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 …

Those Who Are Good at Making Excuses Are Seldom Good at Anything Else

Benjamin Franklin? Theodore Edward Hook? Maria Edgeworth? Arthur Wellesley? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: The statesman Benjamin Franklin is often credited with the following aphorism. Here are two versions: A person good at making excuses is seldom good for anything else. A man who is good at making excuses is good for nothing else. I have …

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 …