Tracing Quotations
Lord Melbourne? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: I once saw a proverb stating that one should not ignore a book simply because the author is a foolish person. Are you familiar with this proverb of encouragement for many writers? Quote Investigator: Lord Melbourne (William Lamb) served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in the 1830s. …
Continue reading “Never Disregard a Book Because the Author of It Is a Ridiculous Fellow”
Lord Melbourne? William Windham? Benjamin Disraeli? Sydney Smith? William Lamb? Thomas B. Macaulay? Dear Quote Investigator: Each of us has encountered an individual who with highhanded convictions presents an answer to every question. There is a famous witticism aimed at a person of this type: I only wish that I was as cocksure of any …
Continue reading “I Wish I Was As Sure of Any One Thing As He is of Everything”