Old Wisdom for Our Bad Time, Part 2

The words of his mouth were smoother than butter, but war was in his heart; his words were softer than oil, yet they were drawn swords. - Psalm 56:21



O wad some Pow’r the giftie gie us
To see ourselves as others see us!  - Burns



Those who have the most virtues in their mouths have the least in their bosoms.  - Oliver Goldsmith



Where will the Word be found, Where will the Word resound?
Not here, There is not enough silence.  - Shelley



I did not opposed to Obama as President because he is African. Just being from Illinois is enough for me. Besides, I am still not reconciled to John Quincy Adams. - Clyde Wilson



But capitalist society, which naturally does not know the meaning of honour, cannot know the meaning of disgrace. - G.K. Chesterton



Always make the audience suffer as much as possible. – Alfred Hitchcock


Everything has a moral if only you can find it. - Lewis Carroll



Previous to the War between the States, political education was maintained by public discussions of great principles, by great men. Since the War, political education has been neglected; and the people who once knew that they were sovereigns... now act upon the idea that they are subjects, without the liberty of doing anything , except to pay taxes, and obey the orders of those in office. - Tom Watson of Georgia, 1917.



You may not be interested in war, but war is interested in you. - Lenin


Looking for Utopia you have to wade through rivers of blood and find out it’s not there. - Peter Hitchens



The North strove to remember the war during the remainder of the 19th century as one of valorous collective unity, rather than an unpopular struggle that held considerable dissent and resentment... Abraham Lincoln was despised by a sizable portion of the Northern populace. - Paul Taylor, ‘Tis Not Our War: Avoiding Military Service in the Civil War North (2024)