Tracing Quotations
Speaker: William Allen Butler? Henry Clapp? John Bright? Junius Henri Browne? Howard Crosby? Henry Armitt Brown? Benjamin Disraeli? William Cowper? Topic: Horace Greeley? Benjamin Disraeli? George Law? David Davies? Dear Quote Investigator: Whenever I hear the claim that an individual who has excelled in life is a self-made man or a self-made woman I think …
Continue reading ““He Is a Self-Made Man.” “Yes, And He Worships His Creator.””
Mark Twain? Robert J. Burdette? Apocryphal? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: During this graduation season many who are finishing school are scrambling to try and find a job. The following acerbic words are usually attributed to Mark Twain: Don’t go around saying the world owes you a living; the world owes you nothing, it was here …
Jean Piaget? Eleanor Duckworth? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: The following popular quotation appears on a large number of websites in the educational domain. The statement is attributed to the famous developmental psychologist Jean Piaget: The principal goal of education in the schools should be creating men and women who are capable of doing new things, …
Diana Vreeland? Fran Lebowitz? Erin McKean? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: The following cogent statement about self-ownership, integrity, and image has been shared on social media networks: You Don’t Have to Be Pretty. You don’t owe prettiness to anyone. I have seen an extended version of the remark attributed to the fashion columnist and editor Diana …
Albert Einstein? C. E. M. Joad? Nolan Bushnell? Coco Chanel? Conan O’Brien? Franklin P. Jones? Charles Moore? Bruce Sterling? Joe Sedelmaier? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: I have a difficult challenge for you. Here are three versions of a popular maxim: 1) The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources. 2) Creativity is …
Continue reading “The Secret to Creativity Is Knowing How to Hide Your Sources”
Charles Bukowski? Kinky Friedman? Van Dyke Parks? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: The following grimly comical paean to romanticized self-destruction is often attributed to the poet, novelist, and imbiber Charles Bukowski: Find what you love and let it kill you. I have been unable to locate a poem or story written by Bukowski containing this line. …
Confucius? Nelson Mandela? Vince Lombardi? Oliver Goldsmith? Ralph Waldo Emerson? Christian Nestell Bovee? Dear Quote Investigator: The following adage about motivation and perseverance has been attributed to an oddly eclectic group: Chinese philosopher Confucius, football coach Vince Lombardi, activist politician Nelson Mandela, Irish author Oliver Goldsmith, and transcendentalist Ralph Waldo Emerson. Here are four versions. …
Continue reading “Our Greatest Glory Is Not in Never Falling, But in Rising Every Time We Fall”
Orson Welles? Henry Jaglom? Mildred Pitts Walter? Dom Hofmann? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: The brilliant movie director Orson Welles has been credited with a fascinating statement about the construction of artworks in the presence of constraints. When a performer or creator faces a limit such as a tight budget for a production then creative thought …
Continue reading “The Enemy of Art Is the Absence of Limitations”
Albert Einstein? A Yale Professor? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: The importance of laying the proper groundwork before attempting to solve a problem is emphasized in a popular statement that is usually attributed to the scientific luminary Albert Einstein. Here are three versions: If I had only one hour to save the world, I would spend …
Continue reading “I Would Spend 55 Minutes Defining the Problem and then Five Minutes Solving It”
Ralph Waldo Emerson? John Ruskin? Charles Kingsley? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: Extraordinary scenes of beauty can uplift one’s spirit. The following remark is often attributed to the philosopher and essayist Ralph Waldo Emerson: Never lose an opportunity of seeing anything that is beautiful; for beauty is God’s handwriting. I searched in a database of Emerson’s …