Vladimir Nabokov? Harry B. Smith? Augustus Thomas? George M. Cohan? George Abbott? Steven Spielberg? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Recently, I saw a fascinating quotation about writing that was attributed to the brilliant prose stylist Vladimir Nabokov: The writer’s job is to get the main character up a tree, and then once they are up …
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Quote Origin: Life Is Just One Damn Thing After Another
Mark Twain? Lilian Bell? Elbert Hubbard? Frank Ward O’Malley? Bruce Calvert? H. L. Mencken? Charles Dickens? Edna St. Vincent Millay? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: The following statement of exasperation and resignation has been attributed to the luminary Mark Twain, the aphorist Elbert Hubbard, and the journalist Frank Ward O’Malley: Life is just one damn …
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Quote Origin: That Works Very Well in Practice, But How Does It Work In Theory?
Heidelberg Professor? Chairman of an Irish Company? Claude T. Bissell? Sean MacReamoinn? Walter Heller? Garret FitzGerald? Ernest Hollings? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: There is a fundamental distinction between theory and practice. Sometimes a strategy that should work based on theoretical considerations fails when implemented in practice. This insight has been comically twisted to generate …
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Quote Origin: Give a Man a Fish, and You Feed Him for a Day. Teach a Man To Fish, and You Feed Him for a Lifetime
Chinese Proverb? Maimonides? Lao-Tzu? Anne Isabella Thackeray Ritchie? Italian Adage? Native American Saying? Mao Zedong? Question for Quote Investigator: The following piece of proverbial wisdom is remarkably astute: Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime. The origin of …
Quote Origin: Teach Them to Yearn for the Vast and Endless Sea
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry? Apocryphal? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: The French aviator and writer Antoine de Saint-Exupéry was best known internationally as the author of “Le Petit Prince” (“The Little Prince”). Many self-help guides and books about management now contain a saying about motivation and organization that often has been attributed to Saint-Exupéry. Here are …
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Quote Origin: Just Walk Beside Me and Be My Friend
Albert Camus? Apocryphal? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: The French writer and philosopher Albert Camus was awarded a Nobel Prize in 1957. His influential works have been called absurdist and existentialist although he personally rejected the label existentialist. The following lines have been widely attributed to him: Don’t walk behind me, I may not lead. …
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Quote Origin: Missionaries and Cannibals
Oscar Wilde? Richard Le Gallienne? Reverend Sydney Smith? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: One of the more outrageous remarks attributed to the famous wit Oscar Wilde concerned missionaries, cannibals, and the supply of food. Did Wilde really make this facetious remark? Reply from Quote Investigator: Oscar Wilde died in 1900, and the earliest evidence located …
Quote Origin: Wagner Has Some Beautiful Moments But Terrible Quarter-Hours
Critic: Gioachino Rossini? Mr. Archer? Charles Gounod? Apocryphal? Criticized: Richard Wagner? Signor Tamberlik? François Rabelais? M. Chelles? Question for Quote Investigator: The prominent Italian composer Gioachino Rossini reportedly delivered an amusingly harsh assessment of the famous German composer Richard Wagner. Here are three versions: 1) Wagner’s operas contain wonderful moments but terrible half hours. 2) …
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Quote Origin: A Teacher Is Never a Giver of “Truth”; He Is a Guide, a Pointer to the Truth
Bruce Lee? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Would you please help me to trace a statement attributed to the charismatic superstar martial artist and actor Bruce Lee. The first phrase in the quotation presented Lee’s viewpoint on education and mentoring: A teacher is never a giver of truth . . . I have seen different …
Quote Origin: Even If What You’re Working On Doesn’t Go Anywhere, It Will Help You with the Next Thing You’re Doing
Cormac McCarthy novelist? Cormac McCarthy musician? Question for Quote Investigator: Everyone has worked on projects with ambitious goals that remained unfulfilled. The following quotation helps me to maintain an optimistic perspective: Even if what you’re working on doesn’t go anywhere, it will help you with the next thing you’re doing. Make yourself available for something …