Washington Irving book The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent.
"The Wife".
Source: The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon (1819–1820)
No. 58 (May 26, 1759)
The Idler (1758–1760)
Source: The Idler; Poems
Context: Pleasure is very seldom found where it is sought. Our brightest blazes of gladness are commonly kindled by unexpected sparks. The flowers which scatter their odours from time to time in the paths of life, grow up without culture from seeds scattered by chance. Nothing is more hopeless than a scheme of merriment.
Washington Irving book The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent.
"The Wife".
Source: The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon (1819–1820)
“If the true spark of religious and civil liberty be kindled, it will burn.”
Daniel Webster (1782–1852) Leading American senator and statesman. January 18, 1782 – October 24, 1852. Served as the Secretary of Sta…
Address on Laying the Cornerstone of the Bunker Hill Monument (1825)
Context: If the true spark of religious and civil liberty be kindled, it will burn. Human agency cannot extinguish it. Like the earth's central fire, it may be smothered for a time; the ocean may overwhelm it; mountains may press it down; but its inherent and unconquerable force will heave both the ocean and the land, and at some time or other, in some place or other, the volcano will break out and flame up to heaven.
“One is the ever kindling star
King of the immortal spark
In heaven’s eye”
Cat Stevens (1948) British singer-songwriter
Monad's Anthem
Song lyrics, Numbers (1974)
Napoleon I of France (1769–1821) French general, First Consul and later Emperor of the French
Napoleon : In His Own Words (1916)
Frederick Herzberg (1923–2000) American psychologist
Frederick Herzberg, quoted in: Marci Segal (2003), Quick Guide to the Four Temperaments and Creativity. p. 12
Richard Leakey (1944) Kenyan paleoanthropologist, conservationist, and politician
Origins Reconsidered: In Search of What Makes Us Human (1992)
Lois McMaster Bujold Vorkosigan Saga
Vorkosigan Saga, Borders of Infinity (1989)
Context: The loonies who sought a glorious death in battle found it very early on. This rapidly cleared the chain of command of the accumulated fools. The survivors were those who learned to fight dirty, and live, and fight another day, and win, and win, and win, and for whom nothing, not comfort, or security, not family or friends or their immortal souls, was more important than winning. Dead men are losers by definition. Survival and victory. They weren't supermen, or immune to pain. They sweated in confusion and darkness. And … they won.