Words of Wisdom 01 (May 08 - Oct 08)

[winston]

The Divinity in everyone prompts them to stick to the truth and to the moral values.

Some hear even its whisperings; others listen only when it protests loudly. There are others who are deaf to this prompting, and a few are determined not to hear.

Some may ascend a plane, others may travel by car or board a bus. Believe me, all have to be guided by it, sooner or later. All must reach their destination some day or other. Do your part sincerely. You only have to listen and obey to be saved.

Feb 2, 1963

[winston]

It is easier to do a job right than to explain why you didn't. - Martin Van Buren, 1782-1862, 8th President of the United States

Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards. - Soren Kierkegaard, 1813-1855, Danish Philosopher

No one can cheat you out of ultimate success but yourself. - Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1803-1882, American Poet and Essayist

[winston]

For me, words are a form of action, capable of influencing change.- Ingrid Bengis

Always laugh when you can. It is cheap medicine.- Lord Byron

[winston]

Word to the Wise: Prevaricate

To "prevaricate" (prih-VARE-uh-kate) - from the Latin for "bent" - is to depart from or evade the truth.

Example (as used by Stephen R. Graubard in The New York Times): "Journalism has a similar obligation, particularly with men and women suddenly transferred to places of great power, who are often led to exaggerate and prevaricate, all in the name of a supposedly greater good."

[helios]

We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.

- Quote from Sir Norman MacEwan, Air Marshal in British Royal Air Force.

- Winston quoted this guy previously ...

[winston]

Word to the Wise: Sciolism

"Sciolism" (SY-uh-liz-um) - from the Latin for "a smatterer" - is superficial knowledge.

Example (as used by Caroline Winterer in The Culture of Classicism): "American classics teachers' choice... to focus on grammar rather than other aspects of the classical inheritance resulted from their primary pedagogical goals: to mold gentlemen who navigated between sciolism and pedantry, ministers who could intelligently read the Bible, and citizens who were moral and dutiful."

[winston]

"If I were asked to give what I consider the single most useful bit of advice for all humanity it would be this: Expect trouble as an inevitable part of life, and when it comes, hold your head high, look it squarely in the eye, and say, 'I will be bigger than you. You cannot defeat me.'"

- Ann Landers

[winston]

Indolence is a delightful but distressing state; we must be doing something to be happy.- Mahatma Gandhi

Learning is not compulsory... neither is survival.- W. Edwards Deming

[winston]

On Action:-

Isaiah: Give your food to the hungry and care for the homeless. Then your light will shine in the dark; your darkest hour will be like the noonday sun.
Isaiah 58:10

[winston]

Word to the Wise: Hachure

A "hachure" (ha-SHOOR) - from the French for "crosshatch" - is one of the short lines used on maps to shade or to indicate slopes and their degree and direction.

Example (as used by Zadie Smith in White Teeth): "It was an extreme close-up of an old man, the contours of his face clearly defined by line and shade, hachures on a topographic map."