Bishop of Chelmsford? A. H. Reginald Buller? Albert Einstein? Anonymous?
Dear Quote Investigator: There is a popular comical limerick about a young woman named White or Bright that highlights the counterintuitive nature of time measurements in Einstein’s theory of relativity. Do you know this poem? Do you know who composed it?
Quote Investigator: The earliest evidence known to QI appeared in an issue of the London humor magazine “Punch” in 1923. Initially, the limerick “Relativity” was published without attribution:[ref] 1923 December 19, “Punch, or The London Charivari”, Volume 165, Relativity (Limerick), Quote Page 591, Column 1, London. (Verified on paper)[/ref]
Relativity.
There was a young lady named Bright
Whose speed was far faster than light;
She set out one day
In a relative way
And returned on the previous night.
In 1937 a Professor of Botany named A. H. Reginald Buller wrote a letter to “The Observer” newspaper in London and claimed authorship of the limerick. Top quotation references such as “The Yale Book of Quotations”[ref] 2006, The Yale Book of Quotations by Fred R. Shapiro, Section: Arthur Buller, Page 113, Yale University Press, New Haven. (Verified on paper) [/ref] and “Cassell’s Humorous Quotations”[ref] 2001, Cassell’s Humorous Quotations, Compiled by Nigel Rees, Section: Limericks, Quote Page 256, [Cassell, London], Sterling Pub. Co., New York. (Verified on paper) [/ref] support the ascription to Buller. Details for this 1937 citation are given further below.
Here are additional selected citations in chronological order.
George Carlin? Maya Angelou? Vicki Corona? Hilary Cooper? Kevin Bisch? Will Smith? Philip James Bailey?
Dear Quote Investigator: The following inspirational quotation has been attributed to a wide variety of people:
Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.
I doubt that this was coined by George Carlin or Maya Angelou though I have seen those ascriptions. Who do you think should be credited?
Quote Investigator: The earliest evidence known to QI appeared in 1989 in a book for dancers titled “Tahitian Choreographies” by Vicki Corona:[ref] 1989, Tahitian Choreographies by Vicki Corona, Volume 11, Book 18, Page 36, Dance Fantasy Productions, Printed by Dennis Bolton Enterprises, North Hollywood, California. (Google Books Preview) link [/ref]
Yes, there are so many grueling details and rehearsals to agonize over, but the dances and music of Tahiti add a happy, healthy dimension to our lives! Remember that life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away! Dancing can do that for you!
The above citation was uncovered by the author Phil Bolsta who was writing a book which included a large number of quotations. Bolsta admirably performed extensive research attempting to pin down the sources for the quotations in his book. Bolsta stated on his blog that he contacted Vicki Corona directly to explore the origin of the saying in her book:[ref] Website: Triumph of the Spirit: Finding Peace and Purpose in a Troubled World, Article title: “Through God’s Eyes”—Sources of Quotes, Webpage description: Source notes for the quotations appearing in the book “Through God’s Eyes” by Phil Bolsta, Date on website: Entry posted in May 10, 2012, Website description: Blog of the author Phil Bolsta. (Accessed bolstablog.wordpress.com on December 16, 2013) link [/ref]
I was shocked to find this popular quote in a 1989 thirty-two-page booklet on Tahitian dance. I called Vicki Corona on April 17, 2012, and she said that, to the best of her knowledge, the quote was hers because she always wrote original material for the series of dance booklets she produced. However, she acknowledged in a follow-up e-mail: “While I doubt it, there is a possibility that I may have heard that verbiage before and simply went with it, or maybe it just came out from the labyrinths of my mind. Since you’re a writer, also, you know how that works when you’re in the ‘zone’.”
Hence, there is some uncertainty about the origin of this quotation in the mind of the person who employed it in 1989.
Here are additional selected citations in chronological order.
Niccolò Machiavelli? Jean-Paul Sartre? Jean Paul? Johann Paul Friedrich Richter?
Dear Quote Investigator: A student would like to use the following quotation about perspicacity gained through experience in a yearbook, but she has been unable to determine an appropriate ascription:
The more sand has escaped from the hourglass of our life, the clearer we should see through it.
These words are often attributed to Niccolò Machiavelli or Jean-Paul Sartre which I think is an eccentric juxtaposition. I was unable to find precise citations for either of these individuals. Would you help resolve this question?
Quote Investigator: The earliest evidence located by QI appeared in a German novel titled “Hesperus oder 45 Hundsposttage, Eine Biographie” published in 1795 by Johann Paul Friedrich Richter who used the pen name Jean Paul. “The Oxford Companion to German Literature” described the work as follows:[ref] Website: Answers.com, Reference Source: The Oxford Companion to German Literature from Oxford University Press, Category: Literature & Language: German Literature Companion, Topic: Hesperus oder 45 Hundsposttage, eine Biographie: Novel by Jean Paul, Text licensed by Answers Corporation. (Accessed answers.com on December 14, 2013) link [/ref]
The eccentric sub-title refers to the chapters, which are designated Hundsposttage, and are supposed to have been brought to the author’s friend by a Pomeranian dog. Written in Jean Paul’s characteristic whimsical style, the book has a complex and absurd plot.
The quotation about a figurative hourglass referred to a single individual named Emanuel in the novel. The statement was later generalized to encompass all people. Here is the relevant passage in German followed by one possible English translation:[ref] 1795, Hesperus; oder, 45 hundsposttage: Eine Biographie by Jean Paul (Johann Paul Friedrich Richter), Quote Page 345, Karl Matzdorffs Buchhandlung, Berlin, Germany. (Google Books Full View) link [/ref]
Emanuel sah ruhig wie eine ewige Sonne, auf den Herbst seines Körpers herab; ja je mehr Sand aus seiner Lebens-Sanduhr herausgefallen war, desto heller sah er durch das leere Glas hindurch.
Emanuel looked peacefully as an eternal sundown upon the autumn of his body; indeed the more sand had fallen out of his life-hourglass, the clearer he saw through the empty glass.
In 1837 a weekly journal called “The New-York Mirror” printed an article titled “Original Translations: Scraps from Jean Paul” which included a version of the quotation together with other adages from Richter. Here are three examples:[ref] 1837 May 13, The New-York Mirror: A Weekly Journal, Devoted to Literature and the Fine Arts, Volume XIV, Number 46, Original Translations: Scraps from Jean Paul, Quote Page 362, Column 2, New York. (Google Books full view)(Please note that the metadata supplied for this match by Google Books is inaccurate; the data in this citation is based on the page images) link [/ref]
Our sorrows are like thunder clouds, which seem black in the distance, but grow lighter as they approach.
The more sand has escaped from the hour-glass of our life, the clearer we should see through it.
The moon is a light-house on the shore of the other world.
Here are additional selected citations in chronological order.
James Kirkwood Jr.? Ronald Reagan? Ken Kesey? Anonymous?
Dear Quote Investigator: There is a famous joke about a child who wakes up on Christmas morning and is surprised to find a heap of horse manure under the tree instead of a collection of presents. Yet, the child is not discouraged because he has an extraordinarily optimistic outlook on life. His parents discover him enthusiastically shoveling the manure as he exclaims, “With all this manure, there must be a pony somewhere!”
New York Times language maven William Safire stated that the entire joke would be brought to mind for many readers by simply mentioning the punchline:[ref] 1984 March 11, New York Times, On Language: Punch-line English by William Safire, Quote Page A28, New York. (ProQuest)[/ref]
There must be a pony in here somewhere.
Safire connected the tale to Ronald Reagan who enjoyed telling a version, but I know that the Broadway playwright James Kirkwood Jr. also wrote a semi-autobiographical 1960 novel referencing the tale with the title:
There Must Be A Pony!
Would you please trace this comical anecdote?
Quote Investigator: There are many versions of this joke, and it has been evolving for more than one hundred years. The telltale sign of a pony seen by the expectant child has varied, e.g., horse dung, a horse shoe, horsehair, and a bale of hay. Sometimes one child was featured, and sometimes the divergent behaviors of an optimistic child and a pessimistic child were contrasted. This high variability makes the story difficult to trace. Also, the earliest instances located by QI used a different punchline.
In 1902 a state senator in Illinois addressed a banquet of business people in the advertising industry and presented the following narrative:[ref] 1902 January, Advertising Experience, Volume 14, Number 3, Agate Club Banquet of December 20th, (Speaker: William E. Mason, Illinois State Senator), Start Page 3, Quote Page 6, Column 2, Published and Edited by W.G. Souther, Chicago, Illinois. (Google Books Full View) link [/ref]
Three little children were hanging up their stockings. They were Rebecca and Rachel and Ikey. The old man had licked Ikey the night before and told him that Santa Claus was no good and wouldn’t bring him anything.
“Oh, yes,” said Ikey, “Santa Claus will; my father is an old friend of his; Santa Claus is a nice fellow; he will bring me something.”
By the way, I should tell you what a mean daddy the father was. He went out into the street and got a piece of frozen earth that hadn’t been left there by an automobile [laughter], and he put that—deliberately took and put it in poor little Ikey’s stocking. In the morning the three children were up early to find out what Santa Claus had left them. “What you got?” was the first question as each examined the contents of the stockings. Rachel had a little diamond ring and Rebecca had a gold watch. “And you, Ikey. What did you get?”
But Ikey was faithful.
“Well, Santa Claus is all right,” he said. “I think he brought me a pony, but he must have got away.” [Laughter and applause.]
Here are additional selected citations in chronological order.
Abraham Lincoln? Jacques Abbadie? Denis Diderot? Anonymous?
Dear Quote Investigator: One of the most famous sayings attributed to Abraham Lincoln is about deception:
You can fool all the people some of the time and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time.
I was astounded to learn that there is no solid evidence that Lincoln actually used this adage. Would you please examine its provenance?
Quote Investigator: Abraham Lincoln died in 1865. Two decades later in September 1885 a version of the adage was used in a speech by a Prohibition Party politician named William J. Groo who provided no attribution for the remark. In March 1886 another Prohibitionist politician employed the saying, and this time the words were credited to Lincoln. These citations constitute the earliest evidence of closely matching statements located by QI. Details are presented further below.
An intriguing precursor appeared in a popular 1684 work of apologetics titled: “Traité de la Vérité de la Religion Chrétienne” by Jacques Abbadie who was a French Protestant based in Germany, England, and Ireland. The following passage appeared in chapter two:[ref] Year: 1684 (MDCLXXXIV), Title: Traité de la Vérité de la Religion Chrétienne, Edition: Author: Jacques Abbadie, Quote Page 11, Publisher: Chez Reinier Leers, Rotterdam, (The original text used “tems” instead of “temps”) (Google Books Full View) link [/ref]
… ont pû tromper quelques hommes, ou les tromper tous dans certains lieux & en certains tems, mais non pas tous les hommes, dans tous les lieux & dans tous les siécles.
The spelling “tems” was used in the original text instead of “temps”. Here is one possible translation into English:[ref] The English translation used for Jacques Abbadie’s French statement is the same as the one listed in The Yale Book of Quotations for Denis Diderot’s nearly identical French statement; see 2006, The Yale Book of Quotations by Fred R. Shapiro, Section: Denis Diderot, Quote Page 204, Yale University Press, New Haven. (Verified on paper)[/ref]
One can fool some men, or fool all men in some places and times, but one cannot fool all men in all places and ages.
Abbadie’s treatise was published in many editions for many years. The same statement appeared during the next century in the landmark “Encyclopédie: ou Dictionnaire Raisonné des Sciences, des Arts et des Métiers” edited by Denis Diderot and Jean le Rond d’Alembert. The fourth volume of the encyclopedia was released in 1754, and it included a passage that was nearly identical to the one above with “peut” instead of “pû” in a philosophical section discussing metaphysics and God.[ref] Year: 1754 (MDCCLIV), Title: Encyclopédie: ou Dictionnaire Raisonné des Sciences, des Arts et des Métiers, Authors and editors: Denis Diderot and Jean le Rond d’Alembert, Volume: 4 (Tome Quatrieme), Quote Page 978, Published in Paris with approval of the King: “avec approbation et privilege du Roy”, (The original text used “tems” instead of “temps”)(Google Books Full View) link [/ref]
On September 9, 1885 the “Syracuse Daily Standard” of Syracuse, New York published an article about a convention of Prohibitionists during which a speech was delivered by a judge named William. J. Groo who complained about the actions of state politicians. He spoke a version of the adage without attribution, and this was the earliest strong match located by QI:[ref] 1885 September 9, The Syracuse Daily Standard, Prohibitionists in Arms: The Third Party Declare War to the Knife on Democrats and Republicans, Quote Page 4, Column 4, Syracuse, New York. (Old Fulton)[/ref]
You can fool all the people part of the time, or you can fool some people all the time, but you cannot fool all people all the time.
On March 8, 1886 “The Albany Times” of Albany, New York published an interview with Fred. F. Wheeler who was the chairman of a state committee for Prohibitionists. Wheeler employed a version of the adage while criticizing politicians for blocking a referendum, and this citation was the earliest ascription to Lincoln located by QI:[ref] 1886 March 8, The Albany Times (Albany Evening Times), Prohibitionists Not Fooled: By Advances of the Republican Party – Interesting Interview with Chairman Wheeler, Quote Page 3, Column 4, Albany, New York. (Old Fulton)[/ref]
They should remember Abraham Lincoln’s famous saying: “You can fool part of the people some of the time, you can fool some of the people all of the time, but you cannot fool all the people all of the time,” and take their stand boldly and fearlessly on this question and abide the result at the ballot box.
Here are additional selected citations in chronological order.
John A. Shedd? Grace Hopper? Albert Einstein? Anonymous?
Dear Quote Investigator: On December 9, 2013 the Google Doodle honored the pioneering computer scientist and U.S. Navy Rear Admiral Grace Murray Hopper. Here are two versions of a quotation that is often attributed to her:
A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for.
A ship in port is safe; but that is not what ships are built for.
This saying has also been credited to Albert Einstein and John A. Shedd. Can you tell me who said it?
Quote Investigator: In 1928 John A. Shedd released a collection of sayings titled “Salt from My Attic”, and the following popular aphorism was included:[ref] 1928, Salt From My Attic, Compiled by John A. Shedd, Quote Page 20, The Mosher Press, Portland, Maine. (Verified with photo images; thanks to Stu Silverstein) [/ref]
A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for.
This citation appeared in the important reference work “The Yale Book of Quotations” edited by Fred R. Shapiro. [ref] 2006, The Yale Book of Quotations by Fred R. Shapiro, Section: John A. Shedd, Page 705, Yale University Press, New Haven. (Verified on paper)[/ref]
Grace Hopper also employed a version of this expression on multiple occasions. For example, in 1981 Hopper spoke an instance of the adage with “port” instead of “harbor”. The ascription to Albert Einstein is unsupported. Details are given further below.
Here are additional selected citations in chronological order.
Miriam Hopkins? Apocryphal? Dear Quote investigator: While watching the television show “The Voice” a friend told me about an entertaining zinger. One singer was trying to impress another singer by describing an insurance policy:
Singer 1: “I Insured My Voice for One Million Dollars.”
Singer 2: “Wonderful! What Did You Do with the Money?”
A version of this rejoinder has been attributed to the actress Miriam Hopkins. Would you explore this tale to determine the participants?
Quote Investigator: The earliest evidence of this anecdote located by QI was printed in a Boston, Massachusetts newspaper in October 1936 which acknowledged a correspondent in Rome, Italy. The first participant in the repartee was male and was only identified as a “famous singer”. The short item was grouped with a collection of jokes in a humor column called “In Lighter Vein”. The value of the insurance policy was denominated in British pounds:[ref] 1936 October 6, Christian Science Monitor, In Lighter Vein: Oof!, Quote Page 15, Column 6, Boston, Massachusetts. (ProQuest)[/ref]
“I insured my voice,” stated the famous singer, “for £50,000.” “And what,” asked his rival, “have you done with the money?”—Marc Aurelio (Rome).
The same comical tale was printed in “The Literary Digest” of New York, “The Era” newspaper of Bradford, Pennsylvania, and the “Chester Times” of Chester, Pennsylvania in October 1936.[ref] 1936 October 10, The Literary Digest, Volume 122, Number 15, The Spice of Life, Start Page 48, Quote Page 48, Column 2, Published by Funk & Wagnalls Company, New York. (Unz)[/ref][ref] 1936 October 14, The Era (Bradford Era), Morning Musings, Quote Page 4, Column 2, Bradford, Pennsylvania. (NewspaperArchive)[/ref][ref] 1936 October 26, Chester Times, So They Say, Quote Page 15, Column 1, Chester, Pennsylvania. (NewspaperArchive)[/ref] The three periodicals credited Marc Aurelio of Rome.
Here are additional selected citations in chronological order.
Dear Quote Investigator: The following quotation about the value of exercise is attributed to the transcendentalist philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson:
When you have worn out your shoes, the strength of the shoe leather has passed into the fiber of your body.
I searched for this expression in a database of writings by Emerson and was unable to find it. Neither the Wikiquote main page nor the discussion page for Emerson listed the saying. Would you be willing to explore these words?
Quote Investigator: A version of this statement did appear in the “Journals of Ralph Waldo Emerson with Annotations: 1849-1855”, but some crucial words were different. Emerson spoke of “sole leather” and “fibre” instead of “shoe leather” and “fiber”. These small differences can cause a database search to fail. Even a search for a phrase that exactly matches a phrase that is present in a large-scale text database can sometimes fail for a variety of complex reasons.
Here is an excerpt from a journal page written in 1851 when Emerson was 48 years old. Boldface has been added to excerpts:[ref] 1913, Journals of Ralph Waldo Emerson with Annotations: 1849-1855, Edited by Edward Waldo Emerson and Waldo Emerson Forbes, (Age 48, 1851), Quote Page 232, Published by Constable & Co., London, and Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, Massachusetts. (Internet Archive archive.org) link [/ref]
Economy. Nature says thou shalt keep the air, skate, swim, walk, ride, run. When you have worn out your shoes, the strength of the sole leather has passed into the fibre of your body. I measure your health by the number of shoes and hats and clothes you have worn out. He is the richest man who pays the largest debt to his shoemaker.
The multi-volume edition of Ralph Waldo Emerson’s journals was edited by his son, Edward Waldo Emerson, and his grandson, Waldo Emerson Forbes. Publication was spread across several years, and the volume containing the excerpt above was released in 1913.
Here are additional selected citations in chronological order.
Harry Truman? A. C. Wilson? Adolf Hitler? Richard H. Leask? Anonymous?
Dear Quote investigator: The following maxim is attributed to President Harry Truman:
If you can’t convince them, confuse them
Did Truman really say this? It seems inconsistent with his personality because he was often lauded for being plain spoken and not dissimulating.
Quote Investigator: Harry Truman did use this expression in a speech delivered in 1948; however, he was not advocating the technique described by the adage. Instead, Truman asserted that his political opponents were using the tactic which he viewed as unscrupulous. The details are given further below.
The earliest evidence of a precise match for this saying located by QI appeared in a 1919 publication from the Manchester Literary Club in England. A novel by William De Morgan featured a clever character named Christopher Vance who sometimes resorted to distracting and baffling other characters to achieve his aims. Vance’s strategy was described and encapsulated with a motto in an article by A. C. Wilson printed in the “Manchester Quarterly”. Wilson may have been presenting a pre-existing adage. Emphasis added to excerpts by QI:[ref] 1919, Papers of the Manchester Literary Club: Manchester Quarterly, Volume 45, Christopher Vance by A. C. Wilson, (Article by A. C. Wilson about the character Christopher Vance in William De Morgan’s novel “Joseph Vance”), Start Page 179, Quote Page 182, Sherratt & Hughes, Manchester, UK. (Internet Archive Full view) link [/ref]
“If you cannot convince them, confuse them,” might have been his motto, and not a bad one either; at any rate it came off in his case.
In April 1942 a short item was printed on the editorial pages of at least two newspapers in New York and Wisconsin. The saying was attributed to an anonymous observer,[ref] 1942 April 3, Kingston Daily Freeman, (Freestanding short item), Quote Page 4, Column 2, Kingston, New York. (Old Fulton)[/ref] and the declamatory technique was condemned by a linkage to Adolf Hitler:[ref] 1942 April 7, Racine Journal Times, (Freestanding short item), Quote Page 6, Column 2, Racine, Wisconsin. (NewspaperArchive)[/ref]
One observer of today’s scene has this advice to orators: If you can’t convince them, confuse them. Hitler is one who goes on this principle.
Here are additional selected citations in chronological order.
Frank Lloyd Wright? John Mason Brown? Henri Peyre? Fred Allen? Dick Cavett? Anonymous?
Dear Quote Investigator: The most acerbic criticism I have heard directed at TV was attributed to the famous architect Frank Lloyd Wright:
Television is just chewing gum for the eyes.
However, I recently saw the remark credited to a drama critic named John Mason Brown. Could you explore this saying?
Quote Investigator: The earliest evidence of this vivid metaphor located by QI appeared in a 1944 book by Henri Peyre who was a Professor of French at Yale University. In 1944 television sets were still very expensive, and the industry was immature in the U.S. The metaphor was applied to movies and radio broadcasts instead. Boldface has been added to excerpts:[ref] 1944, Writers and Their Critics: A Study of Misunderstanding by Henri Peyre (Sterling Professor of French at Yale University), Quote Page 291, Cornell University Press, Ithaca, New York. (Verified with scans)[/ref]
Yet there is no sorrier sight to watch then the vacant faces of those former high school and college students when, at thirty-five or fifty, all their mental alertness having vanished, the spark gone from their eyes, they dutifully chew their gum to keep from yawning, while absorbing the chewing gum for the eyes of the movies or the chewing gum for the ears of the radio.
The same men who once read Shakespeare, Molière, Byron glance at the headlines of their tabloid papers, turn straight to the page of the funnies, to devour them with the same dutiful sense of boredom as they swallow their hamburger at lunchtime and their highball after dinner.
More than a decade later this figurative language was applied to another communication medium. In January 1955 Steven H. Scheur who was a well-known film critic visited the “book-lined New York apartment” of John Mason Brown who was a prominent theater critic. They discussed the quality of the programs broadcast on television. Brown applied the chewing-gum metaphor to TV:[ref] 1955 January 21, Syracuse Herald-Journal, Ed Murrow To Call on Critic Brown by Steven H. Scheur, Quote Page 32, Column 1, Syracuse, New York. (NewspaperArchive)[/ref]
Although Brown is generally recognized as our most eminent theater essayist—Saturday Review of Literature—he confesses to a special partiality for TV news shows.
“So much of TV seems to be chewing gum for the eyes. … TV desperately needs more self-reliance and pride in the medium.”
By 1958 the remark was being credited to the architect Frank Lloyd Wright. Details are given further below.
Here are additional selected citations in chronological order.
