The Penalty of Success Is To Be Bored By the People Who Used To Snub You

Mary Wilson Little? Nancy Astor? Charley Jones? Cholly Knickerbocker? Earl Wilson? Junius? Anonymous?

Dear Quote Investigator: If one climbs the social ladder the result can be surprising. People who once snubbed you will allow you to enter their social circle. Yet, attending their gatherings often results in boredom. This observation has been attributed to the U.S. author Mary Wilson Little and the U.K. politician Nancy Astor. Would you please explore this topic?

Quote Investigator: The earliest evidence located by QI appeared in several newspapers in August 1880. The creator was initially anonymous. Mary Wilson Little claimed authorship in 1897. Over the decades the phrasing has evolved, and the ascription has shifted. Here is a sampling with dates:

1880 Aug 10: The penalty of success is to be bored by the attentions of people who used to snub you. (Anon)

1880 Aug 17: The penalty of success is to be bored by the attention of people who used to snub you. (Anon)

1881 May 12: The penalty of success is to be bored by people who used to snub you. (Anon)

1897: The penalty of success is to be bored by the attentions of people who formerly snubbed you. ( M. W. L. – Mary Wilson Little)

1913 Oct 07: One of the penalties of success is to be bored by the attentions of the people who used to snub you. (Anon)

1925 Oct 06: The penalty of success is to be bored by the attention of people who formally snubbed you. (Anon)

1941 Jan 29: The penalty of success is to be bored by the attentions of people who formerly snubbed you. (The Office Cat by Junius)

1949: The penalty of success is to be bored by the attentions of people who formerly snubbed you. (Attributed to Mary Wilson Little by Evan Esar)

1953 May 28: The penalty of success is to be bored by the people who used to snub you. (Attributed to Charley Jones by Earl Wilson)

1953 July 06: The penalty of success is to be bored by the people who used to snub you. (Attributed to Nancy Astor by Cholly Knickerbocker)

Below are selected citations in chronological order.

On August 10, 1880 the “Harrisburg Daily Independent” of Pennsylvania published the remark together with a collection of miscellaneous short items under the title “Localettes”. The newspaper specified no attribution. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:^[1] 1880 August 10, Harrisburg Daily Independent, City and Vicinity: Localettes, Quote Page 4, Column 1, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. (Newspapers_com)

The penalty of success is to be bored by the attentions of people who used to snub you.

The following day the same statement appeared in “The Observer” of Raleigh, North Carolina under the title “Observations”.^[2] 1880 August 11, The Observer, Observations, Quote Page 3, Column 1, Raleigh, North Carolina. (Newspapers_com) It also appeared in “St. Louis Post-Dispatch” of Missouri under the title “Hot Weather Wit”.^[3] 1880 August 11, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Hot Weather Wit, Quote Page 2, Column 4, St. Louis, Missouri. (ProQuest)

On August 17, 1880 the “Bloomington Daily Pantagraph” of Illinois printed a slight variant with “attention” instead of “attentions”:^[4] 1880 August 17, Bloomington Daily Pantagraph, Wit and Humor, Quote Page 2, Column 3, Bloomington, Illinois. (Newspapers_com)

The penalty of success is to be bored by the attention of people who used to snub you.

In 1881 “The Howard Courant” of Kansas published a shorter statement without “attention” or “attentions”:^[5] 1881 May 12, The Howard Courant, Pungent Particles, Quote Page 1, Column 4, Howard, Kansas. (Newspapers_com)

The penalty of success is to be bored by people who used to snub you.

In 1897 “Reveries of a Paragrapher” by M. W. L. appeared. The term “paragrapher” referred to a journalist who composed short clever items, i.e., paragraphs. The title page of the book revealed only the initials of its creator; however, a later edition in 1904^[6] 1904, A Paragrapher’s Reveries by Mary Wilson Little, Chapter: Solemn Thoughts, Quote Page 11, Broadway Publishing Company, New York. (Google Books Full View) link disclosed that Mary Wilson Little authored the work which was compiled from her brief remarks appearing in a variety of periodicals over a period of years. Little claimed credit for the saying under examination. Her phrasing used the word “formerly”. Here were three items from the book:^[7] 1897, Reveries of a Paragrapher by M. W. L. (Mary Wilson Little), Chapter: Solemn Thoughts, Quote Page 6 and 7, T. Fisher Unwin, London. (Google Books Full View) link

The hours fly so fast as we grow older that it sometimes seems as if Father Time had traded his sickle for a bicycle.

The knowledge that “virtue is its own reward” may perhaps account for the fact that so few persons take the trouble to reward it.

The penalty of success is to be bored by the attentions of people who formerly snubbed you.

In 1897 a laudatory review of Little’s book in “The Philadelphia Times” stated the following:^[8]1897 December 19, The Philadelphia Times, Pertinent Paragraphs: A Philadelphia Woman’s Aphorisms Given to the Public In London, Quote Page 22, Column 3,Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. … Continue reading

While the name of the author is not given, it is an open secret that the book is by a well-known Philadelphia lady, daughter of one of the eminent physicians of our city, who has preserved her wise saws dashed off In her leisure moments, and gives them to the public in this volume.

In 1913 “The News and Observer” of Raleigh, North Carolina printed an anonymous instance using the word “penalties”:^[9] 1913 October 7, The News and Observer, Work for the Blues, Quote Page 7, Column 6, Raleigh, North Carolina. (Newspapers_com)

One of the penalties of success is to be bored by the attentions of the people who used to snub you.

In 1925 the “Scribbler” of Fort Scott, Kansas printed an anonymous instance using “formally” instead of “formerly”:^[10] 1925 October 6, Scribbler, (Filler item), Quote Page 2, Column 1, Fort Scott, Kansas. (Newspapers_com)

The penalty of success is to be bored by the attention of people who formally snubbed you.

In 1941 the saying appeared in the widely-syndicated column “Office Cat” by Junius without attribution:^[11] 1941 January 29, The Decatur Daily, Office Cat by Junius, Quote Page 4, Column 5, Decatur, Alabama. (Newspapers_com)

The penalty of success is to be bored by the attentions of people who formerly snubbed you.

In 1949 quotation collector Evan Esar published “The Dictionary of Humorous Quotations”, and he ascribed the saying to Wilson. He did not know when she was born, and he guessed the inaccurate date of 1880:^[12] 1949 Copyright, The Dictionary of Humorous Quotations, Edited by Evan Esar, Section: Mary Wilson Little, Quote Page 132, Bramhall House, New York. (Verified with scans)

LITTLE, Mary Wilson, born 1880?, American paragrapher.

The penalty of success is to be bored by the attentions of people who formerly snubbed you.

In May 1953 the popular columnist Earl Wilson printed an attribution to Charley Jones:^[13] 1953 May 28, Courier-Post, It Happened Last Night by Earl Wilson, Quote Page 21, Column 7,Camden, New Jersey. (Newspapers_com)

Wish I’d said that: “The penalty of success is to be bored by the people who used to snub you”— Charley Jones

In July 1953 the columnist Cholly Knickerbocker (a pseudonym for Igor Cassini and Liz Smith) credited Nancy Astor:^[14] 1953 July 6, San Francisco Examiner, Cholly Knickerbocker Observes, Quote Page 19, Column 2, San Francisco, California. (Newspapers_com)

Bon Mot: “The penalty of success is to be bored by the people who used to snub you.” —Lady Astor.

Also, in July 1953 columnist Sheilah Graham credited Nancy Astor:^[15] 1953 July 20, Durham Morning Herald, Hollywood Today: Seen and Heard in Hollywood by Sheilah Graham, Quote Page 3, Column 6, Durham, North Carolina. (Newspapers_com)

Lady Astor by the way, was quoted In London—“the penalty of success is to be bored by the people who used to snub you.” This could apply to movie stars who too often are accused of forgetting the people they knew “when.”

In 1992 “The Beacon Book of Quotations by Women” compiled by Rosalie Maggio noted that the saying has been ascribed to both Nancy Astor and Mary Wilson Little:^[16] 1992 Copyright, The Beacon Book of Quotations by Women, Compiled by Rosalie Maggio, Topic: Success, Quote Page 310, Column 2, Beacon Press, Boston, Massachusetts. (Verified with scans)

The penalty of success is to be bored by people who used to snub you.

Nancy Astor, in Sunday Express (1956). Also attributed to Mary Wilson Little as, “The penalty of success is to be bored by the attentions of people who formerly snubbed you.”

In conclusion, the earliest match in 1880 was anonymous. In 1897 Mary Wilson Little published “Reveries of a Paragrapher”, and she included the saying. It is possible that she was the originator although the 17 year delay reduces the certainty of her authorship. There is evidence that Charley Jones and Nancy Astor used the expression, but only after it had been circulating for decades.

Image Notes: An illustration depicting two figures climbing a spiral staircase from Peggy_Marco at Pixabay. Image has been cropped and resized.