Ralph Waldo Emerson? Tryon Edwards? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: During one’s lifetime one may discover a truth that appears deep and beautiful. Yet, one must be willing to continuously grow and change. That supposed truth may later seem trivial or misleading. Personal development demands regular reevaluations. The transcendentalist philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson made a …
Monthly Archives: September 2020
Quote Origin: Beauty Is Only Skin-Deep, But Ugly Goes Clean To the Bone
Dorothy Parker? Jean Kerr? Charles Whitehead? Simon Suggs Jr.? Sam Stackpole? Abe Martin? Kin Hubbard? Herbert Spencer? Mort Walker? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Beauty is only skin-deep according to an adage that can be traced back to the 1600s. This assertion has inspired a wide variety of twisted reactions and elaborations. Here are three …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: Beauty Is Only Skin-Deep, But Ugly Goes Clean To the Bone”
Quote Origin: Sunlight Is the Best Disinfectant
Louis Brandeis? Ralph Waldo Emerson? Robert Walter? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: There is a family of sayings about the effectiveness of light for the destruction of noxious infectious agents. This family also includes metaphorical instances in which corrupt behavior is revealed and prevented via publicity. Here are some examples: Would you please explore this …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: Sunlight Is the Best Disinfectant”
Quote Origin: Hold Fast To Dreams
Langston Hughes? Robert Frost? Zig Ziglar? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: A poem about the need to maintain aspirational dreams employed a vivid metaphor based on a bird with a damaged wing. The author was Langston Hughes or Robert Frost. Would you please help me to find a citation? Reply from Quote Investigator: In 1932 …
Quote Origin: To Give Real Service You Must Add Something — Sincerity and Integrity
Douglas Adams? Donald A. Adams? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: A popular business adage states that providing real service to a customer requires a crucial added ingredient known as sincerity and integrity. This notion has confusingly been credited to two different people: Douglas Adams and Donald A. Adams. The first was a science fiction humorist …
Quote Origin: Music Begins Where Language Ends
Heinrich Heine? Claude Debussy? Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky? Richard Wagner? Leonora Schmitz? Henry R. Cleveland? Jean Sibelius? John S. Dwight? Ludwig van Beethoven? Anton Rubinstein? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: The expressiveness of words is paltry in the domain of deeply felt emotions and sensations. Yet, music can resonate with these profound feelings. Here are two …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: Music Begins Where Language Ends”
Quote Origin: Where Words Leave Off, Music Begins
Heinrich Heine? Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: A popular adage comments on the comparative expressiveness of words versus music. Here are two versions: Many people have been credited with this saying including the famous German poet and critic Heinrich Heine. Would you please explore the attribution to Heine? Reply from Quote Investigator: …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: Where Words Leave Off, Music Begins”
Quote Origin: Music Begins Where Speech Fails
Claude Debussy? Maurice Emmanuel? Léon Vallas? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Language is inadequate for conveying some deep emotions while music can arouse sensations and passions that are beyond words. Here are two versions of this sentiment: Many people have been credited with this adage including the famous French composer Claude Debussy. Would you please …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: Music Begins Where Speech Fails”
Quote Origin: Where the Speech of Man Stops Short There Music’s Reign Begins
Richard Wagner? Henry Russell Cleveland? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Music can express thoughts and emotions which cannot be captured by words alone according to some romantic souls. Here are two versions of this sentiment: Many people have been credited with this adage including the famous German composer Richard Wagner. Would you please explore the …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: Where the Speech of Man Stops Short There Music’s Reign Begins”
Quote Origin: A Politician Ought To Be Born a Foundling and Remain a Bachelor
Lady Bird Johnson? Barbara Rowes? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: The demands placed upon politicians are intense. Minimal time can be allocated for family and friends. Lady Bird Johnson who was married to U.S. President Lyndon Baines Johnson (LBJ) once made a statement similar to the following: A politician should be born an orphan and …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: A Politician Ought To Be Born a Foundling and Remain a Bachelor”