Tracing Quotations
Samuel Butler? Frances Burney? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Force can be used to compel a person to exhibit a specific behavior, but it is much more difficult to change the mind of a person. Compliance does not denote mental submission. The 17th-century poet Samuel Butler composed a couplet expressing this notion. Would you please …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: He That Complies Against His Will, Is of His Own Opinion Still”
Bertrand Russell? Leo Rosten? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: The relationship between government and law can be deftly summarized with two contrasting statements: These dual notions have been attributed to the famous British mathematician and social critic Bertrand Russell. Would you please help me to find a citation? Reply from Quote Investigator: In 1950 Bertrand …
Isaac Asimov? W. A. H. Rushton? R. C. Winton? Edgar J. Westbury? Christopher Marlowe? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Standards of beauty are notoriously subjective and variable. Different qualities are prized over time, and distinct cultures value divergent attributes. In the domain of Greek mythology, Helen of Troy was the most beautiful woman in the …
Helmuth von Moltke the Elder? Carl von Clausewitz? Dwight D. Eisenhower? Mike Tyson? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Anybody who is attempting to accomplish a major project must be flexible. Planning is important, but adaptability is essential. Here are two versions of a pertinent adage from the domain of warfare and competition: This saying has …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: No Plan Survives First Contact With the Enemy”
Oscar Wilde? Lloyd Lewis? Henry Justin Smith? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: The famous wit Oscar Wilde apparently expressed some forward thinking ideas about the environment. He believed that the natural world should be preserved so that it can be conveyed to our children in the condition it was received. Would you please help me …
Evelyn Waugh? Agatha Christie? Hilary St. George Saunders? Leonard Lyons? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Collaborating on a complex project like writing a novel is impossible for many people. English writer Evelyn Waugh said something like the following: Coauthoring a book is like three people getting together to have a baby. Would you please help …
Mignon McLaughlin? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: First love is exhilarating. Infatuated lovers feel like they have acquired esoteric knowledge of the universe. This might even be true. The witty journalist Mignon McLaughlin made this point using a different phrasing. Would you please help me to find a citation? Reply from Quote Investigator: In 1963 …
Fran Lebowitz? Herb Caen? Don Bleu? Rob Morse? Rebecca Blagrave? Liz Smith? William Deresiewicz? Question for Quote Investigator: The probability that you will purchase a lottery ticket worth millions of dollars is miniscule. Here are two comically exaggerated quips based on this observation: I figure your odds of winning the lottery are the same, whether …
H. L. Mencken? Arthur Stanwood Pier? L. Curry Morton? Life Magazine? Sylvester K. Stevens? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: A startling and funny depiction of a politician has been constructed by mixing two vivid metaphors: A politician is an animal who can sit on a fence and yet keep both ears to the ground. This …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: A Politician Straddles the Fence With Both Ears To the Ground”
Groucho Marx? Lord Palmerston? Old Bishop? John Cordy Jeaffreson? Söndags-Nisse? Robert Lee Bullard? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: A famous person lying on their deathbed overheard distraught visitors discussing mortality. The stricken but still lively individual sat bolt upright and declared: Die? That’s the last thing I’ll do. This humorously redundant statement has been attributed …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: Die, My Dear Doctor! That’s the Last Thing I Shall Do”