Tracing Quotations
Václav Havel? André Gide? François Truffaut? Marcel Proust? John Dingell Sr.? Luis Buñuel? Amanda Palmer? Voltaire? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: There is a provocative saying about leadership, discipleship, and the search for truth that is commonly attributed to the Czech statesman Václav Havel who passed away in 2011. Here are two versions: Follow the man …
Continue reading “Believe Those Who Are Seeking the Truth; Doubt Those Who Find It”
Voltaire? Niccolò Machiavelli? Newgate Prisoner? Wilson Mizner? Dying Irishman? Canny Scot? Aging Rock Star? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: While reading speeches given by Nobel Prize recipients I came across an entertaining anecdote about Voltaire from the eminent economist Robert E. Lucas: When Voltaire was dying, in his eighties, a priest in attendance called upon …
Continue reading “Origin of Deathbed Remark: This Is No Time To Be Making New Enemies”