Tracing Quotations
John Steinbeck? Harper Lee? Rod Serling? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: Literary folklore asserts that John Steinbeck, the Nobel prize-winning author, was once asked to share a nugget of wisdom for aspiring authors, and he replied humorously and candidly that he did not really have any advice. In fact, if he had some good advice he …
Continue reading “Sorry — If I Had Any Advice To Give I’d Take It Myself”
Winston Churchill? Readers Digest? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: British leader Winston Churchill has been credited with a crafting a vivid definition for “appeaser” that cleverly employed figurative language: An appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile — hoping it will eat him last. It supposedly was spoken during World War II, but I have not …
Continue reading “An Appeaser Is One Who Feeds a Crocodile, Hoping It Will Eat Him Last”
Robert Frost? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: The prominent poet Robert Frost thought that pursuing activities with an unremitting frenetic pace was unwise; periods of relaxation and leisure were indispensable. He has been credited with a passage that begins: There’s absolutely no reason for being rushed along with the rush. Everybody should be free to go …
Continue reading “There’s Absolutely No Reason for Being Rushed Along with the Rush”
Abraham Lincoln? Thomas Carlyle? Robert G. Ingersoll? Horatio Alger Jr.? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: I saw the following quotation on the website of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum: Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power. Lincoln was credited, but I have seen …
Oscar Wilde? Frank Harris? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: The following passage from a philosophical magazine of 1815 asserts that intellectual gifts are innate:[1]January 1815, The Philosophical Magazine And Journal, Volume 45, Dr. Spurzheim’s demonstrative Course of Lectures, Start Page 50, Quote Page 52, Printed by Richard and Arthur Taylor, Shoe Lane, … Continue reading That genius …
Wilson Mizner? Addison Mizner? Douglas Malloch? Louis Ginsberg? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: An adage from antiquity asserts that a great poet must have an inborn talent that cannot be taught or feigned: A poet is born, not made. The dire financial condition of the market for poetry has inspired a humorously modified expression: A poet …
Agatha Christie? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: The acclaimed mystery writer Agatha Christie wrote more than sixty novels and sold an enormous number of copies. Yet, I was told that somewhere she had claimed that writing was agony for her. Is this possible? Would you please examine this question? Quote Investigator: In 1977 “Agatha Christie: An …
Continue reading “Starting To Write a Book: There Is No Agony Like It”
Henry Ford? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: The automotive titan Henry Ford reportedly crafted a humorous and insightful remark about thinking. Here are three versions: 1) Thinking is hard work. That may be the reason so few engage in it. 2) Thinking is the hardest work there is, which is probably the reason why so few …
George Bernard Shaw? Mallory Browne? Raymond Gram Swing? Oscar Wilde? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: The influential Irish playwright and commentator George Bernard Shaw has been credited with a humorous remark about language. Here are four versions: 1) Britain and America are two nations divided by a common language. 2) The English and Americans are two …
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John Dewey? William F. Russell? Helena Weatherby? Thomas A. Harris? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: Thinking thoroughly about a topic is a difficult and painstaking task. Many people prefer quick and easy answers that can be selected with minimal thought. Yet sometimes people face obstacles that require careful cogitation. The famous philosopher and teacher John Dewey …
Continue reading “We Only Think When We Are Confronted With a Problem”