Tracing Quotations
Albert Einstein? Gotthold Ephraim Lessing? Alexander Grant? J. A. Turner? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: The pursuit of truth is fascinating and energizing while the actual attainment of truth may feel anticlimactic. Here are four instances from a family of sayings: (1) The search for truth is more precious than its possession (2) The search for …
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Spike Milligan? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: Education is enormously important, but it is not a cure-all for the ailments of society. An absurdist quip highlights this limitation: Education isn’t everything; for a start it isn’t an elephant. The Irish-English comedian Spike Milligan has received credit for this line, but I haven’t been able to find …
Continue reading ““Education Isn’t Everything” “You’re Right, For a Start It’s Not Elephants””
Spike Milligan? John MacGregor? William Gordon Stables? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: The nausea of seasickness feels endless. An absurdist quip suggests that the only genuine remedy is a return to solid ground: The best cure for seasickness is to sit under a tree. The Irish-English comedian Spike Milligan has received credit for this line, but …
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Oscar Wilde? Seamus Heaney? Dorothy Parker? Israel Zangwill? Jen Kirkman? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: The body and the soul separate at the time of death according to many religious systems. Hence, the idiom “keep body and soul together” refers to maintaining life, i.e., earning enough money to maintain health and activity. The famous Irish wit …
Oprah Winfrey? Anne Saidman? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: At an early age U.S. talk show host, producer, and entrepreneur Oprah Winfrey believed that she was responsible for her own choices and actions. She worked hard to make a good life and obtain success. One of her inspirational quotations used the phrase “responsible for myself”. Would …
Continue reading “I Was Responsible for Myself, and I Had To Make Good”
Dorothy Parker? Alexander Woollcott? Israel Zangwill? Oscar Wilde? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: The body and the soul separate at the time of death according to many religious systems. Hence, the idiom “keep body and soul together” refers to maintaining life, i.e., earning enough money to maintain health and activity. A quipster once reversed this formula …
Continue reading “Salary Is No Object; I Want Only Enough To Keep Body and Soul Apart”
Margaret Atwood? David? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: The North American fur trade between First Nations and Europeans began in the 16th century. In the 19th century millions of beaver pelts were sold in Europe. The importance of this trade has been summarized with the following blunt statement: Canada was built on dead beavers. The famous …
Voltaire? Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan? Desmond MacCarthy? Sissela Bok? Joseph Wood Krutch? Norman L. Torrey? Marvin Lowenthal? Henry Hazlitt? Richard Dawkins? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: A system that forces people to embrace absurd beliefs causes damage to their processes of rational thought. These impaired people are more likely to act illogically and destructively. With encouragement they may …
Continue reading “Those Who Can Make You Believe Absurdities Can Make You Commit Atrocities”
Hugh Garner? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: A Canadian author once praised the writing profession because it “interfered less with my drinking”. Would you please help me to identify this author and find a citation? Quote Investigator: Writer Hugh Garner is best known for the Depression-era novel “Cabbagetown”. He won the Governor General’s Award of Canada …
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Benjamin Franklin? George S. Patton? G. E. Marchand? Gertrude Nelson Andrews? Nicholas Murray Butler? George Lawton? Peter McWilliams? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: Living fully during each day of one’s allotted time in this world is an admirable goal, yet few achieve this objective. Here are two versions of a humorous and melancholy comment often credited …
Continue reading “Many People Die at Twenty-Five and Aren’t Buried Until They Are Seventy-Five”