July 4 Quotations

July 4

Quotes of the day from previous years:

2004

"...for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the Protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor." ~ closing lines of The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States Of America written primarily by Thomas Jefferson, and approved as an official document of united will and determination, July 4, 1776.

• selected by Kalki

2005

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. ~ United States Declaration of Independence

• proposed by 121a0012

2006

It contributes greatly towards a man's moral and intellectual health, to be brought into habits of companionship with individuals unlike himself, who care little for his pursuits, and whose sphere and abilities he must go out of himself to appreciate. ~ Nathaniel Hawthorne (born 4 July 1804)

• proposed by InvisibleSun

2007

The world owes all its onward impulses to men ill at ease. The happy man inevitably confines himself within ancient limits. ~ Nathaniel Hawthorne

• proposed by InvisibleSun

2008

Happiness in this world, when it comes, comes incidentally. Make it the object of pursuit, and it leads us a wild-goose chase, and is never attained. Follow some other object, and very possibly we may find that we have caught happiness without dreaming of it. ~ Nathaniel Hawthorne

• proposed by InvisibleSun

2009

Every individual has a place to fill in the world, and is important, in some respect, whether he chooses to be so or not. ~ Nathaniel Hawthorne

• proposed by Kalki

2010

The greatest obstacle to being heroic is the doubt whether one may not be going to prove one's self a fool; the truest heroism is, to resist the doubt; and the profoundest wisdom, to know when it ought to be resisted, and when to be obeyed. ~ Nathaniel Hawthorne

• proposed by Kalki

2011

Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object, evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. ~ Thomas Jefferson in the US Declaration of Independence

• proposed by Kalki

2012

Rank or add further suggestions…

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

• Love, whether newly born, or aroused from a deathlike slumber, must always create sunshine, filling the heart so full of radiance, that it overflows upon the outward world. ~ Nathaniel Hawthorne
  • used 16 March 2009, proposed by Kalki

Ranking system:

4 : Excellent - should definitely be used.

3 : Very Good - strong desire to see it used.

2 : Good - some desire to see it used.

1 : Acceptable - but with no particular desire to see it used.

0 : Not acceptable - not appropriate for use as a quote of the day.

Suggestions

There are two Americas. One is the America of Lincoln and Adlai Stevenson; the other is the America of Teddy Roosevelt and the modern superpatriots. One is generous and humane, the other narrowly egotistical; one is self-critical, the other self-righteous; one is sensible, the other romantic; one is good-humored, the other solemn; one is inquiring, the other pontificating; one is moderate, the other filled with passionate intensity; one is judicious and the other arrogant in the use of great power." ~ J. William Fulbright, The Arrogance of Power, 1966 (United States independence)

• 3 ~ MosheZadka (Talk) 08:25, 25 Jun 2005 (UTC)
• 1 121a0012 June 27, 2005 03:52 (UTC) (I'm a bit uncomfortable with this one on this particular day.)
• 1 Kalki 30 June 2005 21:48 (UTC)
• 1 Aphaia 3 July 2005 02:27 (UTC) not only problematic, but a bit long.
• 1 Jeff Q (talk) 16:32, 3 July 2007 (UTC). I love this quote even more than last year, but it still sounds too partisan for a good QotD.
• 2 InvisibleSun 17:11, 3 July 2007 (UTC)
• 2 Zarbon 04:58, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

What would a man do, if he were compelled to live always in the sultry heat of society, and could never bathe himself in cool solitude? ~ Nathaniel Hawthorne

• 3 InvisibleSun 09:11, 2 July 2006 (UTC)
• 2 Jeff Q (talk) 16:32, 3 July 2007 (UTC)
• 3 Kalki 21:32, 3 July 2007 (UTC)
• 3 Zarbon 04:58, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

The definitions of humanism are many, but let us here take it to be the attitude of those men who think it an advantage to live in society, and, at that, in a complex and highly developed society, and who believe that man fulfills his nature and reaches his proper stature in this circumstance. The personal virtues which humanism cherishes are intelligence, amenity, and tolerance; the particular courage it asks for is that which is exercised in the support of these virtues. The qualities of intelligence which it chiefly prizes are modulation and flexibility. ~ Lionel Trilling (born July 4, 1905)

• 4 InvisibleSun 17:11, 3 July 2007 (UTC)
• 3 Kalki 21:32, 3 July 2007 (UTC)
• 1 Zarbon 04:58, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

We properly judge a critic's virtue not by his freedom from error but by the nature of the mistakes he does make, for he makes them, if he is worth reading, because he has in mind something besides his perceptions about art in itself — he has in mind the demands that he makes upon life. ~ Lionel Trilling

• 3 InvisibleSun 17:11, 3 July 2007 (UTC)
• 3 Kalki 21:32, 3 July 2007 (UTC)
• 1 Zarbon 04:58, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

So many out-of-the-way things had happened lately, that Alice had begun to think that very few things indeed were really impossible. ~ Lewis Carroll in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (First version of the story first told upon 4 July 1862, and first published on 4 July 1865)

• 3 Kalki 21:32, 3 July 2007 (UTC) with a VERY strong lean toward 4.
• 1 Zarbon 04:58, 24 April 2008 (UTC)
• 3 InvisibleSun 23:16, 3 July 2008 (UTC)

Well, if I eat it, and if it makes me grow larger, I can reach the key; and if makes me grow smaller, I can creep under the door: so either way I'll get into the garden, and I don't care which happens! ~ Lewis Carroll in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (First version of the story told upon 4 July 1862, and first published on 4 July 1865)

• 3 Kalki 21:32, 3 July 2007 (UTC) with a lean toward 4.
• 2 Zarbon 04:58, 24 April 2008 (UTC)
• 3 InvisibleSun 23:16, 3 July 2008 (UTC)

Oh, come as comes the morn. Serene and strong and full of faith, America, arise, With steady hope and mighty help to join thy brave Allies. O dearest country of my heart, home of the high desire, Make clean thy soul for sacrifice on Freedom’s altar-fire: For thou must suffer, thou must fight, until the warlords cease, And all the peoples lift their heads in liberty and peace. ~ Henry van Dyke (from "Liberty Enlightening the World").

• 3 Kalki 22:17, 3 July 2009 (UTC) with a strong inclination to a 4
• 2 Zarbon 18:09, 21 August 2009 (UTC)

OR

Thou warden of the western gate, above Manhattan Bay, The fogs of doubt that hid thy face are driven clean away: Thine eyes at last look far and clear, thou liftest high thy hand To spread the light of liberty world-wide for every land. ~ Henry van Dyke (from "Liberty Enlightening the World").

• 3 Kalki 22:17, 3 July 2009 (UTC) with a VERY strong inclination to a 4
• 1 Zarbon 18:09, 21 August 2009 (UTC)

OR, combining widely separated stanzas:

Thou warden of the western gate, above Manhattan Bay, The fogs of doubt that hid thy face are driven clean away: Thine eyes at last look far and clear, thou liftest high thy hand To spread the light of liberty world-wide for every land. ... Oh, come as comes the morn. Serene and strong and full of faith, America, arise, With steady hope and mighty help to join thy brave Allies. O dearest country of my heart, home of the high desire, Make clean thy soul for sacrifice on Freedom’s altar-fire: For thou must suffer, thou must fight, until the warlords cease, And all the peoples lift their heads in liberty and peace.

~ Henry van Dyke ~

• 3 Kalki 22:59, 3 July 2009 (UTC) with a lean toward 4.
• 1 Zarbon 18:09, 21 August 2009 (UTC)

• Days

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