Notable quotes, excerpts, and profound lines.

[WT Sharpe]

.....Maurice thought seldom about disease and death, but when he did it was with strong disapproval.
..........— E[dward] M[organ] Forster (1879 –1970), English author. Maurice (written in 1913–14, published posthumously in 1971).

[boxcorner]

Originally Posted by WT Sharpe

... published posthumously ...

But not post-humorously.

[WT Sharpe]

.....It would now be technically possible to unify the world and abolish war altogether. It would also be technically possible to abolish poverty completely. These things would be done if men desired their own happiness more than the misery of their enemies. There were, in the past, physical obstacles to human well-being. The only obstacles now are in the souls of men. Hatred, folly and mistaken beliefs alone stand between us and the millennium.
..........— Bertrand [Arthur William] Russell, (1872-1970), British mathematician, philosopher. Portraits from Memory: And Other Essays (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1956), "Portraits From Memory", page 37.

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by WT Sharpe

.....It would now be technically possible to unify the world and abolish war altogether. It would also be technically possible to abolish poverty completely. These things would be done if men desired their own happiness more than the misery of their enemies. There were, in the past, physical obstacles to human well-being. The only obstacles now are in the souls of men. Hatred, folly and mistaken beliefs alone stand between us and the millennium.
..........— Bertrand [Arthur William] Russell, (1872-1970), British mathematician, philosopher. Portraits from Memory: And Other Essays (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1956), "Portraits From Memory", page 37.

WOW, what a great quote!

[GeoffC]

I wonder, myself, whether it is possible to eradicate poverty. As soon as the current minimum standard is achieved by everyone, a new level will be decided and it's a perpetual issue.

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by GeoffC

I wonder, myself, whether it is possible to eradicate poverty. As soon as the current minimum standard is achieved by everyone, a new level will be decided and it's a perpetual issue.

Depending on how poverty is defined, then yes you could be right.

[boxcorner]

Originally Posted by WT Sharpe

.....It would now be technically possible to unify the world and abolish war altogether. It would also be technically possible to abolish poverty completely. These things would be done if men desired their own happiness more than the misery of their enemies. There were, in the past, physical obstacles to human well-being. The only obstacles now are in the souls of men. Hatred, folly and mistaken beliefs alone stand between us and the millennium.
..........— Bertrand [Arthur William] Russell, (1872-1970), British mathematician, philosopher. Portraits from Memory: And Other Essays (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1956), "Portraits From Memory", page 37.

Bertand Russell is renowned for his concerns about nuclear disarmament, at a time when the global population was less than 3 billion. This year it is expected to exceed 7 billion, and is on track to reach 9 billion by 2045; it's more than doubled in my lifetime. Given the exponential rise in population and immense challenges that humans face for sharing scarce resources, presumably the obstacles to which he referred then, are now even greater - held by more. A gloomy prospect for future generations.

[WT Sharpe]

I hesitate to post this for fear it will lead to a slew of inappropriate posts by other politicians, but this is an all-time classic misspeak. And it is funny, whether it comes from a politician or Joe Blow in the street:

.....The policeman isn't there to create disorder; the policeman is there to preserve disorder.
..........— Richard J. Daley (1902-1976), American politician, Mayor of Chicago from 1955-1976. Said to the press about the riots during the Democratic Convention in Chicago (1968). Quoted in Don't Make No Waves: Don't Back No Losers (1975) by Milton N. Rakove.

[maianhvk]

A lie can make it half way around the world before the truth has time to put its boots on.

Mark Twain, Standard player monthly, 1918, Volumes 3-4, Standard Pneumatic Action Co.

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by maianhvk

Mark Twain, Standard player monthly, 1918, Volumes 3-4, Standard Pneumatic Action Co.

[WT Sharpe]

Originally Posted by maianhvk

Mark Twain, Standard player monthly, 1918, Volumes 3-4, Standard Pneumatic Action Co.

That was indeed attributed to Twain in the Standard player monthly that you mention, but the Standard's attribution may not be accurate: that attribution appears on a WikiQuote page under the heading of "Unsourced / Possible Fakes." The evangelist Charles Spurgeon made a similar comment in 1855, and in addition, according to WikiQuote, the oldest known attribution is to Fisher Ames in 1831: "falsehood proceeds from Maine to Georgia, while truth is pulling on his boots."

But no matter who said it, it is an accurate description of how the world works!

[BenG]

my youth i shall never forget
but there s nothing i really regret
wotthehell wotthehell
there s a dance in the old dame yet
toujours gai toujours gai

--Don Marquis, the song of mehitabel

(one of the best poems ever written by a cockroach)

[TenaciousBadger]

IF I can stop one heart from breaking,
I shall not live in vain;
If I can ease one life the aching,
Or cool one pain,
Or help one fainting robin
Unto his nest again,
I shall not live in vain.

- Emily Dickinson, Not In Vain

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by TenaciousBadger

IF I can stop one heart from breaking,
I shall not live in vain;
If I can ease one life the aching,
Or cool one pain,
Or help one fainting robin
Unto his nest again,
I shall not live in vain.

- Emily Dickinson, Not In Vain

[boxcorner]

"If he had been a great and wise philosopher, like the writer of this book, he would now have comprehended that Work consists of whatever a body is OBLIGED to do, and that Play consists of whatever a body is not obliged to do."

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, by Mark Twain, pages 23-24.