Oprah Winfrey? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Famous talk show host and entrepreneur Oprah Winfrey has suggested that you should have grand visions because you become what you believe. Would you please help me to find a citation? Reply from Quote Investigator: Oprah Winfrey delivered the commencement address at Wellesley College in Massachusetts on May …
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Quote Origin: Believe That Life Is Worth Living, and Your Belief Will Help Create the Fact
William James? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: The U.S. philosopher and psychologist William James argued that one should believe that life is worth living because that belief would catalyze its own truth. Would you please help me to find the essay he wrote expressing this idea? Reply from Quote Investigator: In May 1895 William James …
Phrase Origin: Useful Idiot
Vladimir Lenin? Joseph Stalin? Bogdan Raditsa? Ludwig Von Mises? Mario Scelba? Edward Derwinski? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Historically, the term “useful idiot” has referred to a naive or unwitting ally of a ruthless political movement especially a communist movement. Supposedly, Vladimir Lenin and Joseph Stalin used this expression contemptuously of non-communists who aligned themselves …
Quote Origin: If We Could Read the Secret History of Our Enemies, We Should Find in Each Man’s Life Sorrow and Suffering Enough To Disarm All Hostility
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow? Ann Landers? Mary A. McIver? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Feeling empathy for an adversary is difficult to achieve when one’s mind is filled with indignation. The following intriguing statement claims that comprehensive knowledge of the past of one’s foe would yield a startling insight: If we could read the secret history …
Dialogue Origin: “She Has Kept None for Herself” “Because She Is Not Hungry” “Because She Is a Mother”
Victor Hugo? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: The famous French novelist Victor Hugo penned a vignette about a mother who selflessly gave food to her hungry children even though she was emaciated. An observer asked why she did this, and another observer replied: “Because she is a mother”. Would you please help me to find …
Quote Origin: It Is the Function of Art To Renew Our Perception. What We Are Familiar With We Cease To See
Anaïs Nin? Orville Clark? Barbara Rowes? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: The prominent literary figure and acclaimed modern diarist Anaïs Nin stated something like the following: When we become familiar with people and scenes we cease to see them; therefore, the true artist must shake up the commonplace. The resultant novelty will enable a renewal …
Quote Origin: A Celebrity Works Hard For Years To Become Famous Then Wears Dark Glasses To Avoid Being Recognized
Joseph Curtin? Earl Wilson? Adolphe Menjou? Paul H. Gilbert? Danny Kaye? Fred Allen? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Achieving great fame is a common goal, but the drawbacks of mass popularity emerge clearly whenever someone succeeds. There is a joke based on this insight that chides celebrities who wear dark glasses. Would you please explore …
Quote Origin: There Are Only Two Tragedies. One Is Not Getting What One Wants, and the Other Is Getting It
Oscar Wilde? George Bernard Shaw? Oliver Onions? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: The psychology of human desire is paradoxical. The failure to achieve a goal can lead to unhappiness and ever despair. Yet, attaining an objective can produce an aftermath of uncertainty and lassitude. The following adage is humorous and poignant: There are two tragedies …
Quote Origin: Some Cause Happiness Wherever They Go; Others Whenever They Go
Oscar Wilde? Success Magazine? Olin Miller? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Individuals with energetic, warm, and joyful personalities are welcome at most gatherings, but individuals with sullen and mean-spirited dispositions are often unwelcome. This observation accords with the following insight: Some people bring happiness wherever they go, and others whenever they leave. This statement is …
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Quote Origin: In the Beginning, There Was Nothing. The Lord Said, ‘Let There Be Light.’ Then There Was Still Nothing, But You Could See It Much Better
Ellen DeGeneres? Woody Allen? Joe Doyle? The Flying Karamazov Brothers? George Burns? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: There is a joke based on the biblical creation story that contains the famous line “Let there be light”. The punch line of the gag is: There was still nothing. But you could see it a whole lot …