Quote Investigator® – Page 108

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.

Quote Origin: The Thing I Fear Most Is Being Mediocre. I Like To Excel

Gregory Peck? Jaime Escalante? Madonna Louise Ciccone? Jeff Smith? Robert Downey Jr.? Chet Atkins?

Question for Quote Investigator: The fear of being mediocre activates a compulsion to achieve fame and excellence for some artists, performers, and educators. Would you please explore the people who expressed this notion?

Reply from Quote Investigator: The desire to avoid mediocrity is present in many people who have remained unsung. A 1919 article in “Harper’s Magazine” contained the following counter-intuitive cautionary words. Emphasis added to excerpts by QI:¹

The fear of mediocrity. The fear of commonplace. We are so afraid of being ordinary that it keeps us from being extraordinary; so afraid of being ridiculous that we dare not risk sublimity.

In 1958 Academy-Award-winning movie star Gregory Peck was asked about his fears:²

“I don’t have much time to speculate on what I’m afraid of,” he remarked, “but I suppose the thing I fear most is being mediocre. I like to excel.”
“I like to make the most out of life and get the most out of it.”

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Quote Origin: Living Well Is the Best Revenge

George Herbert? Anonymous?

Question for Quote Investigator: Many have suffered the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune. The following adage suggests that one should persevere to achieve success and enjoyment:

Living well is the best revenge.

Would you please explore the provence of this remark?

Reply from Quote Investigator: In 1640 George Herbert’s compilation of “Outlandish Proverbs” appeared in London. Here is a small miscellaneous selection of expressions from the book:¹

Man Proposeth, God disposeth.
Living well is the best revenge.
Poverty is no sinne.
Hee begins to die, that quits his desires.
Every one is a master and servant.
He that trusts in a lie, shall perish in truth.

Image Notes: Mansion adjacent to water from psaudio at Pixabay.

Update History: On January 13, 2025 the format of the bibliographical notes was updated and the entry was rewritten.

1640, Outlandish Proverbs, Selected by Mr. G. H. (George Herbert), Proverb Number 524, Printed by T. P. (T. Paine) for Humphrey Blunden; at the Castle in Corn-hill, London. (Early English Books Online) ↩︎

Quote Origin: If You Can Keep Your Head When Everybody Round You Is Losing His, Then It Is Very Probable That You Don’t Understand the Situation

Rudyard Kipling? Elizabeth Ogden Smith? Bob Rigley? Jean Kerr? Anonymous?

Question for Quote Investigator: The popular poem “If —” by the prominent literary figure Rudyard Kipling has often been parodied. The first lines extol the ability to remain levelheaded in situations where others are panicking. A comical twist suggests that the unflappable person probably does not really understand what is happening. Would you please examine this humorous response?

Reply from Quote Investigator: The earliest match located by QI appeared in the “High School Bulletin” section of a newspaper published in Rhinebeck, New York in September 1935. Emphasis added to excerpts by QI:¹

And if you can keep your head when everybody round you is losing his, then it is very probable that you don’t understand the situation.

The second match in December 1936 occurred in the high school news section of a Lake Park, Iowa newspaper. The word “and” was omitted, and the word “around” replaced “round”:²

If you can keep your head when everybody around you is losing his, then it is very probable that you don’t understand the situation.

In both cases, the creator of the expression was anonymous. Here are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Quote Origin: What Is Matter?—Never Mind. What Is Mind?—No Matter

Creator: “Punch”, London humor magazine

Context: On July 14, 1855 “Punch” published the following brief item containing the quotation:¹

A SHORT CUT TO METAPHYSICS.
What is Matter?—Never mind.
What is Mind?—No matter.

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

1855 July 14, Punch, Or the London Charivari, (Filler item), Quote Page 19, Column 2, London, England. (Google Books Full View) link ↩︎

Quote Origin: Sometimes I Sits and Thinks, and Sometimes I Just Sits

A. A. Milne? Satchel Paige? William Gunning King? Lucy Maud Montgomery? Alice G. Young? Woodrow Wilson? Anonymous?

Question for Quote Investigator: I enjoy relaxing and daydreaming, so I’ve always been attracted to the following saying:

Sometimes I sits and thinks, and sometimes I just sits.

These words have been credited to the creator of Winnie the Pooh, A. A. Milne, and to the prominent baseball player, Satchel Paige. Yet, I am skeptical because I haven’t been able to find any solid citations. Would you please help?

Reply from Quote Investigator: The earliest match located by QI appeared in February 1905 within multiple newspapers such as “The Pittsburg Press” of Pennsylvania¹ and the “The Buffalo Sunday News” of New York.² These papers acknowledged “The Boston Record” of Massachusetts. Emphasis added to excerpts by QI:

A bond salesman just back from Maine says he asked an old fisherman in a snow-bound hamlet what he did with himself evenings.

The reply was: “Oh, sometimes I sit and think, and then again I just sit.”

—Boston Record

Thus, the first version employed the phrase “I sit” instead of “I sits”. The originator was described as an anonymous old fisherman, and the key propagator was an anonymous bond salesman.

Thanks to Barry Popik for his pioneering research on this topic. He found a March 1905 citation.

Here are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Quote Origin: I Have a Higher and Grander Standard of Principle. Washington Could Not Lie. I Can Lie, But I Won’t

Creator: Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens), famous humorist

Context: Understanding the humor in the following passage requires familiarity with the cherry tree legend. A young Washington received a hatchet as a gift and impetuously chopped down a cherry tree owned by his father. When the future president was confronted he said “I cannot tell a lie. I did cut it with my hatchet.” In December 1871 Twain delivered a speech that was transcribed and printed in “The Chicago Tribune”. Twain discussed lying and compared himself to Washington:¹

A reporter has to lie a little, of course, or they would discharge him. That is the only drawback to the profession. That is why I left it. [Laughter] I am different from Washington; I have a higher and grander standard of principle. Washington could not lie. I can lie, but I won’t. [Prolonged laughter.] Reporting is fascinating, but then it is distressing to have to lie so. Lying is bad—lying is very bad. Every individual in this house knows that by experience. I think that for a man to tell a lie when he can’t make anything by it, is wrong. [Laughter.]

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

1871 December 20, The Chicago Tribune, “Mark Twain”: Sketch of the Great American Humorist’s Lecture, Delivered in the Michigan Avenue Baptist Church, Quote Page 4, Column 5, Chicago, Illinois. (“fascinating” is misspelled “facinating” in the original) (Newspapers_com) ↩︎

Quote Origin: A Little Philosophy Inclineth Mans Mind to Atheism; But Depth in Philosophy, Bringeth Mens Minds about to Religion

Francis Bacon? Theophilus Gale? David Hume? Apocryphal?

Question for Quote Investigator: The famous English philosopher and scientist Francis Bacon made an intriguing assertion about atheism. Here are three versions:

(1) A little philosophy makes men atheists, though a great deal would cure them of Atheism.

(2) A little knowledge drives man away from God, but deeper knowledge brings him back.

(3) A little knowledge may take us away from God, but further knowledge will bring us back to him.

Would you please help me to find the correct phrasing and a citation?

Reply from Quote Investigator: The 1625 collection titled “The Essayes Or Covnsels, Civill and Morall” by Francis Bacon included the original version of the statement under analysis. The spelling in the 1625 text differed from modern spelling. For example, the letters “u” and “v” were sometimes swapped. The following passage employs updated spelling. Emphasis added to excerpts by QI:¹

I had rather believe all the Fables in the Legend, and the Talmud, and the Alcoran, then that this universal Frame, is without a Mind. And therefore, God never wrought Miracle, to convince Atheism, because his Ordinary Works convince it. It is true, that a little Philosophy inclineth Man’s Mind to Atheism; But depth in Philosophy, bringeth Men’s Minds about to Religion.

Below is a scan of the 1625 book page showing the text above followed by additional selected citations in chronological order.

Quote Origin: My Drive in Life Is from This Horrible Fear of Being Mediocre

Creator: Madonna Louise Ciccone, American singer, songwriter, and artistic entrepreneur

Context: In 1991 “Vanity Fair” published a profile of Madonna within which she discussed her “iron will” and her trepidation. Emphasis added to this excerpt by QI:¹

“And all of my will has always been to conquer some horrible feeling of inadequacy. I’m always struggling with that fear. I push past one spell of it and discover myself as a special human being and then I get to another stage and think I’m mediocre and uninteresting. And I find a way to get myself out of that. Again and again. My drive in life is from this horrible fear of being mediocre. And that’s always pushing me, pushing me.

Related Article 01: “Mediocrity is My Biggest Fear” said Robert Downey Jr.

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

1991 April, Vanity Fair, The Misfit by Lynn Hirschberg (Profile of Madonna Louise Ciccone), Start Page 158, Quote Page 198, Column 1, Conde Nast Publications, New York. (Verified with photocopies) ↩︎