There is nothing more a wish can lose than by coming true.
Quote of the Week 22 " There is nothing more a wish can lose than by coming true." ― Peter Bamm " Ein Wunsch kann durch nichts mehr verlieren als dadurch, dass er in Erfüllung geht. "
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Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.
Quote of the Week 21 " Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. " ― Lord Acton Triggered by the episode " Keine Angst vor Macht und Mächtigen " (April 16, 2024) of the German " Wegen guter Führung " podcast. See also: Macht // Power . Quote in context ( Letter to Bishop Mandell Creighton , April 5, 1887 ): " ... I cannot accept your canon that we are to judge Pope and King unlike other men, with a favourable presumption that they did no wrong. If there is any presumption it is the other way, against the holders of power, increasing as the power increases. Historic responsibility has to make up for the want of legal responsibility. Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men, even when they exercise influence and not authority, still more when you superadd the tendency or the certainty of corruption by authority. There is no worse heresy than that the office sanctifies t...
The dose makes the poison.
Quote of the Week 20 " The dose makes the poison." ― Paracelsus aka Theophrastus von Hohenheim "Sola dosis facit venenum." " Nur die Dosis macht das Gift. " Full quote : " All things are poison, and nothing is without poison; the dosage alone makes it so a thing is not a poison . "
I know it when I see it.
Quote of the Week 19 " I know it when I see it." ― Potter Stewart The phrase appears in Justice Potter Stewart's concurring opinion in Jacobellis v. Ohio , a pornography case decided by the Court in 1964. Also referred to as Steve Jobs ' Credo by Malcolm Gladwell in a New Yorker book review of the Steve Jobs biography (authored by Walter Isaacson) : " I’ll know it when I see it. That was Jobs’s credo, and until he saw it his perfectionism kept him on edge. "
Tame birds sing of freedom. Wild birds fly.
Quote of the Week 18 " Tame birds sing of freedom. Wild birds fly. " ― John Lennon Triggered by a memorial plaque as seen on the way to Hochries summit.
What you can imagine depends on what you know.
Quote of the Week 17 " What you can imagine depends on what you know. " ― Daniel Dennett ( ✝ April 19, 2024) Full quote: “What you can imagine depends on what you know. Philosophers who know only philosophy consign themselves to a janitorial role in the great enterprises of exploration that are illuminating the mysteries of our lives.”
Eventually all things fall into place.
Quote of the Week 16 " Eventually all things fall into place. Until then, laugh at the confusion, live for the moments, and know everything happens for a reason. " ― Albert Schweitzer Triggered by a German reference to the first sentence of the quote as an Icelandic proverb in the book " Arschtritt ins Glück ": " Þetta Reddast. " "Everything will work out in the end." " Es wird sich alles fügen. "
Friends should be judged by their acts, not their words.
Quote of the Week 15 " Friends should be judged by their acts, not their words. " ― Titus Livius ( Livy ) in Ab urbe condita 34 ,49,7 . " Ex factis, non ex dictis amicos pensent. " " Nach ihren Taten, nicht nach ihren Worten soll man die Freunde wägen. " Related: "I ch hätte sie nach ihren Taten und nicht nach ihren Worten beurteilen sollen. " " I ought to have judged by deeds and not by words. " ― Antoine de Saint-Exupéry in " Der Kleine Prinz " // " The Little Prince " "Taten, nicht Worte!" "Acta, non verba. " ― Latin Phrase " Actions speak louder than words. " ― English Proverb
Nothing in life is as important as you think it is while you are thinking about it.
Quote of the Week 14 " Nothing in life is as important as you think it is while you are thinking about it. " ― Daniel Kahneman ( Thinking Fast and Slow ) Triggered by Cass Sunstein's tweet on the day of Kahneman's death last week (March 27, 2024).
The movement you need is on your shoulder.
Quote of the Week 13 " The movement you need is on your shoulder. " ― Paul McCartney ( Hey Jude , song lyrics) The best line in the song according to John Lennon. Featured in the McCartney: A Life in Lyrics podcast describing the genesis of the song by its creator .
The idea of the future is more fruitful than the future itself.
Quote of the Week 12 " The idea of the future, pregnant with an infinity of possibilities, is thus more fruitful than the future itself, and this is why we find more charm in hope than in possession, in dreams than in reality. " ― Henri Bergson The search for this quote was triggered by a recent visit to Bergson Kunstkraftwerk still under construction. Another quote attributed to Bergson for which I could not find the original source: " New ideas, in most cases, are the children of old thoughts. "
The best way to destroy the beauty of a plan is to intend to implement the plan.
Quote of the Week 11 " The best way to destroy the beauty of a plan is to intend to implement the plan. " ― Joschka Breitner (pseudonym; IRL Karsten Dusse ) Triggered by the use of the quote in Dusse's book : Das Kind in mir will achtsam morden . " Die beste Art und Weise, die Schönheit eines Planes zu zerstören, ist die Absicht, den Plan umzusetzen. "
Most of the shadows of this life are caused by standing in one's own sunshine.
Quote of the Week 10 “Most of the shadows of this life are caused by standing in one's own sunshine.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson Triggered by the use of the quote in Stefanie Stahl's book referenced by a thoughtful person. “ Die meisten Schatten in unserem Leben rühren daher, dass wir uns selbst in der Sonne stehen. “ – Ralph Waldo Emerson
It's not things that upset us, but our judgment about things.
Quote of the Week 9 " It's not things that upset us, but our judgment about things. " ― Epictetus Triggered by the following tweet : 3 Stoic Oneliners To Beat Anxiety: 1. “It's not things that upset us, it's our judgment about things.” — Epictetus 2. “We suffer more in imagination than in reality.” — Seneca 3. “Make the best use of what is in your power, take the rest as it happens.” — Epictetus — Daily Stoic (@dailystoic) February 24, 2024 See also " Discourses of Epictetus: Book Summary, Key Lessons and Best Quotes ": " It is not events that disturb people, it is their judgements concerning them. "
The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.
Quote of the Week 8 " The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing. " ― Attributed to Edmund Burke Triggered by the following tweet : #Navalny 's appeal to Russians in case of his death 🎥 Excerpt from the movie "Navalny" by Daniel Rohr, 2022 pic.twitter.com/QET6hQ122V — NEXTA (@nexta_tv) February 16, 2024
He who controls the past controls the future. He who controls the present controls the past.
Quote of the Week 7 " He who controls the past controls the future. He who controls the present controls the past. " ― George Orwell (1984) Triggered by the following tweet : "He who controls the past controls the future. He who controls the present controls the past.” George Orwell in 1984. Me in the Kremlin to @TuckerCarlson . — Darth Putin (@DarthPutinKGB) February 10, 2024
Problem talk creates problems, solution talk creates solutions.
Quote of the Week 6 “Problem talk creates problems, solution talk creates solutions.” – Steve de Shazer Triggered by the use of the quote in Stephanie Salecker 's course material. Related : Solution-focused coaching is based on the radical idea that you can solve many a problem without understanding it fully. “Solutions need not be directly related to the problems they are meant to solve“ – Steve de Shazer “In most cases the solution doesn't care how the problem came to be.” "Der Lösung ist es meist egal wie das Problem entstanden ist." – Veronika Jungwirth & Ralph Miarka
Life is what happens while you are busy making other plans.
Quote of the Week 5 " Life is what happens while you are busy making other plans. " ― John Lennon Triggered by recent events. In essence, life doesn't adhere to our carefully crafted blueprints; it unfolds in its own mysterious and unpredictable manner. Source: The Socratic Mind
Time exists so that everything doesn’t happen at once. Space exists so that it doesn’t all happen to you.
Quote of the Week 4 " Time exists so that everything doesn’t happen at once. Space exists so that it doesn’t all happen to you ." ― Susan Sontag Triggered by Robert's reference to the quote . Consult Quote Investigator for origin and history of the quote that Susan Sontag made popular. Related quote of week 8/23 wrt space & time: "Art is how we decorate space, music is how we decorate time." ― Jean-Michel Basquiat
Happiness is continuing to desire what you already possess.
Quote of the Week 3 " Happiness is continuing to desire what you already possess. " ― Friedrich Nietzsche Triggered by the use of a variant of the quote in the movie " The Taste of Things ": "Le bonheur, c’est de continuer à désirer ce que l’on a déjà." " Glück ist, weiter das zu begehren, was man bereits hat. " "Happiness is continuing to desire what we already have."
Live without pretending, love without depending, listen without defending, speak without offending.
2nd Quote of the Week 2 " Live without pretending, Love without depending, Listen without defending, Speak without offending." ― Drake See also: Quotefancy
The demand to give up the illusions about its condition is the demand to give up a condition that needs illusions.
Quote of the Week 2 "The demand to give up the illusions about its condition is the demand to give up a condition that needs illusions." ― Karl Marx " Die Forderung, die Illusionen über seinen Zustand aufzugeben, ist die Forderung, einen Zustand aufzugeben, der der Illusionen bedarf . " ― Karl Marx Triggered by reading up on " Religion is opium of / for the people ". From his 1843 Contribution to the Critique of Hegel's Philosophy of Right: Religious suffering is, at one and the same time, the expression of real suffering and a protest against real suffering. Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people. The abolition of religion as the illusory happiness of the people is the demand for their real happiness. To call on them to give up their illusions about their condition is to call on them to give up a condition that requires illusions. ___ Da...
Quote of the Year 2023
Quote of the Year 2023* " Objective truths are established by evidence. Personal truths by faith. Political truths by incessant repetition." ― Neil deGrasse Tyson [ CW 5 ] Runner-up "W e do these things not because they are easy, but because we thought they were going to be easy . " ― The Programmers' Credo [ CW 1 ] * as measured by LinkedIn impressions.
The whole universe is in a glass of wine.
Quote of the Week 1 " The whole universe is in a glass of wine. " ― Attributed to Lorenzo Magalotti (famously cited by Richard Feynman ) Triggered by a recent tweet . "The whole universe is in a glass of wine" by Richard Feynman ✍️ A poet once said, "The whole universe is in a glass of wine." We will probably never know in what sense he meant that, for poets do not write to be understood. But it is true that if we look at a glass of wine… pic.twitter.com/XQQ0FrwNes — Physics In History (@PhysInHistory) December 3, 2023
Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.
Quote of the Week 52 " Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony. " ― Mahatma Gandhi Found when looking for the opposite: "What you think, say and do may be different." ― Alan Bipe See also: Philosiblog and QuoteIkon .