A Year in Quotes - Book One

Introduction

Some writing projects are more emotionally draining than one might expect. Some test your discipline as a writer. Some challenge your endurance. Some prove to be a definite struggle to remaining at the keyboard in the face of any and all minor distractions.

A Year in Quotes – Book One was a pleasure – a pleasure to write from front cover to back cover. Spending the many months in the company of some of the most interesting minds of the centuries proved to be a fascinating journey. Each new piece of research from the countless sources led to yet another unknown personal fact about the authors of the quotes. The 366 mini-biographies offer but a mere glimpse into the personal lives of these interesting individuals. The hope is that the mini-bio’s might trigger further curiosity on the part of the readers.

Over the past months I introduced myself to Confucius, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Mark Twain, Moliere, Charles Dickens, Abraham Lincoln and countless other ‘new’ friends. Their wise and witty words made me smile, made me ponder life, made me deepen my admiration and respect for others, made me giggle out loud . . . and never, ever, failed to inspire me. I am a better person for having spent time with them.

Now – I wish to introduce you, the reader, to your new friends.

"A good deed need not be paid back.

But should always be paid forward!"

Jerry Appleton

January 1st

I wish for you everything

you wish for yourself.

Daniel Enright

Television Producer

(1917 - 1992)

Daniel Enright, born and raised in British Palestine, survived the atrocities of the Holocaust years as a young Jewish man. During the 1940’s Enright moved to New York City to launch a career in broadcasting and became one of the most successful game show producers in American television. Within a short period of time, he teamed up with television personality, Jack Barry, and for over four decades they created and produced countless programs for network radio and television under the banner of Barry and Enright Productions. The company was responsible for such favorite game shows as Concentration and Twenty-One. Enright continued to operate the production company as Barry & Enright Productions after Barry’s sudden death in 1984.

During his lifetime Dan served as devoted mentor and kind friend to a large number of aspiring young television producers and directors, including the author of this book of quotes. He shared the above quote, along with a tender hug, at the end of each lengthy get-together over a fine meal and great conversation. He was a hero to many and a sincere mentor to the fortunate few.

Dan Enright died of cancer on May 22, 1992, at age 74. The wish quote is carved on his headstone.

January 2nd

If you have a garden

and a library,

you have everything you need.

Marcus Tullius Cicero

Philosopher and Statesman

(106 BC – 43 BC)

Cicero was born into a wealthy Roman family. As a child he was encouraged by his parents to study and devote his life to the teachings of the ancient Greek philosophers, poets and historians. In time he mastered a full command of Latin and Greek – the sign of a cultured person at the time. Cicero became one of the great Roman orators.

Cicero, a talented lawyer, was involved in a number of high-profile criminal proceedings, including his successful defense of Sextus Roscius who had been charged with the heinous crime of patricide. Cicero’s passion for public service led him to politics where his exceptional oratory skills made him a favorite of the people.

Cicero and Mark Antony became life-long political rivals. Eventually Cicero and his supporters were declared enemies of the state by Mark Antony. Cicero was hunted down by Antony’s men with great difficulty because Cicero had the sympathy by a large segment of the Roman population and they refused to betray him.

Cicero was captured and history reports his last words to be - There is nothing proper about what you are doing, soldier, but do try to kill me properly.

January 3rd

In the depth of winter,

I finally learned

that within me

lay an invincible summer.

Albert Camus

Writer and Philosopher

(1913 - 1960)

Albert Camus was born in French Algeria into a poor and illiterate working-class family. Camus’ farmer-father was killed during one of the great WWI battles. His partially deaf mother kept the family together in a ghetto-like part of Algiers.

As an active journalist, Camus was often called upon to defend his pacifism. He authored countless passionate articles and essays against the world-wide practice of capital punishment.

Camus became one of the most important philosophers of the 20th century. Camus’ most famous was the novel L'Étranger (The Stranger). He was the second-youngest recipient of the Nobel Prize for Literature (1957), second to Rudyard Kipling.

Camus died in 1960 at the age of 46 in a car accident in France. At the last minute he had changed his travel plans and drove with his publisher. In his coat pocket lay an unused train ticket. He had originally planned to travel by train with his wife and children.

January 4th

Either that wallpaper goes

or I go.

Oscar Wilde

Writer, Playwright and Poet

(1854 - 1900)

Oscar Wilde, was born in Dublin, Ireland, the second of three children born to Sir William Wilde, a surgeon, and Lady Jane Wilde, a devoted mother who was a poet in her own right. Lady Jane shared her love for poetry with the children. The household of intellects would influence young Oscar. He became an exceptional student and entered university at the age of seventeen. While at university Wilde developed a certain panache for fashion.

Wilde served as a journalist in London for four years. After trying his hand at several writing forms Wilde became one of London’s most popular playwrights towards the end of the 19th century. His most notable play, The Importance of Being Earnest, remains an central piece of theatre to this day. Wilde wrote only one novel which has also withstood the test of time - The Picture of Dorian Gray.

Sadly he died destitute in Paris at the age of forty-six. Oscar Wilde, never at a loss for a memorable phrase, spoke the above quote on his death bed in Paris while holding the hand of a dear friend.

January 5th

Perfection is achieved,

not when there’s nothing

more to add,

but when there’s nothing

left to take away.

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

Writer and Aviator

(1900 - 1944)

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry was born in Lyon, France, to an old established noble family. His father, the Viscount Jean de Saint- Exupéry, died when Antoine was shy of his fourth birthday.

Saint-Exupéry proved not to be an ideal student while at pre-university failing his preparatory exams. He eventually studied architecture at the famous École des Beaux-Arts. At the age of 21, he enlisted with a regiment of light cavalry (le 2e Régiment de Chasseurs à Cheval). The following year he earned his wings as a pilot and began a life-long love affair with aviation. Appropriately, his first published story in 1926 was entitled L’Aviateur (The Aviator).

Saint-Exupéry wrote a number of books with an aviation theme, including Vol de Nuit – 1931 (Night Flight) and his memoirs (Wind, Sand and Stars). But history remembers him best as the writer of the philosophical novella – Le Petit Prince (The Little Prince).

January 6th

A candle loses nothing

by lighting another candle.

Father James Keller

Spiritual Leader and broadcaster

(1900 - 1977)

James Keller was born James Kelleher in Oakland, California, in a devout Roman Catholic family. James’ Irish-immigrant father changed the family name to avoid the anti-Irish sentiment of the early 20th-century.

James entered the seminary of the Maryknoll Order with the deep desire of serving in a foreign mission. In preparation for a life in the missions he devoted time observing surgical and medical procedures in order to better serve the needs of his third-world flocks.

Father James Keller was never assigned to a foreign mission. The young priest would go on to be a highly-respected spiritual leader in the North American Catholic church. In 1945, he founded The Christophers, a spiritual and inspirational organization. Over several decades he produced and hosted a weekly television network and syndicated series called Christopher Close-up.

Father Keller’s teachings touched the lives of many individuals until his death in 1977.

January 7th

I have learned

that people will forget

what you said,

people will forget

what you did,

but people will never forget

how you made them feel.

Maya Angelou

Writer and Poet

(b. 1928)

Maya Angelou, born Marguerite Ann Johnson in Saint Louis, Missouri, during the depression, can trace her ancestry back to the Mende people of West Africa.Maya’s father was a navy dietitian and her mother, a surgical nurse. Young Marguerite earned her nickname, Maya, from her older brother, Bailey Jr, as he attempted to pronounce my-a sister.

Maya’s early childhood was made more difficult by the fact that her parents separated and eventual divorced. After the family’s break-up, Maya and her brother were sent to live with their paternal grandmother in Arkansas. Later, at the age of eight and under the care of her birth mother, Maya was abused by her mother’s boyfriend. Maya told her brother about the abuse and eventually the man was charged but only spent one day in prison. He was beaten to death by her family. Maya was so traumatized by the events that she remained mute for five years. Maya Angelou overcame her challenges and became one of America’s most notable black poets and autobiographers.

Maya went on to write a series of six autobiographical books starting with I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings in 1969 at the age of 41.

January 8th

Courage is the resistance

to fear,

mastery of fear –

not absence of fear.

Mark Twain

Writer and Lecturer

(1835 - 1910)

Mark Twain, born in Florida, Missouri, as Samuel Clemens, moved with his parents at the age of four to Hannibal, Missouri, by the great Mississippi River. His early childhood on the shores of the river and later as a pilot on the majestic steamboats would prove to be the inspiration for the creation of a number of literature’s greatest works and endearing characters.

Following a variety of jobs across the country, Clemens wrote a humorous story for a Virginia City newspaper in 1863 using for the first time the pen name, ‘Mark Twain’ – the term used by river boatmen to call out a safe depth of two fathoms (by the mark twain). Twain traveled extensively abroad as a reporter and earned his first acclaim as a writer with the release of the humorous tall tale, The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras (1865).

Mark Twain quickly earned a reputation as a gifted writer and lecturer. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876) and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1885) earned Clemens a place of honor in American literary history.

Twain is buried in Elmira, New York. The monument which stands at his grave is exactly twelve feet high – two fathoms or ‘mark twain’.

January 9th

A politician is a man

who will double cross

that bridge

when he comes to it.

Oscar Levant

Pianist, Composer and Humorist

(1906 - 1972)

Oscar Levant, was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, into a Russian Orthodox Jewish family. At the age of 16, young Levant moved to New York with his mother following the sudden death of his father.

After studying piano with the great Zygmunt Stojowski, Levant (22) transplanted himself to Hollywood where he met George Gershwin. The friendship proved to be life-changing. Levant became a popular composer for film sound tracks in the 30’s and 40’s. He also wrote a number of standard songs which made it to the pop ‘Hit Parade’. During the same decades he was a frequent guest voice on radio.

Levant’s career spanned the three main entertainment fields of the day – movies, radio and television. His quick and biting wit made him a popular guest on Jack Paar’s late-night talk show.

The genius in Levant eventually haunted him. In his later years, he fell victim to his neurosis and self-confessed hypochondria. He became addicted to prescribed drugs and was admitted to mental institutions on several occasions by his devoted wife, actress June Gale.

Levant died of a heart attack at 65.

January 10th

You got to be careful

if you don't know

where you're going,

because you might

not get there.

Yogi Berra

Baseball Player and Manager

(b. 1925)

Yogi Berra, born Lawrence Peter Berra, grew up in an Italian neighborhood of St. Louis. His childhood friend was another baseball great – Joe Garagiola.

The Baseball Hall of Famer (1972) was given his famous nickname, Yogi, by a friend, Bobby Hofman, after a character in a movie. Berra dropped out of school after grade eight, leading him to speak his own brand of English. His quaint sayings became very popular during his baseball years. At twenty-one (1946), the New York Yankees offered him a $500 signing bonus. Berra would go on to prove himself to be considered the greatest catcher in baseball history.

Berra’s distinguished career as a player (MVP three times) was followed by an impressive second career as a manager for both the New York Yankees and the New York Mets. He is one of only six managers to take Americans and National league teams to the World Series.

January 11th

Laws should be like clothes.

They should be made

to fit the people they serve.

Clarence Darrow

Lawyer

(1857 - 1938)

Clarence Darrow came from well-established New England families in both his father and mother’s lineage. His parents were activists – his father was a dedicated abolitionist and his mother, a woman’s rights advocate.

Young Darrow attended Allegheny College and the University of Michigan. In 1878 at the age of 21, he was admitted to the Ohio bar. Darrow distinguished himself in three branches of law – corporate, labor and criminal. For a number of years Darrow represented the legal interests of various American railway companies and unions.

Throughout his life Darrow maintained a strong stand against capital punishment. He was involved in over one hundred murder cases and lost only one which ended in an execution. Darrow’s two most famous cases (teen-agers Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb accused of kidnapping and murder (1924) and the Scopes Monkey Trial) established him as an exceptional lawyer.

Darrow died at the age of 80 in Chicago.

January 12th

Be amusing:

never tell unkind stories;

above all, never tell long ones.

Benjamin Disraeli

Politician and Writer

(1804 - 1881)

Benjamin Disraeli was born of Jewish parents at the beginning of the 19th-century. His father, a literary critic and historian, had young Benjamin baptized at 13 years of age in the Christian faith after a feud with the local synagogue.

Disraeli’s father wished Benjamin to enter law but he was drawn to a career in finance. After various business failures, most notably the failed attempt to launch a major newspaper, Disraeli turned his attention to writing. In 1826, he published his first novel – Vivian Grey. Only one of his novels, Henrietta Temple, proved to be a literary success.

In the 1830’s Disraeli would find his true calling – politics. His command of the English language and his powers of persuasion allowed him to gain attention. Queen Victoria became his champion. Disraeli served as Prime Minister of Great Britain for two periods: 1868 (February – December) and 1874-1880 while acting as Leader of the Opposition between 1868 and 1874.

During his later years Queen Victoria elevated Benjamin Disraeli to Earl of Beaconsfield.

January 13th

Judge a man by his questions

rather than by his answers.

Voltaire

Writer, Playwright and Philosopher

(1694 - 1778)

Voltaire was born François Marie Arouet in Paris one of five children – only two survived. His father, a successful notary, wished his son to follow in his footsteps but the young Francois’ rebellious ways led him to a life in literature.

Arouet wrote under various names before settling on the pen name ‘Voltaire’ – an anagram of the Latin spelling of the family name. During his lifetime, Voltaire’s defiant nature led to numerous confrontations with the French government and the Catholic Church. His wit and gift with the written word made him unpopular with the French aristocracy. Voltaire took every means to defend freedom of religion and speech.

During a three-year exile to Great Britain Voltaire developed a strong affinity for English literature, especially Shakespeare, and the British form of government.He was eventually banned from Paris in 1754.

The writings of Voltaire and other French writers, such as Jean-Jacques Rousseau, would prove to have a strong influence on the leaders of the American and French revolutions.

In 1778, Voltaire returned to Paris to attend a performance of his last play, Irene, where he was celebrated as a hero. He died within weeks.

January 14th

Life is not measured

by the number of breaths

we take,

but by the moments

that take our breath away.

Unknown

Unknown is not a fitting tribute for such an inspirational quote but extensive research failed to produce a valid author.

The popular belief is that the quote was penned by a young Canadian gentleman who was hired by Carlton Cards to write greetings sometime in the 1970’s.

Despite the popularity of the quote no one has stepped forward with proof they were the original writer.

The mystery continues.

January 15th

Better to remain silent

and be thought a fool

than to speak out

and remove all doubt.

Abraham Lincoln

Politician and Lawyer

(1809 - 1865)

Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the United States, was born in a one-room log cabin in Kentucky. Lincoln’s only sibling, sister Sarah, died in early adulthood while giving birth. Lincoln’s paternal grandfather who also carried the name, Abraham Lincoln, was killed during an Indian attack in 1786.

Lincoln began his political career at the age of 23 in a race for a seat in the Illinois General Assembly. He lost his first campaign. Two years later he won a seat in the state legislature. Lincoln had no formal education but nonetheless taught himself law and became a popular lawyer. Lincoln unsuccessfully ran for the U.S. Senate on two occasions but was defeated. He had an exceptional gift to deliver powerful and emotional speeches. His firm stand against slavery won him national attention. In 1860, at the age of 51, Lincoln won the Republican nomination and was elected President. He exercised great presidential powers and personally supervised the War Between the States. In 1863, the passage of the 13th Amendment put an official end to the practice of slavery.

Six days after the surrender of the Confederate Army, Abraham Lincoln was assassinated while attending a performance at the Ford Theatre.

January 16th

The timid are afraid

before the danger,

the cowardly while in danger,

and the courageous

after danger.

Jean Paul Richter

Writer

(1763 - 1825)

Jean Paul Richter (Johann Paul Friedrich) was born in Fichtel Gebirge, Germany. At the age of 18, he enrolled at the University of Leipzig (1781-1784) to study theology. The studious young Richter became a tutor to overcome some financial problems.

In his late twenties, Richter turned his full attention to a career as a writer. He took the name ‘Jean Paul’ in honor of the great French writer-philosopher, Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Both Rousseau and Johann Gottfried von Herder had a great influence on Jean Paul’s philosophy and writings.

Jean Paul achieved his first success as a writer with the publishing of his novel, Die Unsichtbare Loge (The Invisible Lodge), in 1793. Jean Paul’s novels touched on society, politics and education and would develop a following in the 20th century.

After the death of his beloved mother in 1797, Paul traveled extensively. He eventually married (Karoline Meyer) in 1801 and settled in Bayrouth, Germany. Blindness plagued his last years until his death at 62.

January 17th

The pain passes,

but the beauty remains.

Renoir

Artist and Painter

(1841 - 1919)

Renoir (Pierre-Auguste Renoir) was born into a working-class family in Limoges, France. His early years were devoted to earning a living drawing designs on porcelain figures and fine china. He would often visit the Louvre to study the great masters.

At 21, Renoir began studying art along with other painters, including Claude Monet. Like most artists poverty plagued his early years. In 1874, he gained the serious attention of the art world when six of his paintings were on display at the first Impressionist Exhibition.

During the 1880’s Renoir traveled extensively studying the great masters – Eugene Delacroix in Algeria, Raphael in Rome and Velazquez in Madrid. In his late 40’s, Renoir married Aline Charigot, one of his models and mother of his first child. Renoir had three sons. In his fifth decade he was stricken with rheumatoid arthritis which gradually restricted him to a wheelchair. In spite of his disabilities he continued his prolific creative output.

In 1919, Renoir, one of the best known painters of the Impressionist style, visited the Louvre one last time. His paintings hung along side the great masters he once studied. Renoir died later that same year.

January 18th

You know

what makes a good loser?

Practice.

Ernest Hemingway

Writer and Journalist

(1899 - 1961)

Ernest Hemingway proved to be one of the most influential writers of the 20th century – as much for his writing as his adventurous lifestyle.The Nobel Prize-winner was born in Illinois to a physician (his father) and a musician (his mother).

At the age of 19, Hemingway enlisted and became an ambulance driver on the front lines in Italy. Despite serious wounds he carried an Italian soldier to safety and was decorated. His WWI experiences would serve as the basis for one of his greatest works – A Farewell to Arms (1929).

Following the war, young Hemingway began to hone his writing skills as a journalist, first for the Toronto Star in Canada and then as an editor for a monthly journal in Chicago. During his time as foreign correspondence for the Star, Hemingway met such writers as Gertrude Stein and James Joyce. Later he reported from the front lines during the Spanish Civil War and WWII. He was considered one of the writers known as ‘The Lost Generation’. Hemingway added to his stature as a writer with such classic novels as – The Sun Also Rises (1924), For Whom the Bell Tolls (1940) and The Old Man and the Sea (1952).

In 1959, Hemingway moved from glamorous Cuba to take up residence in Ketchum, Idaho. Ernest Hemingway committed suicide at the age of 61.

January 19th

The oldest and shortest words,

‘yes’ and ‘no’

are those which require

the most thought.

Pythagoras

Mathematician and Philosopher

(Circa 570 - 495 BC)

Pythagoras, a Greek philosopher of the 6th century BC, remains a mystery. The few details of his life carried forward over the centuries are sketchy at best.

Records show he was born on the island of Samos in or around the year 570 BC and was greatly influenced by a teacher named Themistoclea. During his forties he lived in Croton, a Greek community in the southern part of Italy. The mathematician-turned-philosopher created a religious movement called Pythagoreanism. The sect and Pythagoras were eventually forced to flee.

Modern academics often revere the man who gave the world the Pythagorean Theorem. His philosophy would later influence the great Plato and as such, Western philosophy.

The man of mystery is thought to have died at approximately 75 in Metapontum, Greece.

January 20th

To speak and to speak well,

are two things.

A fool may talk,

but a wise man speaks.

Ben Jonson

Dramatist, Poet and Actor

(1573 - 1637)

Ben Jonson, born in Westminster, London, England, was a contemporary of William Shakespeare. Jonson, son of a bricklayer, is believed to have attended the University of Cambridge. He managed to attract controversy most of his life.

Jonson married a lady whom history identifies as Ann Lewis before his 21st birthday. Church records list three children and that all died at an early age. The premature deaths had an impact on the marriage with Jonson and his wife living separate lives for some time.

In his late twenties, Jonson joined a theatre troupe called The Admiral’s Men. Although he took on various roles as an actor he would prove to be a superior writer. Jonson’s first encounter with the authorities was the result of a play he co-wrote. He was charged with lewd behavior. A year later he was charged with manslaughter in the death of a fellow actor in a duel (1598).

Jonson’s greatest success was in his role as England’s first Poet Laureate. He survived a number of strokes only to succumb on August 6, 1637. Ben Jonson is buried at Poet’s Corner in Westminster Abbey.

January 21st

To love another person

is to see the face of God.

Les Miz

Musical

(Premiere 1980)

Les Miz, originally released as an album, debuted as a stage musical in Paris at a sports arena in 1980 for a three-month run. The musical was based on the classic French novel, Les Misérables, written by Victor Hugo in 1862.The original music was composed by Claude-Michel Schönberg with lyrics by Alain Boublil.

In 1985, British producer Cameron Mackintosh (CATS) introduced an English-language version at London’s Barbican Arts Centre. The English adaptation was written by Herbert Kretzmer (lyrics) and the team of Trevor Nunn and John Caird (book). Theatre critics were very unkind with their first reviews and the