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The reputation of a thousand years may be determined by the conduct of one hour. Japanese Proverb Sic transit gloria mundi. (and so the glory passes) Caveat emptor. (Let the buyer beware.) De gustibus non disputandum. (About tastes there is no disputing.) Sed quis custodiet ipsos Custodes? (But who is to guard the guards themselves?) Vox populi vox Dei. (The voice of the people is the voice of God.) Ut sementem feceris ita metes. ("As you sow so will you reap".) Cicero (106 B.C. - 43 B.C.) Carpe Diem. (Seize the day.) popular advise dating back to the Roman poet Horace 65 B.C. - 8 B.C. Veni, vidi, vici. (I came, I saw, I conquered) inscription on Caesar's Pontic triumph Quemadmodum gladius neminem occidit, occidentis telum est. ("A sword never kills anybody; it is a tool in the killer's hand.") Seneca "the Younger" (ca. 4 B.C. - 65 A.D.) Qui non est hodie cras minus aptus erit. ("He who is not prepared today will be less so tomorrow".) Ovid (43 B.C. - 17 A.D.) Qui desiderat pacem, praeparet bellum. ("Let him who desires peace prepare for war.") Vegetius (Flavius Vegetius Renatus) @375 A.D. Si vis pacem, para bellum. (another version) Caedite eos! Novit enim Dominus qui sunt eius. ("Kill them [all]! Surely the Lord discerns which [ones] are his.") Papal legate Arnaud-Amaury, the Abbot of Citeaux, July 1209 Cogito, ergo sum. (I think, therefore I am) Rene Descartes 1596-1650 E pluribus unum. (One out of many.) motto on U.S. coins, first used in 1795 and made into a requirement by the Act of February 12, 1873 Semper fidelis. (Always faithful.) The motto of the United States Marine Corp. Ad astra per aspera. (To the stars through hardships.) motto of Kansas They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. Benjamin Franklin (1706–1790), "Historical Review of Pennsylvania", 1759 I have not yet begun to fight. John Paul Jones (1747 - 1792), September 23rd, 1779 - aboard the Bon Homme Richard, battling the British frigate Serapis I wish to have no connection with any ship that does not sail fast; for I intend to go in harm's way. John Paul Jones, Letter, November 16, 1778 The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing. Edmund Burke (1729-1797) Alas for maiden, alas for Judge, For rich repiner and household drudge! God pity them both! and pity us all, Who vainly the dreams of youth recall; For of all sad words of tongue or pen, The saddest are these: "It might have been!" John Greenleaf Whittier (1897-1892) "Maud Miller", 1856 If I were two-faced, would I be wearing this one? Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) He can compress the most words into the smallest idea of any man I know. Abraham Lincoln Great fleas have little fleas upon their backs to bite 'em, And little fleas have lesser fleas, and so ad infinitum. And the great fleas themselves, in turn, have greater fleas to go on, While these again have greater still, and greater still, and so on." Augustus De Morgan "A Budget of Paradoxes", 1872 Duty is weightier than a mountain - Death is lighter than a feather. from "Imperial Precepts to Soldiers and Sailors", issued in 1882 by Japanese Emperor Meiji (1852-1912) Everything that can be invented has been invented. Charles H. Duell, Commissioner, U.S. Office of Patents, 1899 I have never let my schooling interfere with my education. Mark Twain (1835-1910) Dance like no one is watching. Sing like no one is listening. Love like you've never been hurt and live like it's heaven on Earth. Mark Twain Let us endeavor so to live that when we come to die even the undertaker will be sorry. Mark Twain Who the hell wants to hear actors talk? H. M. Warner (1881-1958), founder of Warner Brothers, in 1927 Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930), Sherlock Holmes character Copy from one, it's plagiarism; copy from two, it's research. Wilson Mizner (1876-1933) I'm not a member of any organized political party, I'm a Democrat! Will Rogers (1879-1935) You can get more with a kind word and a gun than you can with a kind word alone. Al Capone (1899-1947) We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and the oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our Island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender, Winston Churchill (1874-1965), speech after Dunkirk, House of Commons, June 4, 1940. Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few. Winston Churchill, Tribute to Royal Air Force, House of Commons, August 20, 1940. Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning. Winston Churchill, speech at Lord Mayor's Day Luncheon, November 10, 1942 When you have to kill a man, it costs nothing to be polite. Winston Churchill, The Second World War, vol 3, 1950 A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty. Sir Winston Churchill I am ready to meet my Maker. Whether my Maker is prepared for the great ordeal of meeting me is another matter. Sir Winston Churchill I think there is a world market for maybe five computers. Thomas Watson (1874-1956), Chairman of IBM, 1943 Freedom of the press is guaranteed only to those who own one. A. J. Liebling (1904-1963), reporter, war correspondent, writer, critic Niitaka yama nobore (Climb Mount Niitaka) 1208 the signal Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto (1884-1943) sent to Kido Butai, the Imperial Japanese Naval to begin the attack on Pearl Harbor. "To the German Commander, "Nuts!" The American Commander." General Anthony McAuliffe's reply to Nazi demand for surrender at Battle of Bastogne, December 22nd, 1944 We don't like their sound, and guitar music is on the way out. Decca Recording Co. rejecting the Beatles, 1962 The concept is interesting and well-formed, but in order to earn better than a 'C', the idea must be feasible. A Yale University management professor in response to student Fred Smith's paper proposing reliable overnight delivery service (Smith graduated from Yale in 1966 went on to found Federal Express Corp. after serving in Viet Nam as an USMC officer 1966-1970) It is now possible for a flight attendant to get a pilot pregnant. Richard J. Ferris, president of United Airlines 640K ought to be enough for anybody. Bill Gates (1955-), in 1981 The Safety Nazis advocate gun control, vigorous exercise, and health foods. The result can only be a disarmed, exhausted, and half-starved population ready to acquiesce to dictatorship of some kind. P.J. O'Rourke "Republican Party Reptile", 1987 ... upon the plains of hesitation bleach the bones of countless thousands who had reached the dawn of victory and sat down to wait and, waiting, died ... |