Tracing Quotations
Elbert Hubbard? Bernard Le Bovier de Fontenelle? William J. Crawford? Walt Kelly? Pogo? Pierre Daninos? Alphonse Allais? Julien Green? Dear Quote Investigator: There is a trenchant family of fatalistic sayings concerning the solemnity of life. Here are four examples: Don’t take life too seriously; you’ll never get out of it alive. You mustn’t take life …
Continue reading “Do Not Take Life Quite So Seriously—You Surely Will Never Get Out of It Alive”
Samuel Butler? John Pope? T.B.? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: There is a family of sayings about the difficulty of compelling obedience. Here are three instances: A man convinced against his will, Is of the same opinion still. Those convinced against their will, Are of the same opinion still. He that complies against his will, Is …
Continue reading “A Man Convinced Against His Will, Is of the Same Opinion Still”
Samuel Butler? Frances Burney? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: Force can be used to compel a person to exhibit a specific behavior, but it is much more difficult to change the mind of a person. Compliance does not denote mental submission. The 17th-century poet Samuel Butler composed a couplet expressing this notion. Would you please help …
Continue reading “He That Complies Against His Will, Is of His Own Opinion Still”
Bertrand Russell? Leo Rosten? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: The relationship between government and law can be deftly summarized with two contrasting statements: Government can exist without law(s). Law(s) cannot exist without government. These dual notions have been attributed to the famous British mathematician and social critic Bertrand Russell. Would you please help me to find …
Continue reading “Government Can Easily Exist Without Law, But Law Cannot Exist Without Government”
Isaac Asimov? W. A. H. Rushton? R. C. Winton? Edgar J. Westbury? Christopher Marlowe? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: Standards of beauty are notoriously subjective and variable. Different qualities are prized over time, and distinct cultures value divergent attributes. In the domain of Greek mythology, Helen of Troy was the most beautiful woman in the world. …
Continue reading “Milli-Helen: The Quantity of Beauty Required To Launch Exactly One Ship”
Helmuth von Moltke the Elder? Carl von Clausewitz? Dwight D. Eisenhower? Mike Tyson? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Anybody who is attempting to accomplish a major project must be flexible. Planning is important, but adaptability is essential. Here are two versions of a pertinent adage from the domain of warfare and competition: This saying has …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: No Plan Survives First Contact With the Enemy”
Oscar Wilde? Lloyd Lewis? Henry Justin Smith? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: The famous wit Oscar Wilde apparently expressed some forward thinking ideas about the environment. He believed that the natural world should be preserved so that it can be conveyed to our children in the condition it was received. Would you please help me …
Evelyn Waugh? Agatha Christie? Hilary St. George Saunders? Leonard Lyons? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: Collaborating on a complex project like writing a novel is impossible for many people. English writer Evelyn Waugh said something like the following: Coauthoring a book is like three people getting together to have a baby. Would you please help me …
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Mignon McLaughlin? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: First love is exhilarating. Infatuated lovers feel like they have acquired esoteric knowledge of the universe. This might even be true. The witty journalist Mignon McLaughlin made this point using a different phrasing. Would you please help me to find a citation? Quote Investigator: In 1963 McLaughlin published “The …
Fran Lebowitz? Herb Caen? Don Bleu? Rob Morse? Rebecca Blagrave? Liz Smith? William Deresiewicz? Dear Quote Investigator: The probability that you will purchase a lottery ticket worth millions of dollars is miniscule. Here are two comically exaggerated quips based on this observation: I figure your odds of winning the lottery are the same, whether you …
Continue reading “You Have the Same Chance of Winning a Lottery Whether You Play Or Not”