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Those who have likened our life to a dream were more right, by chance, than they realized. We are awake while sleeping, and waking sleep.

Michel de Montaigne

Essays

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Topic

Being present

Author

Michel de Montaigne

Source

Apology for Raimond Sebond Essays

Medium

Essay

Language

French

Time

1580 1580s 16th century

Era

European Renaissance

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Original Citation

De Montaigne, Michel. "Apologie de Raimond Sebond [Apology for Raimond Sebond]." Essais [Essays]. Paris: Simon Millanges and Jean Richer, 1580.

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Current Citation

De Montaigne, Michel. "An Apology for Raymond Sebond." The Complete Essays, edited and translated by M. A. Screech. Penguin Classics, 1993.

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Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must, like men, undergo the fatigues of supporting it.

Thomas Paine

The American Crisis

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Topic

Price of freedom

Author

Thomas Paine

Source

The American Crisis

Genre

Political literature

Language

English

Time

1777 1770s 18th century

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Original Citation

Paine, Thomas. The American Crisis: Number 4. Philadelphia: Styner and Cist, 1777.

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Current Citation

Paine, Thomas. "The American Crisis, Number IV, September 12, 1777." Common Sense, The Crisis, & Other Writings from the American Revolution. Library of America, 2015.

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Rationalism is an adventure in the clarification of thought.

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Topic

Rationalism Reason

Speaker

Alfred North Whitehead

Source

Process and Reality

Medium

Essay

Genre

Philosophical literature

Language

English

Time

1928 1920s 20th century

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Original Citation

Whitehead, Alfred North. "Process and Reality: An Essay in Cosmology." Gifford Lecture. 1927–1928, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland.

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Whitehead, Alfred North. Process and Reality. Simon and Schuster, 2010, pt. 1, ch. 1, sec. 3.

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Be not thy tongue thy own shame's orator.

William Shakespeare

The Comedy of Errors

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Topic

Tact and discretion

Speaker

Luciana

Author

William Shakespeare

Source

The Comedy of Errors

Medium

Play

Genre

Comedy (play)

Statement Type

Advice

Language

English

Time

1594 1590s 16th century

Era

European Renaissance

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Original Citation

Shakespeare, William. The Comedy of Errors. 1594, Gray's Inn Hall, London, England, UK, act 3, sc. 2.

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Current Citation

Shakespeare, William. "The Comedy of Errors." The Norton Shakespeare, edited by Stephen Greenblatt, et al., 3rd ed., W. W. Norton & Company, 2015, act 3, sc. 2.

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When the stars threw down their spears
And water'd heaven with their tears:
Did he smile his work to see?
Did he who made the Lamb make thee?

William Blake

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Topic

Creation of the world Stars

Author

William Blake

Source

The Tyger

Medium

Poem

Statement Type

Question

Language

English

Time

1794 1790s 18th century

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Original Citation

Blake, William. "The Tyger." Songs of Innocence and of Experience Shewing the Two Contrary States of the Human Soul. London, 1794.

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Current Citation

Blake, William. "The Tyger." William Blake: Selected Poems, edited by Nicholas Shrimpton. Oxford University Press, 2019.

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It is very strange that I, a boy brought up in the woods, and seeing, as it were, but little of the world, should be drifted into the very apex of this great event.

Abraham Lincoln

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Topic

American Civil War Fate

Speaker

Abraham Lincoln

Source

The Daily Dispatch

Medium

Interview Newspaper

Language

English

Time

1864 1860s 19th century

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Original Citation

Lincoln, Abraham. "Interview of a Canadian Editor with the President." The Daily Dispatch (Richmond), 5 Sept. 1864.

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Current Citation

Lincoln, Abraham. Quoted in "The People with the Governing Power," Conversations with Lincoln by Charles M. Segal. G. P. Putman's Sons, 1961.

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Government is like a baby—it’s got an alimentary canal at one end and no sense of responsibility at the other.

Ronald Reagan

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Topic

Government

Speaker

Ronald Reagan

Medium

Speech

Genre

Political speech

Language

English

Time

1965 1960s 20th century

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Citation

Reagan, Ronald. "Conservatives Rallied: Goldwater Can Win Presidency in 1968, CRA Convention." Los Angeles Times, 28 Mar. 1965, p. B5, col. 3. Originally, a joke during campaign for Governor of California in 1965.

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I cannot look at the universe as the result of blind chance, yet I can see no evidence of beneficent design, or indeed of design of any kind, in the details.

Charles Darwin

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Topic

Origin of the universe

Author

Charles Darwin

Source

Letters of Charles Darwin

Medium

Letter

Language

English

Time

1870 1870s 19th century

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Original Citation

Darwin, Charles. Letter to J. D. Hooker. 12 July 1870.

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Current Citation

Darwin, Charles. "To J. D. Hooker, 12 July 1870." The Correspondence of Charles Darwin, edited by Frederick Burkhardt and James A. Secord. Vol. 18: 1870. Cambridge University Press, 2010, no. 7273.

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The stars are ageless, aren't they?

Sunset Boulevard

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Topic

Celebrity

Speaker

Norma Desmond

Actor

Gloria Swanson

Source

Sunset Boulevard

Medium

Film

Genre

Film noir Drama (film) Drama

Language

English

Time

1950 1950s 20th century

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Citation

Sunset Boulevard. Directed by Billy Wilder, Paramount Pictures, 1950.

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A person who longs to leave the place where he lives is an unhappy person.

Milan Kundera

The Unbearable Lightness of Being

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Topic

Home Escape

Author

Milan Kundera

Source

The Unbearable Lightness of Being

Medium

Novel

Language

Czech

Time

1984 1980s 20th century

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Original Citation

Kundera, Milan. L'insoutenable légèreté de l'être [The Unbearable Lightness of Being]. Gallimard, 1984.

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Current Citation

Kundera, Milan. The Unbearable Lightness of Being, translated by Michael Henry Heim. Harper Perennial, 2009.

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In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.

Jesus

John 14:2-3

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Topic

Heaven

Speaker

Jesus

Source

Gospel of John The Bible

Medium

Scripture

Genre

Religious literature

Language

Greek

Time

90 90s 1st century

Era

Classical antiquity

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Citation

The Holy Bible: The King James Version. 1611. (John 14:2-3).

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But not knowing is not so bad. I mean, the point is to be looking, searching. To stay hungry, right?

Before Midnight

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Topic

Uncertainty Curiosity Seeking

Speaker

Celine

Actor

Julie Delpy

Source

Before Midnight

Medium

Film

Genre

Romantic drama (film) Drama (film) Romantic drama Drama

Language

English

Time

2013 2010s 21st century

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Citation

Before Midnight. Directed by Richard Linklater, Castle Rock Entertainment/Venture Forth/Detour Filmproduction, 2013.

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It's like this, when I was growing pot, I realized that the more seeds I planted, the more pot I could ultimately smoke.

The 40-Year-Old Virgin

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Topic

Casting a wide net Playing the odds

Speaker

Cal

Actor

Seth Rogen

Source

The 40-Year-Old Virgin

Medium

Film

Genre

Romantic comedy (film) Romantic comedy

Language

English

Time

2005 2000s 21st century

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Citation

The 40-Year-Old Virgin. Directed by Judd Apatow, Apatow Productions, 2005.

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I have taken all knowledge to be my province.

Francis Bacon

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Topic

Curiosity Intellectual ambition

Author

Francis Bacon

Source

Letter of Francis Bacon

Medium

Letter

Language

English

Time

1591 1590s 16th century

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Original Citation

Bacon, Francis. Letter to Lord Burghley. c. 1591.

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Current Citation

Bacon, Francis. Letter to Lord Burghley." Francis Bacon: The Major Works, edited by Brian Vickers. Oxford University Press, 2008.

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The State is an instrument in the hands of the ruling class, used to break the resistance of the adversaries of that class.

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Topic

Class conflict Political power Government

Speaker

Joseph Stalin

Source

Foundations of Leninism

Medium

Lecture

Language

Russian

Time

1924 1920s 20th century

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Citation

Stalin, Joseph. The Foundations of Leninism. International Publishers, 1970, ch. 4, sect. 2. Originally a lecture called "The Dictatorship of the Proletariat." Foundations of Leninism lecture series. 1924, Sverdlov University, Moscow, Russia.

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Can authority be more amiable and respectable when it descends from accidents or institutions established in remote antiquity than when it springs fresh from the hearts and judgments of an honest and enlightened people?

John Adams

Inaugural Address of John Adams

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Tradition vs. modernity Tradition Progress Political theory

Speaker

John Adams

Source

Inaugural Address of John Adams Presidential inaugural address

Medium

Speech

Genre

Political speech

Language

English

Time

1797 1790s 18th century

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Citation

Adams, John. "Inaugural Address." 4 Mar. 1797, House Chamber, Congress Hall, Philadelphia, PA, USA.

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It's good food and not fine words that keeps me alive.

Molière

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Topic

Food

Speaker

Chrysale

Author

Molière

Source

The Learned Ladies

Medium

Play

Genre

Comedy (play)

Language

French

Time

1672 1670s 17th century

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Original Citation

Moliere. Les Femmes Savantes [The Learned Ladies]. 11 Mar. 1672, Théâtre du Palais-Royal, Paris, France, act 2, sc. 7.

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Current Citation

Moliere. "The Clever Women." The Miser and Other Plays, translated by David Coward and John Wood. Penguin Classics, 2000, act 2, sc. 7.

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Fight till the last gasp.

William Shakespeare

Henry VI, Part 1

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Never giving up

Speaker

Joan la Pucelle

Author

William Shakespeare

Source

Henry VI, Part 1

Medium

Play

Genre

History (play)

Language

English

Time

1592 1590s 16th century

Era

European Renaissance

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Original Citation

Shakespeare, William. Henry VI, Part 1. Lord Strange's Men, 1592, Rose Theatre, London, England, UK, act 1, sc. 2.

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Current Citation

Shakespeare, William. "The First Part of Henry the Sixth." The Norton Shakespeare, edited by Stephen Greenblatt, et al., 3rd ed., W. W. Norton & Company, 2015, act 1, sc. 2.

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A sentence should read as if its author, had he held a plough instead of a pen, could have drawn a furrow deep and straight to the end.

Henry David Thoreau

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Topic

Good writing Writing

Author

Henry David Thoreau

Source

A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers

Genre

Travel writing

Statement Type

Metaphor, analogy and simile

Language

English

Time

1849 1840s 19th century

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Original Citation

Thoreau, Henry David. A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers. Boston/Cambridge: James Munroe and Co., 1849.

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Thoreau, Henry David. A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers, edited by Carl F. Hovde and William L. Howarth, and Elizabeth Hall Witherell. Princeton University Press, 2004.

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Each morning sees some task begin,
Each evening sees it close;
Something attempted, something done,
Has earned a night's repose.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

The Knickerbocker

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Topic

Daily life Routine

Author

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Source

The Village Blacksmith The Knickerbocker

Medium

Poem Magazine

Language

English

Time

1840 1840s 19th century

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Original Citation

Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth. "The Village Blacksmith." The Knickerbocker. New York City: Lewis Gaylord Clark, Nov. 1840, I. 39.

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Current Citation

Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth. "The Village Blacksmith." Henry Wadsworth Longfellow: Poems & Other Writings, edited by J. D. McClatchy. Library of America, 2000, I. 39.

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