May 1

May 1 Quotes of the day from previous years:


 * 2004
 * The month of May was come, when every lusty heart beginneth to blossom, and to bring forth fruit; for like as herbs and trees bring forth fruit and flourish in May, in likewise every lusty heart that is in any manner a lover, springeth and flourisheth in lusty deeds. For it giveth unto all lovers courage, that lusty month of May. ~ Sir Thomas Malory
 * selected by Kalki


 * 2005
 * "DON'T PANIC" ~ Douglas Adams in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
 * selected by Kalki


 * 2006
 * I react pragmatically. Where the market works, I'm for that. Where the government is necessary, I'm for that. I'm deeply suspicious of somebody who says, "I'm in favor of privatization," or, "I'm deeply in favor of public ownership." I'm in favor of whatever works in the particular case. ~ John Kenneth Galbraith (recent death)
 * selected by Kalki


 * 2007
 * A man must be excessively stupid, as well as uncharitable, who believes that there is no virtue but on his own side, and that there are not men as honest as himself who may differ from him in political principles. ~ Joseph Addison (born 1 May 1672)
 * proposed by InvisibleSun


 * 2008
 * What sculpture is to a block of marble, education is to the human soul. ~ Joseph Addison
 * proposed by InvisibleSun


 * 2009
 * When an angel by divine command With rising tempests shakes a guilty land, Such as of late o'er pale Britannia past, Calm and serene he drives the furious blast; And, pleas'd th' Almighty's orders to perform, Rides in the whirlwind, and directs the storm. ~ Joseph Addison ~
 * proposed by Kalki


 * 2010
 * Nature does nothing without purpose or uselessly. ~ Joseph Addison
 * proposed by Kalki


 * 2011
 * I shall endeavor to enliven morality with wit, and to temper wit with morality. ~ Joseph Addison
 * proposed by Zarbon


 * 2012
 * Since once again, O Lord, in the steppes of Asia, I have no bread, no wine, no altar, I will raise myself above those symbols to the pure majesty of reality, and I will offer to you, I, your priest, upon the altar of the entire earth, the labor and the suffering of the world. ~ Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
 * proposed by N6n


 * 2013


 * proposed by DanielTom


 * 2014


 * proposed by Kalki


 * 2015


 * proposed by Zarbon


 * 2016


 * proposed by Zarbon


 * 2017


 * proposed by Kalki


 * 2018


 * proposed by Kalki for Beltane/May Day 2018


 * 2019


 * proposed by Lyle


 * 2020


 * proposed by bystander


 * 2021


 * proposed by Zarbon


 * 2022


 * proposed by Kalki; recent remarks regarding the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.


 * 2023


 * proposed by InvisibleSun


 * 2024


 * proposed by InvisibleSun


 * 2025 : Rank or add further suggestions…

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


 * The day will come when, after harnessing space, the winds, the tides, gravitation, we shall harness for God the energies of love. And, on that day, for the second time in the history of the world, man will have discovered fire. ~ Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
 * used 15 December 2003, selected by Kalki


 * Nothing except a battle lost can be half so melancholy as a battle won. ~ Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
 * used 18 June 2008, proposed on that date as the anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo (18 June 1815) by Kalki


 * The history of a battle, is not unlike the history of a ball. Some individuals may recollect all the little events of which the great result is the battle won or lost, but no individual can recollect the order in which, or the exact moment at which, they occurred, which makes all the difference as to their value or importance. ~ Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
 * used 18 June 2009, proposed on that date by Kalki

Suggestions
A little nonsense now and then is relished by the wisest men. ~ Joseph Addison Anonymous
 * 3 Kalki 14:00, 30 April 2007 (UTC) with a strong lean toward 4. but this seems to be an anonymous proverb, and thus not attributed to Addison.
 * 3 InvisibleSun 18:22, 30 April 2007 (UTC)
 * 3 Aphaia 19:24, 30 April 2007 (UTC)
 * 2 Zarbon 04:50, 23 April 2008 (UTC)

A man's first care should be to avoid the reproaches of his own heart, his next to escape the censures of the world. ~ Joseph Addison
 * 3 Kalki 14:00, 30 April 2007 (UTC) with a lean toward 4.
 * 3 InvisibleSun 18:22, 30 April 2007 (UTC)
 * 3 Aphaia 19:24, 30 April 2007 (UTC)
 * 1 Zarbon 04:50, 23 April 2008 (UTC)

On you, my lord, with anxious fear I wait, And from your judgment must expect my fate. ~ Joseph Addison (born May 1, 1672)
 * 3 because as the main agenda of Greek philosophy has always been, one can not escape from one's own fate, especially when one does not know one's own fate to begin with. Beautiful. Zarbon 15:08, 28 April 2008 (UTC)
 * 2 InvisibleSun 20:03, 30 April 2008 (UTC)
 * 2 Kalki 20:38, 30 April 2009 (UTC)

Arguments out of a pretty mouth are unanswerable. ~ Joseph Addison (born May 1, 1672)
 * 2 because sometimes it is truly hard to reply to a woman of sheer beauty. Zarbon 15:08, 28 April 2008 (UTC)
 * 2 InvisibleSun 20:03, 30 April 2008 (UTC)
 * 2 Kalki 20:38, 30 April 2009 (UTC)

Better to die ten thousand deaths, Than wound my honour. ~ Joseph Addison (born May 1, 1672)
 * 4 because dying is nothing compared to destroying or tainting one's honor, and moreso reputation. Zarbon 15:08, 28 April 2008 (UTC)
 * 3 InvisibleSun 20:03, 30 April 2008 (UTC)
 * 2 Kalki 20:38, 30 April 2009 (UTC) with a lean toward 3 — but this can be interpreted with both noble and ignoble senses of the word "honour"

How beautiful is death, when earn'd by virtue! Who would not be that youth? What pity is it That we can die but once to serve our country! ~ Joseph Addison (born May 1, 1672)
 * 3 because true virtue and loyalty comes from service to one's country. Zarbon 15:08, 28 April 2008 (UTC)
 * 3 InvisibleSun 20:03, 30 April 2008 (UTC)
 * 2 Kalki 20:38, 30 April 2009 (UTC) with a lean toward 3.

In doing what we ought we deserve no praise, Because it is our duty. ~ Joseph Addison (born May 1, 1672)
 * 3 because this is very true. It is a gift in itself to do one's duty, and rightly so. Zarbon 15:08, 28 April 2008 (UTC)
 * 3 InvisibleSun 20:03, 30 April 2008 (UTC)
 * 2 Kalki 20:38, 30 April 2009 (UTC) with a lean toward 3.

My death and life, My bane and antidote, are both before me. ~ Joseph Addison (born May 1, 1672)
 * 3 because in some instances, everything flashes before one's eyes, life and death alike, before the end. The comparison of bane and suffering to that of life and the antidote expressed in the form of death is also magnificent. Zarbon 15:08, 28 April 2008 (UTC)
 * 3 InvisibleSun 20:03, 30 April 2008 (UTC)
 * 2 Kalki 20:38, 30 April 2009 (UTC) but could use more context.

My heart is broken by the terrible loss I have sustained in my old friends and companions and my poor soldiers. Believe me, nothing except a battle lost can be half so melancholy as a battle won. ~ Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
 * 3 and lean toward 4. Zarbon 22:55, 30 April 2009 (UTC)
 * 3 InvisibleSun 23:02, 30 April 2009 (UTC)
 * 2 Kalki 23:53, 30 April 2009 (UTC) I would rank this higher, but the last part of it was already used, on 18 June 2008

I believe I forgot to tell you I was made a Duke. ~ Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
 * 2 Zarbon 22:55, 30 April 2009 (UTC)
 * 2 InvisibleSun 23:02, 30 April 2009 (UTC)
 * 2 Kalki 23:53, 30 April 2009 (UTC)

There is no mistake; there has been no mistake; and there shall be no mistake. ~ Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
 * 3 and lean toward 4. Zarbon 22:55, 30 April 2009 (UTC)
 * 2 InvisibleSun 23:02, 30 April 2009 (UTC)
 * 2 Kalki 23:53, 30 April 2009 (UTC)

The only wisdom I think I've attained is the wisdom to be skeptical of other people's ideology and other people's arguments. I tend to be a skeptic, I don't like dogmatic approaches by anybody. I don't like intolerance and a dogmatic person is intolerant of other people. It's one of the reasons I keep a distance from all religious beliefs. ~ Joseph Heller
 * 3 bystander (talk) 05:03, 1 May 2013 (UTC)
 * 3 ♞☤☮♌︎Kalki ⚚⚓︎⊙☳☶⚡ 05:36, 1 May 2013 (UTC)

Morale was deteriorating and it was all Yossarian's fault. The country was in peril; he was jeopardizing his traditional rights of freedom and independence by daring to exercise them. ~ Joseph Heller
 * 3 ♞☤☮♌︎Kalki ⚚⚓︎⊙☳☶⚡ 06:15, 1 May 2013 (UTC) with a lean toward 4.

"Reason conquers all." (Ratio omnia vincit.) ~ Marcus Manilius
 * 3 (May 1 will be 2014's National Day of Reason.) DanielTom (talk) 11:47, 7 January 2014 (UTC)
 * 3 ♞☤☮♌︎Kalki ⚚⚓︎⊙☳☶⚡ 12:12, 7 January 2014 (UTC) but with slight lean toward 2 — Reason is valuable — but reliances upon one's own impressions in its name is often just as blinding as those in name of passion. To see beyond names and passions often requires more than the shallowest forms of reason — which all too often people believe suffices.


 * 3 ♞☤☮♌︎Kalki ⚚⚓︎⊙☳☶⚡ 01:33, 1 May 2017 (UTC) with a lean toward 4.


 * Never be deceived that the rich will allow you to vote away their wealth. ~ Lucy Parsons
 * proposed by DoSazunielle (talk) 11:11, 21 April 2021 (UTC)


 * We cannot help but believe that were every law, every title deed, every court, and every police officer or soldier abolished tomorrow with one sweep, we would be better off than now. ~ Lucy Parsons
 * proposed by DoSazunielle (talk) 11:11, 21 April 2021 (UTC)

Capitalism without competition isn’t capitalism; it’s exploitation. ~ Joe Biden
 * proposed by Ilovemydoodle (talk) 00:06, 8 May 2022 (UTC)
 * 3 ♞☤☮♌︎Kalki ⚚⚓︎⊙☳☶⚡ 01:02, 25 June 2022 (UTC)


 * Traverse not the globe for lore! The sternest But the surest teacher is the heart; Studying that and that alone, thou learnest Best and soonest whence and what thou art. ...Moor, Chinese, Egyptian, Russian, Roman, Tread one common down-hill path of doom; Everywhere the names are man and woman, Everywhere the old sad sins find room.Evil angels tempt us in all places. What but sands or snows hath earth to give? Dream not, friend, of deserts and oases; But look inwards, and begin to live. ~ James Clarence Mangan (dob)
 * 3 Ficaia (talk) 14:32, 6 June 2024 (UTC)