reconciling work of politics possible. ~ John Danforth

3 Zarbon 04:02, 29 March 2009 (UTC)
2 Kalki 16:09, 4 September 2009 (UTC) but trimmed to begin at "Faith brings recognition..."

----

We are seekers of the truth, but we do not embody the truth. And in humility, we should recognize that the same can be said about our most ardent foes. ~ John Danforth

3 Zarbon 04:02, 29 March 2009 (UTC)
2 Kalki 16:09, 4 September 2009 (UTC)

----

If politics is the art of compromise, certainty is not really politics, for how can one compromise with God's own truth? Reconciliation depends on acknowledging that God's truth is greater than our own, that we cannot reduce it to any political platform we create, no matter how committed we are to that platform, and that God's truth is large enough to accommodate the opinions of all kinds of people, even those with whom we strongly disagree. ~ John Danforth

2 Zarbon 04:02, 29 March 2009 (UTC)
3 Kalki 16:09, 4 September 2009 (UTC) with a lean toward 4, but only if trimmed to begin with "Reconciliation depends..."

----

The old adage that polite conversation should not include talk of politics or religion is understandable because both subjects are so heavily laden with emotion that discussion can quickly turn to shouting. Blood is shed over politics, religion and the two in combination. ~ John Danforth

3 Zarbon 18:11, 4 April 2009 (UTC)
2 Kalki 16:09, 4 September 2009 (UTC)

----

It is concern that precedes and inspires agendas, and survives when agendas fail, and it causes us to try again, always trying our best, never certain about our own judgment. It is knowing that God's purpose exceeds whatever we can put in an agenda. ~ John Danforth

2 Zarbon 18:11, 4 April 2009 (UTC)
3 Kalki 16:09, 4 September 2009 (UTC)

----

Plenty of kind, decent, caring people have no religious beliefs, and they act out of the goodness of their hearts. Conversely, plenty of people who profess to be religious, even those who worship regularly, show no particular interest in the world beyond themselves. ~ John Danforth

3 Zarbon 18:11, 4 April 2009 (UTC)
3 Kalki 16:09, 4 September 2009 (UTC)

----

The starting point is the recognition that throughout history, religion has been a cause of bloodshed, and it remains so today. Because religion has contributed to the world's problems, it must develop specific and practical ways to help solve those problems. ~ John Danforth

3 Zarbon 18:11, 4 April 2009 (UTC)
2 Kalki 16:09, 4 September 2009 (UTC) but either trimmed or extended to eliminate ambiguity as to the context of "the starting point".

----

We have a God-given commission, but it is not a commission to be self-righteous know-it-alls- quite the contrary. Our work in God's world begins with the acknowledgment that we are not God, and that our most bitter rivals are made in God's image. ~ John Danforth

3 Zarbon 18:11, 4 April 2009 (UTC)
2 Kalki 16:09, 4 September 2009 (UTC) with a lean toward 3.

----

The Senate is indeed a deliberative body, and that quality serves the nation well. A slow-moving government helps us maintain a stable government. But slow moving is not the same as immobile. ~ John Danforth

2 Zarbon 18:11, 4 April 2009 (UTC)
2 Kalki 16:09, 4 September 2009 (UTC)

----

Crazy Horse dreamed and went into the world where there is nothing but the spirits of all things. That is the real world that is behind this one, and everything we see here is something like a shadow from that one. ~ Black Elk (Crazy Horse died on this date in 1877; his birth date is unknown)

suggested by IP 200.203.55.240
3 Kalki 16:09, 4 September 2009 (UTC) with a very strong lean toward 4.
2 Zarbon 04:21, 8 September 2009 (UTC)

----

The artist should not only paint what he sees before him, but also what he sees in himself. If, however, he sees nothing within him, then he should also refrain from painting what he sees before him. Otherwise his pictures will be like those folding screens behind which one expects to find only the sick or the dead. ~ Caspar David Friedrich

3 Kalki 16:57, 4 September 2009 (UTC) with a strong lean toward 4.
1 Zarbon 04:21, 8 September 2009 (UTC)

----

The divine is everywhere, even in a grain of sand... ~ Caspar David Friedrich

3 Kalki 16:57, 4 September 2009 (UTC) with a VERY strong lean toward 4.
1 with lean toward 2. Zarbon 04:21, 8 September 2009 (UTC)

----

Close your bodily eye, so that you may see your picture first with the spiritual eye. Then bring to the light of day that which you have seen in the darkness so that it may react upon others from the outside inwards. A picture must not be invented but felt. Observe the form exactly, both the smallest and the large and do not separate the small from the large, but rather the trivial from the important. ~ Caspar David Friedrich

3 Kalki 18:23, 4 September 2009 (UTC) with a lean toward 4.
2 Zarbon 04:21, 8 September 2009 (UTC)

----

Quoternity