Quote Investigator® – Page 32

Quote Origin: Do What You Can, With What You’ve Got, Where You Are

Theodore Roosevelt? George Washington Carver? Bill Widener? William H. Maxwell? Frederick James Eugene Woodbridge? Anonymous?

Question for Quote Investigator: There are psychological barriers to accomplishing a major task. Dreaming about obtaining more resources or reaching a superior starting position leads to procrastination. Instead, you must do what you can with what you have, and you must begin where you are.

U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt said something like this. Would you please help me to find the accurate phrasing? Also, is the attribution to Roosevelt correct?

Reply from Quote Investigator: In 1913 Theodore Roosevelt published an autobiography which contained a matching statement. Interestingly, Roosevelt disclaimed credit for the popular motivational saying, and he named another person as author. The following passage presented Roosevelt’s philosophical perspective. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:¹

It may be true that he travels farthest who travels alone; but the goal thus reached is not worth reaching. And as for a life deliberately devoted to pleasure as an end—why, the greatest happiness is the happiness that comes as a byproduct of striving to do what must be done, even though sorrow is met in the doing.

There is a bit of homely philosophy, quoted by Squire Bill Widener, of Widener’s Valley, Virginia which sums up one’s duty in life: “Do what you can, with what you’ve got, where you are.”

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Quote Origin: The Middle of the Road is Where the White Line Is—and That’s the Worst Place To Drive

Robert Frost? Margaret Thatcher? Dwight D. Eisenhower? Aneurin Bevan? Franklin P. Jones? I. P. Reynolds? Eric Nicol? John M. Ashbrook? William Penn Patrick? Sydney Harris? Alan Craig Loughrige? Jim Hightower? Anonymous?

Question for Quote Investigator: Social relationships and political decisions often entail compromise. Yet, these intermediary policies, i.e., middle-of-the-road positions, frequently engender hostility. Here is a pertinent adage:

The middle of the road is where the white line is—and that’s the worst place to drive.

Prominent U.S. poet Robert Frost has received credit for this remark. Lines between lanes in the U.S. may be white or yellow. Cogent comments on this topic have been attributed to U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower and U.K. Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. Would you please explore statements of this type?

Reply from Quote Investigator: Robert Frost appeared on a television show broadcast by educational television station WQED in 1956. The magazine “Collier’s” printed a collection of his statements delivered during the show. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:¹

ON BEING YOURSELF

People have got to think. Thinking isn’t to agree or disagree. That’s voting.

Somebody said to me the other day, “Are you a middle-of-the-roader?” So I said, “Well, if you want to call me bad names. The middle of the road is where the white line is—and that’s the worst place to drive.”

Below are additional selected citations which fit the theme of middle-of the-road presented in chronological order.

Quote Origin: Every Time I See an Adult on a Bicycle, I No Longer Despair for the Future of the Human Race

H. G. Wells? Robert Silverman? Diane Ackerman? Carie Dann? Heathcote Williams? Ali Smith? Apocryphal?

Question for Quote Investigator: Apparently, the famous science fiction author H. G. Wells was a bicycle enthusiast. Here are three versions of a remark that has been credited to him:

Every time I see an adult on a bicycle, I no longer despair for the future of the human race.

When I see an adult on a bicycle, I have hope for the human race.

When I see an adult on a bicycle, I do not despair for the future of the human race.

I fear that this is a misquotation. I have never seen a precise citation for this statement pointing to an essay, book, or speech created by H. G. Wells. Would you please explore this topic?

Reply from Quote Investigator: QI has been unable to find substantive evidence supporting the attribution to H. G. Wells who died in 1946. The earliest close match located by QI appeared in the magazine “Bicycle USA” circa 1988 within a letter sent to the periodical. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:¹

I encourage you to continue your efforts to make bicycling safer and more pleasant for the millions of bicyclists in North America. “Every time I see an adult on a bicycle, I no longer despair for the future of the human race” said H.G. Wells.

Robert Silverman
Montreal, Canada

QI does not know where the letter writer obtained this quotation. The long delay after the death of H. G. Wells greatly diminished the credibility of this citation.

Three different books by H. G. Wells have been suggested as the source of the quotation: “The Wheels of Chance” (1896), “The History of Mr. Polly” (1910), and “The Rights of Man” (1940). QI has explored these books, and the quotation was absent. Details are presented further below.

Here are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Quote Origin: Consistency Is the Last Refuge of the Unimaginative

Oscar Wilde? James McNeill Whistler? Ralph Waldo Emerson? Apocryphal?

Question for Quote Investigator: Being consistent is important in life. Yet, additional knowledge and experience motivates new thoughts and behaviors. The following adage criticizes the straitjacket of excessive consistency:

Consistency is the last refuge of the unimaginative.

The famous Irish wit Oscar Wilde has received credit for this saying. Would you please explore this topic?

Reply from Quote Investigator: In 1885 Oscar Wilde published an essay about the prominent painter James McNeill Whistler in “The Pall Mall Gazette” of London. Wilde contended that the philosophy of painting propounded by Whistler was inconsistent with the artworks he was creating. But Wilde was eager to forgive this lapse. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:¹

Nor do I feel quite sure that Mr. Whistler has been himself always true to the dogma he seems to lay down, that a painter should only paint the dress of his age, and of his actual surroundings: far be it from me to burden a butterfly with the heavy responsibility of its past: I have always been of opinion that consistency is the last refuge of the unimaginative: but have we not all seen, and most of us admired, a picture from his hand of exquisite English girls strolling by an opal sea in the fantastic dresses of Japan? Has not Tite-street been thrilled with the tidings that the models of Chelsea were posing to the master, in peplums, for pastels?

Whatever comes from Mr. Whistler’s brush is far too perfect in its loveliness, to stand, or fall, by any intellectual dogmas on art, even by his own: for Beauty is justified of all her children, and cares nothing for explanations.

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Quote Origin: During My Life I Have Often Had To Eat My Own Words, and I Have Found Them a Wholesome Diet

Winston Churchill? Isabel Vernon? Walter Monckton? John W. Wheeler-Bennett? Katherine Ramsay? Earl of Swinton? Lord Normanbrook? Apocryphal?

Question for Quote Investigator: According to legend a prominent political figure was planning to reverse a long-held policy, and a colleague disapproved while warning, “You would be required to eat your own words.” The figure replied, “I have often been required to eat my own words, and I find it a very wholesome diet!”

This wordplay has been attributed to Winston Churchill. I am unsure of the precise phrasing, and I haven’t been able to locate a solid citation. Would you please explore this topic?

Reply from Quote Investigator: The earliest ascription to Churchill found by QI appeared in the “Bristol Evening Post” of England in 1956. Sir Walter Monckton delivered a speech to the students at Colston School (now called Collegiate School). Boldface added to excerpts by QI:¹

Sir Walter urged the boys not just to take other people’s opinions for granted, but to form their own and think straight for themselves—even if they occasionally had to admit they were wrong.

This was not a shameful thing, he said, and cited the instance on which, after Sir Winston Churchill had been taken to task for saying something quite inconsistent with something he had said years before, he commented: “For 40 years, I have found myself eating my own words, and on the whole I find it a very wholesome diet!”

QI has not yet found a direct citation to a speech by Winston Churchill or to a text written by him. Nevertheless, the citation above and other attributions shown below are substantive; hence, QI believes Churchill deserves credit for using this type of quip although he was not the first.

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Quote Origin: If They Don’t Give You a Seat at the Table, Bring in a Folding Chair

Shirley Chisholm? Donna Brazile? Barbara Lee? Giovanni Piccolino? Apocryphal?

Question for Quote Investigator: A politician who advocated for inclusive decision-making used the following metaphorical expression to encourage activists to demand representation:

If they don’t give you a seat at the table, bring in a folding chair.

This saying has been attributed to U.S. Congress member Shirley Chisholm and U.S. political strategist Donna Brazile. Would you please explore this topic?

Reply from Quote Investigator: Shirley Chisholm died in January 2005, and shortly afterward “People” magazine published a tribute to her which included a remark from Donna Brazile who credited Chisholm with the expression. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:¹

Democratic party activist and longtime friend Donna Brazile still recalls the advice Chisholm once gave her: “She said, ‘If you wait for a man to give you a seat, you’ll never have one! If they don’t give you a seat at the table, bring in a folding chair.’”

The excerpt above contains the earliest match located by QI. This citation provides substantive support for the ascription Shirley Chisholm.

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Quote Origin: You Did What You Knew How To Do, and When You Knew Better, You Did Better

Maya Angelou? Oprah Winfrey? Phil McGraw? Gary Zukav? Ernest Rogers? Anonymous?

Question for Quote Investigator: Life requires a complicated incremental process of learning. Agonizing mistakes are inevitable. Here are two versions of a heartfelt response to setbacks:

(1) You did what you knew how to do, and when you knew better, you did better.
(2) Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.

This saying has been attributed to prominent memoirist and poet Maya Angelou and to famous television producer and entrepreneur Oprah Winfrey. Would you please explore this topic?

Reply from Quote Investigator: In 1995 Oprah Winfrey’s television program featured a guest who discussed her drug abuse problems. The frank confession from the guest inspired Winfrey to make her own revelation. Oprah stated that she had smoked crack cocaine when she was in her twenties. An article in “The Washington Post” about the television episode described Oprah’s remarks. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:¹

Winfrey spoke to the audience of the shame she felt about her “dark secret” and how her friend, poet Maya Angelou, had once said to her, “You did what you knew how to do, and when you knew better, you did better.”

Thus, Oprah Winfrey ascribed the memorably empathetic guidance to her friend and mentor Maya Angelou. There is a long history before 1995 for the general saying: if you know better, do better.

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Quote Origin: It Is Better To Take What Does Not Belong To You Than To Let It Lie Around Neglected

Mark Twain? Merle Johnson? Apocryphal?

Question for Quote Investigator: Mark Twain has received credit for the following slyly comical remark justifying thievery:

It is better to take what does not belong to you than to let it lie around neglected.

I have not found this statement in any of the stories or essays authored by Twain. Is this quotation genuine?

Reply from Quote Investigator: The earliest match for this saying located by QI appeared in the book “More Maxims of Mark”. This slim volume was compiled by Merle Johnson and privately printed in November 1927. Only fifty first edition copies were created, and a friend of QI’s accessed copy number 14 in the The Rubenstein Rare Book Library at Duke University. Below is the saying under investigation together with the preceding and succeeding entries. Adages in the work were presented in uppercase. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:¹

IT IS NOT BEST TO USE OUR MORALS WEEKDAYS, IT GETS THEM OUT OF REPAIR FOR SUNDAY.

IT IS BETTER TO TAKE WHAT DOES NOT BELONG TO YOU THAN TO LET IT LIE AROUND NEGLECTED.

IS A PERSON’S PUBLIC AND PRIVATE OPINION THE SAME? IT IS THOUGHT THERE HAVE BEEN INSTANCES.

Merle Johnson was a rare book collector, and he published the first careful bibliography of Twain’s works in 1910 shortly after the writer’s death. Twain scholars believe that the sayings compiled by Johnson in “More Maxims of Mark” are properly ascribed to Twain.

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Quote Origin: If You Walk Far Enough You’ll Meet Yourself

Terry Pratchett? Marion Woodman? Joseph Campbell? David Mitchell? Vina Howland? Anonymous?

Question for Quote Investigator: There is a family of sayings with a surrealistic twist. Here are three instances:

(1) If you walk far enough you’ll meet yourself.

(2) Walk far enough and you will meet yourself, coming the other way.

(3) If you travel far enough, one day you will recognize yourself coming down the road to meet yourself.

This notion has been attributed to English fantasy author Terry Pratchett who created the Discworld, Canadian Jungian psychoanalyst Marion Woodman who was a mythopoetic author, U.S. literature professor Joseph Campbell who wrote “The Hero with a Thousand Faces”, and English novelist David Mitchell who wrote “Cloud Atlas”. Would you please explore this topic?

Reply from Quote Investigator: The earliest close match located by QI appeared in “The Boston Post” newspaper of Massachusetts in 1895. The statement was employed by Vina Howland of Oakland, Massachusetts who presented an anonymous attribution. She was figuratively referring to the complicated layout of streets and walkways in Boston. Boldface added to excepts by QI:¹

Miss Vina Howland of Oakland is a very pretty girl. She said: “How disappointed we were not to have this convention, but just think! I’ve seen Boston and convention, too; it’s like a dream. But ain’t it an awful place to get lost? I believe now the story they tell that is, ‘If you walk far enough you’ll meet yourself.’”

Based on current evidence the originator of the saying remains anonymous. The meaning of this notion is highly variable as shown below. QI has not yet found any substantive support for the ascription to Joseph Campbell.

Marion Woodman employed an instance in 1982. Terry Pratchett and a co-author used an instance in 1994, and David Mitchell used the expression in 2004.

Here are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Dialogue Origin: “Are You With the Show?” “Well, Let’s Just Say I’m Not Against It”

George S. Kaufman? Dick Cavett? Howard Dietz? Leonard Lyons? Howard Teichmann? Anonymous?

Question for Quote Investigator: A prominent theater producer was unhappy with the tryout performance of a show that he was funding. A stagehand did not recognize the producer which led to the following dialog:

“Are you with the show?”
“No, I’m against it!”

A variant joke employed similar wordplay. A well-regarded writer was called upon to improve a script. He attempted to enter the theater to see a rehearsal, but the doorman did not recognize him:

“Excuse me, sir; are you with the show?”
“Well, let’s just say I’m not against it.”

Would you please explore the provenance of this word play?

Reply from Quote Investigator: The earliest match located by QI appeared in a short item published in the “The Kansas City Star” newspaper of Missouri in 1906. The dialog participants were both anonymous. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:¹

It was at the stage door at Wallack’s, New York, one night recently during the brief “run” of the since defunct “District Leader.” Among those awaiting the exit of members of the company were several theatrical friends. Two of them met for the first time in months. Said one:
“Are you with the show?”
Growled the other, who doubtless had sat it out on a pass:
“No; I’m against it!”

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.