Tracing Quotations
Mignon McLaughlin? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: Feeling discouraged is a natural reaction to the state of the world sometimes. Currently, there is a pandemic curtailing social and economic activity almost everywhere. Yet, these pessimistic feelings will not last forever. My favorite witty person, Mignon McLaughlin, once presented a clever definition of “hope” that is pertinent. …
Continue reading “Hope Is the Feeling We Have That the Feeling We Have Is Not Permanent”
Louis Pasteur? René Vallery-Radot? Jacques Orhon? Malcolm Kushner? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: The famous French scientist Louis Pasteur has received credit for the following remark: A bottle of wine contains more philosophy than all the books in the world. I have been unable to find a good citation. Would you please help? Quote Investigator: Louis …
Continue reading “A Bottle of Wine Contains More Philosophy Than All the Books in the World”
Mark Twain? John Wesley? John M. Bartholomew? Arthur Twining Hadley? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: Lengthy orations on spiritual topics are unlikely to change the views of resistant audience members. Here are three versions of a pertinent adage: Few sinners are saved after the first 20 minutes of a sermon. Few souls are saved after the …
Continue reading “Few Souls Are Saved After the First Twenty Minutes of a Sermon”
Edna St. Vincent Millay? James Howell? Thomas Shadwell? Samuel Hoffenstein? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: A candle burning at both ends provides magnificent radiance for a short time. The poet Edna St. Vincent Millay constructed a brilliant metaphorical verse based on this observation. Would you please help me to find a citation? Reply from Quote …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: My Candle Burns at Both Ends; It Will Not Last the Night”
Rebecca West? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: The prominent British author and literary critic Rebecca West once compared book banning to infanticide. Would you please help me to find a citation? Quote Investigator: In 1928 Rebecca West published a collection of essays and reviews titled “The Strange Necessity” which included a piece titled “The Tosh Horse” …
Jack London? Robert Louis Stevenson? Josh Billings? Henry Wheeler Shaw? H. T. Leslie? Edgar O. Achorn? Albert J. Beveridge? Frank Crane? Dale Carnegie? Dear Quote Investigator: Life is particularly challenging if you are born with medical impairments or negligent parents. Metaphorically, while playing cards you may be dealt a poor hand. You are triumphant when …
Robert Metcalfe? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: I recently read a collection of quotations highlighting wildly inaccurate technology predictions. One faulty forecast was made by Bob Metcalfe, co-inventor of Ethernet. He contended that the internet was going to collapse in the 1990s. Would you please help me to find a citation? Reply from Quote Investigator: …
Rebecca West? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: True artists are often troublemakers. They challenge their audience and cause argumentation. The prominent British author and literary critic Rebecca West said something similar to this. Would you please help me to find a citation? Quote investigator: Rebecca West’s 1957 book “The Court and the Castle” discussed themes present …
Dorothy Parker? Louella Parsons? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: The 19th-century Irish playwright Oscar Wilde is a superstar in the realm of quotations, and many scintillating expressions have been incorrectly attributed to him. A humorous verse about this phenomenon was composed by another wit, Dorothy Parker. The verse ends with this line: We all assume that …
Continue reading “I Never Seek To Take the Credit; We All Assume That Oscar Said It”
Robert Heinlein? L. Ron Hubbard? Catherine Crook de Camp? L. Sprague de Camp? Brian W. Aldiss? John Brunner? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: The famous science fiction author Robert Heinlein apparently contended that there were only three basic templates for stories. One template was “The Brave Little Tailor”, a German fairy tale about a clever individual …