As a historian, I love to delve into the lives of people. I'm what you would call a social historian. I want to know about how people were impacted by historical events, the era they influenced, the ideas they had, the emotions. Centuries have past, each generation claiming to throw off tradition and accomplish what no other generation before has dared to dream of. Goethe said that "Each ten years of a man's life has its own fortunes, its own hopes, its own desires" and "The destiny of any nation at any given time depends on the opinion of its young people, those under twenty-five." Looking out across history, this is true, no matter the time period or the civilization. If you've heard the saying "history repeats itself," that's really not off.
Quotes from well-known/famous individuals smattered throughout time bring me great delight. There's a comfort, a settled feeling, that what we experience today is not new; that our struggles are the same, our ideals and goals, in essence, the same, never changing, static. No matter the time period, the words of humanity ring true today and some are, in fact, quite entertaining. The great people of the past were human, they were normal-- most of them not elevated to 'pedestal' status until well after their deaths.
That being said, here are some of the quotes I have found interesting and enjoyable in recent weeks.
"The person who in shaky times also wavers, increases the evil, but the person of firm decision fashions the universe." ~ Johann von Goethe, 1749-1832
"The only thing necessary for evil to flourish is for good men to do nothing." ~ Edmund Burke, 1729-1797
"We have the best government money can buy." ~ Mark Twain, 1835-1910
"There are basically two types of people. People who accomplish things and people who claim to have accomplished things. The first group is less crowded." ~ Mark Twain
"To succeed in life you need two things: ignorance and confidence." ~Mark Twain
"No man for any considerable period can wear one face to himself and another to the multitude, without finally getting bewildered as to which may be the true." ~ Nathaniel Hawthorne, 1804-1864
"Only the mob and the elite can be attracted by the momentum of totalitarianism itself. The masses have to be won by propaganda." ~ Hannah Arendt, 1906-1975
"Revolutionaries do no make revolutions. The revolutionaries are those who know when power is lying in the street and then they can pick it up." ~Hannah Arendt
"I never expected to see the day when girls would get sunburned in the places they now do." ~Will Rogers, 1879-1935
"The most radical revolutionary will become a conservative the day after the revolution." ~Hannah Arendt
"Every day we should hear at least one little song, read one good poem, see one exquisite picture, and, if possible, speak a few sensible words." ~Goethe
"If you start to think of your physical and moral condition, you usually find that you are sick." ~Goethe
"Nothing is more terrible than seeing ignorance in action." ~Goethe
"Lifetimes are made up of a lot of little lifetimes." ~Danny Kaye, 1913-1987
"Trouble and perplexity drive me to prayer and prayer drives away perplexity and trouble." ~Phillip Melanchthon, 1497-1560
"Faith is nothing else than trust in the divine mercy promised in Christ." ~Phillip Melanchthon
"Only under conditions or tyranny it is far easier to act than think." ~Hannah Arendt
"People never lie so much as after a hunt, during a war or before an election." ~Otto von Bismarck, 1815-1898
"There is a Providence that protects idiots, drunkards, children and the United States of America." ~Otto von Bismarck
"When a man says he approves of something in principle, it means he hasn't the slightest intention of carrying it out in practice." ~Otto von Bismarck
"Speech is civilization itself." ~Thomas Mann, 1875-1955
"I think I've discovered the secret of life - you just hang around until you get used to it." ~Charles M. Schulz, 1922-2000
"Life is a long lesson in humility." ~James M. Barrie, 1860-1937
"The perfect normal person is rare in our civilization." ~Karen Horney, 1885-1952
"A government that robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul." ~George Bernard Shaw, 1856-1950
"Any girl can be glamorous. All you have to do is stand still and look stupid." ~Hedy Lamarr, 1913-2000
"Fashions have done more harm than revolutions." ~Victor Hugo, 1802-1885
"Laws are like sausages, it is better not to see them being made." ~Otto von Bismarck
"I love to go to Washington - if only to be near my money." ~Bob Hope, 1903-2003
And last, but not least:
"When angry, count to four. When very angry, swear." ~Mark Twain
Hey, he said it... a long time ago. So that makes it okay, right?
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