What Sort of Philosophers Are We Who Know Absolutely Nothing of the Origin and Destiny of Cats?

Henry David Thoreau? Grace Goodman Mauran? Apocryphal?

Picture of a kitten playing with a flowerQuestion for Quote Investigator: The essayist and transcendentalist philosopher Henry David Thoreau found cats intriguing. He was disappointed that humanity knew “absolutely nothing of the origin and destiny of cats.” Would you please help me to find a citation for this remark about cats?

Reply from Quote Investigator: Henry David Thoreau recorded his thoughts and observations in a multi-volume journal. The entry dated December 12, 1856 contains the following. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:[1]Website: The Writings of Henry D. Thoreau, Online Journal Transcripts, Henry David Thoreau’s Journal, Manuscript Volume 22, Journal Date: December 12, 1856, The Thoreau project is located in … Continue reading

Wonderful—wonderful is our life and that of our companions! That there should be such a thing as a brute animal—not human! & that it should attain to a sort of society with our race!! Think of cats, for instance; they are neither Chinese nor Tartars; they do not go to school, nor read the Testament. Yet how near they come to doing so–how much they are like us! What sort of philosophers are we who know absolutely nothing of the origin & destiny of cats?

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Continue reading “What Sort of Philosophers Are We Who Know Absolutely Nothing of the Origin and Destiny of Cats?”

References

References
↑1 Website: The Writings of Henry D. Thoreau, Online Journal Transcripts, Henry David Thoreau’s Journal, Manuscript Volume 22, Journal Date: December 12, 1856, The Thoreau project is located in Davidson Library at the University of California, Santa Barbara. (Accessed via thoreau.library.ucsb.edu on November 15, 2022)

A Novel Can Be Cleaned Up. Life Is One Big Messy Rough Draft

Harlan Coben? Apocryphal?

Fantasy book with waterfallsQuestion for Quote Investigator: A best-selling author once stated something like the following: The world of fiction is superior to the real world because a writer is capable of altering and improving a fictional realm, but the real world is always a big messy rough draft. Would you please help me to identify this author and find a citation?

Reply from Quote Investigator: Harlan Coben has written several top-selling mystery novels and thrillers. In 2010 he wrote a piece in “Parade Magazine” that discussed his writing process. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:[1] 2010 May 16, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Section: Parade Magazine, Don’t Run Afoul of Bobby Knight by Harlan Coben, Quote Page 18, Column 1, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Newspapers_com)

Let me back up a little and tell you why I prefer writing to real life: You can rewrite. A novel, for example, can be cleaned up, altered, trimmed, improved. Life, on the other hand, is one big messy rough draft. You forget your line in your third-grade play, you screw up spelling “occurred” in the fifth-grade spelling bee … you can’t take any of that back.

Coben further stated that sometimes he wished he had a delete key for real life. In conclusion, Harlan Coben deserves credit for the quotation above.

Image Notes: Illustration of a fantasy book from thommas68 at Pixabay. Image has been resized and cropped.

(Great thanks to writer extraordinaire Vic DiGenti who included this quotation in a newsletter of the Florida Writers Association. This led QI to formulate this question and perform this exploration.)

References

References
↑1 2010 May 16, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Section: Parade Magazine, Don’t Run Afoul of Bobby Knight by Harlan Coben, Quote Page 18, Column 1, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Newspapers_com)

Seek Happiness in Tranquility and Avoid Ambition

Mary Shelley? Victor Frankenstein? Scott Galloway? Apocryphal?

Portrait of Mary ShelleyQuestion for Quote Investigator: English author Mary Shelley penned the famous science fiction novel “Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus”. The overweening ambition of the main character, scientist Victor Frankenstein, caused him to create a monster. He learned bitterly that his passion for success and fame was destructive. Apparently, his dying words were a powerful injunction to avoid ambition. Would you please help me to find a citation?

Reply from Quote Investigator: Mary Shelley published “Frankenstein” in 1818. Victor Frankenstein’s final conversation occurs with Robert Walton, the captain of a ship which is on a dangerous journey toward the North Pole. Crewmembers of the ship discover an exhausted and gaunt Victor floating on a block of ice. After Victor partially recovers his health he proceeds to tell the captain his tragic saga. Below are Victor’s last words before expiring. This passage uses the British spelling: “tranquillity”. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:[1]1818, Frankenstein, Or, The Modern Prometheus by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, Volume 3 of 3, Chapter 7, Quote Page 177, Printed for Lackington, Hughes, Harding, Mavor, & Jones, London. (Google … Continue reading

“The forms of the beloved dead flit before me, and I hasten to their arms. Farewell, Walton! Seek happiness in tranquillity, and avoid ambition, even if it be only the apparently innocent one of distinguishing yourself in science and discoveries. Yet why do I say this? I have myself been blasted in these hopes, yet another may succeed.”

Oddly, Victor’s final two sentences seem to undercut the admonition to avoid ambition. Victor’s ambivalence reflects the complexity of his character. Mary Shelley did not wish to enforce a single meaning for her sophisticated fable. The framing tale of Captain Robert Walton’s perilous voyage illustrates a counterpoint to Victor’s story. Walton decides to halt his expedition. Thus, Walton selects safety over ambition.

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Continue reading “Seek Happiness in Tranquility and Avoid Ambition”

References

References
↑1 1818, Frankenstein, Or, The Modern Prometheus by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, Volume 3 of 3, Chapter 7, Quote Page 177, Printed for Lackington, Hughes, Harding, Mavor, & Jones, London. (Google Books Full View) link

All of Us Are Creatures of a Day; the Rememberer and the Remembered Alike

Marcus Aurelius? Irvin D. Yalom? George Long? John Jackson? Martin Hammond? Ivar Lissner? Apocryphal?

Conjectural illustration of Marcus AureliusQuestion for Quote Investigator: The book “Creatures of a Day: And Other Tales of Psychotherapy” by U.S. psychiatrist Irvin D. Yalom begins with the following passage attributed to Roman emperor and Stoic philosopher Marcus Aurelius in “The Meditations”:[1] 2015, Creatures of a Day: And Other Tales of Psychotherapy by Irvin D. Yalom, Epigram at beginning of book, Quote Page viii, Basic Books, New York. (Verified with scans)

All of us are creatures of a day; the rememberer and the remembered alike. All is ephemeral—both memory and the object of memory. The time is at hand when you will have forgotten everything; and the time is at hand when all will have forgotten you. Always reflect that soon you will be no one, and nowhere.

This excerpt is confusing because I have been unable to find the full text; instead, I have found only fragments. Would you please help me to find a citation?

Reply from Quote Investigator: QI believes that this passage was assembled from statements in three different locations within “The Meditations” of Marcus Aurelius: Book 4—35, Book 7—21, and Book 12—21. Below are citations showing multiple translations.

Continue reading “All of Us Are Creatures of a Day; the Rememberer and the Remembered Alike”

References

References
↑1 2015, Creatures of a Day: And Other Tales of Psychotherapy by Irvin D. Yalom, Epigram at beginning of book, Quote Page viii, Basic Books, New York. (Verified with scans)

A Sense of Humor Is Just Common Sense Dancing

William James? Clive James? Apocryphal?

Question for Quote Investigator: A thoughtful person constructed the following vivid metaphor:

A sense of humor is just common sense dancing.

The U.S. philosopher William James and the Australian critic Clive James have both received credit for this statement. I am uncertain of these ascriptions because I have not seen any solid citations. Would you please explore this topic.

Reply from Quote Investigator: QI has located no substantive evidence supporting the ascription to William James.

In 1979 Clive James published a review in the London newspaper “The Observer” of a television program titled “The Old Crowd” written by Alan Bennett and directed by Lindsay Anderson. The critic complained that Anderson had removed the jokes from the script “leaving a nebulous story about some hazily defined types moving aimlessly about in a half-furnished house.” Boldface added to excerpts by QI:[1] 1979 February 4, The Observer, Television: Crumbling Crowd by Clive James, Quote Page 20, Column 8, London, England. (ProQuest)

People like Lindsay Anderson can never learn what people like Alan Bennett should know in their bones: that common sense and a sense of humour are the same thing, moving at different speeds. A sense of humour is just common sense, dancing. Those who lack humour are without judgment and should be trusted with nothing.

“Humor” and “humour” are variant spellings of the same word. Outside the U.S. the spelling “humour” predominates.

The incorrect attribution to William James illustrates a known error mechanism. An attribution sometimes jumps from one person to another with a similar name.

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Continue reading “A Sense of Humor Is Just Common Sense Dancing”

References

References
↑1 1979 February 4, The Observer, Television: Crumbling Crowd by Clive James, Quote Page 20, Column 8, London, England. (ProQuest)

I Think Everybody Should Get Rich and Famous So They Can See That That’s Not the Answer

Jim Carrey? Jay Stone? Apocryphal?

Question for Quote Investigator: A famous movie star once said that everyone should experience becoming rich and famous because it would be clear that wealth and fame are not the answer to life’s conundrums. Would you please explore this topic?

Reply from Quote Investigator: In December 2005 Canadian actor and comedian Jim Carrey spoke with journalist Jay Stone, and “The Ottawa Citizen” of Canada printed the following remarks from Carrey. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:[1]2005 December 16, The Ottawa Citizen, Carrey’s been busted, Continuation title: Carrey—Being rich not the answer by Jay Stone, Start Page F1, Quote Page F2, Column 2, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. … Continue reading

He says that earlier in his career, he believed that making just one more film, getting one more hit, would be enough, but he got tired of being emotionally disappointed.

“You just go like, ‘Yeah, it was a fantastic hit, but what now?’” Carrey’s advice: “I think everybody should get rich and famous and everything they ever dreamed of so they can see that that’s not the answer.”

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Continue reading “I Think Everybody Should Get Rich and Famous So They Can See That That’s Not the Answer”

References

References
↑1 2005 December 16, The Ottawa Citizen, Carrey’s been busted, Continuation title: Carrey—Being rich not the answer by Jay Stone, Start Page F1, Quote Page F2, Column 2, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. (Newspapers_com)

To Understand a Person You Have To Know What Was Happening in the World When That Person Was Twenty

Napoleon Bonaparte? G. M. Young? Anonymous?

Question for Quote Investigator: The years of early adulthood are crucial to the formation of an entire outlook toward life. You have to know what was happening in the world when a person was twenty to understand that person. This notion has been ascribed to the French military leader Napoleon Bonaparte and the English historian G. M. Young. I am skeptical of the linkage to Napoleon because I have not seen any substantive citations. Would you please explore this topic?

Reply from Quote Investigator: In 1943 G. M. Young delivered a lecture before The British Academy of London about the Irish-British statesman Edmund Burke. Young believed that a thorough understanding of Burke required an assessment of the intellectual zeitgeist Burke experienced at age twenty. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:[1]1943, Proceedings Of The British Academy, Annual Lecture on a Master Mind, Henriette Hertz Trust, Burke by G. M. Young, Date: February 17, 1943, Start Page 19, Quote Page 24, Published for The … Continue reading

He was born, you will remember, in 1729. But a man’s birth-year is only of importance because it directs us to look for what was happening in the world when he was twenty, and at that age by ‘what was happening’ we ordinarily mean what books were in the air.

There were two from which a young man, even if he had not read them, could not protect himself: Hume’s Essays, with that Essay on Miracles which was a thrust at the heart of revealed religion, and Bolingbroke’s Patriot King, a challenge not to the Revolution Settlement so much as to the political philosophy by which the Settlement was legitimated, and the political practice by which it was applied.

In 1949 Young published an article in “The Listener” magazine of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). He again emphasized the importance of understanding the pivotal youthful years of character formation:[2]1949 July 14, The Listener, Continuity by G. M. Young, Note: A slightly modified version of the Leslie Stephen Lecture delivered in Cambridge last May, Start Page 57, Quote Page 57, Column 2, British … Continue reading

… whenever I am thinking of a character, in public life it may be, or in literature, I always ask ‘What was happening in the world when he was twenty?’ If I am thinking of a year, the question is ‘Who were in their forties then?’ To the twenties I go for the shaping of ideas not fully disclosed: to the forties for the handling of things already established.

QI believes that this notion should be credited to G. M. Young. The earliest attribution to Napoleon known to QI appeared in 1998. Yet, the Emperor died in 1821. The long delay means that the linkage to Napoleon currently has no substantive support.

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Continue reading “To Understand a Person You Have To Know What Was Happening in the World When That Person Was Twenty”

References

References
↑1 1943, Proceedings Of The British Academy, Annual Lecture on a Master Mind, Henriette Hertz Trust, Burke by G. M. Young, Date: February 17, 1943, Start Page 19, Quote Page 24, Published for The British Academy, London by Geoffrey Cumberlege, Oxford University Press. (Internet Archive at archive.org)
↑2 1949 July 14, The Listener, Continuity by G. M. Young, Note: A slightly modified version of the Leslie Stephen Lecture delivered in Cambridge last May, Start Page 57, Quote Page 57, Column 2, British Broadcasting Corporation, London (The Listener Archive: Gale NewsVault)

Quote Origin: When Everybody Thinks Alike, Nobody Will Think At All

George Patton? Benjamin Franklin? Walter Lippmann? John F. Kennedy? Sue Myrick? Edward Krehbiel? Jonathan P. Dolliver? Humphrey B. Neill? Eric Schmidt? Porter B. Williamson? Anonymous?

Question for Quote Investigator: Conformity is a powerful force that narrows the thought patterns of groups and individuals. Here are three selections from a family of pertinent sayings:

(1) Where all think alike, no one thinks very much
(2) No one is thinking if everyone is thinking alike
(3) If everyone is thinking alike then somebody isn’t thinking

Items in this group have been attributed to the prominent statesman Benjamin Franklin, the influential journalist Walter Lippmann, the well-known military figure George S. Patton, and others. Would you please explore this topic?

Reply from Quote Investigator: This notion can be expressed in numerous ways; hence, it is quite difficult to trace. Below is an overview representing the evolution of this family with dates and attributions:

1886: When everybody thinks alike there is hardly any incentive to think at all
(Anonymous)

1905: When everybody thinks alike, nobody will think at all
(Anonymous)

1910: Where all think alike, you will find also a central office where all the thinking is done
(Jonathan P. Dolliver)

1915: Where all think alike, no one thinks very much
(Walter Lippmann)

1918: When all think alike no one thinks very much
(Anonymous)

1919: When everybody thinks alike nobody thinks at all
(Edward Krehbiel; He disclaimed credit in 1922)

1934: Where all think alike, no one thinks very much.
(Attributed to Walter Lippmann)

1935: Where everybody thinks alike nobody thinks much
(Anonymous)

1942: When everyone thinks alike, no one thinks.
(Attributed to Reader’s Digest)

1949: When everyone thinks alike, ‘everyone’ is likely to be wrong
(Humphrey B. Neill)

1955: With everyone thinking alike, no one thinks at all
(Juvenile probation officer)

1959: When everyone is thinking alike, no one is doing any thinking!
(Attributed to Walter Lippmann)

1964: If everyone is thinking alike, then no one is thinking at all
(Attributed to John F. Kennedy)

1976: When everyone thinks alike, nobody thinks
(Attributed to Walter Lippmann)

1977: When all think alike, none thinks very much
(Attributed to Ronald Gould)

1979: No one is thinking if everyone is thinking alike
(Principle ascribed to Benjamin Franklin)

1979: If everyone is thinking alike, no one is thinking
(Principle ascribed to George Patton)

1988: If everybody’s thinking alike we’re not thinking
(Attributed to Sue Myrick)

1989: When all think alike, then no one is thinking.
(Attributed to Walter Lippmann)

1990: If everyone is thinking alike then somebody isn’t thinking
(Attributed to George Patton)

1995: If everyone is thinking alike then no one is thinking
(Attributed to Benjamin Franklin)

1997: No one’s thinking if everyone is thinking alike
(Attributed to George Patton)

Summary Highlights: Precursors occurred in the 19th century, but the earliest full match located by QI occurred as an anonymous filler item in 1905. Journalist Walter Lippmann employed an instance in 1915, and he often receives credit for his popular phrasing. Stanford Professor Edward Krehbiel used an instance in 1919 although he disclaimed authorship later. Newspaper columnist Humphrey B. Neill crafted a variant in 1949.

QI hypothesizes that the linkage to statesman Benjamin Franklin and General George Patton occurred because of remarks in the 1979 book “I Remember General Patton’s Principles” by Porter B. Williamson. The book did not directly attribute the saying to either of these men; instead, the book claimed that the saying represented a decision making principle used by Franklin and Patton. Details are given further below.

QI acknowledges the previous excellent work of researcher Barry Popik who explored this topic and found helpful citations beginning in 1919.1

Here are the details for the citations in chronological order.

Continue reading “Quote Origin: When Everybody Thinks Alike, Nobody Will Think At All”

Becoming Is Better Than Being

Carol Dweck? Paul Klee? Thomas Oliver? Martin Heidegger? Victor Branford? Sarah Frances Brown? Charles Hartshorne? Alfred North Whitehead?

Question for Quote Investigator: When you are living a full life you are always changing and growing. You are not inert or stagnant. Here are two versions of a pertinent adage:

(1) Becoming is better than being.
(2) Becoming is more important than being.

This saying has been attributed to prominent U.S. psychologist Carol Dweck, renowned German artist Paul Klee, influential Scottish physician Thomas Oliver, and others. Would you please explore this topic?

Reply from Quote Investigator: This notion has roots in ancient spiritual and philosophical traditions. But this article is focused on tracing closely matching statements.

The earliest instance located by QI appeared in a December 1913 address delivered by Professor of Medicine Sir Thomas Oliver before the Insurance Institute of Newcastle-upon-Tyne in England. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:[1]1914, The Chartered Insurance Institute Journal of 1914, Medico-Social Problems from an Insurance Point of View by Sir Thomas Oliver M.D. (Professor of the Principles and Practice of Medicine, … Continue reading

The successful man admits that there is more pleasure in work than in having secured the rewards of it—that becoming is better than being—since possibility marks the one and finality seals the other.

QI tentatively credits Oliver with this expression although he may have been repeating a saying that he had heard previously.

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Continue reading “Becoming Is Better Than Being”

References

References
↑1 1914, The Chartered Insurance Institute Journal of 1914, Medico-Social Problems from an Insurance Point of View by Sir Thomas Oliver M.D. (Professor of the Principles and Practice of Medicine, University of Durham College of Medicine, Newcastle upon Tyne), Remark: A paper read before the Insurance Institute of Newcastle-upon-Tyne on 8th December 1913, Start Page 1, Quote Page 1, Published by Charles & Edwin Layton, London. (Google Books Full View) link

Quote Origin: In the Sublime War of Humanity Against Reality, Humanity Has But One Weapon, The Imagination

Lewis Carroll? Cheshire Cat? C. S. Lewis? Jules de Gaultier? Benjamin de Casseres? Percy Bysshe Shelley? Herbert Kaufman? Apocryphal?

A person sitting in the middle of a yoga pose.

Question for Quote Investigator: Reality can be cold and disheartening. Yet, humans have the extraordinary facility to imagine a different and more entertaining universe. Here are two versions of a pertinent saying:

(1) Imagination is the only weapon in the war against reality.
(2) In the war against reality, humanity has but one weapon—Imagination.

This remark has been attributed to the popular children’s author Lewis Carroll, the well-known fantasy author C. S. Lewis, the French philosopher Jules de Gaultier, and the essayist Benjamin de Casseres. Who is the genuine originator of this expression? Would you please explore this topic?

Reply from Quote Investigator: In 1916 Benjamin de Casseres published an essay about the English poet Percy Bysshe Shelley in “The Poetry Journalâ€. De Casseres employed a version of the saying while describing the works of Shelley, but he did not attribute the comment to the poet. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:1

In the sublime war of man against Reality man has but one weapon, the imagination. The ethereal imagination is the highest form of the evolution of the transfiguring and sublimating power of images. It marks the boundary line between the mystery of matter and the mystery of spirit. It is the fine volatilized plasma of an esoteric dimension, of a world where the truths hinted at by the x-ray and radium are true for the human mind and body.

Based on current evidence QI believes that Benjamin de Casseres deserves credit for the quotation under examination. Jules de Gaultier improbably received credit in 1935 after the saying had been circulating for nearly two decades. Lewis Carroll and C. S. Lewis implausibly received credit in the 21st century.

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Continue reading “Quote Origin: In the Sublime War of Humanity Against Reality, Humanity Has But One Weapon, The Imagination”