Quote Investigator® – Page 108

Quote Origin: Drama Is Life with the Dull Bits Cut Out

Alfred Hitchcock? Leonard Lyons? François Truffaut? Steven Rattner? Apocryphal?

Question for Quote Investigator: Thrill master Alfred Hitchcock made a brilliant observation about storytelling requiring the excision of “dull bits” or “boring bits” from a narrative. Would you please help me to find a citation that presents the precise phrasing for this remark?

Reply from Quote Investigator: In 1956 Hitchcock conducted a preview of his latest film “The Man Who Knew Too Much”. Popular syndicated columnist Leonard Lyons praised the taut work and relayed a quotation from the director:¹

It’s perfect Hitchcock, full of suspense, color and constant interest. The director said after the showing: “Movies have lost a lot by this new trend towards documentary realism at the sacrifice of fantasy. After all, drama is life with the dull bits cut out.“

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Quote Origin: You Must Learn from the Mistakes of Others. You Will Never Live Long Enough to Make Them All Yourself

Hyman Rickover? Martin Vanbee? Eleanor Roosevelt? Harry Myers? Laurence J. Peter? Sam Levenson? Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.? Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr.? Anonymous?

Question for Quote Investigator: These two simple adages have a long history:

Learn from your mistakes.
Learn from the mistakes of others.

Some wit crafted a hilarious addendum for the second adage:

You can’t live long enough to make them all yourself.

This construction has been attributed to U.S. Navy Admiral Hyman G. Rickover. Would you please explore this topic?

Reply from Quote Investigator: Rickover did employ this joke during a speech in 1983, but it was circulating decades earlier.

The first close match located by QI appeared in the 1932 book “Human Engineering” by Harry Myers and Mason M. Roberts. The words were credited to an unnamed person. Emphasis added to excerpts:¹

Doctor, years ago I had a foreman who taught me a great deal. He was quite a philosopher. One day he said, “William, you must learn from the mistakes of others—you will never live long enough to make them all yourself.”

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Quote Origin: A Newspaper Is a Device for Making the Ignorant More Ignorant and the Crazy Crazier

H. L. Mencken? Apocryphal?

Question for Quote Investigator: H. L. Mencken worked as a journalist and columnist for newspapers in Baltimore, Maryland for several decades. Yet, his candid assessment of dailies was remarkably harsh. Apparently, he believed that newspapers made the crazy crazier. Would you please help me to find a citation?

Reply from Quote Investigator: In 1920 “The Smart Set: A Magazine of Cleverness” published a piece titled “Répétition Générale” by H. L. Mencken and George Jean Nathan. One section called “The Jazz Webster” included a set of comical definitions for a jazz-age dictionary. This was the tenth item. Emphasis added to excerpts by QI:¹

Newspaper: A public organ for making the ignorant more ignorant and the crazy crazier.

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Quote Origin: The Aim of Education Is the Knowledge, Not of Facts, But of Values

William Ralph Inge? William S. Burroughs? Anonymous?

Question for Quote Investigator: The following statement has been attributed to two very different people: William Ralph Inge and William S. Burroughs:

The aim of education is the knowledge, not of facts, but of values.

Inge was a professor at Cambridge and Dean of St Paul’s Cathedral in London. Burroughs was a member of the Beat Generation best known for authoring “Naked Lunch”. Should either of these figures receive credit for this remark?

Reply from Quote Investigator: In 1917 the collection “Cambridge Essays on Education” appeared. Inge wrote a piece titled “The Training of the Reason” which included the following passage. Emphasis added to excerpts by QI:¹

The ideal object of education is that we should learn all that it concerns us to know, in order that thereby we may become all that it concerns us to be. In other words, the aim of education is the knowledge not of facts but of values. Values are facts apprehended in their relation to each other, and to ourselves. The wise man is he who knows the relative values of things. In this knowledge, and in the use made of it, is summed up the whole conduct of life.

William S. Burroughs was born in 1914; hence, he clearly did not coin this expression. He died in 1997, and he implausibly received credit in 2005 as indicated further below.

Here are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Quote Origin: Old Eyesore Gone At Last

Robert J. Casey? Bennett Cerf? Grady Clay? Dwight Marvin? Apocryphal?

Question for Quote Investigator: Misprints and incorrect headlines in major periodicals have caused havoc in the past. One egregious tale shared by journalists is about a caption containing the word “eyesore” that was transposed with another caption. Are you familiar with this story? Is it genuine or apocryphal?

Reply from Quote Investigator: The earliest evidence located by QI appeared in the 1943 book “Such Interesting People” by Robert J. Casey who worked for the “Chicago Daily News” for many years. Casey stated that large newspapers employed lawyers to help minimize the damage from the publication of garbled news stories. Emphasis added to excerpts by QI:¹

Some of these experts earn their fees as, for instance, in the case of the Fort Smith (Arkansas) newspaper that went to press hurriedly on the day that the mayor’s wife died and the old ice house burned. The lady’s portrait was two columns wide on the first page and over it was a startling tribute: “Old Eyesore Gone At Last.”

QI has been unable to locate the newspaper front page displaying this text over a portrait. Electronic databases remain incomplete, and this tale might still be authentic. Alternatively, Casey might have transmitted a tall-tale concocted or embellished by colleagues. A 1995 citation presented further below states that the unfortunate headline appeared in “The Record” newspaper of Troy, New York instead of an Arkansas paper.

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Quote Origin: That You Have Enemies, You Must Not Doubt, When You Reflect That You Have Made Yourself Eminent

Creator: Thomas Jefferson, Statesman, U.S. President

Context: Thomas Jefferson wrote a letter dated November 26, 1782 to George Rogers Clark, and he discussed the unavoidability of facing enemies when one’s actions are momentous enough to be recorded in history books. Emphasis added to this excerpt:¹

That you have enemies you must not doubt, when you reflect that you have made yourself eminent. If you meant to escape malice you should have confined yourself within the sleepy line of regular duty. When you transgressed this and enterprized deeds which will hand down your name with honour to future times, you made yourself a mark for malice and envy to shoot at.

Update History: On April 9, 2025 the format of the bibliographical notes was updated.

U.S. National Archives: Founders Online, Letter From: Thomas Jefferson, Letter To: George Rogers Clark, Letter Date: November 26, 1782, Description of Document Source: “Original source: The Papers of Thomas Jefferson, vol. 6, 21 May 1781–1 March 1784, ed. Julian P. Boyd. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1952, pp. 204–205.”, Description of Website: “Founders Online is an official website of the U.S. government, administered by the National Archives and Records Administration through the NHPRC, in partnership with the University of Virginia Press, which is hosting this website.” (Accessed at founders.archives.gov in September 10, 2018) link ↩︎

Quote Origin: You Have Enemies? Why, It Is the Story of Every Man Who Has Done a Great Deed or Created a New Idea

Creator: Victor Hugo, French poet and novelist; author of “Les Misérables” and “The Hunchback of Notre-Dame”

Context: Victor Hugo kept a diary for several decades during the 1800s. He published a volume titled “Choses Vues” (“Things Seen”) in 1887 based on portions of his diary. A section dated 1845 described Hugo’s meeting with educator and politician Abel François Villemain. Hugo discussed the harsh criticism that Villemain and others faced. Here is an English rendition. Emphasis added to excerpt:¹

You have enemies? Why, it is the story of every man who has done a great deed or created a new idea. It is the cloud which thunders around everything which shines. Fame must have enemies, as light must have gnats. Do not bother yourself about it; disdain. Keep your mind serene as you keep your life clear. Do not give your enemies the satisfaction of thinking that they cause you grief or pain. Be happy, be cheerful, be disdainful, be firm.”

He shook his head sadly. “That is easy for you to say, Victor Hugo. As for me, I am weak. Oh! I know myself. I know my limitations.

Below is the original French version of the passage above:²

Vous avez des ennemis? Mais c’est l’histoire de tout homme qui a fait une action grande ou créé une idée neuve. C’est la nuée qui bruit autour de tout ce qui brille. Il faut que la renommée ait des ennemis comme il faut que la lumière ait des moucherons. Ne vous en inquiétez pas; dédaignez! Ayez la sérénité dans votre esprit comme vous avez la limpidité dans votre vie. Ne donnez pas à vos ennemis cette joie de penser qu’ils vous affligent et qu’ils vous troublent. Soyez content, soyez joyeux soyez dédaigneux soyez fort.

Il hocha la tête tristement:— Cela vous est facile à dire à vous, Victor Hugo! Moi je suis faible. Oh! je me connais bien. Je sais mes limites.

Image Notes: Portrait of Victor Hugo painted by Leon Joseph Florentin Bonnat circa 1879. Image has been cropped.

Update History: On April 9, 2025 the format of the bibliographical notes was updated.

1887, Things Seen (Choses Vues) by Victor Hugo, Volume 1, 1845 Villemain, Start Page 82, Quote Page 88 and 89,George Routledge and Sons, Glasgow and New York. (HathiTrust Full View) link ↩︎
1887, Oeuvres Inédites de Victor Hugo: Choses Vues by Victor Hugo, Sixième Edition, Section: Villemain – 1845 Décembre 7, Start Page 87, Quote Page 94, J. Hetzel & Cie, Paris, France. (Google Books Full View) link ↩︎

Quote Origin: You Are One of My Nicest Thoughts

Georgia O’Keeffe? Roxana Robinson? Apocryphal?

Question for Quote Investigator: The influential American modernist painter Georgia O’Keeffe applied a lovely expression to a close friend. She called the person “one of my nicest thoughts”. Would you please help me to find a citation?

Reply from Quote Investigator: Georgia O’Keeffe had a close relationship with her sister Catherine O’Keeffe Klenert. On December 25, 1928 the artist sent a letter to her sibling containing the target expression. The missive was retained by Catherine, and many years later it was examined by the biographer Roxana Robinson who published “Georgia O’Keeffe: A Life” in 1989. Catherine had married and given birth to a daughter by 1928, and Georgia was proud of her honesty and self-reliance:¹

“She thought Catherine was the only one who had made a success of her life,” said a friend. Georgia felt more than respect for Catherine: though she offered everyone else a handshake, Georgia put her arm around Catherine. As she wrote her sister, “You are one of my nicest thoughts.”

One additional citation and the conclusion are below.

Quote Origin: Strong People Always Have Strong Weaknesses Too

Peter Drucker? Wess Roberts? Apocryphal?

Question for Quote Investigator: When selecting the head of an organization it is tempting to search for the perfect applicant who excels in everything, i.e., the mythical candidate without flaws. The following two statements provide a counterpoint perspective:

Strong people have strong weaknesses,
Strong chieftains always have strong weaknesses.

This adage is attributed to management guru Peter Drucker. Would you please explore this topic?

Reply from Quote Investigator: Peter F. Drucker’s 1967 book “The Effective Executive” included an anecdote in which President Abraham Lincoln was told that General Ulysses S. Grant was a flawed leader because he imbibed too much. Yet, Lincoln believed Grant was his most effective military man. According to legend Lincoln mischievously asked the detractors to tell him Grant’s favorite whiskey, so he could send a barrel to each of his other generals. QI investigated this entertaining yarn here.

Lincoln’s recognition that a powerful chief may have blemishes illustrated the point made by Drucker in the following passage. Emphasis added to excerpts by QI:¹

The idea that there are “well-rounded” people, people who have only strengths and no weaknesses . . . is a prescription for mediocrity if not for incompetence. Strong people always have strong weaknesses too. Where there are peaks, there are valleys.

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Quote Origin: Whoever Does Not Visit Paris Regularly Will Never Truly Be Elegant

Honoré de Balzac? Apocryphal?

Question for Quote Investigator: In 2018 “The Guardian” newspaper published an article titled “Chanel shoes, but no salary: how one woman exposed the scandal of the French fashion industry” by Stefanie Marsh. The piece contained a fascinating quotation about the “City of Lights” ascribed to the famous French novelist Honoré de Balzac:¹

France’s fashion industry is intensely bound up with national identity. “Whoever does not visit Paris regularly will never truly be elegant,” Balzac wrote in 1830, and it is an image that the world’s centre of luxury shopping is keen to uphold.

I have not been able to find a precise citation. Would you please help?

Reply from Quote Investigator: In 1830 Honoré de Balzac published chapters from the book he was writing in the Paris periodical “La Mode”. The book was called “Traité de la Vie Élégante” (“Treatise on Elegant Living”), and chapter three included the following saying:²

L’être qui ne vient pas souvent à Paris, ne sera jamais complètement élégant.

One possible translation of the expression into English appeared in the 1967 autobiography “A Fashion of Life” by fashion maven Harry Yoxall. Emphasis added to excerpts by QI:³

But as Balzac wrote in 1830, ‘The person who does not visit Paris often will never be completely elegant.’ And to cater to the completely elegant it is necessary to do more than visit Paris often; it is necessary to establish yourself there.

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.