December 7

December 7 Quotes of the day from previous years:


 * 2004
 * Oh, if a man tried to take his time on earth and prove before he died what one man's life could be worth, I wonder what would happen to this world? ~ Harry Chapin
 * selected by Kalki


 * 2005
 * That is happiness; to be dissolved into something complete and great. ~ Willa Cather (born (7 December 1873)
 * proposed by UDScott


 * 2006
 * I know that every good and excellent thing in the world stands moment by moment on the razor-edge of danger and must be fought for. ~ Thornton Wilder (died 7 December 1975)
 * proposed by UDScott


 * 2007
 * It's an alethiometer. It's one of only six that were ever made. Lyra, I urge you again: keep it private. … It tells you the truth. As for how to read it, you'll have to learn by yourself. Now go — it's getting lighter... ~ Philip Pullman (Quote from The Golden Compass (1995) the movie adaptation opening on 7 December 2007)
 * proposed by Kalki


 * 2008
 * Artistic growth is, more than it is anything else, a refining of the sense of truthfulness. The stupid believe that to be truthful is easy; only the artist, the great artist, knows how difficult it is. ~ Willa Cather
 * proposed by Kalki


 * 2009
 * There are some things you learn best in calm, and some in storm. ~ Willa Cather
 * proposed by Kalki


 * 2010
 * That which is not just, is not Law; and that which is not Law, ought not to be obeyed. ~ Algernon Sydney (executed on this date, no birthdate known)
 * proposed by Kalki


 * 2011
 * Being able to do as one pleases is the natural goal of the libertarian, but having nothing to do is not. While it may be correct to say that the human species is badly prepared for having nothing to do, it is quite a different matter to say that it is badly prepared for the freedom to do as one pleases. People who are able to do as they please may work very hard, given the opportunity to do interesting work. ~ Noam Chomsky
 * proposed by InvisibleSun


 * 2012


 * proposed by bystander


 * 2013
 * proposed by InvisibleSun


 * 2014


 * proposed by Kalki


 * 2015


 * proposed by Kalki


 * 2016


 * proposed by bystander


 * 2017


 * proposed by bystander


 * 2018


 * proposed by Kalki


 * 2019


 * proposed by Kalki


 * 2020


 * proposed by Kalki


 * 2021


 * proposed by Matchups


 * 2022


 * proposed by InvisibleSun


 * 2023


 * proposed by Kalki; in regard of his recent death.


 * 2024 : Rank or add further suggestions…

Quotes by people born this day, already used as QOTD:


 * Where there is great love there are always miracles. ~ Willa Cather
 * used 4 April 2004, selected by Kalki

Suggestions
My advice to you is not to inquire why or whither, but just enjoy your ice cream while it's on your plate — that's my philosophy. ~ Thornton Wilder in The Skin of Our Teeth (date of death)
 * 3 ~ UDScott 23:09, 28 November 2005 (UTC)
 * 3 InvisibleSun 07:26, 5 December 2006 (UTC)
 * 3 Kalki 23:51, 6 December 2006 (UTC) with a lean toward 4.
 * 2 Zarbon 15:49, 26 April 2008 (UTC)
 * 1 Nice quote, but in general, and mostly for consistency, I'd rather see quotes on the writer's date of birth (April 17 in this case, which already has used two of his quotes and has several more suggested) than death. Matchups 18:55, 7 December 2008 (UTC)
 * bystander (talk) 17:21, 4 December 2012 (UTC) I agree with Matchups, especially when there are so many usable quotes from people born this day.

Providence has nothing good or high in store for one who does not resolutely aim at something high or good. A purpose is the eternal condition of success. ~ Thornton Wilder (date of death)
 * 3 ~ UDScott 23:09, 28 November 2005 (UTC)
 * 2 InvisibleSun 07:26, 5 December 2006 (UTC)
 * * 3 Kalki 23:51, 6 December 2006 (UTC) I have found an early citation of this quote to T. T Munger in A dictionary of thoughts: being a cyclopedia of laconic quotations (1906) by Tryon Edwards
 * 1 Zarbon 15:49, 26 April 2008 (UTC)
 * 1, as above Matchups 18:55, 7 December 2008 (UTC)

Seek the lofty by reading, hearing and seeing great work at some moment every day. ~ Thornton Wilder (date of death)
 * 3 ~ UDScott 23:09, 28 November 2005 (UTC)
 * 3 InvisibleSun 07:26, 5 December 2006 (UTC)
 * 3 Kalki 23:51, 6 December 2006 (UTC)
 * 1 Zarbon 15:49, 26 April 2008 (UTC)
 * 1, as above Matchups 18:55, 7 December 2008 (UTC)

The most effective way to restrict democracy is to transfer decision-making from the public arena to unaccountable institutions: kings and princes, priestly castes, military juntas, party dictatorships, or modern corporations. ~ Noam Chomsky
 * 3 InvisibleSun 07:26, 5 December 2006 (UTC)
 * 3 Kalki 23:51, 6 December 2006 (UTC) with a lean toward 4.
 * 1 Zarbon 15:49, 26 April 2008 (UTC)
 * 2 Matchups 18:55, 7 December 2008 (UTC)
 * 3 bystander (talk) 17:21, 4 December 2012 (UTC)

Ever hear the old saying that beauty is only skin deep? Well, right now, all you can see is the beauty. ~ DragonBall Z's Zarbon Paul Dobson (born December 7)
 * 4 because the quote defines me. And furthermore, the dynamic parallel of beauty outside and beast inside is drawn here. Zarbon 06:11, 24 April 2008 (UTC)
 * 1 Kalki 01:58, 29 November 2008 (UTC)
 * 1 InvisibleSun 23:13, 6 December 2008 (UTC)

You only saw the beauty side of me before, now with great pleasure, I introduce you to the beast! ~ DragonBall Z's Zarbon Paul Dobson (born December 7)
 * 3 because anger compensates where beauty cannot and in all fury, takes a life of its own. Zarbon 06:11, 24 April 2008 (UTC)
 * 1 Kalki 01:58, 29 November 2008 (UTC)
 * 1 InvisibleSun 23:13, 6 December 2008 (UTC)

God made the integers, all the rest is the work of man. ~ Leopold Kronecker
 * 2 Zarbon 03:45, 29 October 2008 (UTC)
 * 2 Kalki 01:58, 29 November 2008 (UTC)
 * 2 InvisibleSun 23:13, 6 December 2008 (UTC)
 * 3 This is an important statement in the history of mathematics. Matchups 18:55, 7 December 2008 (UTC)
 * 1 bystander (talk) 17:53, 4 December 2012 (UTC) Perhaps a more proper interpretation, at least as it apples to mathematics, would be "God made natural numbers; all else is the work of man." While Leopold Kronecker may have been important figure in the development of number theory, I fail to see the importance of this statement to mathematics or its history.

No one conquers who doesn't fight. ~ Gabriel Biel (date of death)
 * 2 Zarbon 03:45, 29 October 2008 (UTC)
 * 1 Kalki 01:58, 29 November 2008 (UTC) Omnia Vincit Amor
 * I think the concept of "love conquers all" is being abused ruthlessly by you. But to make things clear, this quote means that you cannot conquer someone who does not fight...meaning a peaceful person is protected against the most powerful attack. I don't think you understood the idea behind the quote. Zarbon 06:23, 7 December 2008 (UTC)
 * Nay, "who" refers to the subject "no one", it is not the object of "conquers." (Cf. "They also serve who only stand and wait." —John Milton, On His Blindness, 1652 ) Contemporary vernacular, seemingly wary of the relative clause, favors a conditional particular construction, "If you don't fight then you can't conquer," to express the qualified universal intended here. ~ Ningauble 14:11, 9 December 2008 (UTC)
 * 2 InvisibleSun 23:13, 6 December 2008 (UTC)

It is only in folk tales, children's stories, and the journals of intellectual opinion that power is used wisely and well to destroy evil. The real world teaches very different lessons, and it takes willful and dedicated ignorance to fail to perceive them. ~ Noam Chomsky
 * 3 bystander (talk) 17:21, 4 December 2012 (UTC)
 * 3 ♞☤☮♌︎Kalki ⚚⚓︎⊙☳☶⚡ 22:50, 4 December 2012 (UTC)

The sun was like a great visiting presence that stimulated and took its due from all animal energy. When it flung wide its cloak and stepped down over the edge of the fields at evening, it left behind it a spent and exhausted world. ~ Willa Cather
 * 3 bystander (talk) 17:21, 4 December 2012 (UTC)
 * 2 ♞☤☮♌︎Kalki ⚚⚓︎⊙☳☶⚡ 22:50, 4 December 2012 (UTC)

In the course of twenty crowded years one parts with many illusions. I did not wish to lose the early ones. Some memories are realities, and are better than anything that can ever happen to one again. ~ Willa Cather
 * 3 bystander (talk) 17:21, 4 December 2012 (UTC)
 * 3 ♞☤☮♌︎Kalki ⚚⚓︎⊙☳☶⚡ 22:50, 4 December 2012 (UTC) with a lean toward 4.

Oh, if a man tried

To take his time on earth

And prove before he died

What one man's life could be worth,

I wonder what would happen to this world.

~ Harry Chapin I Wonder What Would Happen to this World
 * 3 bystander (talk) 17:21, 4 December 2012 (UTC)
 * This quote was already used on this date in 2004. ~ ♞☤☮♌︎Kalki ⚚⚓︎⊙☳☶⚡