Tracing Quotations
Mignon McLaughlin? Leata McQuiston? Barbara Bush? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: “Be yourself” is an ubiquitous platitude. Here is a funny variant: Don’t be yourself—be someone a little nicer. Would you please explore the provenance of this quip? Quote Investigator: The earliest instance located by QI appeared in a newspaper column called “Chatter” by Leata McQuiston published …
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Coco Chanel? Gabrielle Chanel? Pierre Reverdy? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: People spend many hours in their homes. The fashion icon Coco Chanel (Gabrielle Chanel) recommended beautifying one’s abode. She said something like this: Our homes are our prisons; one finds liberty in their decoration. This saying resonates powerfully in 2020 because of the Covid-19 restrictions. …
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Henry David Thoreau? William Ellery Channing? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: When you are pursuing a goal you should be guided by conscious and unconscious thoughts. These two complementary elements will each take you part of the way to the goal. As you approach the objective you must make a leap in the dark to attain …
Anatole France? Bertrand Russell? W. Somerset Maugham? Oliver Goldsmith? J. A. Schmit? Laurence J. Peter? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: Fifty million people may parrot a false or foolish statement, but that will not metamorphose it into a true or sensible remark. Here are two instances in this family of statements: If fifty million people say …
Continue reading “If Fifty Million People Say a Foolish Thing, It Is Still a Foolish Thing”
Oliver Goldsmith? H. L. Mencken? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: In the Internet Age a falsehood is sometimes repeated incessantly and propagated across the world. Yet, the collective voice of one million people cannot transform a falsehood into a truth. This insight has a long history. The prominent Anglo-Irish novelist and playwright Oliver Goldsmith said something …
Continue reading “The United Voice of Myriads Cannot Lend the Smallest Foundation To Falsehood”
Emil M. Cioran? W. H. Auden? Louis Kronenberger? Richard Howard? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: Humans experience many tragedies, but contemplating the extreme hardships faced by other creatures provides a sobering perspective. The Romanian and French literary figure Emil M. Cioran said something like the following: What would be left of our tragedies if an insect …
Continue reading “What Would Remain of Our Tragedies If a Literate Insect Were To Offer Us Hers?”
Ralph Waldo Emerson? Nike Advertisement? Janet Champ? Charlotte Moore? Wieden & Kennedy? Pam Finger? Dear Quote Investigator: Some people fear that their genes or social circumstances will restrict their life options and push them inexorably toward a foreordained destiny. An inspirational message presents a radically different viewpoint: The only person you are destined to become …
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W. C. Fields? Franklin P. Adams? H. L. Mencken? Richard Croker? Franklin D. Roosevelt? Will Rogers? Dear Quote Investigator: There is a family of sardonic sayings about the behavior of voters. Here are three examples: I never vote for anybody. I always vote against. People vote against somebody rather than for somebody. The people never …
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Garry Winogrand? Diane Arbus? Sandra S. Phillips? John Dufresne? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: A photograph presents a direct representation of a person, object, or landscape. It seems to provide a perfect unmediated description. Yet, photographs can be cryptic, confusing, or misleading. The photographer is typically a purposeful intermediary. Garry Winogrand who became famous for his …
Continue reading “There Is Nothing As Mysterious As a Fact Clearly Described”
Meister Eckhart? C. De B. Evans? Victor Gollancz? George William Target? Sharon Blackie? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: Some philosophers believe that mentality is ubiquitous in the universe. Thus, it is possible to assign volition to every entity, and even inanimate objects have a purpose. For example, an apple that falls from a tree might be …
Continue reading “Even Stones Have a Love, A Love That Seeks the Ground”