Tracing Quotations
Charles Darwin? J.B.S. Haldane? Stephen Gould? Apocryphal? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: I have been studying rain forests and came across the following passage in a New York Times article:[1] 1989 November 25, New York Times, The Editorial Notebook: Burning the Book of Nature by Nicholas Wade, New York. (Online New York Times archive) link Charles …
Continue reading “The Creator Has an Inordinate Fondness for Beetles”
Thomas Friedman? Lawrence Summers? Jack Kemp? Bill Creech? Aircraft Maintenance Chief? Thomas Peters? Nancy Austin? Dear Quote Investigator: New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman has used the following catch phrase several times: No one washes a rented car. I think this saying encapsulates an important idea. There is little incentive to wash or maintain a …
John Adams? Tobias Smollett? Alain-René Lesage? Dear Quote Investigator: In class last year we studied the Boston Massacre and our history book said that John Adams, who later became the second President of the United States, defended the soldiers who shot and killed the protesters. During the defense Adams used the famous phrase: Facts are …
Omar Bradley? Albert Einstein? Young Army Lieutenant? Walter Winchell? Joe Laitin? James W. Fulbright? Dear Quote Investigator: There is a great quotation about the type of weapons that will be used in World War IV. The words are both funny and chilling, and every time I have seen the saying it has been attributed to …
John Lennon? Bertrand Russell? Laurence J. Peter? Marthe Troly-Curtin? Dear Quote Investigator: I like to enjoy life and sometimes I am criticized for spending too much time on amusements and diversions. My favorite response is attributed to the legendary free-spirit John Lennon: Time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time. An acquaintance told me recently …
Continue reading “Time You Enjoy Wasting Is Not Wasted Time”
Mark Twain? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: I have to present a speech soon, and I would like to use a quotation attributed to Mark Twain: It usually takes more than three weeks to prepare a good impromptu speech. The intended audience has the background to know that impromptu means without planning or preparation, and the …
Continue reading “Three Weeks to Prepare a Good Impromptu Speech”
Abraham Lincoln? Ambrose Burnside? Charles Fair? Dear Quote Investigator: One of the worst military strategists in history was a Civil War general named Ambrose Burnside (sideburns are named after his whiskers). After a military fiasco called the Battle of the Crater, Abraham Lincoln relieved him of command and supposedly said: Only Burnside could have managed …
Kay Boyle? John Barth? Cormac McCarthy? Louis Menand? Dear Quote Investigator: I have been reading about creative writing programs because I am seriously considering attending one. Recently, I encountered a quotation from the writer and educator Kay Boyle which stunned me. Her comment appeared in an article in The New Yorker magazine titled “Show or …
Continue reading “All Creative-Writing Programs Ought to be Abolished by Law”
Bill Clinton? John Quincy Adams? Dear Quote Investigator: Reading the news and blogs of today emphasizes the fact that political discourse can be extremely brutal. I was reminded of Bill Clinton’s lament when he discussed his relationship with White House intern Monica Lewinsky and said there was a harsh new form of politics based on …
Warren Buffett? Peter Lynch? Dear Quote Investigator: In 2008 I read an interview with the super-investor Warren Buffett in which he said you should put your money into a company that can be run by an idiot because eventually it will be run by an idiot. But that advice sounded familiar to me. Did someone …