Maya Angelou? Bill Moyers? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: The prominent memoirist and poet Maya Angelou suffered in her early life, but she did not become bitter. She believed that young cynics were tragic figures. Would you please help me to find her comment on this topic? Quote Investigator: This article mentions rape, murder, and trauma-induced …
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Man Is Ready To Die for an Idea, Provided That Idea Is Not Quite Clear To Him
Paul Eldridge? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: The willingness to become a martyr in the service of a noble cause is often celebrated, but the U.S. novelist Paul Eldridge voiced a sardonic viewpoint. He suggested that an individual is willing to die for an elevated idea primarily because the idea is unclear. Would you please help …
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Imagination Rules the World
Napoleon Bonaparte? Blaise Pascal? Emmanuel Comte de Las Cases? Hugh Henry Brackenridge? Irving Babbitt? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: The French military and political leader Napoléon Bonaparte has received credit for a statement about vision. Here are two versions in English: Imagination rules the world. Imagination governs the world. Is this attribution genuine? Would you please …
Nobody Wants Constructive Criticism; It’s All We Can Do To Put Up with Constructive Praise
Mignon McLaughlin? Alan Sheldon? Stephen R. Covey? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: Receiving criticism is painful even when it is described as constructive. The witty journalist Mignon McLaughlin made a germane comment on this theme. Would you please help me to find a citation. Quote Investigator: In 1960 the unnamed columnist of “Thoughts and Things” in …
The Only Beautiful Eyes Are Those That Look At Us Tenderly
Coco Chanel? Gabrielle Chanel? Pierre Reverdy? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: The eyes of a lover gazing at you are beautiful. The fashion icon Coco Chanel (Gabrielle Chanel) said something germane: The only beautiful eyes are those that look at us tenderly. Would you please help me to find a citation for the original statement in …
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Quote Origin: The Great Tragedy of Science—The Slaying of a Beautiful Hypothesis by an Ugly Fact
Thomas Henry Huxley? Charles Darwin? Herbert Spencer? Benjamin Franklin? John Dougall? John Tyndall? Question for Quote Investigator: An elaborate and magnificent scientific theory can completely collapse if a contradictory fact is uncovered. A prominent scientist called this methodological occurrence one of great tragedies of science. Would you please explore this topic? Reply from Quote Investigator: …
God Gave Us the Gift of Life; It Is Up To Us To Give Ourselves the Gift of Living Well
Voltaire? François-Marie Arouet? Jean Orieux? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: A famous writer of the Enlightenment stated that God gave each of us the gift of life. It is our responsibility to take advantage of this gift by living fully and well. Voltaire has received credit for a remark of this type. Would you please explore …
Quote Origin: It’s Easier To Fool People Than To Convince Them That They’ve Been Fooled
Mark Twain? Baltasar Gracian? John Maynard Keynes? Norman Angell? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: An energetic liar can confuse, mislead, and deceive people. Yet, in many cases, that same liar is unable to reverse the deception. Hoodwinked people embrace their misperceptions. Here is a pertinent adage: It’s easier to fool people than to convince them …
Every Blockhead Is Thoroughly Persuaded That He Is In the Right
Baltasar Gracián y Morales? Mountstuart Grant Duff? Joseph Jacobs? Christopher Maurer? Martin Fischer? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Thoughtful people periodically revise their opinions as their knowledge grows. Obstinate and foolish people develop an opinion and then refuse to change it even when evidence accumulates that their original position is deeply flawed. Clinging to erroneous …
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Quote Origin: It Is Easier to Bamboozle People Than It Is To Unbamboozle Them
John Maynard Keynes? Norman Angell? Carter Field? Lionel Robbins? Malcolm W. Bingay? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: With time and effort it is possible to bamboozle people, i.e., to fool or mislead them. Unfortunately, this process of deception can be so thorough that it is impossible to debamboozle them, i.e., to convince them of the …
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