Quote Investigator® – Page 34

Quote Origin: You Shall Know a Word by the Company It Keeps

John Rupert Firth? Melanie Mitchell? Ludwig Wittgenstein? A. H. Schutz? Apocryphal?

Question for Quote Investigator: A dictionary defines the meaning of a word by using a sequence of other words. Occasionally, a definition employs a picture. Linguists and artificial intelligence researchers have suggested that the denotations and connotations of a word emerge via an examination of the words that commonly occur adjacent or nearby. This notion is reflected in the following adage:

You shall know a word by the company it keeps.

Would you please explore the provenance of this statement?

Reply from Quote Investigator: The earliest close match known to QI appeared in 1957 within an article by linguist John Rupert Firth titled “A Synopsis of Linguistic Theory” which was published by the Philological Society of London. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:¹

As Wittgenstein says, ‘the meaning of words lies in their use.’ The day-to-day practice of playing language games recognizes customs and rules. It follows that a text in such established usage may contain sentences such as ‘Don’t be such an ass!’, ‘You silly ass!’, ‘What an ass he is!’ In these examples, the word ass is in familiar and habitual company, commonly collocated with you silly—, he is a silly—, don’t be such an—. You shall know a word by the company it keeps!

QI believes John Rupert Firth should receive credit for the expression under investigation.

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Quote Origin: My Pencil and I Are More Clever Than I Am

Albert Einstein? Karl Popper? Adolf von Harnack? Agnes von Zahn-Harnack? Dorothy Kilgallen? Jules C. Stein? David Deutsch? Apocryphal?

Question for Quote Investigator: Solving difficult problems often requires sketching out preliminary ideas on paper with a pen or pencil. The paper functions as an extension of human memory, and a scratchpad for developing thoughts. A famous scientist has been credited with saying something like this. Here are three versions:

(1) My pencil and I are more clever than I am.
(2) My pen is cleverer than I.
(3) My pencil is more intelligent than I.

This saying has been attributed to Albert Einstein, but I have been unable to find a citation. Would you please explore this topic?

Reply from Quote Investigator: Albert Einstein died in 1955. In 1965 the influential philosopher of science Karl Popper delivered a series of lectures at Washington University, St Louis. The following year he published “Of Clouds and Clocks” based on the lecture material. Popper attributed a version of the remark about pencils to Einstein within a footnote about computers. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:¹

… we use, and build, computers because they can do many things which we cannot do; just as I use a pen or pencil when I wish to tot up a sum I cannot do in my head. ‘My pencil is more intelligent than I’, Einstein used to say.

QI has not yet found direct evidence of this quotation in the writings or speeches of Einstein. QI does not know where Popper found the quotation. A German version of the saying was attributed to another person in 1936 as shown further below.

The remark is not listed in the comprehensive reference “The Ultimate Quotable Einstein” from Princeton University Press, but the reference does contain a pertinent quotation from Einstein’s sister, Maja, who stated that Albert used a pen while cogitating:²

Even when there was a lot of noise, he could lie down on the sofa, pick up a pen and paper, precariously balance an inkwell on the backrest, and engross himself in a problem so much so that the background noise stimulated rather than disturbed him.

Maja Einstein. See CPAE (Collected Papers of Albert Einstein), Vol. 1, lxiv

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Quote Origin: The Trouble About Fighting for Human Freedom Is That You Have To Spend Much of Your Life Defending Sons-of-Bitches

H.L. Mencken? Gerald W. Johnson? Apocryphal?

Question for Quote Investigator: Oppressive laws are sometimes promulgated to target unsavory individuals. The opposition to these laws requires defending these individuals. The famous Baltimore journalist and commentator H. L. Mencken apparently said something like the following:

The trouble with fighting for human freedom is that one spends most of one’s time defending scoundrels.

Did Mencken really say this? Would you please help me to find the correct phrasing together with a citation?

Reply from Quote Investigator: H. L. Mencken died in January 1956, and shortly afterward his colleague Gerald W. Johnson published an essay about his life in “The Saturday Review”. Both Mencken and Johnson worked at “The Baltimore Sun” and “The Evening Sun” newspapers of Maryland for many years. Johnson presented remarks he had heard directly from Mencken. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:¹

“The trouble about fighting for human freedom,” he remarked once, “is that you have to spend much of your life defending sons-of-bitches; for oppressive laws are always aimed at them originally, and oppression must be stopped in the beginning if it is to be stopped at all.”

In this version of the quotation, the term “sons-of-bitches” occurred instead of “scoundrels”. The bowdlerized variant with “scoundrels” began circulating by 2003.

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Quote Origin: Always Verify Your Quotations

Winston Churchill? Martin Routh? John Burgon? G. W. Peck? Earl of Rosebery? Anonymous?

Question for Quote Investigator: According to a legend of academia, a young student once asked an illustrious professor to impart his greatest piece of wisdom, and the sage replied with one of these statements:

(1) Always verify your quotations.
(2) Always check your references.
(3) Always verify references.
(4) Always check your citations.

Ironically, few people are heeding this advice; hence, the details of this tale are uncertain. Winston Churchill sometimes receives credit for telling this story although I think it was circulating before he was born. Would you please explore this topic?

Reply from Quote Investigator: Martin Routh was the President of Magdalen College, Oxford for more than six decades. He was a renowned classical scholar who died in 1854, and he has usually received credit for this saying.

The student who asked Routh for advice was John Burgon who later became a leader in the Anglican Church. Burgon presented a brief description of the interaction at the beginning of his 1871 book titled “The Last Twelve Verses of the Gospel According to S. Mark”. Boldface added to excepts by QI:¹

“‘Advice to you,’ sir, ‘in studying Divinity?’ Did you say that you ‘wished I would give you a few words of advice,’ sir? … Then let me recommend to you the practice of always verifying your references, sir!”
Conversation of the late President Routh

Burgon stated in a later book that the dialog occurred on November 29, 1847. Thus, the 1871 description above appeared more than two decades after the event occurred. This long delay reduced the reliability of the report.

QI has uncovered earlier published evidence of this family of sayings. The first instances referred to “quotations” instead of “references” or “citations”. Below is an overview with dates:

Quote Origin: To Get the Full Value of a Joy You Must Have Somebody To Divide It With

Mark Twain? Arthur T. Pierson? Apocryphal?

Dear Quote Investigator: To experience a joyful event completely one should share it with others. I think Mark Twain made a point similar to this in his collection of sayings called “Pudd’nhead Wilson’s New Calendar”. Would you please help me to find a citation?

Quote Investigator: In 1897 Mark Twain released a travel book titled “Following the Equator: A Journey Around the World”, and the 48th chapter presented the following epigraph. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:¹

Grief can take care of itself; but to get the full value of a joy you must have somebody to divide it with. —Pudd’nhead Wilson’s New Calendar.

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Quote Origin: Each Time You Fail, Start All Over Again, and You Will Grow Stronger

Hellen Keller? Anne Sullivan? Apocryphal?

Question for Quote Investigator: There is an inspirational saying about beginning a task again even when you fail. Eventually, you will accomplish your purpose although it may not be exactly the purpose with which you began.

This notion has been attributed to Anne Sullivan who was the brilliant teacher of Helen Keller who overcame great adversities in her life. Would you please help me to find the correct phrasing together with a citation?

Reply from Quote Investigator: Anne Sullivan died in 1936. In 1955 Helen Keller wrote a book praising her instructor and companion titled “Teacher: Anne Sullivan Macy”. Keller credited Sullivan with offering the following motivational guidance. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:¹

. . . “No matter what happens, keep on beginning and failing. Each time you fail, start all over again, and you will grow stronger until you find that you have accomplished a purpose—not the one you began with, perhaps, but one that you will be glad to remember.”

And who shall count the innumerable times that she tried, failed, and conquered?

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Quote Origin: Nothing Succeeds Like Undress

Dorothy Parker? Oscar Wilde? Alexandre Dumas? Anonymous?

Question for Quote Investigator: While streaming an elaborately expensive television series I encountered a gratuitous scene with scanty clothing. I was reminded of this witticism: Nothing succeeds like undress.

This quip has been attributed to Dorothy Parker. Would you please explore the provenance of this remark?

Reply from Quote Investigator: The earliest close match located by QI appeared in January 1906 in a New Castle, Pennsylvania newspaper within a column featuring miscellaneous comical remarks. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:¹

Motto for Ladies at the Opera—Nothing succeeds like undress.—Town Topics.

Thus, the creator was anonymous. Dorothy Parker used this quip in 1918 after it was already in circulation. Here is an overview with dates of the pertinent family of sayings:

1827: Rien ne réussit comme un succès.(Jacques-François Ancelot)

1847 Nov: Nothing succeeds like success. (English translation of Alexandre Dumas)

1893: Nothing succeeds like excess. (Oscar Wilde)

1904 Mar: Nothing recedes like success. (Anonymous)

1904 Nov: Nothing recedes like ex-success. (Duncan M. Smith)

1906 Jan: Nothing succeeds like undress. (Anonymous)

1918 Apr: Nothing succeeds like undress. (Dorothy Parker)

A separate Quote Investigator article centered on the saying “Nothing succeeds like success” is available here.

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Maxim Origin: Nothing Succeeds Like Success

Alexandre Dumas? Ralph Waldo Emerson? William J. Snelling? Jacques-François Ancelot? Jules Janin? William Pulling? Alphonse de Lamartine? Anonymous?

Question for Quote Investigator: One success often leads to another success in a chain of achievement, opportunity, and good fortune. A popular adage expresses this idea:

Nothing succeeds like success.

This phrase has been attributed to several French writers including Alexandre Dumas who wrote “Le Comte de Monte-Cristo” (“The Count of Monte Cristo”). Would you please explore this topic?

Reply from Quote Investigator: This adage evolved over time, and the earliest instances located by QI occurred in French. The saying moved from French to English by 1847. QI believes that the origin of this saying is best described as anonymous. Here is an overview with dates:

1826: Rien ne réussit en France comme le succès. (Nothing succeeds in France like success.) Written by M.R.

1827: Rien ne réussit comme un succès. (Nothing succeeds like a success.) Written by Jacques-François Ancelot

1837: Rien ne réussit comme le succès. (Nothing succeeds like success.) Attributed to Jules Janin

1847: Nothing succeeds like success. Written by William J. Snelling who was translating a story by Alexandre Dumas into English

In 1826 “Le Mercure du dix-neuvième siècle” (“The Nineteenth Century Mercury”) published an article by a music critic who used the initials M.R. The critic employed a version of the saying while praising a piece of music. Passages in French in this article are followed by English translations. Boldface added to excepts by QI:¹

On a déjà dit que rien ne réussit en France comme le succès: vous allez voir réussir celui-ci.

It has already been said that nothing succeeds in France like success: you are going to see this one succeed.

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Quote Origin: To My Mind, There Could Be No Greater Character To Play Than Othello

Paul Robeson? William Shakespeare? Apocryphal?

Question for Quote Investigator: A prominent actor once discussed William Shakespeare’s tragic character Othello and said the following:

There could be no greater character to play.

This statement has been attributed to Paul Robeson. Would you please explore this topic.

Reply from Quote Investigator: Paul Robeson played the character Othello in London in 1930. He also performed the character on Broadway in 1943 and 1944. Othello became Robeson’s best-known role.

The American Archive of Public Broadcasting contains a video of the April 9, 1998 episode of “The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer”. The episode included a segment from an interview with Paul Robeson conducted in 1959. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:¹

PAUL ROBESON: Shakespeare posed this problem of a say black man in a white society in the role that he’s playing. And Shakespeare gave Othello such dignity—he came not from—as he said—not from hate but from honor, from a sense of his own human dignity. And to me, to my mind, there could be no greater character to play.

Below is one additional selected citation.

Quote Origin: Inspiration Is for Amateurs—The Rest of Us Just Show Up and Get To Work

Chuck Close? Stephen King? Philip Roth? Harvey Mackay? Mark Twain? Charles Schulz? Rosalyn Drexler? John Barkham? Nocona Burgess? Jill Elaine Hughes?

Question for Quote Investigator: An artist must wait patiently for inspiration to occur according to a romanticized depiction of creativity. Yet, a successful professional artist offered the following contrary viewpoint:

Inspiration is for amateurs. The rest of us just show up and get to work.

This notion has been attributed to acclaimed photorealist painter Chuck Close, popular horror writer Stephen King, Noble Prize-winning author Philip Roth, motivational columnist Harvey Mackay, and others. Would you please explore this topic?

Reply from Quote Investigator: In April 2006 Chuck Close was interviewed by fellow artist Joe Fig. The interview appeared in the 2009 book “Inside the Painter’s Studio”. The text below consists of a question posed by Fig followed by a reply from Close. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:¹

Do you have a motto or creed that as an artist you live by?

Inspiration is for amateurs—the rest of us just show up and get to work. And the belief that things will grow out of the activity itself and that you will—through work—bump into other possibilities and kick open other doors that you would never have dreamt of if you were just sitting around looking for a great “art idea.”

Interestingly, a character in a novel by Philip Roth employed a version of this saying while crediting Chuck Close. Also, Stephen King used a version while crediting Roth. Thus, the confusion about attribution is understandable. Details are presented further below.

Here are additional selected citations in chronological order.