Tracing Quotations
Nicolas Chamfort? Horace Walpole? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: The relationships between chance, luck, fate, and providence are often disputed. One viewpoint holds that no event occurs at random; instead, there is an underlying purpose or design though it may be hidden or opaque. Here is an adage encapsulating that thought: Chance is the nickname …
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Joyce Kilmer? Ogden Nash? Confucious? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: April is National Poetry Month in the U. S., and Arbor Day also occurs in this month. A famous poem by Joyce Kilmer begins with the following couplet: I think that I shall never see A poem lovely as a tree. A comical riff on …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: I Think that I Shall Never See a Billboard Lovely as a Tree”
Robert Frost? James B. Simpson? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: An enigmatic metaphorical statement about freedom has been attributed to the famous American poet Robert Frost: You have freedom when you’re easy in your harness. Are these really the words of Frost? What was the context? Would you please examine this topic? Reply from Quote …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: Definition of Freedom: It’s Being Easy in Your Harness”
John Wooden? Heywood Hale Broun? James Michener? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Participation in sports is enjoyable and salubrious for a great many people. One often hears that sports can also build character, but a shrewd remark spins this traditional assertion: Sports don’t build character; they reveal it. These words have been attributed to renowned …
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Mary Pettibone Poole? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Students must be able to memorize some factual material, but an important emphasis in learning should be placed on the development of critical and analytical thinking. The following statement is astute: To repeat what others have said, requires education; to challenge it, requires brains. Would you please …
William Wrigley Jr.? Ezra Pound? Henry Ford? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Constructive debate about future plans is essential in a responsive and vibrant company. Here are three versions of a popular business adage: When two men in a business always agree, one of them is unnecessary. When two men in business always agree, one …
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Leonardo da Vinci? Clare Boothe Luce? Leonard Thiessen? Elizabeth Hillyer? William Gaddis? Eleanor All? Apple Computer Company? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: The following aphorism has often been attributed to the brilliant Renaissance artist Leonardo da Vinci: Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. Strangely, I have been unable to find any solid source for this ascription. …
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Plotinus? Herodotus? Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Many are familiar with the ancient Latin injunction of the poet Horace: “Carpe diem” or “Seize the day”. The following thematically similar statement has been attributed to other figures of the ancient world: the philosopher Plotinus and the historian Herodotus: Not to be involved …
Marc Connelly? Nicholas Longworth? S. H. Hale? Franklin P. Adams? Apocryphal? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Recently I saw a list of the funniest ripostes, but it did not include the squelcher that I believe is the best. An unhappy card player wished to embarrass a bald man who was excelling. The disgruntled man placed …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: Your Bald Head Feels as Smooth as My Wife’s Cheek”
Ernest Hemingway? Apocryphal Question for Quote Investigator: Questions about creative influence and artistic appropriation are often fraught with rivalry and controversy. I recall an extreme remark from the prominent writer Ernest Hemingway in which he asserted that the entire purpose of one artist might be to provide a single phrase or sentence to another artist. …