Tracing Quotations
Samuel Taylor Coleridge? Tryon Edwards? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: My favorite poem is “Kubla Khan; or, A Vision in a Dream: A Fragment” by Samuel Taylor Coleridge. I love the poem’s opium inspired image of a “stately pleasure dome”. Serendipitously, I came across an insightful remark ascribed to Coleridge that contrasted different types of …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: Leave Him With a Favorable Opinion of Himself”
Pablo Picasso? Jean Renoir? Garson Kanin? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Critics discuss abstruse theories of creativity and engage in esoteric scrutiny of aesthetics while artists are primarily concerned with the practical. Admittedly, this is an oversimplification. Here is a statement that makes a similar point: When art critics get together they talk about form …
Gloria Steinem? Irina Dunn? Erica Jong? Florynce Kennedy? Charles S. Harris? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: A famous feminist slogan asserts that a woman is capable of living a complete and independent life without a man. Here are two versions: Would you please explore the origin of this saying? Reply from Quote Investigator: The earliest …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: A Woman Without a Man Is Like a Fish Without a Bicycle”
Tony Daniels? Edmund Vance Cooke? James J. Montague? Carolyn McKane? Tom Robbins? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: There are many upbeat sayings on your website, but I would like you to explore a popular motto of the disaffected. Here are four versions: Life is hard and then you die. Life is rough and then you …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: Life Is Hard and Then You Die”
Winston Churchill? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Genuine free speech entails disagreement and debate; it is never a one-sided notion. According to a Facebook meme Winston Churchill supposedly said: Some people’s idea of free speech is that they are free to say what they like, but if anyone says anything back, that is an outrage. …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: If Anyone Says Anything Back, That Is an Outrage”
Abraham Lincoln? James Russell Lowell? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Intelligent and thoughtful people maintain mental flexibility throughout life. It is irrational to rigidly adhere to a fixed opinion in the face of reliable contrary information. Abraham Lincoln supposedly said: The foolish and the dead alone never change their opinions. These words have also been …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: The Foolish and the Dead Alone Never Change Their Opinion”
Head of Spiral Graphics? Steve Miller? Steven M. Scotten? Tim Kreider? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: If you are a skilled musician, photographer, graphic artist, or writer you have probably received requests to perform work for free. For example, many people have written pieces for “The Huffington Post” without monetary compensation. The requesters often state …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: You Want Me To Work For Exposure, But People Die From Exposure”
William Dean Howells? James Howell? Red Auerbach? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Promises are easy to make and easy to break. Only actual conduct and achievements produce a reliable record of behavior. A popular figurative statement succinctly expresses this idea: An acre of performance is worth a whole world of promise. These words have been …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: An Acre of Performance Is Worth the Whole Land of Promise”
Louis Agassiz? William Boyd Dawkins? Charles Lyell? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Groundbreaking ideas face an intimidating multistage gauntlet of resistance. Several popular quotations elaborate on this notion. The prominent Swiss-American geologist and biologist Louis Agassiz apparently crafted a pungent and humorous saying that outlined three stages. Would you please examine that quotation? Reply from …
Plato? George Francis Train? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Truth tellers often face an unhappy fate in cautionary fables. They are derided, misunderstood, persecuted, or ignored. The famous ancient philosopher Plato supposedly said: The young and old are taught falsehoods. The person who dares to tell the truth is called at once a lunatic and …