# December 27

Quotes of the day from previous years:

## 2003

    The time is always right to do what is right ~ Martin Luther King, Jr.
   * selected by Kalki

## 2004

    Shall we make a new rule of life from tonight — always to try to be a little kinder than is necessary? ~ J. M. Barrie (100th Anniversary of first performance of Peter Pan)
   * selected by Kalki

## 2005

    Except for the people who were there that one day they discovered the polio vaccine, being part of history is rarely a good idea. History is one war after another with a bunch of murders and natural disasters in between. ~ Sarah Vowell (born 27 December 1969)
   * proposed by UDScott

## 2006

    I am on the edge of mysteries and the veil is getting thinner and thinner. ~ Louis Pasteur (born 27 December 1822)
   * proposed by Kalki

## 2007

    I am utterly convinced that Science and Peace will triumph over Ignorance and War, that nations will eventually unite not to destroy but to edify, and that the future will belong to those who have done the most for the sake of suffering humanity. ~ Louis Pasteur
   * proposed by Kalki

## 2008

    There never is any such thing as one truth to be found in dramatic art. There are many. These truths challenge each other, recoil from each other, reflect each other, ignore each other, tease each other, are blind to each other. Sometimes you feel you have the truth of a moment in your hand, then it slips through your fingers and is lost. ~ Harold Pinter (recent death)
   * proposed by InvisibleSun

## 2009

    Science knows no country, because knowledge belongs to humanity, and is the torch which illuminates the world. ~ Louis Pasteur
   * proposed by Kalki

## 2010

    One does not ask of one who suffers: What is your country and what is your religion? One merely says: You suffer, that is enough for me... ~ Louis Pasteur
   * proposed by Kalki

## 2011

    Let me tell you the secret that has lead me to my goal. My strength lies solely in my tenacity. ~ Louis Pasteur
   * proposed by Kalki

## 2012

* There is nothing of such force as the power of a person content merely to be himself, nothing so invincible as the power of simple honesty, nothing so successful as the life of one who runs alone.
* ~ Louis Bromfield ~
   * proposed by bystander

## 2013

* What the world needs is more geniuses with humility; there are so few of us left.
* ~ Oscar Levant ~
   * proposed by Kalki

## 2014

* Science knows no country, because knowledge belongs to humanity, and is the torch which illuminates the world. Science is the highest personification of the nation because that nation will remain the first which carries the furthest the works of thought and intelligence.
* ~ Louis Pasteur ~
   * proposed by bystander

## 2015

* It is a fallacy to think that carping is the strongest form of criticism: the important work begins after the artist's mistakes have been pointed out, and the reviewer can't put it off indefinitely with sneers, although some neophytes might be tempted to try: "When in doubt, stick out your tongue" is a safe rule that never cost one any readers. But there's nothing strong about it, and it has nothing to do with the real business of criticism, which is to do justice to the best work of one's time, so that nothing gets lost.
* ~ Wilfrid Sheed ~
   * proposed by InvisibleSun

## 2016

* If we have faith in each other Then we can be Strong, babyI will be your father figure Put your tiny hand in mine I will be your preacher teacher Anything you have in mind I will be your father figure I have had enough of crime I will be the one who loves you … 'Til the end of time.
* ~ George Michael ~
   * proposed by Kalki

## 2017

* He who proclaims the existence of the Infinite, and none can avoid it — accumulates in that affirmation more of the supernatural than is to be found in all the miracles of all the religions; for the notion of the Infinite presents that double character that forces itself upon us and yet is incomprehensible. When this notion seizes upon our understanding we can but kneel ... I see everywhere the inevitable expression of the Infinite in the world; through it the supernatural is at the bottom of every heart. The idea of God is a form of the idea of the Infinite. As long as the mystery of the infinite weighs on human thought, temples will be erected for the worship of the Infinite, whether God is called Brahma, Allah, Jehovah, or Jesus; and on the pavement of these temples, men will be seen kneeling, prostrated, annihilated by the thought of the Infinite.
* ~ Louis Pasteur ~
   * proposed by Kalki

## 2018

* The greatness of human actions is measured by the inspiration that it brings. Blessed is he who carries within himself a God, an ideal of beauty and obeys it: an ideal of art, ideal of science, ideal of country, ideal virtues of the Gospel! These are the wellsprings of great thoughts and great actions. All reflections illuminate infinity.
* ~ Louis Pasteur ~
   * proposed by Kalki

## 2019

* The Greeks understood the mysterious power of the hidden side of things. They bequeathed to us one of the most beautiful words in our language — the word "enthusiasm" — en theos [Εν Θεος] — a god within. The grandeur of human actions is measured by the inspiration from which they spring. Happy is he who bears a god within and obeys it.
* ~ Louis Pasteur ~
   * proposed by Kalki

## 2020

* Owing to this struggle for life, any variation, however slight and from whatever cause proceeding, if it be in any degree profitable to an individual of any species, in its infinitely complex relations to other organic beings and to external nature, will tend to the preservation of that individual, and will generally be inherited by its offspring. The offspring, also, will thus have a better chance of surviving, for, of the many individuals of any species which are periodically born, but a small number can survive. I have called this principle, by which each slight variation, if useful, is preserved, by the term of Natural Selection, in order to mark its relation to man's power of selection.
* ~ Charles Darwin ~
   * proposed by Kalki, in relation to Darwin's embarking on his "Voyage of the Beagle" on this date in 1831.

## 2021

* Mankind has always made too much of its saints and heroes, and how the latter handle the fuss might be called their final test.
* ~ Louis Pasteur ~
   * proposed by Kalki

## 2022

* You bring me the deepest joy that can be felt by a man whose invincible belief is that Science and Peace will triumph over Ignorance and War, that nations will unite, not to destroy, but to build, and that the future will belong to those who will have done most for suffering humanity.
* ~ Louis Pasteur ~
   * proposed by Kalki

## 2023

* I don't say "Ho-ho-ho", but I do say "Oh-oh-oh" when I look out of the window, where I can see a night, then the evening, and then the night again. The 20 days of my transportation were pretty exhausting, but I'm still in a good mood, as befits a Santa Claus. … I was transported with such precaution and on such a strange route … I didn't expect anyone to find me here before mid-January. That's why I was very surprised when the cell door was opened yesterday with the words: "A lawyer is here to see you". He told me that you had lost me, and some of you were even worried. Thanks very much for your support!
* ~ Alexei Navalny ~
   * proposed by Kalki; recent remarks after being located in a northern Russian prison camp.

## 2024

* Whether or not Big Brother is watching us, we certainly have to watch him, which may be even worse.
* ~ Wilfrid Sheed ~
   * proposed by InvisibleSun

## 2025

    Rank or add further suggestions…
Quotes by people born this day, already used as QOTD:
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

The desire not to destroy the palace but to move into it oneself has always been the occupational curse of revolutionaries. ~ Wilfrid Sheed
* 3 InvisibleSun 17:10, 25 December 2007 (UTC)
* 2 Kalki (talk · contributions) 20:10, 9 December 2010 (UTC) * 3 Kalki 18:06, 25 December 2007 (UTC) but with a lean toward 3 or even and eventual 4.
* 3 because this is true. In history, many have abolished and created revolutions only to do the same their predecessors have done or even worse. Well said Sheed. Zarbon 20:43, 26 April 2008 (UTC)
There is a thin line between genius and insanity. I have erased this line. ~ Oscar Levant
* 4 Zarbon 04:17, 9 December 2008 (UTC)
* 1 ♞☤☮♌︎Kalki ⚚⚓︎⊙☳☶⚡ 23:25, 26 December 2015 (UTC) 2 Kalki 14:15, 25 December 2008 (UTC) but might rank this higher again in the future.
* 3 InvisibleSun 03:05, 26 December 2008 (UTC)
* 3 bystander (talk) 00:07, 21 December 2012 (UTC)
I have no trouble with my enemies. But my god damn friends... they are the ones that keep me walking the floors at night. ~ Oscar Levant
* 3 Zarbon 04:17, 9 December 2008 (UTC)
* 2 Kalki 14:15, 25 December 2008 (UTC)
There are two sides to every question: my side and the wrong side. ~ Oscar Levant
* 3 Zarbon 04:17, 9 December 2008 (UTC)
* 2 Kalki 14:15, 25 December 2008 (UTC)