Henry David Thoreau? Grace Goodman Mauran? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: The essayist and transcendentalist philosopher Henry David Thoreau found cats intriguing. He was disappointed that humanity knew “absolutely nothing of the origin and destiny of cats.” Would you please help me to find a citation for this remark about cats? Reply from Quote Investigator: …
Category Archives: Henry David Thoreau
Quote Origin: We Have Only the Present Moment, Sparkling Like a Star in Our Hands — and Melting Like a Snowflake
Marie Beynon Ray? Francis Bacon? Henry David Thoreau? W. Somerset Maugham? Booth Tarkington? Question for Quote Investigator: Our life on Earth does not extend forever. A writer once used two vivid and clashing metaphors to describe this precious moment: Sparkling like a star in our hands and melting like a snowflake This figurative language has …
Quote Origin: Tortoises All the Way Down
Hester Lynch Piozzi? William James? Bertrand Russell? Mark Twain? Henry David Thoreau? Carl Sagan? Terry Pratchett? Samuel Purchas? John Locke? George B. Cheever? Joseph F. Berg? George Chainey? John Phoenix? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: According to legend a prominent scientist once presented a lecture on cosmology which discussed the solar system and galaxies. Afterwards, …
Quote Origin: That Person Is the Richest Whose Pleasures Are the Cheapest
Henry David Thoreau? Robert Chambers? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: A centimillionaire who is fixated on the wealth and extravagances of a billionaire may feel comparatively poor. Yet, a different mindset would allow almost anyone to feel wealthy. The transcendentalist philosopher Henry David Thoreau suggested that one could feel rich if one’s pleasures were inexpensive. …
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Quote Origin: We Must Walk Consciously Only Part Way Toward Our Goal, and Then Leap in the Dark To Our Success
Henry David Thoreau? William Ellery Channing? Apocryphal? Question for 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 …
Quote Origin: What You Get By Reaching Your Goals Is Not Nearly So Important As What You Become By Reaching Them
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe? Henry David Thoreau? Zig Ziglar? Question for Quote Investigator: Many self-help and inspirational books contain this guidance: What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals. These words have been ascribed to three disparate individuals: German literary titan Johann Wolfgang von …
Quote Origin: Though Music Be a Universal Language, It Is Spoken with All Sorts of Accents
George Bernard Shaw? Alan Lomax? Henry Wadsworth Longfellow? Henry David Thoreau? Question for Quote Investigator: I believe that the famous playwright and music critic George Bernard Shaw said something like the following: Music may be a universal language, but it’s spoken with all sorts of peculiar accents. I checked some quotation references and was unable …
Quote Origin: Only Monarchs, Editors, and People with Tapeworms Have the Right to Use the Editorial ‘We’
Mark Twain? Robert Ingersoll? Edgar Wilson Nye? John Phoenix? George H. Derby? Roscoe Conkling? John Fiske? Horace Porter? Henry David Thoreau? Hyman G. Rickover Question for Quote Investigator: Some writers use “we” as a form of self-reference. For example, an author might state: We base our opinion on the highest authority. A comically reproachful remark …
Quote Origin: Every Ambitious Would-Be Empire Clarions It Abroad That She Is Conquering the World to Bring It Peace
Henry David Thoreau? George S. Boutwell? Taylor Caldwell? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: George S. Boutwell was a U.S. politician who campaigned to end slavery and later became president of the Anti-Imperialist League. He objected to the annexation of the Philippines. The following statement has been attributed to him: Every ambitious would-be empire clarions it …
Quote Origin: Happiness Is A Butterfly, Which When Pursued, Seems Always Just Beyond Your Grasp
Nathaniel Hawthorne? Henry David Thoreau? L.? Apocryphal? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: An ingenious and lovely simile about happiness is confusingly attributed to two prominent literary figures: Nathaniel Hawthorne and Henry David Thoreau. Here are two versions: Happiness is like a butterfly which, when pursued, is always beyond our grasp, but which, if you will …