George Bernard Shaw? Anthony Anderson? Wilhelm Stekel? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: The playwright George Bernard Shaw apparently contended that indifference to another person was a greater transgression than hatred. He called this indifference a sin. Would you please help me to find a citation? Quote Investigator: George Bernard Shaw’s play “The Devil’s Disciple” was first …
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Beware of Fishing for Compliments—You Might Come Up with a Boot
Carol Weston? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: Displaying false modesty is sometimes intended to elicit praise. This type of behavior is called “fishing for compliments”. Yet, according to a well-known comical scenario an unlucky individual may reel in a fishing line and discover a useless boot attached to the hook. Would you please explore the provenance …
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The Opposite of Courage Is Not Cowardice; It Is Conformity
Rollo May? Earl Nightingale? Jim Hightower? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: Uncommon or unconventional thoughts and behaviors can elicit hostility. To avoid estrangement many people consciously or unconsciously conform to societal expectations. Pursuing an individual path requires bravery and determination. Consider the following adage: The opposite of courage isn’t cowardice; it’s conformity. This notion has been …
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Make War a Mere Contest of Machines Without Men and Without Loss of Life
Nikola Tesla? Apocryphal? Dear Quote investigator: The famous inventor Nikola Tesla envisioned a future in which human lives would be spared during warfare because advanced technology would allow the construction of fighting automatons. This would transform “battle into a mere spectacle” of machines in combat. Tesla hoped that the end of bloodshed would lead to …
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Beware of His False Knowledge: It Is More Dangerous Than Ignorance
George Bernard Shaw? Alexander Pope? H. W. James? Thomas Henry Huxley? Paul Janet? George Pellew? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: Recently I saw a tweet with a quotation attributed to the famous playwright and intellectual George Bernard Shaw: Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance. I haven’t been able to find a solid …
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Keep Your Face Always Towards the Sunshine, and the Shadows Will Fall Behind You
Helen Keller? Walt Whitman? Charles Swain? Celia Burleigh? Lydia G. Worth? Edmund Cooke? M. B. Whitman? Maori Proverb? Dear Quote Investigator: A popular metaphorical framework equates sunlight to positive situations and shadow to unfavorable conditions. Here are two instances of an adage about maintaining an optimistic perspective: This notion has been credited to prominent poet …
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Once You Have Tasted Flight You Will Walk the Earth With Your Eyes Turned Skyward
Leonardo da Vinci? John H. Secondari? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: The famous Renaissance figure Leonardo da Vinci has been given credit for a remark about the experience of flight: Once you have tasted flight you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward. How could Leonardo know something like this? I am skeptical of …
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As Years Come In and Years Go Out, I Totter Toward the Tomb
Dorothy L. Sayers? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: Gossip mongers are obsessed with identifying and publicizing the latest carnal pairings of celebrities. The acclaimed mystery writer Dorothy L. Sayers composed a short poem expressing disinterest in this subject, and I have seen two distinct versions of her humorous four lines. Would you please help me to …
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It Is Not the Clear-Sighted Who Lead the World. Great Achievements Are Accomplished in a Blessed, Warm, Mental Fog
Joseph Conrad? Edgar Ansel Mowrer? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: Great attainments are normally thought to require superior mental acuity, but the brilliant novelist Joseph Conrad apparently contended that a “warm mental fog” was necessary. Would you please help me to find a citation? Quote Investigator: In 1915 Joseph Conrad published “Victory: An Island Story” in …
A Diplomat Is a Person Who Can Tell You To Go To Hell in Such a Tactful Way That You’ll Look Forward with Pleasure To Making the Trip
Winston Churchill? Caskie Stinnett? Gary Knafelc? Vince Lombardi? Viola Layne? Earl Wilson? Joe Williams? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: Diplomacy is a difficult profession that rewards sensitivity and great verbal dexterity. The following witticism has been credited to travel writer and humorist Caskie Stinnett: A diplomat is a person who can tell you to go to …