Voltaire? Bernard le Bovier de Fontenelle? Edward Young? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: The famous French philosopher and satirist Voltaire apparently wrote a story in which the universe consisted of millions of worlds, and Earth was designated a peculiar place: Our little globe is the lunatic ward of the universe. Would you please help me to …
Yearly Archives: 2018
I Fell In Love the Way You Fall Asleep: Slowly, and Then All At Once
Creator: John Green (John Michael Green), American author, vlogger, and educator. Context: John Green’s 2012 novel “The Fault in Our Stars” tells the story of two star-crossed lovers: Hazel Grace Lancaster and Augustus Waters. The couple agree to read each other’s favorite novels. While Waters is reading to Lancaster from her chosen book she experiences …
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“How Did You Go Bankrupt?” “Two Ways. Gradually and Then Suddenly.”
Creator: Ernest Hemingway, U.S. author, winner of Nobel Prize in Literature Context: The character Mike Campbell in the 1926 novel “The Sun Also Rises” was asked about his money troubles and responded with a vivid description embracing self-contradiction:[1] 1954 (1926 Copyright), The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway, Book II, Chapter 13, Quote Page 136, …
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If You Are Born Poor It’s Not Your Mistake, But If You Die Poor It’s Your Mistake
Bill Gates? Muriel Strode? Ella Wheeler Wilcox? Joey Adams? Apocryphal? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: Bill Gates, the co-founder of Microsoft, is one of the richest people in the world. A provocative remark about poverty has been ascribed to him: If you are born poor it’s not your mistake but if you die poor it’s your …
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Quote Origin: Who Ya Gonna Believe Me or Your Own Eyes?
Groucho Marx? Chico Marx? Popular Song? Peggy Hopkins Joyce? Dorothy Dix? Ace Reid? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: According to legend when the wife of a famous comedian caught him in bed with another person the entertainer was unperturbed and denied that anything improper was occurring: Who you gonna believe, me or your lying eyes? …
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Don’t Aim for Success If You Want It. Just Do What You Love Doing, and It Will Come Naturally
Robert Frost? David Frost? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: While listening to a TEDx talk I heard an interesting motivational quotation attributed to the popular American poet Robert Frost: Don’t aim for success if that’s what you want. Do what you love and believe in, and it will follow. I doubt that the versifier of rural …
A Government of Wall Street, for Wall Street, by Wall Street
Creator: Mary Elizabeth Lease, suffrage advocate, populist, author, and orator Context: Long before the Occupy Wall Street movement the metonymic location of the stock market has been treated with hostility. In 1891 the political activist Mary Elizabeth Lease delivered a speech containing words reminiscent of Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address which she transformed into a condemnation …
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I Am Pleased To Believe That You Like the Piece Almost as Much as I Do Myself
Oscar Wilde? Louise Jopling? Hesketh Pearson? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: After the enormously successful debut of a comedy by Oscar Wilde the audience demanded that the playwright deliver a few words. His speech included a comically self-congratulatory line that was similar to the following: You think almost as highly of the play as I do …
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This Earth Is Used By Other Planets as a Lunatic Asylum
George Bernard Shaw? Voltaire? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: Influential intellectuals have experienced cosmic despair while observing the behavior of humankind. Here are some statements I have heard attributed to Voltaire, George Bernard Shaw and others: This planet is being used as an insane asylum by other planets. Beings from other planets are using the Earth …
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The Time To Be Happy Is Now; The Place To Be Happy Is Here
Creator: Robert G. Ingersoll, prominent orator and exponent of agnosticism Context: In 1899 Ingersoll was asked to record his thoughts using an early phonograph device. According to a newspaper account his remarks included the following combination of hedonism and altruism. Emphasis added to excerpts:[1]1899 February 3, The Junction City Republican, His Idea of Immortality: Col. …
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