Kenneth Patchen? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: In the 1980s I was browsing in the poetry section of a bookshop, and I saw a sign designed to encourage purchasers. Here are two versions: People who say they love poetry but never buy any are cheap SOB’s. People who say they like poetry and don’t buy …
Author Archives: quoteresearch
Quote Origin: Experience Keeps a Dear School; Yet Fools Will Learn In No Other
Benjamin Franklin? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Some people are only able to learn via direct experience. They disregard the lessons and the struggles of others. Yet, this experiential approach can be quite costly. The fees incurred may be measured in time expended, energy drained, money squandered, and injuries suffered. The statesman Benjamin Franklin said …
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Quote Origin: Composing Free Verse Is Like Playing Tennis Without a Net
Robert Frost? G. K. Chesterton? Eleanor Graham Vance? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: The prominent poet Robert Frost did not compose free verse. Instead, he welcomed the structural demands of rhyme and meter. To explicate his choice he used a clever and vivid simile from the domain of tennis. Would you please help me to …
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Quote Origin: The Greatest Discovery of My Generation Is That Human Beings Can Alter Their Lives By Altering Their Attitudes of Mind
William James? Harry Granison Hill? Joseph Fort Newton? Norman Vincent Peale? E. Stanley Jones? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: One’s attitude toward life has an enormous effect on one’s experiences in life. Here are two statements on this theme: (1) The greatest discovery of my generation is that human beings can alter their lives by …
Quote Origin: The Possible’s Slow Fuse Is Lit By the Imagination!
Emily Dickinson? Susan Gilbert Dickinson? Martha Dickinson Bianchi? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: The ability to envision something novel and appealing is vital to the formulation and accomplishment of worthwhile goals. A robust imagination initiates the process. The poet Emily Dickinson employed the apt metaphor of lighting a fuse to express this notion. Would you …
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Quote Origin: Do Not Take Life Quite So Seriously—You Surely Will Never Get Out of It Alive
Elbert Hubbard? Bernard Le Bovier de Fontenelle? William J. Crawford? Walt Kelly? Pogo? Pierre Daninos? Alphonse Allais? Julien Green? Question for Quote Investigator: There is a trenchant family of fatalistic sayings concerning the solemnity of life. Here are four examples: This notion has been attributed to U.S. aphorist Elbert Hubbard and French essayist and scholar …
Quote Origin: A Man Convinced Against His Will, Is of the Same Opinion Still
Samuel Butler? John Pope? T.B.? Apocryphal? Question for 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 of his …
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Quote Origin: He That Complies Against His Will, Is of His Own Opinion Still
Samuel Butler? Frances Burney? Apocryphal? Question for 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 …
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Quote Origin: Government Can Easily Exist Without Law, But Law Cannot Exist Without Government
Bertrand Russell? Leo Rosten? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: The relationship between government and law can be deftly summarized with two contrasting statements: These dual notions have been attributed to the famous British mathematician and social critic Bertrand Russell. Would you please help me to find a citation? Reply from Quote Investigator: In 1950 Bertrand …
Definition Origin: A Milli-Helen Is the Quantity of Beauty Required To Launch Exactly One Ship
Isaac Asimov? W. A. H. Rushton? R. C. Winton? Edgar J. Westbury? Christopher Marlowe? Anonymous? Question for 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 …