Tracing Quotations
Clarence Darrow? Miriam Gurko? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Clarence Darrow was a famous American lawyer with a sobering view of the justice system. The following words have been attributed to him: A courtroom is not a place where truth and innocence inevitably triumph; it is only an arena where contending lawyers fight, not for …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: The Contending Lawyers Can Fight, Not for Justice, But to Win”
George Bernard Shaw? Alan Lomax? Henry Wadsworth Longfellow? Henry David Thoreau? Question for Quote Investigator: I believe that the famous playwright and music critic George Bernard Shaw said something like the following: Music may be a universal language, but it’s spoken with all sorts of peculiar accents. I checked some quotation references and was unable …
Mark Twain? Tennessee Williams? Edward Gannon? Hugh A. Mulligan? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Travelers in the U.S. sometimes complain of cookie-cutter monotony. The following quip has been attributed to the prominent playwright Tennessee Williams, and the luminary Mark Twain: America has only three great cities: New York, San Francisco, and New Orleans. Everywhere else …
Pablo Picasso? Edward L. Bernays? Question for Quote Investigator: Achieving happiness is often challenging. Some people intensely dislike their work life and attempt to obtain joy elsewhere. There is a quotation that cautions against allowing this type of dichotomy to rule one’s life, and this valuable guidance has been attributed to the famous painter Pablo …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: Never Permit a Dichotomy to Rule Your Life”
Poul Anderson? Arthur Koestler? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: The following statement has been called Anderson’s Law and Koestler’s motto: I have yet to see any problem, however complicated, which, when you looked at it in the right way, did not become still more complicated. The words have been attributed to the prominent science fiction …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: Looked at the Right Way It Becomes Still More Complicated”
Mark Twain? Robert Ingersoll? Edgar Wilson Nye? John Phoenix? George H. Derby? Roscoe Conkling? John Fiske? Horace Porter? Henry David Thoreau? Hyman G. Rickover Question for Quote Investigator: Some writers use “we” as a form of self-reference. For example, an author might state: We base our opinion on the highest authority. A comically reproachful remark …
Charles Alexandre de Calonne? Lady Aberdeen? George Santayana? Fridtjof Nansen? Nicolas Beaujon? Baron de Breteuil? Mrs. William Tilton? Question for Quote Investigator: There exists a family of entertaining sayings that cheerfully displays inordinate confidence: 1) If the thing be possible, it is already done; if impossible, it shall be done. 2) If it is simply …
Louis Armstrong? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: The renowned jazz trumpeter and vocalist Louis Armstrong believed in the universality of musical appeal. I think he once said: When a good note’s blown, all the cats dig it. The underlying challenge of this adage is to remain open to the appreciation of multiple musical styles and …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: When a Good Old Good Note Is Blown, All the Cats Dig It”
Nicolas Chamfort? Marchand? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: You have previously examined a well-known comment comparing the construction of laws and sausages: Laws are like sausages. It’s better not to see them being made. I believe that a similar remark was made earlier by the Frenchman Nicolas Chamfort comparing justice and meals, but I have …
Damon Runyon? Franklin P. Adams? Hugh E. Keough? George D. Prentice? Luke McLuke? Grantland Rice? Burns Mantle? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: A famous verse in the Bible instructs readers that the advantages enjoyed by an individual do not guarantee his or her success: I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is …