Tracing Quotations
Albert Einstein? Karl Popper? Adolf von Harnack? Agnes von Zahn-Harnack? Dorothy Kilgallen? Jules C. Stein? David Deutsch? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Solving difficult problems often requires sketching out preliminary ideas on paper with a pen or pencil. The paper functions as an extension of human memory, and a scratchpad for developing thoughts. A famous …
Continue reading “My Pencil and I Are More Clever Than I Am”
H.L. Mencken? Gerald W. Johnson? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Oppressive laws are sometimes promulgated to target unsavory individuals. The opposition to these laws requires defending these individuals. The famous Baltimore journalist and commentator H. L. Mencken apparently said something like the following: The trouble with fighting for human freedom is that one spends most …
Winston Churchill? Martin Routh? John Burgon? G. W. Peck? Earl of Rosebery? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: According to a legend of academia, a young student once asked an illustrious professor to impart his greatest piece of wisdom, and the sage replied with one of these statements: (1) Always verify your quotations. (2) Always check your …
Mark Twain? Arthur T. Pierson? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: To experience a joyful event completely one should share it with others. I think Mark Twain made a point similar to this in his collection of sayings called “Pudd’nhead Wilson’s New Calendar”. Would you please help me to find a citation? Quote Investigator: In 1897 Mark …
Continue reading “To Get the Full Value of a Joy You Must Have Somebody To Divide It With”
Hellen Keller? Anne Sullivan? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: There is an inspirational saying about beginning a task again even when you fail. Eventually, you will accomplish your purpose although it may not be exactly the purpose with which you began. This notion has been attributed to Anne Sullivan who was the brilliant teacher of Helen …
Continue reading “Each Time You Fail, Start All Over Again, and You Will Grow Stronger”
Dorothy Parker? Oscar Wilde? Alexandre Dumas? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: While streaming an elaborately expensive television series I encountered a gratuitous scene with scanty clothing. I was reminded of this witticism: Nothing succeeds like undress. This quip has been attributed to Dorothy Parker. Would you please explore the provenance of this remark? Quote Investigator: The …
Alexandre Dumas? Ralph Waldo Emerson? William J. Snelling? Jacques-François Ancelot? Jules Janin? William Pulling? Alphonse de Lamartine? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: One success often leads to another success in a chain of achievement, opportunity, and good fortune. A popular adage expresses this idea: Nothing succeeds like success. This phrase has been attributed to several French …
Paul Robeson? William Shakespeare? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: A prominent actor once discussed William Shakespeare’s tragic character Othello and said the following: There could be no greater character to play. This statement has been attributed to Paul Robeson. Would you please explore this topic. Quote Investigator: Paul Robeson played the character Othello in London in …
Continue reading “Othello: To My Mind, There Could Be No Greater Character To Play”
Chuck Close? Stephen King? Philip Roth? Harvey Mackay? Mark Twain? Charles Schulz? Rosalyn Drexler? John Barkham? Nocona Burgess? Jill Elaine Hughes? Dear Quote Investigator: An artist must wait patiently for inspiration to occur according to a romanticized depiction of creativity. Yet, a successful professional artist offered the following contrary viewpoint: Inspiration is for amateurs. The …
Continue reading “Inspiration Is for Amateurs—The Rest of Us Just Show Up and Get To Work”
Lucy Maud Montgomery? Adelaide Anne Procter? Walt Whitman? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: The popular Canadian author Lucy Maud Montgomery is best known for the children’s novel “Anne of Green Gables”. Apparently, she once made a powerful statement about transience, mortality, and memory: Nothing is ever really lost to us as long as we remember it. …
Continue reading “Nothing Is Ever Really Lost To Us As Long As We Remember It”