Quote Investigator® – Page 3 – Tracing Quotations

Quote Origin: Those Who Cannot Remember the Past Are Condemned To Repeat It

George Santayana? Edmund Burke? Winston Churchill?

Metaphorical representation of the transience of historical knowledge from Unsplash

Question for Quote Investigator: The study of history teaches vital lessons; however, those lessons are often unheeded. Here are five versions of a popular adage:

(1) Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.

(2) Those who do not learn from the experience of history are doomed to repeat it.

(3) Those who cannot learn from the mistakes of the past are destined to repeat them.

(4) Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.

(5) Those who ignore history are doomed to repeat it.

This notion has been attributed to Spanish-American philosopher George Santayana, Anglo-Irish philosopher Edmund Burke, and British statesman Winston Churchill. Would you please help me to determine the correct phrasing together with a citation?

Reply from Quote Investigator: In 1905 George Santayana published “The Life of Reason, or The Phases of Human Progress”. The twelfth chapter titled “Flux and Constancy In Human Nature” contained the following passage. Boldface added to excepts by QI:¹

Progress, far from consisting in change, depends on retentiveness. When change is absolute there remains no being to improve and no direction is set for possible improvement: and when experience is not retained, as among savages, infancy is perpetual. Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.

In the first stage of life the mind is frivolous and easily distracted; it misses progress by failing in consecutiveness and persistence. This is the condition of children and barbarians, in whom instinct has learned nothing from experience.

QI has found no closely matching statement in the writings of Edmund Burke. He did pen a thematically related remark in his 1790 book titled “Reflections on the Revolution in France”:²

People will not look forward to posterity, who never look backward to their ancestors.

QI has found no match in the writings or speeches of Winston Churchill who died in 1965. The saying was linked to Churchill by 1985.

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Quote Origin: One Has To Belong To the Intelligentsia To Believe Things Like That: No Ordinary Man Could Be Such a Fool

George Orwell? Bertrand Russell? Thomas Sowell? Nicholas Kisburg? George Will? Apocryphal?

Picture of a dog with glasses from Unsplash

Question for Quote Investigator: Intelligent individuals sometimes embrace remarkably foolish ideas. Here are four versions of an acerbic remark:

(1) One has to belong to the intelligentsia to believe things like that: no ordinary man could be such a fool.

(2) This is one of those views which are so absurd that only very learned men could possibly adopt them.

(3) Only an intellectual could have said that; an ordinary person wouldn’t dare say anything so dumb.

(4) There are some things only intellectuals are crazy enough to believe.

This notion has been attributed to influential English novelist George Orwell and prominent British philosopher Bertrand Russell. Would you please help me to find the correct phrasing together with a citation?

Reply from Quote Investigator: In 1945 George Orwell published an essay titled “Notes on Nationalism”. Orwell asserted that some British intellectuals in 1940 were confident that Germany and Japan would be triumphant in World War II. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:¹

He could believe these things because his hatred of the British ruling class forbade him to admit that British plans could succeed. There is no limit to the follies that can be swallowed if one is under the influence of feelings of this kind.

I have heard it confidently stated, for instance, that the American troops had been brought to Europe not to fight the Germans but to crush an English revolution. One has to belong to the intelligentsia to believe things like that: no ordinary man could be such a fool.

Thus, George Orwell did employ an instance of this saying. Bertrand Russell and other commentators also employed versions of this saying as indicated below.

Here are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Quote Origin: Through Love, Through Friendship, a Heart Lives More Than One Life

Anais Nin? Rosalie Maggio? Katherine Young? Apocryphal?

Picture of two friends who are conversing from Unsplash

Question for Quote Investigator: A deep emotional rapport with another person allows one to live vicariously. A famous diarist apparently said the following:

Through love, through friendship, a heart lives more than one life.

This statement has been ascribed to French-born U.S. author Anaïs Nin. Would you please help me to find a citation?

Reply from Quote Investigator: The quotation appeared in a diary entry dated December 27, 1922 within a volume titled “The Early Diary of Anaïs Nin 1920–1923”. The entry mentioned Nin’s cousin and friend Eduardo Sánchez. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:¹

And Eduardo’s letters come to me, laden with sweetness, with peace and serene beauty and faith. And I bless that tie through which the bitterness of my experience is softened by a precious share of his!

Through love, through friendship, a heart lives more than one life and is made joyful or sorrowful by the experiences of many others. It is sweet to share all things thus and give and receive comfort and give and find inspiration and sustenance.

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Quote Origin: Fascist Movement – To Fascinate Fools and Muzzle the Intelligent

Bertrand Russell? Ruth Nanda Anshen? Apocryphal?

Illustration of the Fool from the Rider-Waite tarot deck

Question for Quote Investigator: A prominent thinker said something like the following: the success of fascism is based on fascinating the fools and muzzling the intelligent. Would you please help me to determine the name of the author and the correct phrasing?

Reply from Quote Investigator: In 1940 U.S. philosopher Ruth Nanda Anshen compiled and edited a collection of essays titled “Freedom: Its Meaning”. Within this collection British mathematician and philosopher Bertrand Russell published an essay titled “Freedom and Government” which contained the following. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:¹

The first step in a fascist movement is the combination under an energetic leader of a number of men who possess more than the average share of leisure, brutality, and stupidity. The next step is to fascinate fools and muzzle the intelligent, by emotional excitement on the one hand and terrorism on the other.

This technique is as old as the hills; it was practiced in almost every Greek city, and the moderns have only enlarged its scale.

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order

Anecdote Origin: “Why Didn’t You Buy That From Me?” “You Never Asked Me.”

Henry Ford? Philip C. Gunion? Norval Hawkins? Apocryphal?

**Vehicle advertisement from Marmon Motor Car Company in 1928**

Question for Quote Investigator: Salespeople must directly and unambiguously request appropriate actions. This lesson is taught in an anecdote about a wealthy business magnate who purchased an expensive item. A friend of the magnate asked, “Why didn’t you buy that item from me?” The magnate replied “You never asked me.”

This tale has been told about industrialist Henry Ford. Different expensive items are mentioned in these stories including: a luxury automobile, a multi-million dollar insurance policy, and a large order of bolts. Would you please explore the provenance and authenticity of this story?

Reply from Quote Investigator: The earliest match located by QI appeared in March 1920 in “Printers’ Ink: A Journal for Advertisers” within an article by Philip C. Gunion who was the advertising manager at Hyatt Roller Bearing Company. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:¹

You have all had salesmen talk to you fifteen minutes, present a smooth-sounding story, but one that meant nothing to you, so that when they finished you didn’t know whether they wanted you to say “yes” or “no,” spend one dollar or a thousand.

An interesting story on this subject was recently told me by the vice-president of the Hyatt Roller Bearing Company. Henry Ford was in Indianapolis one day visiting the Marmon plant. Mr. Marmon in the course of the conversation asked him why he didn’t buy a Marmon Sedan. Ford replied, “You never asked me before—sure, send me one.”

Several weeks later the car was delivered in Detroit and caused a sensation among the Detroit automobile men. One of them, a representative of the Pierce-Arrow, went to Ford and said,

“Look here, Henry, you and I have been mighty good friends in the Detroit Automobile Club for a long time, why did you go down to Indianapolis and buy a car? You’re a fine patriotic Detroit citizen, why didn’t you buy a Pierce-Arrow from me?”

“Because you didn’t ask me to,” replied Ford.

Henry Ford was asked to buy two expensive items: a Marmon automobile and a Pierce-Arrow automobile. Gunion stated that Ford replied with slightly different versions of the payoff line to two separate people.

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Quote Origin: The Best Thing About the Future Is That It Comes Only One Day at a Time

Abraham Lincoln? Dean Acheson? Vermont Woman? Andrew Tully? Lion? Apocryphal?

Illustration of a calendar from Unsplash

Question for Quote Investigator: Contemplating the future can be overwhelming when one is facing endless demands and myriad dangers. The following saying mixes humor, acceptance, and sanguinity:

The best thing about the future is that it comes only one day at a time.

U.S. President Abraham Lincoln has received credit for this statement, but I have never seen a solid citation, and I am skeptical. Would you please explore this topic?

Reply from Quote Investigator: U.S. historians Don E. Fehrenbacher and Virginia Fehrenbacher published a comprehensive collection of remarks attributed to Abraham Lincoln titled “Recollected Words of Abraham Lincoln”. These experts indicated that the ascription of the quotation under examination to Lincoln was unsupported. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:¹

For more than a century, undocumented quotations have been attaching themselves to Lincoln and gaining currency through repetition. Many of them are undoubtedly spurious. There appears to be no credible evidence, for example, that he ever said: . . . “The best thing about the future is that it comes only one day at a time”.

The earliest match found by QI appeared in a 1950 article by journalist Andrew Tully of the Scripps-Howard newspaper company. Tully published an interview with Dean Acheson who was the U.S. Secretary of State. Acheson attributed the saying to an anonymous Vermont woman:²

“This is no job for a worrier. It’s a hard job and you can’t let yourself worry about it. I try to be as philosophical as the old lady from Vermont, who said that the best thing about the future was that it only comes one day at a time.”

Abraham Lincoln died in 1865. The saying was assigned to him by 1971. The long delay signaled that the attribution was spurious.

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Quote Origin: If I Told You That You Have a Gorgeous Figure Would You Hold It Against Me?

Groucho Marx? David Bellamy? Max Miller? Monty Python? George Little? Barney Horrigan? Anonymous?

Picture of Auguste Rodin’s 1882 sculpture “The Kiss”

Question for Quote Investigator: In 1979 the Bellamy Brothers released a popular country music song with a humorous title:

If I said you had a beautiful body would you hold it against me?

This line has been attributed to the famous comedian Groucho Marx, but I have not been able to find a solid citation. Also, I have heard the following variant based on the same word play:

Person 01: What would you do if someone criticized your figure?
Person 02: Oh, I wouldn’t hold it against them.

Would you please explore the provenance of this family of jokes?

Reply from Quote Investigator: The earliest match located by QI appeared in “The Petroleum Engineer” magazine of Dallas, Texas in 1935. A miscellaneous collection of humorous items appeared together on a page under the title “Laugh With Barney” including the following dialog. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:¹

He: What would you do if a fellow criticized your figure?
She: Oh, I wouldn’t hold it against him.

The compiler of the humor page was Barney Horrigan, but the creator of this specific wordplay was anonymous. QI hypothesizes that the one-liner which appeared by 1945 evolved from the dialog version of the jest.

Groucho Marx died in 1977, and QI has found no direct evidence that he employed a joke in this family. An instance was tentatively attributed to him in 1979.

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Quote Origin: Annihilation Has No Terrors For Me, Because I Have Already Tried It Before I Was Born

Mark Twain? Isaac Asimov? Vincent van Gogh? Harold S. Kushner? Harold S. Kushner? Apocryphal?

Illustration of a person who is searching from Unsplash

Question for Quote Investigator: A famous author once commented on the anxiety induced by the contemplation of mortality. Here are two versions:

(1) Annihilation has no terrors for me, because I have already tried it before I was born—a hundred million years—and I have suffered more in an hour, in this life.

(2) I do not fear death. I had been dead for billions and billions of years before I was born, and had not suffered the slightest inconvenience from it.

U.S. humorist Mark Twain has received credit for this remark. Would you please help me to locate a citation which presents the correct phrasing?

Reply from Quote Investigator: Mark Twain died in 1910, and his two volume autobiography appeared in 1924.¹ The editor was Twain’s friend and literary executor Albert Bigelow Paine who followed the deceased man’s wishes by withholding material that might cause unhappiness or pain to surviving friends and family members.

In 1958 Charles Neider who was working on a new edition of Twain’s autobiography published an article in “Harper’s Magazine” titled “Mark Twain Speaks Out”. The article contained controversial opinions that had been deliberately omitted from the 1924 edition of the autobiography. The material came from lengthy sessions of dictation Twain had engaged in during 1906 and 1907 when he was 72 years old. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:²

But I have long ago lost my belief in immortality—also my interest in it. I can say now what I could not say while alive—things which it would shock people to hear; things which I could not say when alive because I should be aware of that shock and would certainly spare myself the personal pain of inflicting it.

Twain offered an explanation for his lack of trepidation regarding his approaching demise:

Annihilation has no terrors for me, because I have already tried it before I was born—a hundred million years—and I have suffered more in an hour, in this life, than I remember to have suffered in the whole hundred million years put together.

There was a peace, a serenity, an absence of all sense of responsibility, an absence of worry, an absence of care, grief, perplexity; and the presence of a deep content and unbroken satisfaction in that hundred million years of holiday which I look back upon with a tender longing and with a grateful desire to resume, when the opportunity comes.

In 1959 Charles Neider completed his editing of “The Autobiography of Mark Twain”, and he published the revised and expanded edition which included the material from the “Harper’s Magazine” article.³ Thus, Twain’s comments achieved further distribution.

The inquiry above contained two versions of the quotation; however, QI has only found evidence supporting the first version. The second version was attributed to Twain in a 2006 book by Richard Dawkins. QI conjectures that the second version was derived from a paraphrase of the first version, and it was not spoken or written by Twain.

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Quote Origin: Books Are Made Out of Books

Cormac McCarthy? Richard B. Woodward? Henry Holland? Paul Valéry? Anonymous?

**Illustration of books and flowers from Unsplash**

Question for Quote Investigator: A prominent literary figure was asked to name other influential writers. The sharp reply emphasized the interconnectedness of all cultural text:

The ugly fact is books are made out of books.

This statement has been ascribed to Cormac McCarthy who penned the novels “All the Pretty Horses”, “No Country for Old Men”, and “The Road”. Would you please help me to find a citation?

Reply from Quote Investigator: In 1992 “The New York Times” published a profile of Cormac McCarthy by critic and essayist Richard B. Woodward. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:¹

McCarthy’s style owes much to Faulkner’s — in its recondite vocabulary, punctuation, portentous rhetoric, use of dialect and concrete sense of the world — a debt McCarthy doesn’t dispute. “The ugly fact is books are made out of books,” he says. “The novel depends for its life on the novels that have been written.”

His list of those whom he calls the “good writers” — Melville, Dostoyevsky, Faulkner — precludes anyone who doesn’t “deal with issues of life and death.”

The notion that some books are constructed out of other books has a long history. For example, in 1844 an article in “The Spectator” depicted the derivative nature of books negatively while extolling the value of empirical exploration:²

The practice discarded by philosophy is still continued in literature, more especially by versifiers and novelists. Most of their books are made out of books or brains, instead of by a close and repeated observation of nature, such as even the tyro in natural science undertakes, to verify received truth.

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Quote Origin: There Is a Thin Line Between Genius and Insanity. I Have Erased That Line

Oscar Levant? Zsa Zsa Gabor? John Dryden? Colin Wilson? Apocryphal?

Illustration of thin lines from Unsplash

Question for Quote Investigator: A self-deprecating comedian once delivered an acerbic remark about insanity. Here are two versions:

(1) There is a thin line between genius and insanity. I have erased that line.
(2) There is a fine line between sanity and insanity. I’ve managed to cross that line.

The concert pianist and game show panelist Oscar Levant has received credit for these statements. Would you please help me to find a citation?

Reply from Quote Investigator: The earliest match found by QI appeared in the 1959 book “International Celebrity Register” which contained hundreds of short biographical sketches of popular figures. The profile of Oscar Levant contained the following. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:¹

If he is in rare moments loathsome, it may well be because there is some truth in his own theory: “There is a thin line between genius and insanity. I have erased that line.”

The second version of the quotation appeared in Oscar Levant’s 1965 book “The Memoirs of an Amnesiac” as detailed further below. Hence, there is evidence that he used both versions of the quip.

Here are additional selected citations in chronological order.