Tracing Quotations
Creator: Madonna Louise Ciccone, American singer, songwriter, and artistic entrepreneur Context: In 1991 “Vanity Fair” published a profile of Madonna within which she discussed her “iron will” and her trepidation. Emphasis added to this excerpt by QI: “And all of my will has always been to conquer some horrible feeling of inadequacy. I’m always struggling …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: My Drive in Life Is from This Horrible Fear of Being Mediocre”
Théophile Gautier? Molière? Alphonse Karr? Alexander Dumas père? A Mathematician? Prince Albert? Joseph Coyne? Honoré de Balzac?Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Operas and orchestra concerts are quite expensive productions. A deprecatory wit once grumbled about the outlays. Here are three versions: This thought has been attributed to the prominent French playwright Molière, …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: Music Is the Most Unpleasant and the Most Expensive of All Noises”
Creator: Ralph Waldo Emerson, prominent American essayist and transcendentalist philosopher Context: In 1836 when Emerson was 33 years old he wrote in his journal about bloody events in Spain and France. Emphasis added to excerpt: But in analysing history do not be too profound, for often the causes are quite superficial. In the present state …
Joseph Joubert? Matthew Arnold? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Imagination is crucial to cogitation, but it must be coupled with knowledge to achieve wholeness. Here are two versions of a germane adage: I was reminded of this saying while reading a QI analysis of a tangentially related quotation about roots and wings. Would you please …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: One Who Has Imagination Without Learning Has Wings Without Feet”
Hugh Walpole? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Radiant love displays “depth, beauty, and joy”, but achieving this extraordinary relationship is challenging. The bestselling English novelist Hugh Walpole apparently said: It is a sort of Divine accident. Would you please help me to find a citation? Reply from Quote Investigator: The book “What is Happiness?” consists …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: Love Is a Sort of Divine Accident”
Creator: Josh Billings (pen name of Henry Wheeler Shaw), celebrated U.S. humorist Context: A collection of “Sayings of Josh Billings” appeared in “The Alleghanian” newspaper of Ebensburg, Pennsylvania in 1864. Billings employed phonetic spelling. Here were three of the sayings: I havn’t got as mutch muny az sum folks, but i hav got as much …
Creator: Elbert Hubbard, founder of New York artisan community called Roycrofters, collector and creator of adages Context: The May 1913 issue of “The Philistine: A Periodical of Protest” published by Elbert Hubbard contained a set of humorous definitions for “editor”: EDITOR: A person employed on a newspaper, whose business it is to separate the wheat …
Ronald Reagan? Ashley Cooper? Frank Bunker Gilbreth Jr.? David Condon? The Farmer’s Daughter? Norine Carman? Sam Levenson? Charles Rose? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: The topic of prayers in schools in the U.S. has been controversial for many years. Humorists have reacted with quips such as: Apparently, U.S. President Ronald Reagan employed this joke. Would …
H. L. Mencken? Theo Lippman Jr.? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Newspaperman H. L. Mencken is famous for his insightful and acerbic commentaries, but he also spent the early years of his career as a reporter, and he looked back upon that period with fondness. Apparently, he nostalgically described reporting as “the life of kings” …
Voltaire? Bernard le Bovier de Fontenelle? Edward Young? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: The famous French philosopher and satirist Voltaire apparently wrote a story in which the universe consisted of millions of worlds, and Earth was designated a peculiar place: Our little globe is the lunatic ward of the universe. Would you please help me …