Dear Quote Investigator: The North American fur trade between First Nations and Europeans began in the 16th century. In the 19th century millions of beaver pelts were sold in Europe. The importance of this trade has been summarized with the following blunt statement:
Canada was built on dead beavers.
The famous Canadian author Margaret Atwood whose best known novel is “The Handmaid’s Tale” has received credit for this remark. Is this attribution accurate? Would you please help me to find a citation?
Quote Investigator: In 1972 Margaret Atwood published her second novel titled “Surfacing” which contains the following statement spoken by one of the main characters. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:[ref] 1983 (First Published 1972), Surfacing by Margaret Atwood, Chapter 4, Quote Page 43, General Publishing Company, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Verified with scans) [/ref]
“Do you realize,” David says, “that this country is founded on the bodies of dead animals? Dead fish, dead seals, and historically dead beavers . . .”
The statement under examination was semantically contained within this prolix remark. An exact match for the shorter statement occurred several years later. “The Macmillan Dictionary of Political Quotations” included the following entry indicating that Atwood spoke the line in 1988:[ref] 1993, The Macmillan Dictionary of Political Quotations, Edited by Lewis D. Eigen and Jonathan P. Siegel, Chapter 27: The Environment and Natural Resources, Quote Page 161, Macmillan Publishing Company, New York. (Verified with scans) [/ref]
Canada was built on dead beavers.
Margaret Atwood, Canadian poet. Quoted on National Public Radio, Canada: True North, Sept. 19, 1988.
Voltaire? Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan? Desmond MacCarthy? Sissela Bok? Joseph Wood Krutch? Norman L. Torrey? Marvin Lowenthal? Henry Hazlitt? Richard Dawkins? Apocryphal?
Dear Quote Investigator: A system that forces people to embrace absurd beliefs causes damage to their processes of rational thought. These impaired people are more likely to act illogically and destructively. With encouragement they may act barbarously. Here are three instances from a family of related sayings:
(1) Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities.
(2) People will continue to commit atrocities as long as they continue to believe absurdities.
(3) If we believe absurdities we shall commit atrocities.
The famous French philosopher Voltaire (pen name of François-Marie Arouet) supposedly made one of these remarks, but I have been unable to find a precise citation. Would you please explore the provenance of these sayings?
Quote Investigator: Researchers have been unable to find an exact match for any of these statements in the works of Voltaire. There is a partial match using the word “unjust” instead of “atrocities”. Here is the original French statement followed by three possible translations:[ref] 1767 (Letters dated 1765), Collection des Lettres sur les Miracles: Écrites a Geneve, et a Neufchatel, Voltaire, Letter XI, Ecrite par Mr. Théro à Mr. Covelle (Robert Covelle), Start Page 145, Quote Page 150 and 151, Published A Neufchatel.(Google Books Full View) link [/ref]
1765: Certainement qui est en droit de vous rendre absurde, est en droit de vous rendre injuste
Translation 01: Certainly, whoever has the right to make you absurd has the right to make you unjust
Translation 02: Truly, whoever can make you look absurd can make you act unjustly
Translation 03: Certainly anyone who has the power to make you believe absurdities has the power to make you commit injustices
The line above appeared within letter number eleven published in 1765 in Voltaire’s work “Collection des Lettres sur les Miracles” (“Collection of Letters on Miracles”). A larger excerpt appears further below.
Pertinent matches in English using the word “atrocities” began to appear by 1914. Voltaire usually received credit for these sayings, and they form a natural family although the precise phrasings and meanings vary. The following overview with dates shows the evolution:
1914: As long as people continue to believe absurdities they will continue to commit atrocities (Spoken by a fictional version of Voltaire)
1933: Men will continue to commit atrocities as long as they continue to believe absurdities (Described as “formula of Voltaire”)
1936: Men will continue to commit atrocities as long as they continue to believe absurdities (Attributed to Voltaire)
1937: If we believe absurdities, we shall commit atrocities (Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan)
1944: Men will be brutal so long as they believe absurdities (Attributed to Voltaire)
1946: People who believe in absurdities will commit atrocities (Attributed to a great thinker)
1960: Certainly any one who has the power to make you believe absurdities has the power to make you commit injustices. (Translation of Voltaire by Norman L. Torrey)
1963: Those who can persuade us to believe absurdities can make us commit atrocities (Described as a dictum of Voltaire by Norman L. Torrey)
1977: Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities (Attributed to Voltaire)
Here are selected citations in chronological order.
Dear Quote Investigator: A Canadian author once praised the writing profession because it “interfered less with my drinking”. Would you please help me to identify this author and find a citation?
Quote Investigator: Writer Hugh Garner is best known for the Depression-era novel “Cabbagetown”. He won the Governor General’s Award of Canada in 1963. In 1964 he published a collection titled “Author, Author!” of short pieces reprinted from periodicals. Within the introduction he referred to his difficulties controlling his consumption of alcohol. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:[ref] 1964 Copyright, Author, Author! by Hugh Garner, Chapter: Introduction, Quote Page xv, Ryerson Press, Toronto, Canada. (Google Books snippet match with text visible; HathiTrust match; not yet verified with hardcopy; text does match in “Calgary Herald” book review) [/ref]
I have had a wonderful time as a freelance writer, and at one stage of my career was on my way to becoming rich, but I nipped that in the bud. There is no other job for which I was so fitted psychologically and temperamentally, and no other career which would have interfered less with my drinking.
Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.
Benjamin Franklin? George S. Patton? G. E. Marchand? Gertrude Nelson Andrews? Nicholas Murray Butler? George Lawton? Peter McWilliams? Apocryphal?
Dear Quote Investigator: Living fully during each day of one’s allotted time in this world is an admirable goal, yet few achieve this objective. Here are two versions of a humorous and melancholy comment often credited to U.S. political leader Benjamin Franklin:
(1) Many men die at age 25, but aren’t buried until they’re 75.
(2) Some people die at 25 and are not buried until 75.
I am skeptical of this attribution because I have been unable to find a solid citation. Would you please help?
Quote Investigator:QI has found no substantive support for the ascription to Benjamin Franklin. Searching Franklin’s oeuvre at franklinpapers.org yields nothing germane.
The phrasing is highly variable, and the two numbers specified fluctuate; hence, this family of sayings is quite difficult to trace. The earliest match located by QI appeared in April 1925 within a St. Louis, Missouri newspaper report about popular orator G. E. Marchand who told a large audience that personality was the key to success. Marchand employed a version of the saying based on the years 25 and 60:[ref] 1925 April 2, St. Louis Globe-Democrat, 1500 Persons Hear Marchand in First of Lecture Series, Quote Page 7, Column 2, St. Louis, Missouri. (Newspapers_com) [/ref]
“Most men and women die intellectually at 25, but are not buried until 60,” he said. “Many have big brains but little jobs because they are walking about in their shroud.”
Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.
Niels Bohr? Hans Bohr? Werner Heisenberg? Oscar Wilde? Emilio Segrè? Carl Sagan? Anonymous?
Dear Quote Investigator: A famous scientist once asserted something like this:
The opposite of a deep truth is another deep truth.
Would you please help me to find a citation and the correct phrasing?
Quote Investigator: In 1949 the prominent physicist Niels Bohr published an essay titled “Discussion with Einstein on Epistemological Problems in Atomic Physics” which included a passage about “deep truths”. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:[ref] 1959 (1949 Copyright), Albert Einstein: Philosopher-Scientist, Edited by Paul Arthur Schilpp, Chapter 7: Discussion with Einstein On Epistemological Problems in Atomic Physics by Niels Bohr, Quote Page 240, Harper Torchbooks, Harper & Row, New York. (Verified with scans) [/ref]
In the Institute in Copenhagen, where through those years a number of young physicists from various countries came together for discussions, we used, when in trouble, often to comfort ourselves with jokes, among them the old saying of the two kinds of truth. To the one kind belong statements so simple and clear that the opposite assertion obviously could not be defended. The other kind, the so-called “deep truths,” are statements in which the opposite also contains deep truth.
Bohr labeled the remark a joke, and he used the phrase “old saying”. Thus, he disclaimed authorship; nevertheless, he usually receives credit for the statement.
Below are additional selected citations in chronological order. The phrasing of this notion varies; hence, this section begins with an overview:
Dear Quote Investigator: Sometimes a narrow logical analysis is not enough to understand a topic. In the realm of art, the negation of a truth may yield another truth. The famous wit Oscar Wilde once made a claim of this type. Would you please help me to find a citation.
Quote Investigator: The 1891 book “Intentions” by Oscar Wilde contained an essay titled “The Truth of Masks” in which Wilde boldly indicated that he sometimes disagreed with himself. Boldface added to excepts by QI:[ref] 1891, Intentions by Oscar Wilde, Essay: The Truth of Masks, Start Page 179, Quote Page 212, Heinemann and Balestier, Leipzig. (Google Books Full View) link [/ref]
Not that I agree with everything that I have said in this essay. There is much with which I entirely disagree. The essay simply represents an artistic standpoint, and in aesthetic criticism attitude is everything. For in art there is no such thing as a universal truth. A Truth in art is that whose contradictory is also true. And just as it is only in art-criticism, and through it, that we can apprehend the Platonic theory of ideas, so it is only in art-criticism, and through it, that we can realize Hegel’s system of contraries. The truths of metaphysics are the truths of masks.
Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.
Mark Zuckerberg? Neal Stephenson? William Gibson? Anonymous?
Dear Quote Investigator: Recently, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that his company was changing its name to Meta (full name Meta Platforms). Zuckerberg spoke about an immersive internet called the metaverse. I think some science fiction (SF) author coined the term metaverse. Would you please explore this topic?
Quote Investigator: In 1992 prominent SF author Neal Stephenson published the novel “Snow Crash” with main character Hiro Protagonist. Stephenson used the term “metaverse” to refer to a technology he envisioned which combined virtual reality, augmented reality, and a social network. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:[ref] 1993 (1992 Copyright), Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson, Chapter 3, Quote Page 24, Bantam Books, New York. (Verified with scans) [/ref]
So Hiro’s not actually here at all. He’s in a computer-generated universe that his computer is drawing onto his goggles and pumping into his earphones. In the lingo, this imaginary place is known as the Metaverse. Hiro spends a lot of time in the Metaverse.
Will Rogers? Charles F. Kettering? Max Denney? Thomas Jefferson? Robert Heinlein? Anonymous?
Dear Quote Investigator: Many complain about the burdensome taxes collected by some governments. Many also complain about the counter-productive and wasteful actions taken by those governments. These criticisms have been combined to produce the following comical remark:
Thank heavens we don’t get all the government we pay for.
This saying has been attributed to Charles F. Kettering who was the head of research at General Motors Corporation for many years. The quip has also been credited to the popular humorist Will Rogers. Would you please explore this topic?
Quote Investigator: This quip is difficult to trace because its phrasing is highly variable. The earliest match located by QI appeared in a Fairbury, Nebraska newspaper in 1947. Local businessman Max Denney addressed a meeting of Rotarians and discussed government spending. He employed the joke but disclaimed credit. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:[ref] 1947 June 11, The Fairbury Daily News, Says Public Interest Answer To Worry Over Tax Burdens, Quote Page 1, Column 8, Fairbury, Nebraska. (Newspapers_com) [/ref].
The only bright spot in the cost of government Denney said, is one man’s observation that “Thank goodness we don’t get as much government as we pay for”
QI thinks that an anonymous jokesmith should receive credit for this saying based on current knowledge. Will Rogers died in 1935, and he received posthumous credit in 1966, but the long delay meant that this was very weak evidence.
Charles F. Kettering used the joke in 1949, but he disclaimed credit. See below. Here are additional selected citations in chronological order.
Edward H. Eulenberg? Arnold A. Dornfeld? Rolfe Neill? Anonymous?
Dear Quote Investigator: Journalism is a difficult profession. Major stories are often complex and ill-defined. Witnesses and experts may be self-interested and unreliable. The following motto for reporters highlights the need to double-check every bit of information:
If your mother tells you she loves you, check it out.
Both Edward H. Eulenberg and Arnold A. Dornfeld have received credit for this expression. They were demanding veteran editors at the City News Bureau of Chicago. Would you please explore the provenance of this adage?
Quote Investigator: The earliest match located by QI appeared in the “Chicago Tribune” of Illinois on March 30, 1970. The article stated that Arnold A. Dornfeld who was night editor of the City News Bureau of Chicago was retiring the next day. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:[ref] 1970 March 30, Chicago Tribune, ‘Dory’ Ending 44 Years at City News by John Maclean, Section 1A, Quote Page 2, Column 2, Chicago, Illinois. (ProQuest) [/ref]
After 44 years with City News, Dornfeld has boiled down his advice on journalism to a single sentence: “Chum, if your mother says she loves you, check on it.” That advice, which Dornfeld admits he borrowed from another newsman, has been an icy baptism into reporting for many of the “City Press kids.”
Thus, Dornfeld popularized the saying, but he disclaimed authorship. Dornfeld wrote a 1983 book titled “Behind the Front Page” in which he attributed the saying to colleague Edward H. Eulenberg.
Interestingly, Eulenberg’s 1988 obituary gave him credit for a harsher expression of the same type: “If your mother tells you she loves you, kick her smartly in the shins and make her prove it”. QI conjectures that this statement was toned down to yield the motto mentioned by Dornfeld. Previous researchers introduced this conjecture. Detailed citations are given further below.
Béla Bartók? Joseph Szigeti? Nick Cave? A. M. Rosenthal? Joe Eszterhas? Apocryphal?
Dear Quote Investigator: Competitions are commonplace in the world of athletics, academics, arts, and business. The acclaimed Hungarian composer Béla Bartók apparently expressed opposition to high-stakes contests in the domain of music. Here are four English versions of his remark:
(1) Competitions are for horses, not artists.
(2) Competition is for horses, not artists.
(3) Competitions are for horses, not for musicians.
(4) Competitions should be for horses, not musicians.
I have been unable to find a solid citation. Would you please help?
Quote Investigator: Béla Bartók died in 1945. The earliest match in English located by QI appeared in “The New York Times” in 1958. Journalist A. M. Rosenthal attended an international music contest featuring eighty young musicians held in Bucharest, Rumania. Rosenthal presented miscellaneous comments he overheard from participants at luncheon tables and in hotel lobbies. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:[ref] 1958 September 5, New York Times, Fete in Bucharest Draws Musicians by A. M. Rosenthal (Special to The New York Times), Quote Page 23, Column 4, New York. (ProQuest) [/ref]
“Claudio Arrau does not like the way I play Chopin, and I do not like the way Claudio Arrau plays Chopin. The only difference is that he is on the jury.” . . .
“I know a man in New York who will bet $10,000 that Van Cliburn will never be great.”
“I am for Bartok. What did he say? ‘Competitions are for horses, not artists.’”
The above posthumous citation was not ideal because it was indirect and delayed. This article presents a snapshot of current research which is incomplete.
A direct quotation in Hungarian would best. Unfortunately, QI’s ability to search for quotations in Hungarian is sharply circumscribed. QI does not have access to large databases of Hungarian documents. The Google Books database does contain some Hungarian books, but QI was unable to find a substantive Hungarian match in that database.
The most interesting clue about the original phrasing appeared in the 1969 book “Szigeti on the Violin” which suggested that Béla Bartók used the word “verseny”. See the details further below.
Here are additional selected citations in chronological order.
