John Maynard Keynes? E. A. G. Robinson? Fictional? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: Many times I have seen the following quote attributed to John Maynard Keynes: Capitalism is the astounding belief that the most wickedest of men will do the most wickedest of things for the greatest good of everyone. I cannot find a source. Also, …
Monthly Archives: February 2011
Gift Book: A Book Which You Wouldn’t Take on Any Other Terms
Dorothy Parker? Walter Winchell? Fictional? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: Recently, I gave a close friend a book as a gift, and on the accompanying card I included a quotation that Dorothy Parker once used in a book review: This must be a gift book. That is to say, a book which you wouldn’t take on …
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I Never Smoked Astroturf
Tug McGraw? Joe Namath? Charles Edward Greene? Bill Lee? Fictional? Dear Quote Investigator: I laughed out loud when I read the answer given by Major League Baseball star Tug McGraw when he was asked whether he preferred grass or Astroturf: I dunno. I never smoked any Astroturf. This quote appeared in a newspaper article last …
Darwinism: Let Us Hope It is Not True, But If It is, Let Us Pray It Does Not Become Widely Known
Wife of the Bishop of Worcester? Wife of the Bishop of Birmingham? Wife of Samuel Wilberforce? Wife of an English Canon? A Decorous Spinster? Fictional? Dear Quote Investigator: There is a remarkable quotation that dramatically highlights the controversial intersection between science and religion in the nineteenth century. The words were attributed to a Bishop’s wife …
You Have Reached the Pinnacle of Success as Soon as You Become Uninterested in Money, Compliments, or Publicity
Thomas Wolfe? Orlando Aloysius Battista? Eddie Rickenbacker? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: While searching for quotations about success I found the following: You have reached the pinnacle of success as soon as you become uninterested in money, compliments, or publicity. Several web pages credit this saying to the famous writer Thomas Wolfe, but I’ve read “Look …