Tracing Quotations
Benjamin Franklin? John Ruskin? Harry Emerson Fosdick? Mae A. Byrnes? Dan Crawford? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: An individual who is self-absorbed typically experiences a diminished life and does not achieve great renown. Here are four versions of a figurative saying on this theme: This expression has been attributed to U.S. statesman Benjamin Franklin, English …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: A Man Wrapped Up in Himself Makes a Very Small Bundle”
Helen Keller? Walt Whitman? Charles Swain? Celia Burleigh? Lydia G. Worth? Edmund Cooke? M. B. Whitman? Maori Proverb? Question for Quote Investigator: A popular metaphorical framework equates sunlight to positive situations and shadow to unfavorable conditions. Here are two instances of an adage about maintaining an optimistic perspective: This notion has been credited to prominent …
C. S. Lewis? Mario Vargas Llosa? Louis L’Amour? George R. R. Martin? Question for Quote Investigator: Although each individual is limited to a single life on Earth, he or she may vicariously experience a thousand lives via novels and movies. This notion has been expressed by some prominent writers, e.g., C. S. Lewis, Mario Vargas …
Paul Valéry? W. H. Auden? Anaïs Nin? Maya Deren? Jean Cocteau? Esther Kellner? Gene Fowler? Gore Vidal? Marianne Moore? George Lucas? Oscar Wilde? Question for Quote Investigator: A creative person who is absorbed with the task of generating an artwork hesitates to declare completion. Reworking and improving a piece is always a tantalizing possibility. Here …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: A Work of Art Is Never Finished, Merely Abandoned”
Benjamin Franklin? Confucius? Xunzi? Hsüntze? Native American Saying? Shuo Yuan? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: The following tripartite expression encapsulates an influential approach to education: Tell me and I forget,teach me and I remember,involve me and I learn. The U.S. statesman Benjamin Franklin and the Chinese philosopher Confucius have both received credit for these words. …
Friedrich Nietzsche? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: A fatigued philosopher may forgetfully return to previous ideas. The worn out thinker may fruitlessly reexamine notions that were rightfully rejected in the past. The famous German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche has received credit for the following remark: When we are tired, we are attacked by ideas we conquered …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: When We Are Tired, We Are Attacked by Ideas We Conquered Long Ago”
Mark Twain? Clara Clemens? Justin Kaplan? Harlan Ellison? Darrell Schweitzer? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Famous author Mark Twain was grief-stricken when his daughter Susy died at age 24. The following expression of bitter despair has been ascribed to him: If there is a God, he is a malign thug. Oddly, no one has presented …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: If There Is a God, He Is a Malign Thug”
James Watson? Holly Hunter? James L. Brooks? Steven R. Craig? Michael Dell? Ed Burns? Orlando Taylor? Selena Gomez? Taylor Swift? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: The molecular biologist James Watson earned a Nobel Prize as a member of the team that elucidated the helical structure of DNA. He did not claim to be uniquely brilliant; …
Mark Twain? Biblical Proverb? Apocryphal? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Conflict on social media is now endemic, but it is not really new. Acrimonious exchanges between participants during the primeval days of online forums were known as “flame wars”. Famed humorist Mark Twain has received credit for a germane cautionary remark: Never argue with a …
John Lennon? Roland Orzabal? Nicky Holland? Tears for Fears? Question for Quote Investigator: The famous songwriter and musician John Lennon has received credit for the following lines: Love is a promise Love is a souvenir Once given Never forgotten, never let it disappear My mother who is very knowledgeable about the Beatles says that these …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: Love Is a Promise. Love Is a Souvenir”