# March 27

Quotes of the day from previous years:

## 2004

    In critical moments even the very powerful have need of the weakest. ~ Aesop
   * selected by Kalki

## 2005

    Do not tell lies, and do not do what you hate, for all things are plain in the sight of Heaven. For nothing hidden will not become manifest, and nothing covered will remain without being uncovered. ~ Yeshua (Jesus Christ) (Easter in Western Christianity, 27 March 2005)
   * selected by Kalki

## 2006

    All knowledge is oriented toward some object and is influenced in its approach by the nature of the object with which it is pre-occupied. But the mode of approach to the object to be known is dependent upon the nature of the knower. ~ Karl Mannheim (born 27 March 1893)
   * selected by Kalki

## 2007

    History is a novel written by the people. ~ Alfred de Vigny (born 27 March 1797)
   * proposed by InvisibleSun

## 2008

    At this point in history when all things which concern man and the structure and elements of history itself are suddenly revealed to us in a new light, it behooves us in our scientific thinking to become masters of the situation, for it is not inconceivable that sooner than we suspect, as has often been the case before in history, this vision may disappear, the opportunity may be lost, and the world will once again present a static, uniform, and inflexible countenance. ~ Karl Mannheim
   * proposed by Kalki

## 2009

    There’s a good time coming, boys! A good time coming. We may not live to see the day, But earth shall glisten in the ray Of the good time coming. Cannon-balls may aid the truth But thought’s a weapon stronger; We’ll win our battles by its aid, Wait a little longer. ~ Charles Mackay ~
   * proposed by Zarbon

## 2010

    Non-evaluative insight into history does not inevitably lead to relativism, but rather to relationism. Knowledge, as seen in the light of the total conception of ideology, is by no means an illusory experience, for ideology in its relational concept is not at all identical with illusion. Knowledge arising out of our experience in actual life situations, though not absolute, is knowledge none the less. ~ Karl Mannheim
   * proposed by Kalki

## 2011

    Today, there are too many points of view of equal value and prestige, each showing the relativity of the other, to permit us to take any one position and to regard it as impregnable and absolute. Only this socially disorganized intellectual situation makes possible the insight, hidden until now by a generally stable social structure and the practicability of certain traditional norms, that every point of view is particular to a social situation. ~ Karl Mannheim
   * proposed by Kalki

## 2012

    The smallest effort is not lost, Each wavelet on the ocean tost Aids in the ebb-tide or the flow; Each rain-drop makes some floweret blow; Each struggle lessens human woe. ~ Charles Mackay ~
   * proposed by Zarbon

## 2013

* It has become extremely questionable whether, in the flux of life, it is a genuinely worthwhile intellectual problem to seek to discover fixed and immutable ideas or absolutes. It is a more worthy intellectual task perhaps to learn to think dynamically and relationally rather than statically. … When the empirical investigator glories in his refusal to go beyond the specialized observation dictated by the traditions of his discipline, be they ever so inclusive, he is making a virtue out of a defense mechanism which insures him against questioning his presuppositions.
* ~ Karl Mannheim ~
   * proposed by Kalki

## 2014

* They may veil their eyes, but they cannot hide The sun’s meridian glow; The heel of a priest may tread thee down, And a tyrant work thee woe: But never a truth has been destroyed; They may curse it, and call it crime; Pervert and betray, or slander and slay Its teachers for a time. But the sunshine aye shall light the sky, As round and round we run; And the truth shall ever come uppermost, And justice shall be done.
* ~ Charles Mackay ~
   * proposed by Zarbon

## 2015

* I did not think; I investigated. … It seemed at first a new kind of invisible light. It was clearly something new, something unrecorded.
* ~ Wilhelm Röntgen ~
   * proposed by Kalki

## 2016

* Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.
* ~ Jesus ~
   * proposed by Kalki for Easter Sunday in Western Christianity, 27 March 2016.

## 2017

* As long as one does not call his own position into question but regards it as absolute, while interpreting his opponents' ideas as a mere function of the social positions they occupy, the decisive step forward has not yet been taken … the general form of the total conception of ideology is being used by the analyst when he has the courage to subject not just the adversary's point of view but all points of view, including his own, to the ideological analysis.
* ~ Karl Mannheim ~
   * proposed by Kalki

## 2018

* The thought of every group is seen as arising out of its life conditions. Thus, it becomes the task of the sociological history of thought to analyse without regard for party biases all the factors in the actually existing social situation which may influence thought. This sociologically oriented history of ideas is destined to provide modern men with a revised view of the whole historical process.
* ~ Karl Mannheim ~
   * proposed by Kalki

## 2019

* In our contemporary social and intellectual plight, it is nothing less than shocking to discover that those persons who claim to have discovered an absolute are usually the same people who also pretend to be superior to the rest. To find people in our day attempting to pass off to the world and recommending to others some nostrum of the absolute which they claim to have discovered is merely a sign of the loss of and the need for intellectual and moral certainty, felt by broad sections of the population who are unable to look life in the face.
* ~ Karl Mannheim ~
   * proposed by Kalki

## 2020

* The king can drink the best of wine; So can I: And has enough when he would dine — So have I; He cannot order rain or shine; Nor can I. Then, where's the difference — let me see — Betwixt my lord the king and me?
* ~ Charles Mackay ~
   * proposed by Zarbon

## 2021

* A modern theory of knowledge which takes account of the relational as distinct from the merely relative character of all historical knowledge must start with the assumption that there are spheres of thought in which it is impossible to conceive of absolute truth existing independently of the values and position of the subject and unrelated to the social context. Even a god could not formulate a proposition on historical subjects like 2 x 2 = 4, for what is intelligible in history can be formulated only with reference to problems and conceptual constructions which themselves arise in the flux of historical experience.
* ~ Karl Mannheim ~
   * proposed by Kalki

## 2022

* A dictator bent on rebuilding an empire will never erase a people’s love for liberty. Brutality will never grind down their will to be free. Ukraine will never be a victory for Russia — for free people refuse to live in a world of hopelessness and darkness. We will have a different future — a brighter future rooted in democracy and principle, hope and light, of decency and dignity, of freedom and possibilities. For God’s sake, this man cannot remain in power. God bless you all. And may God defend our freedom. And may God protect our troops.
* ~ Joe Biden ~
   * proposed by Kalki; recent remarks regarding the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.

## 2023

* Every age has its peculiar folly; some scheme, project, or phantasy into which it plunges, spurred on either by the love of gain, the necessity of excitement, or the mere force of imitation. Failing in these, it has some madness, to which it is goaded by political or religious causes, or both combined.
* ~ Charles Mackay ~
   * proposed by Kalki

## 2024

* You have no enemies, you say? Alas, my friend, the boast is poor; He, who has mingled in the fray Of duty that the brave endure, Must have made foes! If you have none, Small is the work that you have done, You've hit no traitor on the hip, You've dashed no cup from perjured lip, You've never turned the wrong to right, You've been a coward in the fight.
* ~ Charles Mackay ~
   * proposed by Kalki

## 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

One can suppress an outcry, but how does one act against silence? ~ Alfred de Vigny
* 3 InvisibleSun 09:16, 25 March 2007 (UTC)
* 2 Kalki 11:39, 26 March 2007 (UTC) with a lean toward 3.
* 3 because this is amazingly true. Those who are silent are even deadlier. I love this quote. Zarbon 04:40, 23 April 2008 (UTC)
A book is a bottle thrown into the sea on which this label should be attached: catch as catch can. ~ Alfred de Vigny
* 3 InvisibleSun 09:16, 25 March 2007 (UTC)
* 3 Kalki 11:39, 26 March 2007 (UTC)
* 1 Zarbon 04:40, 23 April 2008 (UTC)
A lie can be halfway round the world before the truth has got its boots on. ~ James Callaghan
* 4 Zarbon 20:42, 24 March 2009 (UTC)
* 1 Kalki 19:32, 26 March 2009 (UTC) but leaning toward 0 because Callaghan was certainly not the originator of this expression, even in this wording, though he famously did say it.
A leader must have the courage to act against an expert's advice. ~ James Callaghan
* 3 Zarbon 20:42, 24 March 2009 (UTC)
* 3 Kalki 19:32, 26 March 2009 (UTC) with a lean toward 4.
* 3 InvisibleSun 22:27, 26 March 2009 (UTC)
A leader has to appear consistent. That doesn't mean he has to be consistent. ~ James Callaghan
* 3 Zarbon 20:42, 24 March 2009 (UTC)
* 2 Kalki 19:32, 26 March 2009 (UTC) with a lean toward 3.
* 2 InvisibleSun 22:27, 26 March 2009 (UTC)
Age, if nothing else, entitles me to set the record straight before I dissolve. I've given my memoirs far more thought than any of my marriages. You can't divorce a book. ~ Gloria Swanson
* 3 Zarbon 20:42, 24 March 2009 (UTC)
* 2 Kalki 19:32, 26 March 2009 (UTC)
* We are faced with the curiously appalling trend of modern thought, in which the absolute which was once a means of entering into communion with the divine, has now become an instrument used by those who profit from it, to distort, pervert, and conceal the meaning of the present.
* ~ Karl Mannheim ~
* 3 ♞☤☮♌︎Kalki ⚚⚓︎⊙☳☶⚡ 00:08, 27 March 2017 (UTC)
* Every bureaucracy … in accord with the peculiar emphasis on its own position, tends to generalize its own experience and to overlook the fact that the realm of administration and of smoothly functioning order represents only a part of the total political reality. Bureaucratic thought does not deny the possibility of the science of politics, but regards it as identical with the science of administration. Thus irrational factors are overlooked, and when these nevertheless force themselves to the fore, they are treated as "routine matters of state."
* ~ Karl Mannheim ~
* 3 ♞☤☮♌︎Kalki ⚚⚓︎⊙☳☶⚡ 00:08, 27 March 2017 (UTC)