Tracing Quotations
Samuel Johnson? C. S. Lewis? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: The famous English lexicographer Samuel Johnson apparently extolled domestic bliss. Did he write or say something like the following? The chief aim of all human endeavors is to be happy at home. Quote Investigator: In 1746 Samuel Johnson signed a contract to create “A Dictionary of …
Continue reading “To Be Happy at Home Is the Ultimate Result of All Ambition”
Barbara W. Tuchman? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: The popular historian Barbara W. Tuchman crafted one or both of the following cautionary adages: War is the unfolding of miscalculations. History is the unfolding of miscalculations. Sometimes the final word is singular. Would you please help me unravel this mystery? Quote Investigator: In 1971 Tuchman published “Stilwell …
Continue reading “History Is the Unfolding of Miscalculations”
Winston Churchill? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: Critics of U.K. Prime Minister Clement Attlee viewed him as an insubstantial and dull figure. The following quip apparently circulated during the 1940s: An empty taxi arrived at 10 Downing Street and Clement Attlee got out of it. These words are often attributed to Winston Churchill. What do you …
Continue reading “An Empty Taxi Arrived and Clement Attlee Stepped Out of It”
Target: Sarah Bernhardt? Alexander H. Stephens? Dear Quote Investigator: Complaints about the body shapes of people in the public eye have a very long history. Small and thin individuals have sometimes been targeted with the following type of quip: An empty vehicle rolled up to the hotel and so-and-so got out of it. Would you …
Dorothy Parker? Ben Hecht? Corey Ford? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: The famous wit Dorothy Parker apparently constructed a risqué quip when she observed people ducking for apples at a party. Would you please explore this topic? Dear Quote Investigator: The earliest evidence of Parker’s jest located by QI appeared in the 1957 book “Charlie: The …
Continue reading “Change One Letter in That Phrase and You Have My Life Story”
Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel? Heinrich Heine? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: The German philosopher Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel had a major influence on later schools of thought including Marxism and existentialism. Yet, critics have complained of his unintelligibility. One colorful anecdote claims that Hegel made the following pronouncement on his deathbed: Only one man ever understood …
Continue reading “Only One Man Ever Understood Me, and He Did Not Understand Me Either”
John Greenleaf Whittier? Edgar Guest? Labor? Nellie Maxwell? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: A popular poem about perseverance includes these lines: When all is pressing you down a bit— Rest if you must, but don’t you quit. The poets John Greenleaf Whittier and Edgar A. Guest have both been credited. Would you please determine the actual …
Jean-Paul Sartre? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: Did the famous existentialist philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre say the following: Every word has consequences. Every silence, too. I am trying to find a citation for the original French version. Would you please help? Quote Investigator: Jean-Paul Sartre believed that writers should be politically engaged. He was a founder of …
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Lord Chesterfield? Hilaire Belloc? D. H. Lawrence? George Bernard Shaw? Alexander Duffield? W. Somerset Maugham? Elliot Paul? Samuel Hopkins Adams? Benjamin Franklin? P. D. James? Apocryphal? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: Lord Chesterfield reportedly crafted an outrageously humorous description of intimate relations. I’ve seen different versions that each comment on pleasure, position, and expense. Yet, I …
Continue reading “The Pleasure Is Momentary, the Position Is Ridiculous, the Expense Is Damnable”
Edward O. Wilson? Bert Hölldobler? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: Social insects are famous for exhibiting a division of labor and a willingness to act for the overall good of the colony. The preeminent biologist Edward O. Wilson whose specialty is the study of ants was once asked about human politics, and he replied with a …