Kin Hubbard? Abe Martin? Beatrice Kaufman? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Poverty can cause unhappiness and despair. Yet, there is no easy solution to this human predicament because wealth does not guarantee joy and happiness. A popular humorist once stated: It’s hard to tell what brings happiness. Poverty and wealth have both failed. A remark …
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Quote Origin: I Used To Be Indecisive, But Now I’m Not So Sure
Boscoe Pertwee? Umberto Eco? Christopher Hampton? Nigel Rees? Mario Cuomo? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Making definitive choices is arduous. A humorous expression reflects this predicament: I used to be indecisive, but now I’m not so sure. This quip has been attributed to Boscoe Pertwee who reportedly was an eighteenth-century wit, but I cannot find …
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Misprint Origin: A Large Crow Remained on the Platform for Half an Hour Singing ‘Rock of Ages’
Ethel Smyth? William Booth? C. S. Lewis? W. H. Auden? Benjamin Harrison? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Newspapers have produced hilarious statements due to misprints. According to an entertaining anecdote, a prominent religious figure once visited a town, and the local periodical reported: After his train had left the station a large crow remained on …
Quote Origin: Birthdays Are Feathers in the Broad Wing of Time
Jean Paul? Johann Paul Friedrich Richter? Charles T. Brooks? H. L. Mencken? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: The experience of a birthday inspires philosophical reveries in some older people. Apparently, a literary figure once wrote: Birthdays are feathers in the broad wing of time. This statement has been credited to the German Romantic writer Johann …
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Quote Origin: Once a Philosopher; Twice a Pervert
Voltaire? Richard Francis Burton? Judith Krantz? Bennett Cerf? Norman Mailer? Jean Cocteau? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: A notorious anecdote claims that a prominent philosopher was once asked to join a group of libertines engaging in carnal behavior. The philosopher consented, and the group admired the performance. Yet, when asked to join the group again …
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Quote Origin: Adversity Is the Trial of Principle; Without It, One Hardly Knows Whether One Is an Honest Person
Henry Fielding? Charles Grandison? Samuel Richardson? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: To avoid a major hardship an individual will sometimes abandon an ethical principle or a close friend. Experiencing a setback reveals a person’s inner strengths and weaknesses. Here are three versions of a pertinent saying: (1) Adversity is the trial of principle; without it, …
Adage Origin: Anything Worth Doing Is Worth Doing Slowly
Mae West? Gypsy Rose Lee? Ann Richards? Emma Bullet? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Activities such as growing a garden, consuming a savory dish, and dancing a striptease are best when performed slowly. An adage embodies this idea: If it is worth doing then it is worth doing slowly. This saying has been attributed to …
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Quote Origin: Real Success Is Finding Your Lifework in the Work That You Love
David McCullough? Mark Twain? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Pulitzer Prize-winning historian David McCullough has received credit for an insightful expression about career choice: Real success is finding your lifework in the work that you love. I am having difficulty finding a citation. Would you please help? Reply from Quote Investigator: In 1996 David McCullough …
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Quote Origin: There Are Moments When Time and Space Are More Profound, and the Sensation of Existence Is Immensely Heightened
Charles Baudelaire? Christopher Isherwood? Sonya Stephens? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: The French poet, essayist, and art critic Charles Baudelaire wrote provocatively about his experiences in life including erotic feelings, drug-induced states, and cosmic perceptions. Apparently, he once said: There are moments in one’s existence when time and space are deepened, and the feeling of …
Quote Origin: Ten Percent Should Not Even Be Here. Eighty Percent Are Targets. One Is a Warrior
Heraclitus? John DiFusco? Tracers? Paul Whitesell? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: The ancient Greek philosopher Heraclitus of Ephesus has received credit for the following statement which is popular in the military domain: Out of every one-hundred men, ten shouldn’t even be there, eighty are just targets, nine are the real fighters, and we are lucky …