Joseph Campbell – Quote Investigator®

If You Walk Far Enough You’ll Meet Yourself

Terry Pratchett? Marion Woodman? Joseph Campbell? David Mitchell? Vina Howland? Anonymous?

Question for Quote Investigator: There is a family of sayings with a surrealistic twist. Here are three instances:

(1) If you walk far enough you’ll meet yourself.

(2) Walk far enough and you will meet yourself, coming the other way.

(3) If you travel far enough, one day you will recognize yourself coming down the road to meet yourself.

This notion has been attributed to English fantasy author Terry Pratchett who created the Discworld, Canadian Jungian psychoanalyst Marion Woodman who was a mythopoetic author, U.S. literature professor Joseph Campbell who wrote “The Hero with a Thousand Faces”, and English novelist David Mitchell who wrote “Cloud Atlas”. Would you please explore this topic?

Reply from Quote Investigator: The earliest close match located by QI appeared in “The Boston Post” newspaper of Massachusetts in 1895. The statement was employed by Vina Howland of Oakland, Massachusetts who presented an anonymous attribution. She was figuratively referring to the complicated layout of streets and walkways in Boston. Boldface added to excepts by QI:^[1] 1895 July 11, The Boston Post, Among the Women: Other Expressions, Quote Page 3, Column 2, Boston, Massachusetts. (Newspapers_com)

Miss Vina Howland of Oakland is a very pretty girl. She said: “How disappointed we were not to have this convention, but just think! I’ve seen Boston and convention, too; it’s like a dream. But ain’t it an awful place to get lost? I believe now the story they tell that is, ‘If you walk far enough you’ll meet yourself.’”

Based on current evidence the originator of the saying remains anonymous. The meaning of this notion is highly variable as shown below. QI has not yet found any substantive support for the ascription to Joseph Campbell.

Marion Woodman employed an instance in 1982. Terry Pratchett and a co-author used an instance in 1994, and David Mitchell used the expression in 2004.

Here are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Continue reading If You Walk Far Enough You’ll Meet Yourself

References

References
↑1	1895 July 11, The Boston Post, Among the Women: Other Expressions, Quote Page 3, Column 2, Boston, Massachusetts. (Newspapers_com)

We Cannot Cure the World of Sorrows, But We Can Choose To Live in Joy

Joseph Campbell? Diane K. Osbon? Kurt Vonnegut? Apocryphal?

Dear Quote Investigator: When I watch the news I see endless reports signaling that the world is a mess. Efforts to mend the world are necessary and laudable; however, I am reminded of the advice given by mythology scholar Joseph Campbell. The world has always been a mess, and priority should be given to straightening out our own lives. Would you please help me to find a citation?

Quote Investigator: This guidance occurred in the 1991 book “Reflections on the Art of Living: A Joseph Campbell Companion” which consisted of material selected and edited by Diane K. Osbon. The following text appeared in a section titled “In the Field”, and Osbon stated that she had collected the words directly from Campbell. The section contained “favorite expressions of his, recorded in my journals over the years in his company”. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:^[1]1991, Reflections on the Art of Living: A Joseph Campbell Companion, Selected and edited by Diane K. Osbon, Chapter: In the Field, Quote Page 8 and Page 17, HarperCollins, New York, New York. … Continue reading

We cannot cure the world of sorrows, but we can choose to live in joy.
When we talk about settling the world’s problems, we’re barking up the wrong tree.
The world is perfect. It’s a mess. It has always been a mess.
We are not going to change it.
Our job is to straighten out our own lives.

Below is one additional selected citation.

Continue reading We Cannot Cure the World of Sorrows, But We Can Choose To Live in Joy

References

References
↑1	1991, Reflections on the Art of Living: A Joseph Campbell Companion, Selected and edited by Diane K. Osbon, Chapter: In the Field, Quote Page 8 and Page 17, HarperCollins, New York, New York. (Verified with hardcopy)

We Must Be Willing To Get Rid of the Life We’ve Planned, So As To Have the Life That Is Waiting for Us

Joseph Campbell? E. M. Forster? Anonymous?

Dear Quote Investigator: Life often presents us with unexpected obstacles and challenges that require us to rethink our assumptions. The following pertinent statement has been attributed to the expert in mythology Joseph Campbell and popular English novelist E. M. Forster:

We must let go of the life we have planned, so as to accept the one that is waiting for us.

I have not been able to find a solid citation for either. Would you please help?

Quote Investigator: Joseph Campbell died in 1987, and In 1991 Diane K. Osbon published “Reflections on the Art of Living: A Joseph Campbell Companion” which consisted of material she selected and edited. The following text appeared in a section titled “In the Field”, and Osbon stated that she had collected the words directly from Campbell. The section contained “favorite expressions of his, recorded in my journals over the years in his company”. The layout of the phrases below mirrors the formatting in the book.^[1] 1991, Reflections on the Art of Living: A Joseph Campbell Companion, Selected and edited by Diane K. Osbon, Quote Page 8 and 18, HarperCollins, New York, New York.

We must be willing to get rid of
the life we’ve planned, so as to have
the life that is waiting for us.

The old skin has to be shed
before the new one can come.

The text provided a close match to the sentence under examination although the precise phrasing differed. The final sentence employed a metaphor based on the shedding of skin, e.g., snakeskin.

QI has been unable to find substantive evidence supporting the ascription to E. M. Forster who died in 1970. He received credit for a version of the saying in 2002.

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Continue reading We Must Be Willing To Get Rid of the Life We’ve Planned, So As To Have the Life That Is Waiting for Us

References

References
↑1	1991, Reflections on the Art of Living: A Joseph Campbell Companion, Selected and edited by Diane K. Osbon, Quote Page 8 and 18, HarperCollins, New York, New York.

The Cave You Fear to Enter Holds the Treasure You Seek

Joseph Campbell? Apocryphal?

Dear Quote Investigator: Joseph Campbell was renowned for teaching about the mythologies of many cultures. The following statement is often ascribed to him:

The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek.

I have looked through several of his books and have not located this quote. Did he say or write this?

Quote Investigator: Several researchers have searched for this exact quotation and not found it in the oeuvre of Joseph Campbell. However, there is a strong thematic match to a short passage in the 1991 work “Reflections on the Art of Living: A Joseph Campbell Companion” which consisted of material selected and edited by Diane K. Osbon. The following text appeared in a section titled “In the Field”, and Osbon stated that she had collected the words directly from Campbell. The section contained “favorite expressions of his, recorded in my journals over the years in his company”:^[1] 1991, Reflections on the Art of Living: A Joseph Campbell Companion, Selected and edited by Diane K. Osbon, Quote Page 8 and 24, HarperCollins, New York, New York.

It is by going down into the abyss
that we recover the treasures of life.

Where you stumble,
there lies your treasure.

The very cave you are afraid to enter
turns out to be the source of
what you are looking for.
The damned thing in the cave
that was so dreaded
has become the center.

You find the jewel,
and it draws you off.

In loving the spiritual,
you cannot despise the earthly.

The layout of the phrases above mirrors the formatting in the book. There are two natural hypotheses: The pithy quotation may have evolved from statements above via a process of streamlining and compression. Alternatively, Campbell may have returned to this theme several times over the years, and on one occasion he may have spoken the concise expression.

This article ends with two citations and a concluding comment.

Continue reading The Cave You Fear to Enter Holds the Treasure You Seek

References

References
↑1	1991, Reflections on the Art of Living: A Joseph Campbell Companion, Selected and edited by Diane K. Osbon, Quote Page 8 and 24, HarperCollins, New York, New York.