# September 16

Quotes of the day from previous years:

## 2003

    One can promise actions, but not feelings, for the latter are involuntary. He who promises to love forever or hate forever or be forever faithful to someone is promising something that is not in his power. ~ Human, All Too Human by Friedrich Nietzsche
   * selected by Nanobug

## 2004

    The mark of the immature man is that he wants to die nobly for a cause, while the mark of a mature man is that he wants to live humbly for one. ~ Wilhelm Stekel
   * selected by Kalki

## 2005

    A planned life is a dead life. ~ Lauren Bacall (born 16 September 1924)
   * proposed by Kalki

## 2006

    The public does not like you to mislead or represent yourself to be something you're not. And the other thing that the public really does like is the self-examination to say, you know, I'm not perfect. I'm just like you. They don't ask their public officials to be perfect. They just ask them to be smart, truthful, honest, and show a modicum of good sense. ~ Ann Richards (recent death)
   * proposed by Kalki

## 2007

    Truth lies within a little and certain compass, but error is immense. ~ Henry St John, 1st Viscount Bolingbroke (born 16 September 1678)
   * proposed by David

## 2008

    It is the modest, not the presumptuous, inquirer who makes a real and safe progress in the discovery of divine truths. One follows Nature and Nature's God; that is, he follows God in his works and in his word. ~ Henry St John, 1st Viscount Bolingbroke (born 16 September 1678)
   * proposed by David

## 2009

    Descend, descend, Urania, speak To men in their own tongue! Leave not the breaking heart to break Because thine own is strong. This is the law, in dream and deed, That heaven must walk on earth! O, shine upon the humble creed That holds the heavenly birth. ~ Alfred Noyes ~
   * proposed by Kalki

## 2010

    Thou whose deep ways are in the sea, Whose footsteps are not known, To-night a world that turned from Thee Is waiting — at Thy Throne.The towering Babels that we raised Where scoffing sophists brawl, The little Antichrists we praised — The night is on them all. ~ Alfred Noyes ~
   * proposed by Kalki

## 2011

    We have come by curious ways To the Light that holds the days; We have sought in haunts of fear For that all-enfolding sphere: And lo! it was not far, but near.We have found, O foolish-fond, The shore that has no shore beyond.Deep in every heart it lies With its untranscended skies; For what heaven should bend above Hearts that own the heaven of love? ~ Alfred Noyes ~
   * proposed by Kalki

## 2012

* Heart of my heart, we cannot die! Love triumphant in flower and tree, Every life that laughs at the sky Tells us nothing can cease to be: One, we are one with the song to-day, One with the clover that scents the world, One with the Unknown, far away, One with the stars, when earth grows old.
* ~ Alfred Noyes ~
   * proposed by Kalki

## 2013

* Carol, every violet has Heaven for a looking-glass!Every little valley lies Under many-clouded skies; Every little cottage stands Girt about with boundless lands; Every little glimmering pond Claims the mighty shores beyond; Shores no seaman ever hailed, Seas no ship has ever sailed.All the shores when day is done Fade into the setting sun, So the story tries to teach More than can be told in speech.
* ~ Alfred Noyes ~
   * proposed by Kalki

## 2014

* Mystery: Time and Tide shall pass, I am the Wisdom Looking-Glass.This is the Ruby none can touch: Many have loved it overmuch; Its fathomless fires flutter and sigh, Being as images of the flame That shall make earth and heaven the same When the fire of the end reddens the sky, And the world consumes like a burning pall, Till where there is nothing, there is all.
* ~ Alfred Noyes ~
   * proposed by Kalki

## 2015

* Faithfulness to the truth of history involves far more than a research, however patient and scrupulous, into special facts. Such facts may be detailed with the most minute exactness, and yet the narrative, taken as a whole, may be unmeaning or untrue. The narrator must seek to imbue himself with the life and spirit of the time. He must study events in their bearings near and remote; in the character, habits, and manners of those who took part in them, he must himself be, as it were, a sharer or a spectator of the action he describes.
* ~ Francis Parkman ~
   * proposed by InvisibleSun

## 2016

* Heart of my heart, we are one with the wind, One with the clouds that are whirled o'er the lea, One in many, O broken and blind, One as the waves are at one with the sea! Ay! when life seems scattered apart, Darkens, ends as a tale that is told, One, we are one, O heart of my heart, One, still one, while the world grows old.
* ~ Alfred Noyes ~
   * proposed by Kalki

## 2017

* Some problems are so complex that you have to be highly intelligent and well informed just to be undecided about them.
* ~ Laurence J. Peter ~
   * proposed by bystander

## 2018

* The shortest and surest way of arriving at real knowledge is to unlearn the lessons we have been taught, to mount the first principles, and take nobody's word about them.
* ~ Henry St John, 1st Viscount Bolingbroke ~
   * proposed by bystander

## 2019

* Yes; as the music changes, Like a prismatic glass, It takes the light and ranges Through all the moods that pass; Dissects the common carnival Of passions and regrets, And gives the world a glimpse of all The colours it forgets.
* ~ Alfred Noyes ~
   * proposed by Kalki

## 2020

* Grant us the single heart once more That mocks no sacred thing, The Sword of Truth our fathers wore When Thou wast Lord and King.Let darkness unto darkness tell Our deep unspoken prayer; For, while our souls in darkness dwell, We know that Thou art there.
* ~ Alfred Noyes ~
   * proposed by Kalki

## 2021

* The fool hath said … The fool hath said And we, who deemed him wise, We, who believed that Thou wast dead, How should we seek Thine eyes?How should we seek to Thee for power, Who scorned Thee yesterday? How should we kneel in this dread hour? Lord, teach us how to pray.
* ~ Alfred Noyes ~
   * proposed by Kalki

## 2022

* In a hierarchy every employee tends to rise to his level of incompetence.
* ~ Laurence J. Peter ~
   * proposed by Ningauble

## 2023

* Heart of my heart, the world is young; Love lies hidden in every rose!
* ~ Alfred Noyes ~
   * proposed by Kalki

## 2024

* Nations, like men, have their infancy.
* ~ Henry St John, 1st Viscount Bolingbroke ~
   * proposed by David

## 2025

    Rank or add further suggestions…
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!

## Suggestions

We have believed and we do believe now that freedom is indivisible, that peace is indivisible, that economic prosperity is indivisible. ~ Mahatma Gandhi
* —This unsigned comment is by Pamri (talk • contribs) .
* 2 Kalki 22:40, 15 September 2005 (UTC) A good quote, which I would rank higher on other days, but it has no clear correlation with the date and thus is not likely to become preferred over any good ones which do.
* 2 InvisibleSun 08:22, 13 September 2006 (UTC)
* 1 Zarbon 23:02, 24 April 2008 (UTC)
Imagination is the highest kite that one can fly. ~ Lauren Bacall (date of birth)
* 3 Kalki 22:40, 15 September 2005 (UTC) with a lean toward 4.
* 2 InvisibleSun 08:22, 13 September 2006 (UTC)
* 1 Zarbon 23:02, 24 April 2008 (UTC)
* 3 N6n 11:07, 8 September 2010 (UTC)
A shadow leaned over me, whispering, in the darkness, Thoughts without sound ~ Alfred Noyes
* 3 Zarbon 04:03, 9 June 2008 (UTC)
* 2 Kalki 23:38, 15 September 2008 (UTC)
Your God still walks in Eden, between the ancient trees, Where Youth and Love go wading through pools of primroses. And this is the sign we bring you, before the darkness fall, That Spring is risen, is risen again, That Life is risen, is risen again, That Love is risen, is risen again, and Love is Lord of all. ~ Alfred Noyes ~
* 3 Kalki 23:42, 15 September 2009 (UTC)
Enough of dreams! No longer mock The burdened hearts of men! Not on the cloud, but on the rock Build thou thy faith again;
O range no more the realms of air, Stoop to the glen-bound streams; Thy hope was all too like despair: Enough, enough of dreams. ~ Alfred Noyes ~
* 3 Kalki 23:42, 15 September 2009 (UTC)
* 3 N6n 11:07, 8 September 2010 (UTC)
Memory, out of the mist, in a long slow ripple Breaks, blindly, against the shore. ~ Alfred Noyes ~
* 3 Kalki (talk · contributions) 00:11, 7 September 2010 (UTC)
There’s a magic in the distance, where the sea-line meets the sky. ~ Alfred Noyes ~
* 3 Kalki (talk · contributions) 00:11, 7 September 2010 (UTC) with a strong lean toward 4.
Ye that follow the vision Of the world's weal afar, Have ye met with derision And the red laugh of war; Yet the thunder shall not hurt you, Nor the battle-storms dismay; Tho' the sun in heaven desert you, "Love will find out the way." ~ Alfred Noyes ~
* 3 Kalki (talk · contributions) 00:11, 7 September 2010 (UTC) with a very strong lean toward 4.
Your dreamers may dream it The shadow of a dream, Your sages may deem it A bubble on the stream; Yet our kingdom draweth nigher With each dawn and every day, Through the earthquake and the fire "Love will find out the way." ~ Alfred Noyes ~
* 3 Kalki (talk · contributions) 00:11, 7 September 2010 (UTC) with a very strong lean toward 4.
Getting whatever you want to get, Is like drinking tea from a fishing net. ~ Alfred Noyes ~
* 3 Kalki (talk · contributions) 00:11, 7 September 2010 (UTC)
* 2 N6n 11:07, 8 September 2010 (UTC)
Like the dawn upon a dream Slowly through the scented gloom Crept once more the ruddy gleam O'er the friendly nursery room. There, before our waking eyes, Large and ghostly, white and dim, Dreamed the Flower that never dies, Opening wide its rosy rim. ~ Alfred Noyes ~
* 3 Kalki (talk · contributions) 00:11, 7 September 2010 (UTC)
Beauty is a fading flower, Truth is but a wizard's tower, Where a solemn death-bell tolls, And a forest round it rolls. ~ Alfred Noyes ~
* 2 Kalki (talk · contributions) 00:11, 7 September 2010 (UTC)
He died and He went down to hell! You know not what you mean. Our rafters were of green fir. Also our beds were green. But out of the mouth of a fool, a fool, before the darkness fall, We tell you He is risen again, The Lord of Life is risen again, The boughs put forth their tender buds, and Love is Lord of all! ~ Alfred Noyes ~
* 3 Kalki (talk · contributions) 00:11, 7 September 2010 (UTC) with a strong lean toward 4.
* 3 N6n 11:07, 8 September 2010 (UTC)