Quote Investigator® – Page 150

Quote Origin: A Poet Is Born, Not Paid

Wilson Mizner? Addison Mizner? Douglas Malloch? Louis Ginsberg? Anonymous?

Question for Quote Investigator: An adage from antiquity asserts that a great poet must have an inborn talent that cannot be taught or feigned:

A poet is born, not made.

The dire financial condition of the market for poetry has inspired a humorously modified expression:

A poet is born, not paid.

This quip has been attributed to the playwright, entrepreneur, and rogue Wilson Mizner; it has also been ascribed to Wilson’s brother, the architect Addison Mizner. Would you please explore its provenance?

Reply from Quote Investigator: The earliest match located by QI appeared in a Chambersburg, Pennsylvania newspaper in 1880. The pun was grouped together with miscellaneous remarks within a column titled “Borrowed Humor”. No attribution was given. A “campaign poet” was someone who composed verse for a political campaign. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:¹

A campaign poet is born, not paid.

Here are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Quote Origin: Starting To Write a Book: There Is No Agony Like It

Agatha Christie? Apocryphal?

Question for Quote Investigator: The acclaimed mystery writer Agatha Christie wrote more than sixty novels and sold an enormous number of copies. Yet, I was told that somewhere she had claimed that writing was agony for her. Is this possible? Would you please examine this question?

Reply from Quote Investigator: In 1977 “Agatha Christie: An Autobiography” was published posthumously. Christie described the difficulties she experienced when she was beginning to compose a new mystery story. Bold face has been added to excerpts:¹

There is always, of course, that terrible three weeks, or a month which you have to get through when you are trying to get started on a book. There is no agony like it. You sit in a room, biting pencils, looking at a typewriter, walking about, or casting yourself down on a sofa, feeling you want to cry your head off.

Christie revealed that her feelings of inadequacy and fear recurred despite her long record of success:

You forget every time what you felt before when it comes again: such misery and despair, such inability to do anything that will be in the least creative. And yet it seems that this particular phase of misery has got to be lived through.

Below are one more citation and a conclusion.

Quote Origin: Thinking Is the Hardest Work There Is, which Is the Probable Reason Why So Few Engage In It

Henry Ford? G. K. Chesterton? Charles Zueblin? Franklin Minor? Apocryphal?

Question for Quote Investigator: The automotive titan Henry Ford reportedly crafted a humorous and insightful remark about thinking. Here are three versions:

1) Thinking is hard work. That may be the reason so few engage in it.
2) Thinking is the hardest work there is, which is probably the reason why so few engage in it.
3) Thinking is the hardest work there is, which is the probable reason why so few people engage in it.

I haven’t been able to find the saying in Ford’s writings or in an interview. Also, I’ve seen several different expressions attributed to Ford. Would you please help?

Reply from Quote Investigator: In April 1928 a journal called “The Forum” published an interview with Henry Ford who commented on the apparent increase in the complexity and rapidity of life. Ford was skeptical about whether there had been a commensurate increase in thought. Boldface has been added to excerpts:¹

But there is a question in my mind whether, with all this speeding up of our everyday activities, there is any more real thinking. Thinking is the hardest work there is, which is the probable reason why so few engage in it.

Hence, Ford did make a remark that strongly matched the second statement provided by the questioner, but there was a slight difference. Ford said “the probable” instead of “probably the”. It also matched the third statement with the word “people” deleted.

Here are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Quote Origin: Britain and America Are Two Nations Divided by a Common Language

George Bernard Shaw? Mallory Browne? Raymond Gram Swing? Oscar Wilde? Apocryphal?

Question for Quote Investigator: The influential Irish playwright and commentator George Bernard Shaw has been credited with a humorous remark about language. Here are four versions:

1) Britain and America are two nations divided by a common language.
2) The English and Americans are two peoples divided by a common language.
3) England and America are two countries separated by one language.
4) The United States and Great Britain are two countries separated by the same language.

Would you please explore the provenance of this expression?

Reply from Quote Investigator: In 1887 the Irish playwright and wit Oscar Wilde published a short story called “The Canterville Ghost”.¹ While describing one of the main characters, the narrator included a comical remark contrasting England and America that was similar to the saying under examination. Emphasis added to excerpts by QI:²

Indeed, in many respects, she was quite English, and was an excellent example of the fact that we have really everything in common with America nowadays, except, of course, language.

The earliest close match known to QI appeared in “The Christian Science Monitor” of Boston, Massachusetts in September 1942. Mallory Browne who was the “Monitor” reporter based in London traveled to the countryside to conduct an interview with George Bernard Shaw:³

“England and America are two countries separated by the same language!” On the way down to see him at a mutual friend’s house in the country, I reflected delightfully on this typical remark of Bernard Shaw. I had read it only a few days before, and been struck by its essentially Shavian character; completely false in fact, yet so much closer to the truth than merely factual statements ever are.

Thanks to Fred R. Shapiro, editor of “The Yale Book of Quotations”, who located the above citation and shared it with fellow researchers. Browne commented that he had read the remark a short time earlier; hence, it was already in circulation. Yet, an earlier source has not yet been located. Also, QI and other researchers have been unable to find the saying in Shaw’s oeuvre.

Here are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Quote Origin: We Only Think When We Are Confronted With a Problem

John Dewey? William F. Russell? Helena Weatherby? Thomas A. Harris? Apocryphal?

Question for Quote Investigator: Thinking thoroughly about a topic is a difficult and painstaking task. Many people prefer quick and easy answers that can be selected with minimal thought. Yet sometimes people face obstacles that require careful cogitation. The famous philosopher and teacher John Dewey has been credited with the following remark:

We only think when we are confronted with a problem.

I have searched in several books written by Dewey and have been unable to find this statement. Was this really written or spoken by Dewey?

Reply from Quote Investigator: QI has been unable to find this quotation in John Dewey’s oeuvre.

QI conjectures that someone created a summary statement of Dewey’s position on this topic. The summary may have evolved as it was retransmitted. Next, someone placed quotation marks around the summary and attributed the words directly to Dewey. This is a known mechanism for the generation of misquotations.

In 1910 Dewey published “How We Think” which included two passages that were roughly analogous to the quotation, but in the first passage Dewey used words such as “perplexity” and “reflection”:¹

Demand for the solution of a perplexity is the steadying and guiding factor in the entire process of reflection. Where there is no question of a problem to be solved or a difficulty to be surmounted, the course of suggestions flows on at random.

In the following passage Dewey attempted to restate a thesis in his book, but his phrasing was not concise, and he still employed words such as “perplexity”:²

We may recapitulate by saying that the origin of thinking is some perplexity, confusion, or doubt. Thinking is not a case of spontaneous combustion; it does not occur just on “general principles.” There is something specific which occasions and evokes it.

The next part of this article includes examples of individuals who have attempted to summarize Dewey’s point concisely. Selected citations appear in chronological order.

Quote Origin: Signed His Name With April Fool and Forgot to Write the Letter

Henry Ward Beecher? Apocryphal?

Question for Quote Investigator: Are you familiar with the amusing anecdote about an “April Fool” letter sent to the famous orator Henry Ward Beecher. Would you please examine the tale’s provenance?

Reply from Quote Investigator: The earliest evidence known to QI was published on April 27, 1870 in the “Daily Evening Traveller” of Boston, Massachusetts. Boldface has been added to excerpts:¹

SIGNING ONE’S NAME.—Mr. Beecher sends the following note to the N. Y. Ledger:

“MY DEAR MR. BONNER, —I have just received a curious letter from Michigan, and I give it to you verbatim:

“OWASSO CITY, Mich., 1870.
APRIL FOOL”

I have heard of men who wrote letters and forgot to sign their name, but never before met a case in which a man signed his name and forgot to write the letter. H.W.B.

Thanks to top researcher Barry Popik who located the citation above.

The text indicated that the tale was reprinted from “The New York Ledger”; hence, an earlier instance exists, but QI has not located it. The database GenealogyBank includes digital scans of “The New York Ledger” from 1856 to 1868. But the target date of 1870 lies outside of this range. Some future researcher may find an earlier instance.

Here are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Quote Origin: Research Is the Process of Going Up Alleys to See If They’re Blind

Marston Bates? Barstow Bates? Plutarch? Anonymous?

Question for Quote Investigator: A path-breaking researcher must pursue many leads that do not work out. Sometimes he or she must exhaustively test a set of possibilities with the foreknowledge that only a handful will yield positive results. That is why I embrace the following insightful saying:

Research is the process of going up alleys to see if they’re blind.

This statement is usually attributed to the prominent zoologist Marston Bates, but I have been unable to find a solid citation. Would you please trace this saying?

Reply from Quote Investigator: QI believes that the ascription to Marston Bates was a mistake. The expression was actually coined by a business consultant named Barstow Bates, and the two similar names caused confusion and error.

The earliest evidence located by QI was published in “Business Management” magazine in October 1967. The article “How to Generate Ideas for New Products” stated that some novel ideas would be rejected by management. This judgement should be accepted, and the search for better ideas should continue. Boldface has been added to excerpts:¹

Don’t worry over the cost of being told “Forget it.” That decision is probably going to save you more than it cost. “Research,” says Barstow Bates, president, New Product Services, Inc., “is the process of going up alleys to see if they’re blind.”

The magazine editor felt that the saying was noteworthy, and it was displayed as a pull-quote. The expression also attracted the attention of the staff of “Quote Magazine”, a publication that specialized in collecting and reprinting interesting contemporary quotations. The words of Barstow Bates appeared in the November 1967 issue:²

Research is the process of going up alleys to see if they’re blind. — BARSTOW BATES quoted in “How to Generate New Ideas for New Products,” Business Management.

Here are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Quote Origin: Love Never Dies of Starvation, But Often of Indigestion

Ninon de Lenclos? Apocryphal?

Question for Quote Investigator: Ninon de Lenclos (also L’enclos) was a famous French author and courtesan who died in 1705. Her friends valued her perceptiveness, and one man asked her for guidance because he was infatuated with his paramour. Lenclos warned that his ardor would cool if he spent too much time with the lady. There exist at least three different versions of her advice:

1) Love never dies of want, but often of indigestion.
2) Love never dies of starvation, but often of indigestion.
3) Love never dies from desire but often from indigestion.

Would you please clarify this topic?

Reply from Quote Investigator: The three statements above are alternative translations of a remark written by Ninon de Lenclos. A collection of her letters in French was published in a 1750 edition. The following statement appeared in letter number forty-one:¹

L’amour ne meurt jamais de besoin, mais souvent d’indigestion.

The first expression listed by the questioner was a reasonable direct translation. The second statement was less direct but more stylish. The French remark did not mention “starvation”, but that word provided an appropriate semantic complement to the word “indigestion”.

Here are additional selected citations.

Quote Origin: If In the Last Few Years You Haven’t Discarded a Major Opinion or Acquired a New One, Check Your Pulse. You May Be Dead

Gelett Burgess? Apocryphal? Anonymous?

Question for Quote Investigator: Anyone who wishes to remain intellectually vital must be willing to challenge his or her own opinions. Viewpoints should evolve and flawed notions should be replaced. I came across the following cogent expression:

If in the last few years you haven’t discarded a major opinion or acquired a new one, check your pulse. You may be dead.

These words have been credited to a humorist, editor, and art critic named Gelett Burgess. Today, Burgess’s quirky fame rests on the word “blurb” which he coined and on a nonsense verse about a “purple cow” which he crafted.

I have not been able to find a citation for the above quotation. Would you please help?

Reply from Quote Investigator: In 1937 Gelett Burgess published a playful book of advice titled “Look Eleven Years Younger” which included a partial match for the expression. The volume actually contained two versions of the saying. The second instance was printed in a summary section at the end of a chapter. Numbers have been added to this excerpt:¹

1) When you find you haven’t discarded a major opinion for years, or acquired a new one, you should stop and investigate to see if you’re not growing senile.

2) If in the last few years you haven’t discarded a major opinion or acquired a new one investigate and see if you’re not growing senile.

The first part of quotation number two above was a close match to the saying under investigation, but the second part suggested that inflexible individuals might be facing senility instead of death. QI has not found a superior match in the writings of Burgess although future researchers may discover such a match.

Burgess died in 1951, and QI believes that the modern “pulse” saying evolved from his words. The earliest instance appeared in 1977 in the pages of “Forbes” magazine where it was ascribed to Burgess. QI does not know where “Forbes” found this variant.

Here are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Quote Origin: If You Want To Tell People the Truth, You’d Better Make Them Laugh or They’ll Kill You

George Bernard Shaw? Oscar Wilde? Cecile Starr? Billy Wilder? Richard Pryor? James L. Brooks? Dustin Hoffman? Charles Ludlam?

Question for Quote Investigator: Dramatists have discovered that challenging material often elicits hostility or boredom. This is dangerous for creators because jobs in the entertainment industry are precarious. Yet, a provocative production leavened with humor is often embraced by audiences. The following adage now circulates on Broadway and in Hollywood:

1) If you’re going to tell people the truth, be funny or they’ll kill you.
2) If you want to tell people the truth, make them laugh, otherwise they’ll kill you.

The playwrights George Bernard Shaw, Oscar Wilde, and Charles Ludlam have all been credited with this saying. What do you think?

Reply from Quote Investigator: The earliest strong match located by QI appeared in a 1951 article in “The Saturday Review” by critic and film historian Cecile Starr discussing a documentary film festival. When Starr commented on the works of one filmmaker she mentioned the adage and ascribed it to George Bernard Shaw who had died a year earlier. Boldface has been added to excerpts:¹

. . . Shaw’s lively aphorism, “If you want to tell people the truth, you’d better make them laugh or they’ll kill you” . . .

QI has found no substantive support for crediting Oscar Wilde with the saying. He died in 1900 and the expression appeared decades afterwards. There is some good evidence that the well-known director Billy Wilder employed the saying, but the linkage occurred after it was attributed to Shaw. There was also some indirect evidence Charles Ludlam used the expression. The comedian Richard Pryor, actor Dustin Hoffman, and screenwriter James L. Brooks all delivered the line during interviews, but they spoke when it was already in circulation.

Here are additional selected citations in chronological order.