Elbert Hubbard? Mary Sargent Hopkins? Anonymous?
Question for Quote Investigator: Vacations with full itineraries can be exciting and exhausting. Here are two versions of a pertinent quip:
(1) One never needs a vacation so much as the day after returning from one.
(2) The man who most needs a vacation is the man who has just had one.
This humorous remark has been attributed to U.S. writer and publisher Elbert Hubbard, but I have not seen a citation. Would you please explore this topic?
Reply from Quote Investigator: The earliest match found by QI appeared in 1899 within “The Boston Cooking-School Magazine”. The journalist Mary Sargent Hopkins published a piece titled “Out-of-Doors for the Home-Maker” which included an instance. Hopkins disclaimed credit for the remark and used the label “old saying”. Thus, the originator was anonymous. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:1
Too often vacation means an annual trip somewhere, but rest is found nowhere. The last remnants of strength have been used in the preparation, and the whole endeavor absorbs more vitality than can be regained by the change.
There is an old saying that one never needs a vacation so much as the day after returning from one.
Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.
In 1902 a thematic match appeared as a filler item in “The Free Lance” newspaper of Fredericksburg, Virginia:2
“What you need is a vacation,” advised the physician.
“I’ve just had one, doctor,” replied the patient; “I think another would kill me.” —Ohio State Journal.
In 1903 the joke appeared as an anonymous filler item in the “Kenosha Evening News” of Wisconsin:3
This is the time of year when the man who takes a week off to rest realizes the truth of the saying that the man who most needs a vacation is the man who has just had one.
In 1904 Elbert Hubbard printed an editorial piece in his journal “The Philistine”. Hubbard employed the quip, and he helped to popularize it, but it was already in circulation:4
There was too much of a good time. Usually, no man needs a vacation so much as the man who has just had one.
In May 1905 Elbert Hubbard published an article titled “Vacations and Health” in “The Cosmopolitan” magazine of New York. Hubbard used the expression again:5
As a matter of recuperation, the vacation does not recuperate, since, as a rule, no man needs a vacation so much as a man who has just had one.
The man who is so run down that he needs a vacation can never adjust and re-form himself in two weeks. What he really needs is to re-transform his life.
In April 1905, the piece by Elbert Hubbard was reprinted in “The American Exporter” of New York and “The Cosmopolitan” was acknowledged. Thus, the joke achieved further distribution.6
In 1949 Evan Esar published the compilation “The Dictionary of Humorous Quotations” which included the following entry:7
HUBBARD, Elbert, 1856-1915, American author, editor, and printer.
No man needs a vacation so much as the person who has just had one.
In 1973 Herbert V. Prochnow published the compilation “A Speaker’s Treasury for Educators, Convocation Speakers, Baccalaureate Speakers, and Others” which contained this entry:8
No man needs a vacation so much as the person who has just had one. Elbert Hubbard
In 1977 Lloyd Cory published the compilation “Quote Unquote” which included this entry:9
No one needs a vacation so much as the fellow who has just had one. (BITS & PIECES)
In conclusion, the earliest match in 1899 was written by Mary Sargent Hopkins, but she said the quip was an “old saying”. The originator remains anonymous. Elbert Hubbard also helped to popularize the quip beginning in 1904, but he did not create it.
Image Notes: La Merenda (The Snack) painted by Elin Danielson-Gambogi circa 1904. The image has been cropped and resized.
Acknowledgement: Great thanks to Nicolas Cuconati whose inquiry led QI to formulate this question and perform this exploration. Cuconati stated that the quotation was used in the television show Criminal Minds during an episode of the first season.
- 1899 August, The Boston Cooking-School Magazine, Volume 4, Number 2, Out-of-Doors for the Home-Maker by Mary Sargent Hopkins, Start Page 62, Quote Page 62, Column 2, Boston, Massachusetts. (Google Books Full View) link ↩︎
- 1902 August 5, The Free Lance, (Filler item), Quote Page 5, Column 3, Fredericksburg, Virginia. (Newspapers_com) ↩︎
- 1903 September 10, Kenosha Evening News, (Filler item), Quote Page 4, Column 1, Kenosha, Wisconsin. (Newspapers_com) ↩︎
- 1904 May, The Philistine, Volume 18, Number 6, Heart to Heart Talks with Philistines by the Pastor of His Flock by Elbert Hubbard, Start Page 181, Quote Page 187, The Roycrofters, East Aurora, New York. (Google Books Full View) link ↩︎
- 1905 February, The Cosmopolitan, Volume 38, Number 4, Vacations and Health by Elbert Hubbard, Quote Page 485, Column 1, Cosmopolitan Publishing Company, New York. (Google Books Full View) link ↩︎
- 1905 April, The American Exporter, Vacations and Health by Elbert Hubbard in The Cosmopolitan Magazine, Quote Page 36, Column 1, The John C. Cochran Company, New York. (Internet Archive) ↩︎
- 1949 Copyright, The Dictionary of Humorous Quotations, Edited by Evan Esar, Section: Elbert Hubbard, Quote Page 101, Bramhall House, New York. (Verified with scans) ↩︎
- 1973, A Speaker’s Treasury for Educators, Convocation Speakers, Baccalaureate Speakers, and Others, Compiled by Herbert V. Prochnow, Section: Quips and Witticisms, Quote Page 22, Baker Book House, Grand Rapids, Michigan. (Verified on paper) ↩︎
- 1977, Quote Unquote, Compiled by Lloyd Cory, Section: Vacations, Quote Page 351, Published by Victor Books: A Division of SP Publications, Wheaton, Illinois. (Verified on paper) ↩︎