Tracing Quotations
Margaret Fuller? Thomas Carlyle? Henry James Sr.? William James? Ralph Waldo Emerson? Horace Greely? Julia Ward Howe? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: A famous nineteenth-century thinker once delivered a grand affirmation of the universe: “I accept the universe.” Another well-known intellectual heard about this pronouncement and attempted to puncture the elevated tone of the avowal: …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: “I Accept the Universe” “Gad! She’d Better!””
Voltaire? Molière? Jean Scholastique Pitton? Nicolas Frémont d’Ablancourt? Pierre Ortigue de Vaumorière? Benjamin Franklin? Laurence Sterne? Samuel Johnson? Ben Jonson? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: A family of sayings presents a humorously cynical viewpoint about medicine. Here are four examples: (1) Physicians sit by your bedside till they kill you, or nature cures you. (2) …
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn? Elena Gorokhova? Marah Ellis Ryan? Rex Stout? Arleigh A. Burke? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: People living under oppressive rulers know that they are being fed lies, but their responses are limited. Also, the rulers know that the populace contains cynical disbelievers. Yet, the rituals of deception continue: (1) They lie.(2) We know …
Mr X of The Royal Magazine? Boys’ Life Magazine? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: A linguistic puzzle asks the reader to correctly punctuate the following sentence: Time flies you cannot they pass at such irregular intervals. A similar puzzle asks the reader to punctuate this sentence: Time flies you cannot they go too quickly. Most …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: Time Flies; You Cannot; They Pass At Such Irregular Intervals”
Mary Pettibone Poole? A. A. Milne? Dorothy L. Sayers? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: If you cannot think of something clever to say then you can resort to the next best strategy. You can quote someone else who is clever. This point has been expressed with a concise statement. Would you please help me to …
Emily Dickinson? Mabel Loomis Todd? Rumer Godden? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Life can be overwhelming. The flow of experience induces intense sensations and emotions. Changes in the world and in each individual are continuous and unavoidable. Here are two versions of a pertinent observation: (1) To live is so startling it leaves little time …
Franklin D. Roosevelt? James Roosevelt? Richard ‘Skeets’ Gallagher? William ‘Buster’ Collier Jr.? C. Z. Weiser? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Successful public speaking is both difficult and stressful, but it can be highly rewarding. The following tripartite guidance is both cogent and humorous. Here are two versions: Be brief, be sincere. and be seated.Be sincere, …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: Be Sincere; Be Brief; Be Seated”
Winston Churchill? Ernest Rutherford? Henry Tizard? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: When access to money is restricted it becomes more difficult to accomplish tasks. Deeper and more creative thought is required to make progress. Here are four versions of a pertinent expression: (1) We have not got any money, so we have got to think.(2) …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: We Have Not Got Any Money, So We Have Got To Think”
Lin Yutang? Sydney J. Harris? Carl Bakal? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: The kaleidoscopic world of fashion contains fluctuating hemlines, shifting necklines, transparent fabrics, and revealing slits. A pundit once stated that fashion embodies the struggle between the admitted desire to dress and the unadmitted desire to undress. Would you please explore the provenance of …
Sigmund Freud? C. G. Jung? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Apparently, a famous psychoanalyst once said that when one looks back at one’s life the periods of struggle will be considered the most beautiful. Do you know whether something like this was said by Sigmund Freud or C. G. Jung? Reply from Quote Investigator: In …