Quotes of the day from previous years:

2003

Certain old men prefer to rise at dawn, taking a cold bath and a long walk with an empty stomach and otherwise mortifying the flesh. They then point with pride to these practices as the cause of their sturdy health and ripe years; the truth being that they are hearty and old, not because of their habits, but in spite of them. The reason we find only robust persons doing this thing is that it has killed all the others who have tried it. ~ The Devil's Dictionary by Ambrose Bierce

• selected by Nanobug

2004

It is better for a leader to make a mistake in forgiving than to make a mistake in punishing. ~ Muhammad

• selected by Kalki

2005

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood... I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today... ~ Martin Luther King, Jr.

• proposed by MosheZadka, expanded from the first Wikiquote Quote of the Day, selected by Nanobug.

2006

Who is the happiest of men? He who values the merits of others, and in their pleasure takes joy, even as though 'twere his own. ~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

• proposed by Kalki

2007

Moderation, the Golden Mean, the Aristonmetron, is the secret of wisdom and of happiness. But it does not mean embracing an unadventurous mediocrity: rather it is an elaborate balancing-act, a feat of intellectual skill demanding constant vigilance. Its aim is a reconciliation of opposites. ~ Robertson Davies

• proposed by InvisibleSun

2008

To which of the warring serpents should I turn with the problem that now faces me?
It is easy, and tempting, to choose the god of Science. Now I would not for a moment have you suppose that I am one of those idiots who scorns Science, merely because it is always twisting and turning, and sometimes shedding its skin, like the serpent that is its symbol. It is a powerful god indeed but it is what the students of ancient gods called a shape-shifter, and sometimes a trickster. ~ Robertson Davies

• proposed by InvisibleSun

2009

What is the use of being wise if we are not sometimes merry? The merriment of wise men is not the uninformed, gross fun of ignorant men, but it has more kinship with that than the pinched, frightened fun of those who are neither learned nor ignorant, gentle nor simple, bound nor free. The idea that a wise man must be solemn is bred and preserved among people who have no idea what wisdom is, and can only respect whatever makes them feel inferior. ~ Robertson Davies

• proposed by InvisibleSun

2010

The ironist is not bitter, he does not seek to undercut everything that seems worthy or serious, he scorns the cheap scoring-off of the wisecracker. He stands, so to speak, somewhat at one side, observes and speaks with a moderation which is occasionally embellished with a flash of controlled exaggeration. He speaks from a certain depth, and thus he is not of the same nature as the wit, who so often speaks from the tongue and no deeper. The wit's desire is to be funny; the ironist is only funny as a secondary achievement. ~ Robertson Davies

• proposed by InvisibleSun

2011

Love does not dominate, it cultivates. And that is more. ~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

• proposed by Kalki

2012

• proposed by InvisibleSun

2013

• proposed by InvisibleSun

2014

• proposed by allixpeeke

2015

• proposed by allixpeeke

2016

• proposed by allixpeeke

2017

• proposed by Kalki

2018

• proposed by Kalki, in regard to his recent death.

2019

• proposed by Kalki

2020 

Rank or add further suggestions…

Ranking system:

4 : Excellent - should definitely be used.

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.

Suggestions

It is mankind's discovery of language which more than any other single thing has separated him from the animal creation. Without language, what concept have we of past or future as separated from the immediate present? Without language, how can we tell anyone what we feel, or what we think? It might be said that until he developed language, man had no soul, for without language how could he reach deep inside himself and discover the truths that are hidden there, or find out what emotions he shared, or did not share, with his fellow men and women. ~ Robertson Davies

• 3 InvisibleSun 10:24, 23 August 2007 (UTC)
• 3 Kalki 23:07, 25 August 2007 (UTC) with a strong lean toward 4.
• 1 Zarbon 16:20, 24 April 2008 (UTC)
• 2.5 //Gbern3 (talk) 01:55, 15 August 2013 (UTC)
• 3 allixpeeke (talk) 08:58, 25 August 2014 (UTC)

When young, one is confident to be able to build palaces for mankind, but when the time comes one has one's hands full just to be able to remove their trash. ~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (dob)

• 3 bystander (talk) 16:33, 26 August 2012 (UTC)
• 2 //Gbern3 (talk) 01:55, 15 August 2013 (UTC)
• 3 (leaning toward 2 because of the poor grammar; "one" is singular while "their" is plural) allixpeeke (talk) 08:58, 25 August 2014 (UTC)

I had much rather be myself the slave, And wear the bonds, than fasten them on him. We have no slaves at home–Then why abroad? And they themselves once ferried o'er the wave That parts us are emancipate and loosed. Slaves cannot breathe in England; if their lungs Receive our air, that moment they are free. They touch our country, and their shackles fall. That's noble, and bespeaks a nation proud And jealous of the blessing.  Spread it then, And let it circulate through every vein Of all your empire; that, where Britain's power Is felt, mankind may feel her mercy too.

~ William Cowper ~

Note: According to this page, "The Slavery Abolition Act 1833 receives Royal Assent, abolishing slavery through most the British Empire" on 28 August 1833.

• 3 allixpeeke (talk) 08:58, 25 August 2014 (UTC)
• 3 ♞☤☮♌Kalki·†·⚓⊙☳☶⚡ 13:29, 25 August 2014 (UTC)

When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir.  This note was a promise that all men, yes black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

~ Martin Luther King, Jr. ~

Note: King's "I Have a Dream" speech was delivered on 28 August 1963.  This quote is from said speech.

• 3 allixpeeke (talk) 10:05, 25 August 2014 (UTC)
• 3 ♞☤☮♌Kalki·†·⚓⊙☳☶⚡ 13:29, 25 August 2014 (UTC)

Racism is the lowest, most crudely primitive form of collectivism.  It is the notion of ascribing moral, social or political significance to a man's genetic lineage—the notion that a man's intellectual and characterological traits are produced and transmitted by his internal body chemistry.  Which means, in practice, that a man is to be judged, not by his own character and actions, but by the characters and actions of a collective of ancestors. Racism claims that the content of a man's mind (not his cognitive apparatus, but its content) is inherited; that a man's convictions, values and character are determined before he is born, by physical forces beyond his control.  This is the caveman's version of the doctrine of innate ideas—or of inherited knowledge—which has been thoroughly refuted by philosophy and science.  Racism is a doctrine of, by and for brutes.

~ Ayn Rand ~

Note: King's "I Have a Dream" speech was delivered on 28 August 1963.  This quote was written around the same time as King's speech.

• 3 (very strongly leaning toward 4) allixpeeke (talk) 10:05, 25 August 2014 (UTC)
• 3, but tenuously; I like the quote, but the link to the date seems tenuous. ~ ♞☤☮♌Kalki·†·⚓⊙☳☶⚡ 13:29, 25 August 2014 (UTC)

I'm fairly certain YOLO is Carpe Diem for stupid people.

~ Jack Black ~

Note: Jack Black was born 28 August 1969.

• 2 (leaning toward 3) allixpeeke (talk) 10:21, 25 August 2014 (UTC)
• 2 ♞☤☮♌Kalki·†·⚓⊙☳☶⚡ 13:29, 25 August 2014 (UTC)

First you have to know—not fear, know—that, someday, you're gonna die.

~ Tyler Durden in Fight Club ~

Note: The film Fight Club was directed by David Fincher who, in turn, was born 28 August 1962.

• 3 allixpeeke (talk) 10:21, 25 August 2014 (UTC)
• 2 ♞☤☮♌Kalki·†·⚓⊙☳☶⚡ 13:29, 25 August 2014 (UTC)

• 3 ♞☤☮♌Kalki·†·⚓⊙☳☶⚡ 06:30, 27 August 2017 (UTC) with a strong lean toward 4.

• 3 ♞☤☮♌Kalki·†·⚓⊙☳☶⚡ 06:30, 27 August 2017 (UTC)

• 3 ♞☤☮♌Kalki·†·⚓⊙☳☶⚡ 06:30, 27 August 2017 (UTC)

• 3 ♞☤☮♌Kalki·†·⚓⊙☳☶⚡ 06:30, 27 August 2017 (UTC)

• 3 ♞☤☮♌Kalki·†·⚓⊙☳☶⚡ 06:30, 27 August 2017 (UTC)

• 3 ♞☤☮♌Kalki·†·⚓⊙☳☶⚡ 06:30, 27 August 2017 (UTC)

• 3 ♞☤☮♌Kalki·†·⚓⊙☳☶⚡ 06:30, 27 August 2017 (UTC)

• 3 ♞☤☮♌Kalki·†·⚓⊙☳☶⚡ 06:30, 27 August 2017 (UTC)

• 3 ♞☤☮♌Kalki·†·⚓⊙☳☶⚡ 06:30, 27 August 2017 (UTC)

• 3 ♞☤☮♌Kalki·†·⚓⊙☳☶⚡ 06:30, 27 August 2017 (UTC)

• 3 ♞☤☮♌Kalki·†·⚓⊙☳☶⚡ 06:30, 27 August 2017 (UTC)

• 3 ♞☤☮♌Kalki·†·⚓⊙☳☶⚡ 06:30, 27 August 2017 (UTC)

• 3 ♞☤☮♌Kalki·†·⚓⊙☳☶⚡ 06:30, 27 August 2017 (UTC)

• 3 ♞☤☮♌Kalki·†·⚓⊙☳☶⚡ 06:30, 27 August 2017 (UTC)

• 3 ♞☤☮♌Kalki·†·⚓⊙☳☶⚡ 06:30, 27 August 2017 (UTC)

• 3 ♞☤☮♌Kalki·†·⚓⊙☳☶⚡ 06:30, 27 August 2017 (UTC)

• 3 ♞☤☮♌Kalki·†·⚓⊙☳☶⚡ 06:30, 27 August 2017 (UTC)

• 3 ♞☤☮♌Kalki·†·⚓⊙☳☶⚡ 06:30, 27 August 2017 (UTC)

• 3 ♞☤☮♌Kalki·†·⚓⊙☳☶⚡ 06:30, 27 August 2017 (UTC)

• 3 ♞☤☮♌Kalki·†·⚓⊙☳☶⚡ 06:30, 27 August 2017 (UTC)

• 3 ♞☤☮♌Kalki·†·⚓⊙☳☶⚡ 06:30, 27 August 2017 (UTC) with a strong lean toward 4.

• 3 ♞☤☮♌Kalki·†·⚓⊙☳☶⚡ 06:30, 27 August 2017 (UTC)

"Hughie, get your tanks off my lawn."" -- Harold Wilson

• Submitted by DarcyTy 1 (talk · contributions)
• 1, with a lean toward 0; this appears to have no strong relation to this date and does not seem a highly notable statement. ~ ♞☤☮♌Kalki·†·⚓⊙☳☶⚡ 07:07, 26 August 2018 (UTC)