Aldous Huxley? William C. Hunter? Jacob Feuerring? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: When Aldous Huxley, the author of the famous dystopian novel “Brave New World”, was young he was eager to change the world. Yet, as he grew older he concluded that he could only change himself with any confidence. Would you please help me …
Author Archives: quoteresearch
Quote Origin: A Great Literary Masterpiece Is Only a Dictionary in Disorder
Jean Cocteau? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: The prominent French writer Jean Cocteau has been credited with the following humorously skewed definition. Here are three versions: Would you please help me to find the original citation in French? Reply from Quote Investigator: The statement appeared twice in the Cocteau’s 1924 work “Le Potomak, 1913-1914: Précédé …
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Quote Origin: Put Fire Into This Speech? You Should Put This Speech Into the Fire
Winston Churchill? Henry Ward Beecher? Professor Matthews? Elias J. MacEwan? Question for Quote Investigator: According to legend a young Member of Parliament approached Winston Churchill with a copy of an address he was planning to deliver and asked him how he could put more fire into it. Churchill responded: Put fire into this speech? I …
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Quote Origin: I Got My Plots in the Tub, the Old-Fashioned, Rim Kind — Just Sitting There Thinking, Undisturbed, and Lining the Rim with Apple Cores
Agatha Christie? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: The brilliant mystery writer Agatha Christie is one of the most popular authors in history. Apparently, she once stated that the plots for her books were constructed and refined while she was pursuing quotidian activities such as washing dishes, bathing, eating apples, and walking. Would you please help …
Quote Origin: When Fascism Comes To America, It Will Be Wrapped in the Flag
Sinclair Lewis? Huey Long? Eugene V. Debs? Lonnie Jackson? A. L. Sachar? James Waterman Wise? Robert H. Jackson? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: The impulses of nationalism and authoritarianism sometimes combine to produce devastating results. The following saying has been attributed to the prominent writer Sinclair Lewis and the populist politician Huey Long: When Fascism …
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Quote Origin: A Pessimist Sees the Difficulty in Every Opportunity; an Optimist Sees the Opportunity in Every Difficulty
Winston Churchill? Bertram Carr? F. W. Cole? John D. Rockefeller? L. P. Jacks? Helen Keller? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Here are four versions of a popular saying about differing mental attitudes: The statesman Winston Churchill is typically credited with this remark, but I have been unable to find a citation. Would you please help? …
Quote Origin: I Don’t Owe My Public Anything Except a Good Performance
Humphrey Bogart? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Maintaining a private personal life is nearly impossible for individuals who become famous. Gossip shows revel in presenting an endless stream of sensitive and embarrassing incidents. Apparently, the Hollywood superstar Humphrey Bogart once said in exasperation something like the following: Would you please help me to find a …
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Quote Origin: There Is Less in This Than Meets the Eye
Tallulah Bankhead? Dorothy Parker? Robert Benchley? James Boswell? Richard Burke? William Hazlitt? Question for Quote Investigator: The actress Tallulah Bankhead was watching an ostentatious play, and she whispered to her companion a hilarious line based on an inverted cliché: There is less in this than meets the eye. This quip has also been attributed to …
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Quote Origin: Science Is the Refusal To Believe on the Basis of Hope
C. P. Snow? Carrie Snow? Barrington Moore Jr.? Question for Quote Investigator: Scientific theories should be constructed from carefully gathered facts and data. The empirical process requires the subordination of credulous wishes and desires. Succinctly stated: Science is the refusal to believe on the basis of hope. This statement has been ascribed to C. P. …
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Quote Origin: If I Could Remember the Names of These Particles, I Would Have Been a Botanist
Albert Einstein? Enrico Fermi? Leon M. Lederman? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: During the twentieth century the field of physics advanced astonishingly quickly. Researchers discovered a large number of elementary particles. A prominent physicist quipped: If I could remember the names of all those particles, I’d be a botanist. Did Albert Einstein, Enrico Fermi, or …