March 21

Quotes of the day from previous years:

2004

Always, Sir, set a high value on spontaneous kindness. He whose inclination prompts him to cultivate your friendship of his own accord, will love you more than one whom you have been at pains to attach to you. ~ Samuel Johnson

• selected by Kalki

2005

Between individuals, as between nations, respect for the rights of others is peace. ~ Benito Juárez (born 21 March 1806)

• selected by Kalki

2006

The poet is a liar who always speaks the truth. ~ Jean Cocteau

• selected by Kalki

2007

Come, fill the Cup, and in the Fire of Spring
The Winter Garment of Repentance fling
The Bird of Time has but a little way
To fly — and Lo! The Bird is on the Wing.
~ Omar Khayyám ~ (Quote relating to Spring, on the date of the Vernal equinox for most of the world this year.)

• proposed by Kalki

2008

If Spring came but once in a century, instead of once a year, or burst forth with the sound of an earthquake, and not in silence, what wonder and expectation there would be in all hearts to behold the miraculous change! But now the silent succession suggests nothing but necessity. To most men only the cessation of the miracle would be miraculous and the perpetual exercise of God's power seems less wonderful than its withdrawal would be. ~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

• proposed by Kalki

2009

The creative process lies not in imitating, but in paralleling nature — translating the impulse received from nature into the medium of expression, thus vitalizing this medium. The picture should be alive, the statue should be alive, and every work of art should be alive. ~ Hans Hofmann

• proposed by Zarbon

2010

In the scenery of spring,
nothing is better, nothing worse;
The flowering branches are
of themselves, some short, some long.
~ Ryōkan ~

• proposed by Kalki

2011

The year's at the spring,
And day's at the morn;
Morning's at seven;
The hill-side's dew-pearl'd;
The lark's on the wing;
The snail's on the thorn;
God's in His heaven —
All's right with the world!
~ Robert Browning ~

• proposed by Kalki

2012

I do not want to avoid immersing myself in trouble — to be a mess — to struggle out of it. I want to invent, to discover, to imagine, to speculate, to improvise — to seize the hazardous in order to be inspired. I want to experience the manifestation of the absolute — the manifestation of the unexpected in an extreme and unique relation. I know that only by following my creative instincts in an act of creative destruction will I be able to find it. ~ Hans Hofmann

• proposed by bystander

2013

The community as a whole doesn't listen patiently to critics who adopt alternative viewpoints. Although the great lesson of history is that knowledge develops through the conflict of viewpoints. If you simply have a consensus, it generally stultifies. It fails to see the problems of that consensus and it depends on the existence of critics to break up that iceberg and permit knowledge to develop. This is in fact one of the underpinnings of democratic theory. It is one of the reasons why we believe in notions of free speech and its one of the great forces in terms of intellectual development.

~ Walter Gilbert ~

• proposed by bystander

2014

Let us now pledge all our efforts to obtain and consolidate the benefits of peace. Under its auspices, the protection of the laws and of the authorities will be sufficient for all the inhabitants of the Republic. May the people and the government respect the rights of all. Between individuals, as between nations, peace means respect for the rights of others.

~ Benito Juárez ~

• proposed by bystander

2015

Is it so small a thing To have enjoy’d the sun, To have lived light in the spring, To have loved, to have thought, to have done; To have advanc’d true friends, and beat down baffling foes?

~ Matthew Arnold ~

• proposed by Kalki

2016

My view is that this is the beginning, not the end, of what is going to be a journey that takes some time.

~ Barack Obama ~

• proposed by Kalki, on his assessment of the significance of his current historical visit to the island of Cuba.

2017

Art is something absolute, something positive, which gives power just as food gives power. While creative science is a mental food, art is the satisfaction of the soul.

~ Hans Hofmann ~

• proposed by Zarbon

2018

When the full-grown poet came, Out spake pleased Nature (the round impassive globe, with all its shows of day and night,) saying, He is mine; But out spake too the Soul of man, proud, jealous and unreconciled, Nay he is mine alone; — Then the full-grown poet stood between the two, and took each by the hand; And to-day and ever so stands, as blender, uniter, tightly holding hands, Which he will never release until he reconciles the two, And wholly and joyously blends them.

~ Walt Whitman ~ in ~ Leaves of Grass ~

• proposed by Kalki — poetry on poets for World Poetry Day, March 21.

2019

Poets are all who love, who feel great truths, And tell them; and the truth of truths is love.

~ Philip James Bailey ~

• proposed by Kalki

2020

Nobody grows old merely by a number of years. We grow old by deserting our ideals. Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul.

~ Samuel Ullman ~

• proposed by Zarbon

2021

Everything rhythmically organic is true. Everything, which results from the proper feeling for rhythmically organized spiritual units, is true and alive — alive within itself. When we lose the sense for such true beauty we lose our natural sense for the rich flavor of life, which is the basis for all inspirational work.

~ Hans Hofmann ~

• proposed by Kalki

2022

The besieged Mariupol will go down in history of responsibility for war crimes. The terror the occupiers did to the peaceful city will be remembered for centuries to come. And the more Ukrainians tell the world about it, the more support we find. The more Russia uses terror against Ukraine, the worse the consequences will be for it.

~ Volodymyr Zelenskyy ~

• proposed by Kalki

2023

A timid person is frightened before a danger, a coward during the time, and a courageous person afterward.

~ Jean Paul ~

• proposed by Zarbon

2024

The last, best fruit that comes to perfection, even in the kindliest soul, is tenderness toward the hard; forbearance toward the unforbearing; warmth of heart toward the cold; and philanthropy toward the misanthropic.

~ Jean Paul ~

• proposed by Kalki

2025

Rank or add further suggestions…

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

• Democracy is the destiny of humanity; freedom its indestructible arm. ~ Benito Juárez
  • used on 5 May 2005, selected by Kalki

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I regard the people as a great being, inspired by a single idea. This is my problem. I strove to solve it in this opera. ~ Modest Mussorgsky

• 2 Zarbon 05:32, 7 March 2009 (UTC)
• 2 InvisibleSun 22:08, 20 March 2009 (UTC)
• 2 Kalki 22:55, 20 March 2009 (UTC)

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Sounds and ideas are hanging in the air; I am devouring them and stuffing myself. ~ Modest Mussorgsky

• 2 Zarbon 05:32, 7 March 2009 (UTC)
• 2 Kalki 22:55, 20 March 2009 (UTC)

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I continue to feel that if you're going to go on being this stupid, you should try to be more polite; or alternately, if you're going to go on being this rude, you should try not to say such dumb things. ~ Teresa Nielsen Hayden

• 2 Zarbon 03:13, 14 March 2009 (UTC)
• 2 InvisibleSun 22:08, 20 March 2009 (UTC)
• 3 bystander (talk) 18:27, 18 March 2012 (UTC)

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Youth is not a time of life; it is a state of mind; it is a matter of the will, quality of the imagination, a vigor of the emotions; it is the freshness of the deep springs of life. ~ Samuel Ullman

• 2 Zarbon 03:13, 14 March 2009 (UTC)
• 2 Kalki 22:55, 20 March 2009 (UTC) date of birth is 13 April, according to Wikipedia.

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Politics is the art of human happiness. ~ Herbert Fisher

• 2 Zarbon 03:13, 14 March 2009 (UTC)
• 2 InvisibleSun 22:08, 20 March 2009 (UTC)
• 2 Kalki 22:55, 20 March 2009 (UTC)

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All political decisions are taken under great pressure, and if a treaty serves its turn for ten or twenty years, the wisdom of its framers is sufficiently confirmed. ~ Herbert Fisher

• 2 Zarbon 03:13, 14 March 2009 (UTC)
• 2 InvisibleSun 22:08, 20 March 2009 (UTC)
• 2 Kalki 22:55, 20 March 2009 (UTC)

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An idiot is no smarter if a billion people agree with him and a genius is no dumber if a billion people don't.

~ Jonah Goldberg ~

• 3. – Illegitimate Barrister (talk • contribs) 03:24, 17 March 2018 (UTC)

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Dissent is morally neutral. You can correctly call yourself a dissident because you like to kick puppies, but at the end of the day, you're just a jerk who likes to kick puppies.

~ Jonah Goldberg ~

• 3. – Illegitimate Barrister (talk • contribs) 03:24, 17 March 2018 (UTC)

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Merrily the ospreys cry, On the islet in the stream. Gentle and graceful is the girl, A fit wife for the gentleman.

~ The Book of Songs ~

• 2.5 DanielTom (talk) 13:48, 18 March 2018 (UTC) the most famous lines in Chinese poetry to celebrate World Poetry Day, March 21.

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The virtues, like the body, become strong more by labor than by nourishment.

~ Jean Paul ~

• 3 ♞☤☮♌︎Kalki ⚚⚓︎⊙☳☶⚡ 23:19, 20 March 2024 (UTC)

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