Picture of Prague library of science, geometry, and astronomy from Unsplash
Question for Quote Investigator: A top-selling author once powerfully praised libraries with the following words:
Libraries store the energy that fuels the imagination. They open up windows to the world and inspire us to explore and achieve, and contribute to improving our quality of life. Libraries change lives for the better.
Apparently, U.S. writer Sidney Sheldon made these remarks. Sheldon created popular plays, movies, television programs, and books. Would you please help me to find a citation?
Reply from Quote Investigator: The earliest match known to QI appeared in the May 1995 issue of the periodical “American Libraries” which published a short piece about Sidney Sheldon who was honored on his 78th birthday at the Los Angeles Public Library. The event occurred a few months earlier in February. A photo from the celebration showed Sheldon together with an executive of the American Library Association (ALA). Between the two figures was a poster created for the National Library Week of 1995.
The poster displayed the testimonial quotation under examination although some parts of the text were not visible because of reflective glare in the photo. The following line was visible on the poster. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:1
Libraries store the energy that fuels the imagination.
The ascription to Sidney Sheldon was also visible on the poster. QI believes that this photo together with the citations presented further below provide convincing evidence that Sidney Sheldon should be credited with the quotation.
The article mentioned that Sheldon had recorded a five-minute video for ALA’s “Library Advocacy Now!” campaign, and it is possible that Sheldon employed the quotation within this recording.
Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.
Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius? Johann Wolfgang von Goethe? Ernest Hemingway? Banksy? Laurie Anderson? Amelia B. Edwards? James Grant? Sylvester Stallone? Anonymous?
Picture of a graveyard from Unsplash
Question for Quote Investigator: A family of expressions describes two stages of mortality. One stage corresponds to traditional biological death. The other stage corresponds to cultural disappearance which occurs when a figure is forgotten or socially inactive. Here are three examples:
(1) You die twice: first, when life leaves your body, second, when you are forgotten.
(2) You die twice: first, when you take your last breath, second, when your name is spoken for the last time.
(3) You die twice—once when you retire from public life and once when death takes you.
German writer Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, U.S. author Ernest Hemingway, U.K. graffiti artist Banksy, U.S. musician Laurie Anderson, and others have received credit for instances of this saying. However, I am skeptical because it is difficult to find sold citations. Would you please explore this topic?
Reply from Quote Investigator: This complicated subject is challenging to research because of the wide variety of expressions which mention dying twice. The first strong thematic match found by QI was written in Latin by the Roman philosopher Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius in AD 523 within the work “De consolatione philosophiae” (“On the Consolation of Philosophy”). Boethius mentioned prominent Roman figures such as Brutus and Cato whose renown was declining. Boethius suggested that the recognition of well-known figures faded over time, and obscurity portended a second death. The text below presents an English translation1 followed by the original Latin verse. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:2
Ye lie then all unknown, and fame can give no knowledge of you. But if you think that life can be prolonged by the breath of mortal fame, yet when the slow time robs you of this too, then there awaits you but a second death.
Quodsi putatis longius vitam trahi Mortalis aura nominis, Cum sera vobis rapiet hoc etiam dies, Jam vos secunda mors manet.
In 1823 “The London Magazine” printed an instance in this family of sayings which was applied to actors:3
Actors have a double mortality and die twice!—First their mental faculties droop and become impaired, and they die from the stage, which is their public life; and then after a few years of inglorious silence and sloth, they catch the common trick of age, and die into dust!
In 1863 English writer Amelia B. Edwards published the novel “Barbara’s History” which contained a match using the word “forgotten” within the following dialogue:4
“He may be dead, my dear aunt,” said I, affecting a profound indifference; “but I do not really see how he could possibly be so twice over.”
“We all die twice,” replied she. “The first time is when we simply cease to be; the second, when we are forgotten.”
“Dear aunt,” I exclaimed, “that is very well said!”
Below is an overview showing selected examples together with dates and attributions:
Illustration depicting Voltaire and Émilie du Châtelet
Question for Quote Investigator: The philosopher and historian Voltaire (penname of François-Marie Arouet) wrote about metaphorically dying twice. One dies when one can no longer form a bond of love. One dies again when the physical body expires. I do not know the precise phrases Voltaire used to express this idea. Would you please help me to find a citation?
Reply from Quote Investigator: In 1745 the sixth volume of a large collection of works by Voltaire appeared. The following verse was included. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:1
On meurt deux fois, je le vois bien : Cesser d’aimer & d’être aimable, C’est une mort insupportable : Cesser de vivre, ce n’est rien.
Here is one possible translation into English:
One dies twice, I see it clearly: To cease to love and to be lovable, It’s an unbearable death: To cease to live is nothing.
The verse was inspired by Voltaire’s complicated intellectual and romantic relationship with mathematician and physicist Émilie du Châtelet. Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.
Mickey Mantle? Anthony J. Connor? David Plaut? Anonymous?
Picture of a baseball from Unsplash
Question for Quote Investigator: A prominent athlete believed that even top professionals should practice and continue to improve their capabilities. This attitude was expressed as follows:
It is unbelievable how much you don’t know about the game you’ve been playing all your life.
U.S. Major League Baseball player Mickey Mantle has received credit for this remark. Would you please help me to find a citation?
Reply from Quote Investigator: Mickey Mantle played for the New York Yankees between 1951 and 1968. In 1964 he published “The Quality of Courage: True Stories of Heroism and Bravery” which contained the following. Boldface added to excepts by QI:1
The point is, anyone who gets to the majors is a terrific ballplayer but, even so, he doesn’t know very much from a major league point of view. He has to start learning like a first-grader. When you reach the major leagues, it is unbelievable how much you don’t know about the game you’ve been playing all your life. You have so much to learn, so much to find out, so much to practice. And it’s the same in anything, in sport or out of it. The farther you get the more you have to learn, to study.
Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.
Edward Hulse? Leewin B. Williams? Viola Brothers Shore? Arthur Godfrey? Walter Winchell? Anonymous?
Minimalist illustration of a bowing figure representing humility
Question for Quote Investigator: The feeling of humility is paradoxical. The instant you become self-aware and proud of your humility, it disappears. This thought has been stated as follows:
Humility is a strange thing. The moment you think you’ve got it, you’ve lost it.
Sir Edward Hulse has received credit for this expression, but I am skeptical of this attribution because I have never seen a solid citation. Would you please explore this topic?
Reply from Quote Investigator: Sir Edward Hulse, 6th Baronet, died in 1903. The 7th Baronet died in 1915. QI has found no substantive evidence that either employed this saying. The earliest match found by QI appeared in a 1938 work titled “Master Book of Humorous Illustrations” compiled and edited by Leewin B. Williams. This book contained thousands of brief passages about miscellaneous topics. The following sentence appeared at the top of a page without attribution:1
“Humility is that strange thing that the moment you think you have it, you have lost it.”
QI believes that the creator remains anonymous. QI conjectures that the attribution to Sir Edward Hulse resulted from a naming confusion. A different person named E. D. Hulse was linked to the saying via a religious periodical in 1967. See the details further below.
Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.
Walter Kerr? Jean Kerr? Caroline A. Lejeune? Dorothy Parker? Walter Winchell? Goodman Ace? Clare Boothe Luce? Alexander Woollcott? Kenneth Tynan?
Picture of a Leica camera from Unsplash
Question for Quote Investigator: A famous one-line theater review employed a horrible pun. Many people have been credited with this pun, but I have never seen any solid evidence.
The target of the review was the 1951 Broadway play “I Am a Camera” by John Van Druten which was adapted from Christopher Isherwood’s 1939 novel “Goodbye to Berlin”. The two-word appraisal simply stated: “No Leica”. This wordplay was based on the pronunciation “like-a” for the German camera company Leica.
Drama critics Walter Kerr, Caroline Lejeune, and Kenneth Tynan have all received credit for this pun. In addition, the joke has been attributed to witty writers such as Dorothy Parker, Jean Kerr, and Goodman Ace. Would you please explore this topic?
Reply from Quote Investigator: The earliest close match known to QI appeared in the widely syndicated newspaper column of Walter Winchell in December 1951. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:1
Goodman Ace’s capsule criticism of the play, “I Am a Camera”: “No Leica!” … (Sorry, folks. These Are The Jokes!).
Based on current knowledge QI believes that U.S. humorist Goodman Ace deserves credit for this joke. Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.
Glenn Curtiss? Angelo Donghia? Stephen Robbins? Eugene Lewis Fordsworthe? Caroline Leaf Carol? Bill Gatter? Anonymous?
Train wreck disaster in 1895 at Montparnasse in Paris, France
Question for Quote Investigator: Relying on false assumptions leads to serious blunders. Here are two versions of a pertinent adage:
(1) Assumption is the mother of all mistakes. (2) Assumption is the mother of all screw-ups.
This saying has been attributed to U.S. interior designer Angelo Donghia, U.S. military parachutist Bill Gatter, and others. Would you please explore the provenance of this maxim?
Reply from Quote Investigator: There are several versions of this saying which makes it difficult to trace. The earliest match found by QI appeared in “The Sun” newspaper of Baltimore, Maryland in July 1972. A political operative in a U.S. presidential campaign employed the saying. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:1
They would not be traveling anywhere if it were not for Stephen Robbins, 30, the chief advance and scheduling man, who breezily advises his even younger aides: “Don’t assume: assumption is the mother of foul-ups.”
The above citation suggests that Stephen Robbins may have coined the adage, but QI believes it is more likely that the saying was already in circulation, and the creator was anonymous. Future researchers may uncover earlier evidence.
Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.
St. Augustine of Hippo? Louis-Charles Fougeret de Monbron? Lord Byron? St. Austin? Stendhal? Richard Lassels?
Picture showing a wooden boat moving toward a mountain from Unsplash
Question for Quote Investigator: The following popular saying about travel praises the knowledge gained from visiting multiple locations:
The world is a book, and those who don’t travel read only one page.
This statement is usually attributed to St. Augustine of Hippo. But it has also been credited to French writer Louis-Charles Fougeret de Monbron, English poet Lord Byron, and others. I have never seen a solid citation. Would you please explore this topic?
Reply from Quote Investigator: QI and other researchers have located no substantive evidence supporting the attribution to St. Augustine of Hippo. The earliest match found by QI appeared in the 1670 book “The Voyage of Italy: or A Compleat Journey through Italy” by English travel writer and tutor Richard Lassels. The preface contained the following passage. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:1
… the Profit of Travelling; it’s certain, that if this world be a great book, as S. Augustine calls it, none study this great Book so much as the Traveler. They that never stir from home, read only one page of this Book; and like the dull fellow in Pliny, who could never learn to count farther than five, they dwell alwayes upon one Lesson.
They are like an acquaintance of mine, who had alwayes a book indeed lying open upon a Desk; but it was observed that it lay alwayes open at one and the same place, and by long custome, could lye open no where else.
Richard Lassels credited Saint Augustine with the metaphorical notion that the world is a book. However, QI believes that Lassels deserves credit for the full statement which equates staying in one place to reading a single page of this world book. QI conjectures that later readers misread the passage above and incorrectly attributed the full statement to Saint Augustine.
Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.
Mark Twain?John W. Casto? Maturin M. Ballou? Apocryphal?
Picture of Earth taken by Apollo 17 crew
Question for Quote Investigator: Mark Twain traveled widely, and he wrote about his experiences in the books “The Innocents Abroad” and “Following the Equator”. Twain believed that travel broadened the mind and reduced prejudices. Would you please help me to find a quotation in which he expressed this idea?
Reply from Quote Investigator: In 1869 Mark Twain published “The Innocents Abroad or The New Pilgrims’ Progress”. The conclusory section contained the following passage:1
Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things can not be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one’s lifetime.
Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.
Patrick O’Connor? Stella Adler? Edward Fuller? Elizabeth Hodgson? Irving Babbitt? Margaret Harford? Jed Harris? Anonymous?
Picture of books containing works by famous dead authors
Question for Quote Investigator: Living authors are often viewed with a mixture of suspicion and aggravation. Here are three versions of a pertinent adage:
(1) The only good author is a dead author. (2) All good authors are dead authors. (3) The best author is a dead author.
Interestingly, this adage has two different meanings. Publishers and editors use the adage to encapsulate a collection of complaints about writers, e.g., late manuscripts, poor quality writing, and exorbitant monetary demands.
Academics and critics use the adage to signal that a delay is required when evaluating the worthiness of a writer. Typically, the quality, impact, and longevity of a literary oeuvre can only be accurately judged many years after the author has died.
Would you please explore the provenance of this adage?
Reply from Quote Investigator: The earliest match found by QI in the domain of publishing and editing appeared on September 29, 1886. Anonymous editors received credit. The earliest match in the domain of criticism and academia appeared on May 29, 1895. The attribution was anonymous. Here is an overview showing selected examples together with dates and attributions:
1886 Sep 29: … they will not pay a man for manuscript unless he will agree to die before it is put in print. This precaution is taken so that the author can’t come in afterward and “cuss” about the bad proofreading. Also on the theory that the only really good author is a dead one. (Attributed to anonymous “western editors”)
1895 May 29: We must not conclude that all good books are old books, nor that all good authors are dead authors. (Anonymous)
1903 Feb: It is unnecessary to assume, of course, that the only good authors are dead authors. Undue depreciation of the literature of the day may be quite as futile as undue approval … (Edward Fuller)
1906 Sep 20: From the teacher’s point of view one is tempted to lay down the rule that the only good authors are dead authors. (Irving Babbitt)
1916 Apr 22: It is a mistake to suppose that the only good authors are dead ones. Some colleges have fostered the idea that literary genius is extinct. (A. S. Mackenzie)
1919 May: They were often bookworms that had bored their way through countless musty volumes, it being their first axiom that the only good author is a dead author. (Attitude ascribed to “old college professors” by Elizabeth Hodgson)
1921 May: There have always been—there will always be—people like Mr. Knox, who feel that the only good author is a dead author, and the only good story an unpopular story. (Attitude ascribed to Vicesimus Knox by an unnamed writer)
1941 Mar 19: The best author is a dead author—at least from the point of view of scholarship. (Attributed to William Y. Tindall)
1958 Jan 10: The only good author is a dead author. (Attributed to Jed Harris by Thornton Wilder)
1970 Apr 19: Ignoring the old saw that “the best author is a dead author,” playwright Brian Friel showed up, very much alive, to maneuver some minor, last-minute changes in his new play, “Crystal & Fox”. (“Old saw” according to Margaret Harford)
1971: When a publisher says that the best authors are dead authors, he means that the latter cannot torment him by being late with their manuscripts, demanding more money, threatening to go off to another publisher, or telephoning him in the middle of the night. (Publisher’s saying according to Anthony Blond)
1972 Spring: Students of twentieth century literature are familiar with the classical position of Academia: namely, the only good author is a dead author. (“Classical position of Academia” according to Eugenia N. Zimmerman)
1975 May 4: We have a motto. It’s that the only good author is a dead author. (“A motto” according to Patrick O’Connor)
1993 Aug 23: The only good author is one who’s been dead at least 100 years. (Attributed to anonymous education reformers)
2008 May 29: The best author is a dead author. He can’t stand around at the rehearsals, watching and making everybody nervous. (Attributed to Stella Adler by Barry Paris)
Below are details for selected citations in chronological order.
