Tracing Quotations
Woody Allen? Ken Kelley? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Philosophers, religious figures, and spiritual gurus have been making claims about the meaning of life for millennia. The comedian Woody Allen apparently offered his own quixotic analysis. Would you please help me to find a citation? Reply from Quote Investigator: On July 1, 1976 “Rolling Stone” …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: The Meaning of Life Is That Nobody Knows the Meaning of Life”
George Santayana? W. H. Auden? Cyril Connolly? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Fortunate people experience life as an overflowing banquet coupled with a remarkable series of sights and sounds. But most people have more complicated ordeals. Here are two pertinent expressions: Life is not a spectacle or a feast; it is a predicament. Life is …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: Life Is Not a Spectacle Or a Feast; It Is a Predicament”
Robert Louis Stevenson? William Arthur Ward? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: An eloquent agricultural metaphor occurs within an astute proverb about the value of preparation and investment: Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds you plant. The prominent Scottish novelist Robert Louis Stevenson has received credit for this saying, …
Carolyn G. Heilbrun? Amanda Cross? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Nostalgia is a sentimental emotion that does not seem to be dangerous. Yet, wistful feelings for a bygone era can become a source of hatred and resentment. The mystery author Carolyn G. Heilbrun expressed something similar. Would you please help me to find a citation? …
Carolyn G. Heilbrun? Amanda Cross? Kate Fansler? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: By employing a quotation from a well-known individual it is possible to firmly express a viewpoint without directly endorsing it. I vaguely recall the following similar statement: Often the point of quotations is to use somebody else’s words to deliver an insult. Would …
Eric Sevareid? Ernest Thompson? Paul Dickson? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Every solution to a problem inevitably creates a new problem. This ruefully defeatist viewpoint has inspired a logically twisted adage. Here are two versions: The real cause of problems is solutions. The chief cause of problems is solutions. This notion has been attributed to …
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H. L. Mencken? Martin Luther King Jr.? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: The U.S. satirist and curmudgeon H. L. Mencken apparently employed the following saying. Here are two versions: The trouble with communism are the communists.The trouble with communism is the communists. If this remark is authentic would you please help me to find a …
Edgar Allan Poe? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: A hyperbolic statement about poetry has been credited to the major literary figure Edgar Allan Poe: If a poem hasn’t ripped apart your soul, you haven’t experienced poetry. Could this possibly be a genuine remark from Poe? Reply from Quote Investigator: QI has found no substantive evidence …
Oscar Wilde? Felix Grendon? Percy Colson? Walter Winchell? Reader’s Digest? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: A well-known moral injunction states that one should forgive one’s enemies. A humorous twist suggests that one should grant forgiveness because it produces annoyance in one’s adversaries. This notion has been attributed to the famous wit Oscar Wilde. Would you …
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Pete Seeger? Vesta M. Kelly? Mr. Minnick the Cynic? Old Timer? Bill Gold? Evan Esar? Saul Lavisky? Laurence J. Peter? Sydney J. Harris? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Comprehending the details of a complex legal contract is a daunting task. Yet, entrapment by an unnoticed provision of an agreement is a terrible experience. Here is …