Imagination Is a Good Servant, But a Bad Master

Agatha Christie? Hercule Poirot? John Jortin? Maria Edgeworth? ‎Richard Lovell? Letitia Elizabeth Landon? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: Creativity and inventiveness are wonderful attributes, but an overly imaginative person is prone to self-deception. Here is a cogent adage: Imagination is a good servant, but a bad master. This saying as been attributed to the famous English …

Quote Origin: Those Who Are Good at Making Excuses Are Seldom Good at Anything Else

Benjamin Franklin? Theodore Edward Hook? Maria Edgeworth? Arthur Wellesley? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: The statesman Benjamin Franklin is often credited with the following aphorism. Here are two versions: I have never seen a precise citation which makes me suspicious. What do you think? Reply from Quote Investigator: Benjamin Franklin died in 1790, and the …

The Chains of Habit Are Too Light To Be Felt Until They Are Too Heavy To Be Broken

Warren Buffett? Samuel Johnson? Maria Edgeworth? Bertrand Russell? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: I recall seeing a lecture by the famed investor Warren Buffett during which he cautioned his audience to avoid falling into self-destructive behavior patterns. He used this eloquent analysis: The chains of habit are too light to be felt until they are too …