Quote Investigator® – Page 2 – Tracing Quotations

Quote Origin: There Is No Bad Weather, Only Inappropriate Clothing

Elisabeth Woodbridge? Charlotte V. Gulick? Ranulph Fiennes? Alfred Wainwright? Anonymous?

Silhouette of a person in golden sunlight from Unsplash

Question for Quote Investigator: With the proper clothing a person is capable of adapting to almost any type of weather. Here is an adage reflecting this attitude:

There is no bad weather, only bad clothing.

Would you please explore the provenance of this saying?

Reply from Quote Investigator: This maxim is difficult to trace because it can be expressed in many ways. The earliest match known to QI appeared in an 1874 letter from German poet and novelist Berthold Auerbach who attributed the saying to German politician Heinrich Simon. An excerpt appears below followed by one possible translation into English. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:¹

„Es gibt kein schlechtes Wetter, es gibt nur gute Kleider,“ hat der im Wallensee ertrunkene großgesinnte Heinrich Simon im Sprichwort gehabt und das gilt auch mir.

“There is no such thing as bad weather, there are only good clothes,” said the great-minded Heinrich Simon, who drowned in Lake Walen, and the same applies to me.

This above instance employed the phrase “good clothes” instead of “bad clothes”. The adage encouraged readers to wear carefully selected clothing attuned to the weather.

Here is an overview with dates

Precursor 1830: There is no such thing in nature as bad weather (John Wilson)

1874: Es gibt kein schlechtes Wetter, es gibt nur gute Kleider (Attributed to Heinrich Simon) Translation: There is no such thing as bad weather, there are only good clothes

1875: Es gibt eigentlich kein schlechtes Wetter, sondern nur gute Kleider (Attributed to Bogumil Goltz) Translation: There is actually no such thing as bad weather, only good clothes.

Variant 1883: There was no such thing as bad weather, but only different kinds of pleasant weather (John Ruskin)

1911: There is no such thing as bad weather, there is only good clothes (Anonymous attribution by Elisabeth Woodbridge)

1915: There is no such thing as bad weather if one is dressed properly (Charlotte V. Gulick of Camp Fire Girls)

1935: There is no such thing as bad weather, only bad dressing for the weather. (Anonymous attribution by Helen Johnson Keyes)

1941: There is no bad weather, only bad clothes (Anonymous attribution in Vogue)

1960: There is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothes (Anonymous attribution by Duchess of Windsor)

1962: There’s no bad weather, only unsuitable clothing (Margot Benary-Isbert)

1974: There is no bad weather for bikes, only bad clothing (Attributed to Swedes)

1977: There is no such thing as bad weather—only inadequate clothing (Comical attribution to Freud in Punch)

1978: There is no inclement weather, only inappropriate clothing (Anonymous attribution in Wisconsin State Journal)

1985: There’s no such thing as bad weather, only the wrong clothing (Anonymous in Cruising World)

2006: There is no such thing as bad weather, only inappropriate clothing (Attribution to Ranulph Fiennes)

2009: There’s no such thing as bad weather, only unsuitable clothing (Attribution to Alfred Wainwright)

Below are selected citations with details in chronological order.

Quote Origin: No Such Thing As Bad Weather, But Only Different Kinds of Pleasant Weather

John Ruskin? Ettrick Shepherd? Christopher North? John Wilson? Elisabeth Woodbridge? George Gissing? John Lubbock? Anonymous?

**Public domain drawing of Aiguille de Blaitière by John Ruskin**

Question for Quote Investigator: Cold, wet, and windy weather is often considered unsatisfactory, but several thinkers contend that there is no such thing as bad weather. All weather is pleasant when examined from the appropriate perspective. Precipitation and fluctuating temperatures are required for the flourishing of plants and animals. Also, stormy weather is aesthetically pleasing to landscape painters.

This notion has been attributed to English writer and art critic John Ruskin, popular English novelist George Gissing, English banker and scientist John Lubbock, and University of Edinburgh Professor of Moral Philosophy John Wilson. Would you please explore this topic?

Reply from Quote Investigator: John Ruskin delivered this counter intuitive remark about pleasant weather during a lecture at the University of Oxford which was printed in “The Pall Mall Gazette” of London in 1883.

Ruskin praised an artwork by English painter Copley Fielding which depicted drovers working in the rain. Ruskin displayed the painting in the back parlor of his home, but a visitor criticized the picture. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:¹

“An undergraduate friend, fresh from Eastern travel, was staying with us, and came into the room to see the cause of our ravishment. He looked at the cheerless scene and remarked, ‘But, Ruskin, what is the use of painting such very bad weather?’ To which question I could only make the reply that there was no such thing as bad weather, but only different kinds of pleasant weather—some demanding, indeed, courage and patience for their enjoyment, but all of them fittest in their seasons—best for the hills, for the cattle, the drovers, my master and me!”

Ruskin continued with comments about other artists:

“The weather might be bad for Greek or Saracen, but for us these simple pictures of mountain mist were more precious than Titian’s blue skies or Angelico’s gold rings of Paradise.”

Interestingly, Ruskin was not the first person to assert the non-existence of bad weather as shown below.

Here are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Quote Origin: Time Is the Coin of Your Life. It Is the Only Coin You Have

Carl Sandburg? Ralph McGill? Apocryphal?

Illustration of a plant growing from coins from Unsplash

Question for Quote Investigator: It is too easy to waste time on frivolous, foolish, or self-destructive pursuits. Apparently, a prominent literary figure once equated time to a valuable coin which each person must spend wisely. Would you please help me find the correct phrasing and a citation?

Reply from Quote Investigator: Ralph McGill was a well-known journalist, editor, and publisher of “The Atlanta Constitution” newspaper in Georgia. In October 1959 McGill wrote a column in which he recalled a discussion he held with the popular poet and biographer Carl Sandburg. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:¹

I keep remembering a conversation with Carl Sandburg.

“Time,” he said, “is the coin of your life. It is the only coin you have and only you can determine how to spend it. Be careful lest you let other people spend it for you.”

The accuracy of this quotation is dependent on the memory and veracity of Ralph McGill.

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Quote Origin: Definition of a Classic—Something That Everybody Wants To Have Read and Nobody Wants To Read

Mark Twain? Caleb Thomas Winchester? Frank Norris? Otto F. Ege? Apocryphal?

Book shelf filled with classic works of literature from Unsplash

Question for Quote Investigator: Classic works of literature are sometimes difficult or tedious to read. Apparently, a humorist once said something like the following:

(1) Definition of a classic—something that everybody wants to have read and nobody wants to read.

(2) A classic is something that everyone wants to have read and no one wants to read.

This notion has been credited to Mark Twain, but I have not yet seen a precise citation, and I am unsure of the phrasing. Would you please explore this topic?

Reply from Quote Investigator: In 1900 Mark Twain delivered a speech at the Nineteenth Century Club in New York, and he employed this quip; however, he did not take credit for the line. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:¹

Professor Winchester also said something about there being no modern epics like Paradise Lost. I guess he’s right. He talked as if he was pretty familiar with that piece of literary work, and nobody would suppose that he never had read it. I don’t believe any of you have ever read Paradise Lost, and you don’t want to.

That’s something that you just want to take on trust. It’s a classic, just as Professor Winchester says, and it meets his definition of a classic—something that everybody wants to have read and nobody wants to read.

Twain attributed the joke to Caleb Thomas Winchester who was a Professor of English Literature at Wesleyan University in Connecticut.²

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Quote Origin: One of the Great Mistakes Is to Judge Policies and Programs by Their Intentions Rather Than Their Results

Milton Friedman? Apocryphal?

Question for Quote Investigator: Economic policies are typically promulgated and enacted with high purposes and goals, yet sometimes the results are inadvertently deleterious. A prominent economist once said:

One of the great mistakes is to judge policies and programs by their intentions rather than their results.

These words have been credited to U.S. economist Milton Friedman. I have not been able to find a citation, Would you please help determine if this attribution is accurate?

Reply from Quote Investigator: In 1975 Milton Friedman appeared on the television show “The Open Mind”, and he was interviewed by the host Richard Heffner. Friedman employed the quotation. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:¹

One of the great mistakes is to judge policies and programs by their intentions rather than their results. We all know a famous road that is paved with good intentions.

The people who go around talking about their soft heart — I share their — I admire them for the softness of their heart, but unfortunately, it very often extends to their head as well, because the fact is that the programs that are labeled as being for the poor, for the needy, almost always have effects exactly the opposite of those which their well-intentioned sponsors intend them to have.

Friedman was referring to the proverb “The road to hell is paved with good intentions”.

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Quote Origin: Social Media Gives the Right To Speak To Legions of Imbeciles Who Previously Only Spoke in Bars After Drinking

Umberto Eco? Dery Dyer? Apocryphal?

**Illustration of a jester’s hat from Pixabay**

Question for Quote Investigator: A prominent intellectual once denounced social media because it amplified the voices of imbeciles who in the past only propounded their opinions at local bars after drinking.

This notion has been attributed to the Italian semiotician and novelist Umberto Eco who wrote “Il Nome Della Rosa” (“The Name of the Rose”) and “Il Pendolo di Foucault” (“Foucault’s Pendulum”). Would you please help me to find a citation and determine the correct phrasing of Eco’s remark?

Reply from Quote Investigator: In 2015 Umberto Eco received an honorary degree in “Comunicazione e Cultura dei media” (“Communication and Media Culture”) from the University of Turin. The Italian newspaper “La Stampa” (“The Press”) reported that Eco spoke to journalists after the conferral, and he delivered the following harsh judgment in Italian. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:¹

«I social media danno diritto di parola a legioni di imbecilli che prima parlavano solo al bar dopo un bicchiere di vino, senza danneggiare la collettività. Venivano subito messi a tacere, mentre ora hanno lo stesso diritto di parola di un Premio Nobel. È l’invasione degli imbecilli».

Here is one possible translation into English:

“Social media gives the right to speak to legions of imbeciles who previously only spoke at the bar after a glass of wine, without damaging the community. They were immediately silenced, but now they have the same right to speak as a Nobel Prize winner. It’s the invasion of imbeciles.”

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Quote Origin: There Are Years That Ask Questions and Years That Answer

Zora Neale Hurston? Apocryphal?

**Multi-colored question marks from Pixabay**

Question for Quote Investigator: A new year brings uncertainties and choices. The uncertainties will be resolved in a future year. A prominent literary figure once wrote:

There are years that ask questions and years that answer.

This statement has been attributed to U.S. writer Zora Neale Hurston. Would you please help me to find a citation?

Reply from Quote Investigator: In 1937 Zora Neale Hurston published the novel “Their Eyes Were Watching God” which included the following passage. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:¹

There are years that ask questions and years that answer. Janie had had no chance to know things, so she had to ask. Did marriage end the cosmic loneliness of the unmated? Did marriage compel love like the sun the day?

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Quote Origin: The Distinction Between Past, Present, and Future Is Only a Stubbornly Persistent Illusion

Albert Einstein? Freeman Dyson? H. Dieter Zeh? Apocryphal?

Silhouette of a person standing before a starfield

Question for Quote Investigator: The universe can be modeled as a vast four-dimensional spacetime manifold. From this viewpoint, time does not change; instead, the universe is static and timeless. Here are four versions of a statement attributed to the famous physicist Albert Einstein:

(1) The separation between past, present, and future is only an illusion, although a convincing one.

(2) This separation between past, present, and future has the value of mere illusion, however tenacious.

(3) The distinction between past, present and future is only a stubbornly persistent illusion.

(4) Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one.

I have not been able to find a citation. Would you please explore this topic?

Reply from Quote Investigator: In March 1972 “The New York Times” published an article titled “Some of Einstein’s Reflections, Aphorisms and Observations” which included a version of the quotation. The article printed an excerpt from a letter dated March 21, 1955 from Albert Einstein to family members of Michele Angelo Besso who had died recently. Besso had been Einstein’s lifelong friend. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:¹

With the departure from this strange world, he now has gone a little ahead of me. This is of no significance. For us believing physicists, the separation between past, present and future has only the meaning of an illusion, albeit a tenacious one.

The original German version of Einstein’s quotation can be seen in a book by physicist H. Dieter Zeh titled “The Physical Basis of the Direction of Time”:²

Four weeks before his death Albert Einstein wrote in a letter of condolence to the family of his life-long friend Michael Besso . . . “Für uns gläubige Physiker hat die Scheidung zwischen Vergangenheit, Gegenwart und Zukunft nur die Bedeutung einer wenn auch hartnäckigen Illusion.”

There is no doubt that Einstein meant this remark very seriously. It obviously refers to the four-dimensional (‘static’ or ‘objective’) representation of all events in a spacetime frame which his theory of relativity uses so efficiently.

A scan of Einstein’s 1955 letter is viewable on the website of Christie’s auction house where it is accompanied with an article discussing the quotation.³

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Quote Origin: In a Football Match, Everything Is Complicated by the Presence of the Opposite Team

Jean-Paul Sartre? Alan Sheridan-Smith? Apocryphal?

**Picture of a football (soccer ball) from Unsplash**

Question for Quote Investigator: The presence of an adversary makes planning more complex because the achievement of goals requires the anticipation of counter-measures. A famous philosopher once said something like the following:

In football everything is complicated by the presence of the opposite team.

The term “football” corresponds to “soccer” in North America. The above statement has been attributed to French existentialist philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre. Would you please help me to find a citation?

Reply from Quote Investigator: In 1960 Jean-Paul Sartre published “Critique de la Raison Dialectique” (“Critique of Dialectical Reason”) which included the following text within a footnote. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:¹

En fait, dans un match de football, tout se complique du fait de la présence de l’équipe adverse. Il y a réciprocité positive entre les coéquipiers dans une rigoureuse liaison avec une réciprocité négative et antagonistique. Mais cette complexité ne change rien à notre problème.

Sartre’s work was translated into English by Alan Sheridan-Smith and published in 1976. The passage above was rendered as follows:²

In fact, in a football match, everything is complicated by the presence of the opposite team. The positive reciprocity between members of a team is closely connected with a negative and antagonistic reciprocity. But this complication does not alter our problem in any way.

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Quote Origin: Words Make You Think a Thought. Music Makes You Feel a Feeling. A Song Makes You Feel a Thought

Yip Harburg? Jay Gorney? Caryl Brahms? Ned Sherrin? Apocryphal?

**Members of a music band playing and singing from Unsplash**

Question for Quote Investigator: A prominent songwriter once stated that words are used to make a person think a thought, and music is used to make a person feel a feeling, but the goal of a song is different and more powerful:

A song makes you feel a thought.

This notion has been attributed to U.S. lyricist Yip Harburg who wrote the words for several famous songs including “Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?” (with Jay Gorney), “April in Paris”, and “Over the Rainbow”. Would you please explore this topic?

Reply from Quote Investigator: In 1984 Caryl Brahms and Ned Sherrin published “Song by Song: The Lives and Work of 14 Great Lyric Writers” which included a section about Yip Harburg. The authors printed an excerpt from a speech delivered by Harburg in 1970 during which he emphasized the potency of combining words and music. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:¹

Together they go places … words make you think a thought. Music makes you feel a feeling. A song makes you feel a thought. Together they stand ready to soothe not only the savage breast, but the stubborn mind . . . a new idea can find a soft spot — even under a hard hat.

The greatest romance in the life of the lyricist is when the right word meets the right note; often however, a Park Avenue phrase elopes with a Blecker Street chord resulting in a shotgun wedding and a quickie divorce.

QI believes that this evidence is substantive, and it indicates that Yip Harburg deserves credit for the statement under investigation. Brahms and Sherrin stated that they accessed a tape of Harburg’s 1970 lecture supplied by Maurice Levine² who organized the lecture series which was titled “Lyrics and Lyricists”.

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.