September 4

September 4 Quotes of the day from previous years:


 * 2003
 * Every man desires to live long, but no man would be old. ~ Jonathan Swift
 * selected by Nanobug


 * 2004
 * The silence often of pure innocence persuades when speaking fails. ~ William Shakespeare in The Winter's Tale
 * selected by Kalki


 * 2005
 * I think television has betrayed the meaning of democratic speech, adding visual chaos to the confusion of voices. What role does silence have in all this noise? ~ Federico Fellini
 * proposed by MosheZadka for the anniversary of the first transatlantic television broadcast (4 September 1951)


 * 2006
 * A master in the art of living draws no sharp distinction between his work and his play; his labor and his leisure; his mind and his body; his education and his recreation. He hardly knows which is which. He simply pursues his vision of excellence through whatever he is doing, and leaves others to determine whether he is working or playing. To himself, he always appears to be doing both. ~ L. P. Jacks (originally attributed to François-René de Chateaubriand, born 4 September 1768, because of a widespread misattribution.)
 * proposed by Kalki


 * 2007
 * Perfect works are rare, because they must be produced at the happy moment when taste and genius unite; and this rare conjuncture, like that of certain planets, appears to occur only after the revolution of several cycles, and only lasts for an instant. ~ François-René de Chateaubriand
 * proposed by Kalki


 * 2008
 * An original writer is not one who imitates nobody, but one whom nobody can imitate. ~ François-René de Chateaubriand
 * proposed by Zarbon


 * 2009
 * As soon as a true thought has entered our mind, it gives a light which makes us see a crowd of other objects which we have never perceived before. ~ François-René de Chateaubriand
 * proposed by Kalki


 * 2010
 * In hatred as in love, we grow like the thing we brood upon. What we loathe, we graft into our very soul. ~ Mary Renault (born 4 September 1905)
 * proposed by Ningauble


 * 2011
 * A degree of silence envelops Washington’s actions; he moved slowly; one might say that he felt charged with future liberty, and that he feared to compromise it. It was not his own destiny that inspired this new species of hero: it was that of his country; he did not allow himself to enjoy what did not belong to him; but from that profound humility what glory emerged! Search the woods where Washington’s sword gleamed: what do you find? Tombs? No; a world! Washington has left the United States behind for a monument on the field of battle. ~ François-René de Chateaubriand
 * proposed by Kalki


 * 2012


 * proposed by Kalki


 * 2013
 * proposed by Kalki


 * 2014
 * proposed by Kalki


 * 2015
 * proposed by Kalki


 * 2016


 * proposed by Kalki for the day of Canonization of Mother Teresa


 * 2017


 * proposed by Kalki


 * 2018


 * proposed by Kalki


 * 2019


 * "Silence, according to western and eastern tradition alike, is necessary for the emergence of persons. It is taken from us by machines that ape people. We could easily be made increasingly dependent on machines for speaking and for thinking, as we are already dependent on machines for moving." — proposed by Ningauble; extended for context regarding transformations of the commons which Illich was addressing, by Kalki.


 * 2020


 * proposed by bystander


 * 2021


 * proposed by Kalki


 * 2022


 * proposed by Kalki


 * 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:


 * I do not believe that friendship today can flower out — can come out — of political life. I do believe that if there is something like a political life-to-be — to remain for us, in this world of technology — then it begins with friendship. ~ Ivan Illich
 * used 2 December 2005, selected by Kalki


 * The current search for new educational funnels must be reversed into the search for their institutional inverse: educational webs which heighten the opportunity for each one to transform each moment of his living into one of learning, sharing, and caring. ~ Ivan Illich
 * used 2 December 2006, proposed by Kalki


 * Learned and leisurely hospitality is the only antidote to the stance of deadly cleverness that is acquired in the professional pursuit of objectively secured knowledge. I remain certain that the quest for truth cannot thrive outside the nourishment of mutual trust flowering into a commitment to friendship. ~ Ivan Illich
 * used 2 December 2008, proposed by Kalki


 * I do think that if I had to choose one word to which hope can be tied it is hospitality. A practice of hospitality— recovering threshold, table, patience, listening, and from there generating seedbeds for virtue and friendship on the one hand — on the other hand radiating out for possible community, for rebirth of community. ~ Ivan Illich
 * used 2 December 2009, proposed by Kalki

Suggestions
Memory is often the attribute of stupidity; it generally belongs to heavy spirits whom it makes even heavier by the baggage it loads them down with. ~ François-René de Chateaubriand
 * 3 because memories truly are a heavy burden to carry. Zarbon 15:57, 30 April 2008 (UTC)
 * 2 Kalki 00:55, 1 September 2008 (UTC)
 * 2 InvisibleSun 22:13, 3 September 2008 (UTC)

One does not learn how to die by killing others. ~ François-René de Chateaubriand
 * 3 because even after killing others, one will find death surprising when it comes for them. Zarbon 15:57, 30 April 2008 (UTC)
 * 2 Kalki 00:30, 1 September 2009 (UTC) 3 Kalki 00:55, 1 September 2008 (UTC)
 * 3 InvisibleSun 22:13, 3 September 2008 (UTC)

Aristocracy has three successive ages, — the age of superiorities, the age of privileges, and the age of vanities; having passed out of the first, it degenerates in the second, and dies away in the third. ~ François-René de Chateaubriand
 * 2 because the process of degeneration is well described here, ending magnificently with vanities. Zarbon 15:57, 30 April 2008 (UTC)
 * 2 Kalki 00:55, 1 September 2008 (UTC) with a lean toward 3.
 * 3 InvisibleSun 22:13, 3 September 2008 (UTC)

Political criticism is our enemies' best friend. ~ Bernard Kerik
 * 2 Zarbon 05:20, 30 May 2008 (UTC)
 * 2 Kalki 00:55, 1 September 2008 (UTC)
 * 1 InvisibleSun 22:13, 3 September 2008 (UTC)

Never tire yourself more than necessary, even if you have to found a culture on the fatigue of your bones. ~ Antonin Artaud
 * 2 Zarbon 05:20, 30 May 2008 (UTC)
 * 2 Kalki 00:55, 1 September 2008 (UTC)
 * 2 InvisibleSun 22:13, 3 September 2008 (UTC)

I myself spent nine years in an insane asylum and I never had the obsession of suicide, but I know that each conversation with a psychiatrist, every morning at the time of his visit, made me want to hang myself, realizing that I would not be able to cut his throat. ~ Antonin Artaud
 * 2 Zarbon 05:20, 30 May 2008 (UTC)
 * 2 Kalki 00:55, 1 September 2008 (UTC)
 * 2 InvisibleSun 22:13, 3 September 2008 (UTC)

With society and its public, there is no longer any other language than that of bombs, barricades, and all that follows. ~ Antonin Artaud
 * 3 Zarbon 05:20, 30 May 2008 (UTC)
 * 1 Kalki 00:55, 1 September 2008 (UTC)
 * 2 InvisibleSun 22:13, 3 September 2008 (UTC)

Tragedy on the stage is no longer enough for me, I shall bring it into my own life. ~ Antonin Artaud
 * 2 Zarbon 05:20, 30 May 2008 (UTC)
 * 1 Kalki 00:55, 1 September 2008 (UTC)
 * 2 InvisibleSun 22:13, 3 September 2008 (UTC)

There is in every madman a misunderstood genius whose idea, shining in his head, frightened people, and for whom delirium was the only solution to the strangulation that life had prepared for him. ~ Antonin Artaud
 * 3 Zarbon 05:20, 30 May 2008 (UTC)
 * 2 Kalki 00:55, 1 September 2008 (UTC)
 * 2 InvisibleSun 22:13, 3 September 2008 (UTC)

Man, machine and nature should function in artistic harmony. ~ Fritz Todt
 * 3 Zarbon 05:20, 30 May 2008 (UTC)
 * 2 Kalki 00:55, 1 September 2008 (UTC)
 * 2 InvisibleSun 22:13, 3 September 2008 (UTC)

And now you know — the rest of the story. ~ Paul Harvey (born 4 September 1918)
 * 2 Kalki 23:42, 1 March 2009 (UTC) but might rank this a 3 or even a 4 eventually.
 * 1 this lacks context for those who are unfamiliar. - Zarbon 17:49, 21 August 2009 (UTC)

In times like these, it's helpful to remember that there have always been times like these. ~ Paul Harvey (DoB)
 * 3 Ningauble 18:25, 3 September 2009 (UTC)
 * This was already used, on 2 March 2009. ~ Kalki 19:31, 3 September 2009 (UTC)
 * 2 Zarbon 04:16, 8 September 2009 (UTC)

It's difficult to be rigorous about whether a machine really 'knows', 'thinks', etc., because we're hard put to define these things. We understand human mental processes only slightly better than a fish understands swimming. ~ John McCarthy (DoB)
 * 2.5 Ningauble 18:25, 3 September 2009 (UTC)
 * 2 Kalki 19:31, 3 September 2009 (UTC) with a lean toward 3.
 * 2 Zarbon 04:16, 8 September 2009 (UTC)

Whenever we write an axiom, a critic can say that the axiom is true only in a certain context. With a little ingenuity the critic can usually devise a more general context in which the precise form of the axiom doesn't hold.... There simply isn't a most general context. ~ John McCarthy (DoB)
 * 2 Ningauble 18:25, 3 September 2009 (UTC)
 * 3 Kalki 19:31, 3 September 2009 (UTC)
 * 1 Zarbon 04:16, 8 September 2009 (UTC)

Schooling, which we engage in and which supposedly creates equal opportunities, has become the unique, never-before-attempted way of dividing the whole society into classes. Everybody knows at which level of his twelve or sixteen years of schooling he has dropped out, and in addition knows what price tag is attached to the higher schooling he has gotten. It's a history of degrading the majority of people. ~ Ivan Illich
 * 3 Kalki (talk &middot; contributions) 18:14, 1 September 2010 (UTC)

In a consumer society there are inevitably two kinds of slaves: the prisoners of addiction and the prisoners of envy. ~ Ivan Illich
 * 3 Kalki (talk &middot; contributions) 18:14, 1 September 2010 (UTC)

People need new tools to work with rather than new tools that work for them. ~ Ivan Illich
 * 3 Kalki (talk &middot; contributions) 18:14, 1 September 2010 (UTC)

The impending loss of spirit, of soul, of what I call atmosphere, could go unnoticed. Only persons who face one another in trust can allow its emergence. The bouquet of friendship varies with each breath, but when it is there it needs no name. ~ Ivan Illich
 * 3 Kalki (talk &middot; contributions) 18:14, 1 September 2010 (UTC) with a very strong lean toward 4.

Achilles exists only through Homer. Take away the art of writing from this world, and you will probably take away its glory. ~ François-René de Chateaubriand
 * 3 Kalki (talk &middot; contributions) 18:14, 1 September 2010 (UTC)

Memory is often the attribute of stupidity; it generally belongs to heavy spirits whom it makes even heavier by the baggage it loads them down with. ~ François-René de Chateaubriand
 * 3 Kalki (talk &middot; contributions) 18:14, 1 September 2010 (UTC)

I am Bourbon as a matter of honour, royalist according to reason and conviction, and republican by taste and character. ~ François-René de Chateaubriand
 * 3 Kalki (talk &middot; contributions) 18:14, 1 September 2010 (UTC)

I have been present at sieges, congresses, conclaves, at the restoration and demolition of thrones. I have made history, and been able to write it. … Within and alongside my age, perhaps without wishing or seeking to, I have exerted upon it a triple influence, religious, political and literary. ~ François-René de Chateaubriand
 * 3 Kalki (talk &middot; contributions) 18:14, 1 September 2010 (UTC)

Washington and Bonaparte emerged from the womb of democracy: both of them born to liberty, the former remained faithful to her, the latter betrayed her. ~ François-René de Chateaubriand
 * 3 Kalki (talk &middot; contributions) 18:14, 1 September 2010 (UTC) with a lean toward 4, though might also be used on dates associated with either Washington or Napoleon.

New storms will arise; one can believe in calamities to come which will surpass the afflictions we have been overwhelmed by in the past; already, men are thinking of bandaging their old wounds to return to the battlefield. … No doubt there will be painful moments: the face of the world cannot change without suffering. But, once again, there will be no separate revolutions; simply the great revolution approaching its end. The scenes of tomorrow no longer concern me; they call for other artists: your turn, gentlemen! ~ François-René de Chateaubriand
 * 3 Kalki (talk &middot; contributions) 18:14, 1 September 2010 (UTC) with a strong lean toward 4.

How small man is on this little atom where he dies! But how great his intelligence! He knows when the face of the stars must be masked in darkness, when the comets will return after thousands of years, he who lasts only an instant! A microscopic insect lost in a fold of the heavenly robe, the orbs cannot hide from him a single one of their movements in the depth of space. What destinies will those stars, new to us, light? Is their revelation bound up with some new phase of humanity? You will know, race to be born; I know not, and I am departing. ~ François-René de Chateaubriand
 * 3 Kalki (talk &middot; contributions) 18:14, 1 September 2010 (UTC) with a strong lean toward 4.

One might say that the old world was ending, and the new beginning. I behold the light of a dawn whose sunrise I shall never see. It only remains for me to sit down at the edge of my grave; then I shall descend boldly, crucifix in hand, into eternity. ~ François-René de Chateaubriand
 * 3 Kalki (talk &middot; contributions) 18:14, 1 September 2010 (UTC)

This business of saving souls had not ethics; every human relationship was shamelessly exploited. In essence, the tribe was asking us whether we shared its feelings; if we refused to join the church, it was equivalent to saying no, to placing ourselves in the position of moral monsters. ~ Richard Wright (dob)
 * 3 bystander (talk) 21:39, 2 September 2012 (UTC)
 * 2 ♞☤☮♌︎Kalki ⚚⚓︎⊙☳☶⚡ 07:15, 3 September 2014 (UTC)


 * 3 ♞☤☮♌︎Kalki ⚚⚓︎⊙☳☶⚡ 23:26, 3 September 2015 (UTC)


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 * 3 ♞☤☮♌︎Kalki ⚚⚓︎⊙☳☶⚡ 23:26, 3 September 2015 (UTC)


 * 3 ♞☤☮♌︎Kalki ⚚⚓︎⊙☳☶⚡ 23:26, 3 September 2015 (UTC)


 * 3 ♞☤☮♌︎Kalki ⚚⚓︎⊙☳☶⚡ 23:26, 3 September 2015 (UTC)


 * 3 ♞☤☮♌︎Kalki ⚚⚓︎⊙☳☶⚡ 23:26, 3 September 2015 (UTC)


 * 3 ♞☤☮♌︎Kalki ⚚⚓︎⊙☳☶⚡ 22:25, 13 August 2022 (UTC)


 * 3 ♞☤☮♌︎Kalki ⚚⚓︎⊙☳☶⚡ 22:25, 13 August 2022 (UTC)


 * 3 ♞☤☮♌︎Kalki ⚚⚓︎⊙☳☶⚡ 22:25, 13 August 2022 (UTC)


 * 3 ♞☤☮♌︎Kalki ⚚⚓︎⊙☳☶⚡ 22:25, 13 August 2022 (UTC)