December 18

December 18

Quotes of the day from previous years:

2003

That virtue we appreciate is as much ours as anothers. We see so much only as we possess. ~ Henry David Thoreau

• selected by Kalki

2004

The Tree that was withered shall be renewed, and he shall plant it in the high places, and the City shall be blessed. Sing all ye people! ~ J. R. R. Tolkien

(From The Lord of the Rings : The Return of the King (Book VI, Chapter 5, "The Steward and the King"); in the novel this is a song of a great Eagle heralding the victory of Aragorn's forces against those of Sauron and the Dark Tower.)

• selected by Kalki

2005

It is better to die for an idea that will live, than to live for an idea that will die. ~ Steve Biko (born 18 December 1946)

• proposed by UDScott

2006

Formerly we used to represent things visible on earth, things we either liked to look at or would have liked to see. Today we reveal the reality that is behind visible things, thus expressing the belief that the visible world is merely an isolated case in relation to the universe and that there are many more other, latent realities. Things appear to assume a broader and more diversified meaning, often seemingly contradicting the rational experience of yesterday. There is a striving to emphasize the essential character of the accidental. ~ Paul Klee (born 18 December 1879)

• proposed by InvisibleSun

2007

I cannot be grasped in the here and now. For I reside just as much with the dead as with the unborn. Somewhat closer to the heart of creation than usual. But not nearly close enough. ~ Paul Klee

• proposed by InvisibleSun

2008

Hail the heaven-born Prince of Peace!
Hail the Sun of Righteousness!
Light and life to all he brings,
Risen with healing in his wings.
Mild he lays his glory by,
Born that man no more may die,
Born to raise the sons of earth,
Born to give us second birth.
Hark! the herald angels sing,
"Glory to the new born King!"

~ Charles Wesley ~ (born 18 December 1707, and song for the Christmas season)

• proposed by Kalki

2009

Art does not reproduce the visible; rather, it makes visible. ~ Paul Klee

• proposed by InvisibleSun

2010

Hark! the herald angels sing,
"Glory to the new-born King;
Peace on earth and mercy mild,
God and sinners reconciled!"
Joyful, all ye nations, rise.
Join the triumph of the skies.
With th'angelic hosts proclaim
Christ is born in Bethlehem!

~ Charles Wesley ~ (born 18 December 1707, and song for the Christmas season)

• proposed by Kalki

2011

Nature can afford to be prodigal in everything, the artist must be frugal down to the last detail. Nature is garrulous to the point of confusion, let the artist be truly taciturn. ~ Paul Klee

• proposed by InvisibleSun

2012

Come, Desire of nations, come, fix in us thy humble home; rise, the woman's conquering Seed, bruise in us the serpent's head. Adam's likeness, Lord, efface; stamp thine image in its place. Second Adam from above, Reinstate us in thy love. Hark! the herald angels sing, "Glory to the new born King!"

~ Charles Wesley ~

• proposed by Kalki

2013

The main thing now is not to paint precociously but to be, or at least become, an individual. The art of mastering life is the prerequisite for all further forms of expression, whether they are paintings, sculptures, tragedies, or musical compositions.

~ Paul Klee ~

• proposed by InvisibleSun

2014

God buries his workmen, but carries on his work.

~ Charles Wesley ~

• proposed by Zarbon

2015

The Force is what gives a Jedi his power. It's an energy field created by all living things. It surrounds us and penetrates us. It binds the galaxy together.

~ George Lucas ~ in ~ Star Wars ~

• proposed by Kalki — The first explanation of the nature of "The Force" given by Obi-Wan Kenobi, for the opening day of the wide release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

2016

The animal which the Egyptians worshipped as divine, which the Romans venerated as a symbol of liberty, which Europeans in the ignorant Middle Ages anathematised as an agent of demonology, has displayed to all ages two closely blended characteristics — courage and self-respect. No matter how unfavourable the circumstances, both qualities are always to the fore. Confront a child, a puppy, and a kitten with a sudden danger; the child will turn instinctively for assistance, the puppy will grovel in abject submission to the impending visitation, the kitten will brace its tiny body for a frantic resistance. … The cat of the slums and alleys, starved, outcast, harried, still keeps amid the prowlings of its adversity the bold, free, panther-tread with which it paced of yore the temple courts of Thebes, still displays the self-reliant watchfulness which man has never taught it to lay aside.

~ Saki ~

• proposed by bystander

2017

The immediate facts are what we must relate to. Darkness and light, beginning and end.

~ Peter Wessel Zapffe ~

• proposed by Kalki

2018

Love divine, all loves excelling, Joy of heaven to earth come down, Fix in us thy humble dwelling, All thy faithful mercies crown; Jesu, thou art all compassion, Pure unbounded love thou art, Visit us with thy salvation, Enter every trembling heart.

~ Charles Wesley ~

• proposed by Kalki

2019

You'll never know until you try it You don't have to keep it quiet And I know it makes you nervous But I promise you, it's worth it To show 'em everything you kept inside Don't hide, don't hide Too shy to say, but I hope you stay Don't hide away Come out and play.

~ Billie Eilish ~

• proposed by Kalki

2020

Was I stupid to love you? Was I reckless to help? Was it obvious to everybody else That I'd fallen for a lie? You were never on my side. Fool me once, fool me twice Are you death or paradise? Now you'll never see me cry There's just no time to die.

~ Billie Eilish ~

• proposed by Kalki

2021

When I'm away from you I'm happier than ever Wish I could explain it better I wish it wasn't true. Give me a day or two To think of something clever To write myself a letter To tell me what to do.

~ Billie Eilish ~

• proposed by Kalki

2022

The internet's gone wild watching movie stars on trial While they're overturning Roe v. Wade. Now all of my friends are missing again 'Cause that's what happens when you fall in love You don't have the time, you leave them all behind And you tell yourself it's fine, you're just in love. And I don't get along with anyone Maybe I'm the problem.

~ Billie Eilish ~

• proposed by Kalki

2023

I don't know how to feel But I wanna try I don't know how to feel But someday I might Someday I might Think I forgot how to be happy Something I'm not, but something I can be Something I wait for Something I'm made for.

~ Billie Eilish ~

• proposed by Kalki

2024

Rank or add further suggestions…

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The Quote of the Day (QOTD) is a prominent feature of the Wikiquote Main Page. Thank you for submitting, reviewing, and ranking suggestions!

Ranking system

4 : Excellent – should definitely be used. (This is the utmost ranking and should be used by any editor for only one quote at a time for each date.)

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.

An averaging of the rankings provided to each suggestion produces it’s general ranking in considerations for selection of Quote of the Day. The selections made are usually chosen from the top ranked options existing on the page, but the provision of highly ranked late additions, especially in regard to special events (most commonly in regard to the deaths of famous people, or other major social or physical occurrences), always remain an option for final selections.

Thank you for participating!

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Suggestions

The beautiful, which is perhaps inseparable from art, is not after all tied to the subject, but to the pictorial representation. In this way and in no other does art overcome the ugly without avoiding it. ~ Paul Klee

• 3 InvisibleSun 16:51, 17 December 2007 (UTC)
• 3 Kalki 17:20, 17 December 2007 (UTC) with a lean toward 4.
• 1 Zarbon 19:41, 26 April 2008 (UTC)
• 3 Lyle 15:31, 17 December 2008 (UTC)

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Narrating incredible things as though they were real — old system; narrating realities as though they were incredible — the new. ~ Cesare Pavese

• proposed by Nemo

• 2 we need some quotations on narrativology. Nemo 14:11, 18 January 2012 (UTC)
• 1 ♞☮♌︎︎Kalki·†·⚓⊙☳☶⚡ 21:12, 15 December 2012 (UTC) no clear relation to the date.

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Man is a tragic animal. Not because of his smallness, but because he is too well endowed. Man has longings and spiritual demands that reality cannot fulfill. We have expectations of a just and moral world. Man requires meaning in a meaningless world. ~ Peter Wessel Zapffe (dob)

• 3 bystander (talk) 06:08, 17 December 2012 (UTC)
• 2 ♞☤☮♌︎Kalki ⚚⚓︎⊙☳☶⚡ 00:50, 18 December 2021 (UTC) with a lean toward 3 or perhaps even 4, though I do not agree with it.

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Why, then, has mankind not long ago gone extinct during great epidemics of madness? Why do only a fairly minor number of individuals perish because they fail to endure the strain of living- because cognition gives them more than they can carry? Cultural history, as well as observation of ourselves and others, allow the following answer: Most people learn to save themselves by artificially limiting the content of consciousness.

~ Peter Wessel Zapffe ~

• 2 ♞☤☮♌︎Kalki ⚚⚓︎⊙☳☶⚡ 17:13, 15 December 2013 (UTC)

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I myself am no longer very much afflicted by the thought of my own death. The synthesis, Peter Wessel Zapffe, did not originate until 1899. It was spared from immediate participation in the horrors of the previous years, and it will not miss what awaits mankind at the end of its vertiginous madness.

~ Peter Wessel Zapffe ~

• 3 ♞☤☮♌︎Kalki ⚚⚓︎⊙☳☶⚡ 17:13, 15 December 2013 (UTC)

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If one regards life and death as natural processes, the metaphysical dread vanishes, and one obtains "peace of mind."

~ Peter Wessel Zapffe ~

• 3 ♞☤☮♌︎Kalki ⚚⚓︎⊙☳☶⚡ 17:13, 15 December 2013 (UTC)

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Death is a terrible provocation. It appears almost everywhere, presenting a stern but effective scale for both values and ethical standards.

~ Peter Wessel Zapffe ~

• 3 ♞☤☮♌︎Kalki ⚚⚓︎⊙☳☶⚡ 17:13, 15 December 2013 (UTC)

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