# February 23

Quotes of the day from previous years:

## 2004

    Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind. ~ Dr. Seuss
   * selected by Kalki

## 2005

    If you're going to be crazy, you have to get paid for it or else you're going to be locked up. ~ Hunter S. Thompson (recent death)
   * selected by Kalki

## 2006

    Man is always something more than what he knows of himself. He is not what he is simply once and for all, but is a process... ~ Karl Jaspers (born 23 February 1883)
   * proposed by Kalki

## 2007

    The theory of democratic government is not that the will of the people is always right, but rather that normal human beings of average intelligence will, if given a chance, learn the right and best course by bitter experience. ~ W. E. B. Du Bois
   * proposed by InvisibleSun

## 2008

    There is but one coward on earth, and that is the coward that dare not know. ~ W. E. B. Du Bois
   * proposed by InvisibleSun

## 2009

    We cannot avoid conflict, conflict with society, other individuals and with oneself. Conflicts may be the sources of defeat, lost life and a limitation of our potentiality but they may also lead to greater depth of living and the birth of more far-reaching unities, which flourish in the tensions that engender them. ~ Karl Jaspers
   * proposed by Kalki

## 2010

    How shall Integrity face Oppression? What shall Honesty do in the face of Deception, Decency in the face of Insult, Self-Defense before Blows? How shall Desert and Accomplishment meet Despising, Detraction, and Lies? What shall Virtue do to meet Brute Force? There are so many answers and so contradictory; and such differences for those on the one hand who meet questions similar to this once a year or once a decade, and those who face them hourly and daily. ~ W. E. B. Du Bois
   * proposed by InvisibleSun

## 2011

    There can be no rainbow without a cloud and a storm. ~ John Heyl Vincent
   * proposed by Kalki

## 2012

    Man, if he is to remain man, must advance by way of consciousness. There is no road leading backward. … We can no longer veil reality from ourselves by renouncing self-consciousness without simultaneously excluding ourselves from the historical course of human existence. ~ Karl Jaspers
   * proposed by Kalki

## 2013

* It is the search for the truth, not possession of the truth which is the way of philosophy. Its questions are more relevant than its answers, and every answer becomes a new question.
* ~ Karl Jaspers ~
   * proposed by Kalki

## 2014

* The function of the university is not simply to teach bread-winning, or to furnish teachers for the public schools or to be a centre of polite society; it is, above all, to be the organ of that fine adjustment between real life and the growing knowledge of life, an adjustment which forms the secret of civilization.
* ~ W. E. B. Du Bois ~
   * proposed by InvisibleSun

## 2015

* At some time, here or hereafter, every account must be settled, and every debt paid in full.
* ~ John Heyl Vincent ~
   * proposed by Kalki

## 2016

* Herein lies the tragedy of the age: not that men are poor,— all men know something of poverty; not that men are wicked — who is good? not that men are ignorant, — what is Truth? Nay, but that men know so little of men.
* ~ W. E. B. Du Bois ~
   * proposed by InvisibleSun

## 2017

* Believe in life! Always human beings will progress to greater, broader, and fuller life.
* ~ W. E. B. Du Bois ~
   * proposed by Kalki

## 2018

* "What is the greatest surprise you have found about life?” a university student asked me several years ago. "It's brevity" I replied without hesitation. … Time moves so quickly, and no matter who we are or what we have done, the time will come when our lives will be over. As Jesus said, "As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work". … Life is short, and every day is a gift from God.
* ~ Billy Graham ~
   * proposed by Kalki

## 2019

* Either the United States will destroy ignorance or ignorance will destroy the United States. And when we call for education we mean real education. We believe in work. We ourselves are workers, but work is not necessarily education. Education is the development of power and ideal. We want our children trained as intelligent human beings should be, and we will fight for all time against any proposal to educate black boys and girls simply as servants and underlings, or simply for the use of other people. They have a right to know, to think, to aspire.
* ~ W. E. B. Du Bois ~
   * proposed by Kalki

## 2020

* Our questions and answers are in part determined by the historical tradition in which we find ourselves. We apprehend truth from our own source within the historical tradition. The content of our truth depends upon our appropriating the historical foundation. Our own power of generation lies in the rebirth of what has been handed down to us. If we do not wish to slip back, nothing must be forgotten; but if philosophising is to be genuine our thoughts must arise from our own source. Hence all appropriation of tradition proceeds from the intentness of our own life. The more determinedly I exist, as myself, within the conditions of the time, the more clearly I shall hear the language of the past, the nearer I shall feel the glow of its life.
* ~ Karl Jaspers ~
   * proposed by Kalki

## 2021

* The cost of liberty is less than the price of repression.
* ~ W. E. B. Du Bois ~
   * proposed by Kalki

## 2022

* There is always a certain glamour about the idea of a nation rising up to crush an evil simply because it is wrong. Unfortunately, this can seldom be realized in real life; for the very existence of the evil usually argues a moral weakness in the very place where extraordinary moral strength is called for.
* ~ W. E. B. Du Bois ~
   * proposed by Kalki

## 2023

* Liberty trains for liberty. Responsibility is the first step in responsibility.
* ~ W. E. B. Du Bois ~
   * proposed by Kalki

## 2024

* Today for the first time in more than a half century, the US has returned to the moon. Today, for the first time in the history of humanity, a commercial company — an American company — launched and led the voyage up there. And today is a day that shows the power and promise of NASA's commercial partnerships. … What a triumph! Odysseus has taken the moon. This feat is a giant leap forward for all of humanity.
* ~ Bill Nelson ~
   * proposed by Kalki

## 2025

* The Greek word for philosopher (philosophos) connotes a distinction from sophos. It signifies the lover of wisdom (knowledge) as distinguished from him who considers himself wise in the possession of knowledge. This meaning of the word still endures: the essence of philosophy is not the possession of the truth but the search for truth. … Philosophy means to be on the way. Its questions are more essential than its answers, and every answer becomes a new question.
* ~ Karl Jaspers ~
   * proposed by Kalki

## 2026

    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

The truth is, I do indulge myself a little the more in pleasure, knowing that this is the proper age of my life to do it; and out of my observation that most men that do thrive in the world, do forget to take pleasure during the time that they are getting their estate, but reserve that till they have got one, and then it is too late for them to enjoy it with any pleasure. ~ Samuel Pepys (born 23 February 1633)
* 3 Kalki 23:50, 22 February 2009 (UTC) with a lean toward 4.
* 1 Zarbon 05:43, 27 February 2009 (UTC)
Musique and women I cannot but give way to, whatever my business is. ~ Samuel Pepys (born 23 February 1633)
* 3 Kalki 23:50, 22 February 2009 (UTC)
* 2 Zarbon 05:43, 27 February 2009 (UTC)
To live a godly life is the best way to light up a lesson that the teacher can possibly employ. ~ John Heyl Vincent
* 3 Kalki (talk · contributions) 01:35, 29 July 2010 (UTC)
We are pilgrims, not settlers; this earth is our inn, not our home. ~ John Heyl Vincent
* 3 Kalki (talk · contributions) 01:35, 29 July 2010 (UTC)
* 3 (Josephine W. （Talk） 07:25, 22 February 2020 (UTC))
In the highest class of God's school of suffering we learn not resignation nor patience, but rejoicing in tribulation. ~ John Heyl Vincent
* 3 Kalki (talk · contributions) 01:35, 29 July 2010 (UTC)
The teacher should use illustrations for the better teaching of the lesson, and never to fill up time, to amuse the class, or to display his own genius. ~ John Heyl Vincent
* 3 Kalki (talk · contributions) 01:35, 29 July 2010 (UTC)
He that would speak Divine things in a language which living men of to-day can comprehend, must keep up with the researches and discoveries of men who study nature, and put her words into the speech of the present. ~ John Heyl Vincent
* 3 Kalki (talk · contributions) 01:35, 29 July 2010 (UTC) with a very strong lean toward 4.
* The worker must work for the glory of his handiwork, not simply for pay; the thinker must think for truth, not for fame.
* ~ W. E. B. Du Bois ~
* 3 ♞☤☮♌︎Kalki ⚚⚓︎⊙☳☶⚡ 00:29, 23 February 2017 (UTC)
* 3 (Josephine W. （Talk） 07:25, 22 February 2020 (UTC))
* The 'public' is a phantom, the phantom of an opinion supposed to exist in a vast number of persons who have no effective interrelation and though the opinion is not effectively present in the units. Such an opinion is spoken of as 'public opinion,' a fiction which is appealed to by individuals and by groups as supporting their special views. It is impalpable, illusory, transient; "'tis here, 'tis there, 'tis gone"; a nullity which can nevertheless for a moment endow the multitude with power to uplift or destroy.
* ~ Karl Jaspers ~
* 3 ♞☤☮♌︎Kalki ⚚⚓︎⊙☳☶⚡ 23:58, 22 February 2025 (UTC)
* The masses are our masters; and for every one who looks facts in the face his existence has become dependent on them, so that the thought of them must control his doings, his cares, and his duties. Even an articulated mass always tends to become unspiritual and inhuman. It is life without existence, superstitions without faith. It may stamp all flat; it is disinclined to tolerate independence and greatness, but prone to constrain people to become as automatic as ants.
* ~ Karl Jaspers ~
* 2 ♞☤☮♌︎Kalki ⚚⚓︎⊙☳☶⚡ 23:58, 22 February 2025 (UTC)
* The would-be climber must be able to make himself liked ... please his superiors — avoid showing independence except in those matters wherein independence is expected of him by his chiefs... the winners in the race have qualities which disincline them to allow others to be their true selves. Hence the winners snub all those who aim at adequate self-expression, speaking of them as pretentious, eccentric, biased, unpractical, and measuring their achievements by insincere standards.
* ~ Karl Jaspers ~
* 2 ♞☤☮♌︎Kalki ⚚⚓︎⊙☳☶⚡ 23:58, 22 February 2025 (UTC)
* Imminent seems the collapse of that which for millennium has constituted man's universe. The new world which has arisen as an apparatus for supply of the necessaries of life compels everything and everyone to serve it. It annihilates whatever it has no place for person seems to be going undergoing absorption into that which is nothing more than a means to an end, into that which is devoid of purpose of significance.
* ~ Karl Jaspers ~
* 3 ♞☤☮♌︎Kalki ⚚⚓︎⊙☳☶⚡ 23:58, 22 February 2025 (UTC)
* Today war seems to have undergone a change of meaning, insofar as it is not a war of religion but a war of interests, not a war of conflicting cultures or civilizations but a war of national areas, not a war of human beings but a technical struggle of machines one against another and all against the non–combatant population.
* ~ Karl Jaspers ~
* 3 ♞☤☮♌︎Kalki ⚚⚓︎⊙☳☶⚡ 23:58, 22 February 2025 (UTC)
* The mass-man has very little spare time, does not live a life that appertains to a whole, does not want to exert himself except for some concrete aim which can be expressed in terms of utility; he will not wait patiently while things ripen; everything for him must provide some immediate gratification; and even his mental life must minister to his fleeting pleasures. That is why the essay has become the customary form of literature, why newspapers are taking the place of books... People read quickly and cursorily.
* ~ Karl Jaspers ~
* 3 ♞☤☮♌︎Kalki ⚚⚓︎⊙☳☶⚡ 23:58, 22 February 2025 (UTC)
* Reason is like an open secret that can become known to anyone at any time; it is the quiet space into which everyone can enter through his own thought.
* ~ Karl Jaspers ~
* 3 ♞☤☮♌︎Kalki ⚚⚓︎⊙☳☶⚡ 23:58, 22 February 2025 (UTC)