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Without friends no one would choose to live, though he had all other goods.

Aristotle

The Nicomachean Ethics

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Topic

Value of friendship Friends Friendship

Author

Aristotle

Source

The Nicomachean Ethics

Genre

Philosophical literature

Language

Greek

Time

322 BC 320s BC 4th century BC

Era

Classical antiquity

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Aristotle. Ἠθικὰ Νικομάχεια, Ēthika Nikomacheia [Nicomachean Ethics]. c. 322 BC.

Current Citation

Aristotle. Nicomachean Ethics, translated by Terence Irwin. Hackett Publishing, 2019, bk. 8.

We learn an art or craft by doing the things that we shall have to do when we have learnt it.

Aristotle

The Nicomachean Ethics

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Topic

Practice Learning Self-improvement

Author

Aristotle

Source

The Nicomachean Ethics

Genre

Philosophical literature

Language

Greek

Time

322 BC 320s BC 4th century BC

Era

Classical antiquity

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Aristotle. Ἠθικὰ Νικομάχεια, Ēthika Nikomacheia [Nicomachean Ethics]. c. 322 BC.

Current Citation

Aristotle. Nicomachean Ethics, translated by Terence Irwin. Hackett Publishing, 2019, bk. 2.

Truth is the most valuable thing we have. Let us economize it.

Mark Twain

Following the Equator: A Journey Around the World

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Topic

Truth

Author

Mark Twain

Source

Following the Equator: A Journey Around the World

Genre

Travel writing

Statement Type

Joke

Language

English

Time

1897 1890s 19th century

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Twain, Mark. Following the Equator: A Journey Around the World. Hartford: American Publishing Company, 1897, ch. 7.

Current Citation

Twain, Mark. "Following the Equator." Mark Twain: A Tramp Abroad, Following the Equator, Other Travels, edited by Roy Blount Jr. Library of America, 2010, ch. 7.

East is East and West is West, and never the twain shall meet.

Rudyard Kipling

The Ballad of East and West

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Topic

East vs. West Clash of civilizations Globalization

Author

Rudyard Kipling

Source

The Ballad of East and West

Medium

Poem

Language

English

Time

1889 1880s 19th century

Authentication Score 0

Original Citation

Kipling, Rudyard. "The Ballad of East and West." Pioneer, 2 Dec. 1889.

Current Citation

Kipling, Rudyard. "The Ballad of East and West." The Collected Poems of Rudyard Kipling. Wordsworth Editions, 1999.

The road of excess leads to the palace of wisdom.

William Blake

The Marriage of Heaven and Hell

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Topic

Learning from mistakes Mistakes Excess Wisdom

Author

William Blake

Source

The Marriage of Heaven and Hell

Medium

Poem

Genre

Philosophical literature

Statement Type

Proverbs, aphorisms and adages Paradox

Language

English

Time

1793 1790s 18th century

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Blake, William. "The Argument." The Marriage of Heaven and Hell. c. 1790.

Current Citation

Blake, William. "The Marriage of Heaven and Hell." The Complete Poetry and Prose of William Blake, edited by David V. Erdman. University of California Press, 2008.

What is originality? To see something that has no name as yet and hence cannot be mentioned although it stares us all in the face.

Friedrich Nietzsche

The Gay Science

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Topic

Originality Perception Observation Vision

Author

Friedrich Nietzsche

Source

The Gay Science

Genre

Philosophical literature

Statement Type

Question

Language

German

Time

1882 1880s 19th century

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Nietzsche, Friedrich. Die frohliche Wissenschaft [The Gay Science]. Chemnitz: Ernst Schmeitzner, 1882, bk. 3, no. 261.

Current Citation

Nietzsche, Friedrich. The Joyous Science, translated by R. Kevin Hill. Penguin Classics, 2019, bk. 3, no. 261.

America, if eligible at all to downfall and ruin, is eligible within herself, not without.

Walt Whitman

Democratic Vistas

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Topic

American decline Societal collapse America

Author

Walt Whitman

Source

Democratic Vistas

Medium

Essay

Genre

Political literature

Language

English

Time

1871 1870s 19th century

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Whitman, Walt. Democratic Vistas. Washington D.C.: J. S. Redfield, 1871.

Current Citation

Whitman, Walt. Democratic Vistas, edited by Ed Folsom. University Of Iowa Press, 2009.

There cannot be salvation for any, except in the Church.

St. Cyprian

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Topic

Catholic church Salvation Christianity

Author

St. Cyprian

Medium

Letter

Genre

Religious literature

Language

Latin

Time

256 250s 3rd century

Era

Classical antiquity

Authentication Score 1

Citation

Saint Cyprian. Letter to Jubaianus. c. 256, sect. 21.

It's a wonder I haven't abandoned all my ideals. They seem so absurd and impractical. Yet I cling to them because I still believe, in spite of everything, that people are truly good at heart.

Anne Frank

The Diary of a Young Girl

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Topic

Idealism Optimism Human nature

Author

Anne Frank

Source

The Diary of a Young Girl

Medium

Personal journal

Language

Dutch

Time

1944 1940s 20th century

Authentication Score 2

Citation

Frank, Anne. Journal entry. 15 July 1944.

"Where is God gone?" he called out. "I mean to tell you! We have killed him,—you and I! We are all his murderers!

Friedrich Nietzsche

The Gay Science

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Topic

Death of God Existence of God God Decline of religion

Author

Friedrich Nietzsche

Source

The Parable of the Madman The Gay Science

Genre

Philosophical literature

Language

German

Time

1882 1880s 19th century

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Nietzsche, Friedrich. Die frohliche Wissenschaft [The Gay Science]. Chemnitz: Ernst Schmeitzner, 1882, bk. 3, no. 125.

Current Citation

Nietzsche, Friedrich. The Joyous Science, translated by R. Kevin Hill. Penguin Classics, 2019, bk. 3, no. 125.

How little do we know that which we are!
How less what we may be!

Lord Byron

Don Juan

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Topic

Human potential Human nature

Author

Lord Byron

Source

Don Juan

Medium

Poem

Language

English

Time

1824 1810s 19th century

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Lord Byron. Don Juan. London: John Hunt, 1824, canto 15, st. 99.

Current Citation

Lord Byron. "Don Juan." Lord Byron: The Major Works, edited by Jerome J. McGann. Oxford University Press, 2008, canto 15, st. 99.

Time, the devourer of all things.

Ovid

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Topic

Effects of time Relentlessness of time Time

Author

Ovid

Source

Metamorphoses

Medium

Poem

Statement Type

Metaphor, analogy and simile

Language

Latin

Time

8 0s 1st century

Era

Classical antiquity

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Ovid. Metamorphōsēs [Metamorphoses]. c. 8 CE, bk. 15, l. 234.

Current Citation

Ovid. Metamorphoses, translated by David Raeburn. Penguin Classics, 2004, bk. 15, l. 234.

Where some people are very wealthy and others have nothing, the result will be either extreme democracy or absolute oligarchy, or despotism will come from either of those excesses.

Aristotle

Politics

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Topic

Economic inequality Decline of democracy Tyranny

Author

Aristotle

Source

Politics

Genre

Political literature Philosophical literature

Language

Greek

Time

350 BC 350s BC 4th century BC

Era

Classical antiquity

Authentication Score 1

Original Citation

Aristotle. Politics. 4th century BC, bk. 4.

Current Citation

Aristotle. Politics, translated by R. F. Stalley and Sir Ernest Barker. Oxford University Press, 2009, bk. 4.

No bird soars too high if he soars with his own wings.

William Blake

The Marriage of Heaven and Hell

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Topic

Elegance of nature Birds Nature Limitations and constraints Human potential

Author

William Blake

Source

The Marriage of Heaven and Hell

Medium

Poem

Genre

Philosophical literature

Statement Type

Proverbs, aphorisms and adages Metaphor, analogy and simile

Language

English

Time

1793 1790s 18th century

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Blake, William. "The Argument." The Marriage of Heaven and Hell. c. 1790.

Current Citation

Blake, William. "The Marriage of Heaven and Hell." The Complete Poetry and Prose of William Blake, edited by David V. Erdman. University of California Press, 2008.

The report of my death was an exaggeration.

Mark Twain

More information about this quote

Topic

Fake news

Author

Mark Twain

Medium

Note

Language

English

Time

1897 1890s 19th century

Authentication Score 3

Original Citation

Twain, Mark. Note to Frank Marshall White. 31 May 1897.

Current Citation

Twain, Mark. Mark Twain: The Complete Interviews, edited by Gary Scharnhorst. University Alabama Press, 2006, ch. 6.

My country is the world, and my religion is to do good.

Thomas Paine

Rights of Man

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Topic

Citizens of the world Religion

Author

Thomas Paine

Source

Rights of Man

Genre

Philosophical literature Political literature

Language

English

Time

1792 1790s 18th century

Authentication Score 3

Original Citation

Paine, Thomas. Rights of man. Part the second. London: J. S. Jordan, 1792.

Current Citation

Paine, Thomas. "Rights of Man Part the second." Rights of Man, Common Sense, and Other Political Writings, edited by Mark Philp. Oxford University Press, 2009.

This is hardest of all: to close the open hand out of love, and keep modest as a giver.

Friedrich Nietzsche

Thus Spoke Zarathustra

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Topic

Generosity Nature of love

Author

Friedrich Nietzsche

Source

Thus Spoke Zarathustra

Genre

Philosophical literature

Statement Type

Paradox

Language

German

Time

1883 1880s 19th century

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Nietzsche, Friedrich. Also sprach Zarathustra: Ein Buch für Alle und Keinen [Thus Spoke Zarathustra: A Book for All and None]. Chemnitz: Ernst Schmeitzner, 1884, pt. 2.

Current Citation

Nietzsche, Friedrich. Nietzsche: Thus Spoke Zarathustra, edited by Robert Pippin, translated by Adrian Del Caro. Cambridge University Press, 2006, pt. 2.

When I heard the learn'd astronomer,
When the proofs, the figures, were ranged in columns before me,
When I was shown the charts and diagrams, to add, divide, and measure them,
When I sitting heard the astronomer where he lectured with much applause in the lecture-room,
How soon unaccountable I became tired and sick,
Till rising and gliding out I wander'd off by myself,
In the mystical moist night-air, and from time to time,
Look'd up in perfect silence at the stars.

Walt Whitman

When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer

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Topic

Spending time in nature The night sky Experiencing things

Author

Walt Whitman

Source

When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer Leaves of Grass

Medium

Poem

Language

English

Time

1867 1860s 19th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Whitman, Walt. "When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer." Leaves of Grass. New York: Self-published, 1867, I. 1. Originally published in Drum-Taps. New York: Peter Eckler, 1865, I. 1.

If this is the best of possible worlds, what then are the others?

Voltaire

Candide

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Topic

Problem of evil

Author

Voltaire

Source

Candide

Medium

Novel

Genre

Satire

Statement Type

Question

Language

French

Time

1759 1750s 18th century

Era

Age of Enlightenment

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Voltaire. Candide, ou l'Optimisme [Candide: or, All for the Best]. Geneva: Gabriel Cramer, 1759, ch. 6.

Current Citation

Voltaire. Candide, edited by Nicholas Cronk. W. W. Norton & Company, 2016, ch. 6.

I celebrate myself and sing myself,
And what I assume you shall assume,
For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you.
I loafe and invite my soul,
I lean and loafe at my ease observing a spear of summer grass.

Walt Whitman

Song of Myself

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Topic

Taking it easy Loving oneself

Author

Walt Whitman

Source

Song of Myself Leaves of Grass

Medium

Poem

Language

English

Time

1855 1850s 19th century

Authentication Score 3

Original Citation

Whitman, Walt. Leaves of Grass. Brooklyn, New York: Self-published, 1855, poem 1.

Current Citation

Whitman, Walt. "Song of Myself." Leaves of Grass and Other Writings. W. W. Norton & Company, 2002, sect. 1, I. 1.