Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel? Heinrich Heine? Apocryphal? Question for 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 …
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Quote Origin: Success Is Failure Turned Inside Out
John Greenleaf Whittier? Edgar Guest? Labor? Nellie Maxwell? Anonymous? Question for 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 …
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Quote Origin: Every Word Has Consequences. Every Silence, Too
Jean-Paul Sartre? Apocryphal? Question for 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? Reply from Quote Investigator: Jean-Paul Sartre believed that writers should be politically engaged. He was …
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Quote Origin: The Pleasure Is Momentary, the Position Is Ridiculous, the Expense Is Damnable
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? Question for 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, …
Quote Origin: Good Ideology; Wrong Species
Edward O. Wilson? Bert Hölldobler? Apocryphal? Question for 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 …
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Quote Origin: It’s Nice To Be Important, But More Important To Be Nice
Roger Federer? John Templeton? Walter Winchell? Kay Dangerfield? James H. Lane? Tony Curtis? Bob Olin? Sidney Blackmer? Joe Franklin? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Antimetabole is a clever literary technique in which a phrase is repeated, but key words are reversed. For example: It is nice to be important, but more important to be nice. …
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Quote Origin: We Are Confronted by an Insurmountable Opportunity
Walt Kelly? Don Mitchell? Fred W. Bewley? Leon Shimkin? A. C. Monteith? W. Willard Wirtz? Hubert Humphrey? Howard J. Samuels? George H. W. Bush? W. C. Fields? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Walt Kelly authored the magnificent comic strip “Pogo” featuring hilarious wordplay. He has been credited with the following oxymoronic phrase: Our problem is …
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Quote Origin: If a Book Is Well Written, I Always Find It Too Short
Jane Austen? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: The famous novelist Jane Austen wrote that when she was reading an enjoyable book she always found that it was too short. Would you please help me to locate this quotation? Reply from Quote Investigator: Jane Austen was born in 1775, and she began to work on a …
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Quote Origin: He Got His Good Looks from His Mother. She’s a Plastic Surgeon
Groucho Marx? Frank Parker? Marty Allen? Steve Rossi? Dorothy Shay? Ed Reed? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: The comedian Groucho Marx apparently crafted a witty twist on beauty and inheritance. Here are two versions: Would you please explore the provenance of this quip? Reply from Quote Investigator: Groucho Marx who died in 1977 received credit …
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Quote Origin: The Young Sow Wild Oats. The Old Grow Sage
Winston Churchill? Stephen Fry? Henry James Byron? W. Davenport Adams? Aubrey Stewart? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: The recent memoir by English comedian and actor Stephen Fry contains the following intriguing remark: ‘Young men sow wild oats, old men grow sage,’ Churchill is reputed to have said. It almost never is Churchill. In fact collectors …
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