Samuel Johnson? James Boswell? Robert J. Hanlon? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Misquotations and misattributions are prevalent online, but people who are presenting this faulty information are rarely lying deliberately. Instead, they are naively repeating misinformation they have encountered in the past. The famous English lexicographer Samuel Johnson once said something pertinent which contrasted “carelessness …
Category Archives: Samuel Johnson
To Seek Happiness by Changing Anything But One’s Own Disposition Will Waste Life in Fruitless Efforts
Samuel Johnson? Noah Webster? Orison Swett Marden? Charles Caleb Colton? Tryon Edwards? Question for Quote Investigator: If one’s contentment depends upon external forces and events that one cannot control then one should expect continual heartache. Seeking happiness requires changing one’s own dispositions. This notion has been attributed to the famous English lexicographer Samuel Johnson, the …
Patriotism is the Last Refuge of a Scoundrel
Samuel Johnson? James Boswell? Samuel Maunder? Henry F. Mason? Bernard J. Sheil? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: A politician whose popularity is dropping may attempt to recapture acceptance by disingenuously embracing jingoistic patriotism. Here are three versions of a germane saying: Pretended patriotism is the last refuge of scoundrels. Patriotism is the first refuge of a …
Continue reading “Patriotism is the Last Refuge of a Scoundrel”
Truth Is the First Casualty in War
Aeschylus? Philip Snowden? Ethel Annakin? Samuel Johnson? Anne MacVicar Grant? E. D. Morel? W. T. Foster? Agnes Maude Royden? Hiram Johnson? Arthur Ponsonby? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: The participants in a violent conflict often engage in crude propaganda and advocacy. Here are four versions of a pertinent saying: Truth is the first casualty in …
Sorrow Is the Mere Rust of the Soul. Activity Will Cleanse and Brighten It
Samuel Johnson? Frances Burney? Hester Lynch Piozzi? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: The superlative English lexicographer Samuel Johnson once defined sorrow as the rust of the soul which could be scoured away by engaging with life and becoming active. Would you please help me to find a citation. Quote Investigator: In 1750 Samuel Johnson began to …
Continue reading “Sorrow Is the Mere Rust of the Soul. Activity Will Cleanse and Brighten It”
Say Anything You Like About Me, But Spell My Name Right
George M. Cohan? P. T. Barnum? Mae West? Elinor Glyn? Babe Ruth? Damon Runyon? James J. Johnston? Charley Murphy? Max Schmeling? Walter Winchell? Oscar Wilde? Samuel Johnson? Ed Sullivan? Dear Quote Investigator: A person once planned to write an article or book containing derogatory material about a celebrity. The unruffled response of the celebrity to …
Continue reading “Say Anything You Like About Me, But Spell My Name Right”
Courage Is Rightly Esteemed the First of Human Qualities Because . . . It Is the Quality Which Guarantees All Others
Winston Churchill? Samuel Johnson? James Boswell? Aristotle? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: The rights and freedoms enshrined in political documents are sometimes nullified by oppressive governments. The health of a society depends on the principles and the bravery of the populace. Here is a pertinent adage: Courage is the first of human qualities because it is …
The Two Most Engaging Powers of an Author: New Things Are Made Familiar, and Familiar Things Are Made New
Samuel Johnson? William Makepeace Thackeray? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: The craft of storytelling is ancient; hence, creating original plots and characters is difficult. On the other hand, experimental tales without connections to the past are discordant. Here is a germane adage about successful creators: The two most engaging powers of an author are to make …
Quote Origin: It Is Not Quite the Same God to Which One Returns
Samuel Johnson? Robert Gordis? Francis Bacon? Morris Raphael Cohen? Mordecai M. Kaplan? Benjamin Jowett? Question for Quote Investigator: While I was a student a few decades ago I came across a remarkable metaphysical expression that was similar to the following: The search for knowledge will lead a person away from God, and then back toward …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: It Is Not Quite the Same God to Which One Returns”
To Be Happy at Home Is the Ultimate Result of All Ambition
Samuel Johnson? C. S. Lewis? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: The famous English lexicographer Samuel Johnson apparently extolled domestic bliss. Did he write or say something like the following? The chief aim of all human endeavors is to be happy at home. Quote Investigator: In 1746 Samuel Johnson signed a contract to create “A Dictionary of …
Continue reading “To Be Happy at Home Is the Ultimate Result of All Ambition”