Quote Investigator® – Page 38

Quote Origin: Damn Everything But the Circus! Damn Everything That Is Grim, Dull, Motionless, Unrisking, Inward Turning

E. E. Cummings? Corita Kent? Helen Kelley? Anonymous?

Question for Quote Investigator: To enjoy a full life one must be willing to embrace excitement, change, beauty, and risk. Metaphorically, one must enter the center ring of life’s circus and perform. The prominent U.S. poet E. E. Cummings (often styled e e cummings) has been credited with a pertinent passage:

Damn everything but the circus! . . . damn everything that is grim, dull, motionless, unrisking, inward turning, damn everything that won’t get into the circle, that won’t enjoy. That won’t throw it’s heart into the tension, surprise, fear and delight of the circus, the round world, the full existence.

I think this attribution is inaccurate because I have never been able to find a solid citation. Would you please help me to find the true author?

Reply from Quote Investigator: QI believes the passage under examination is a composite. The first line was extracted from a dialog written by E. E. Cummings, and the remainder was created by Sister Helen Kelley who was President of Immaculate Heart College of Los Angeles, California from 1963 to 1977.

In 1927 E. E. Cummings published a play titled “Him” in the literary journal “Dial”. The work included the following exchange between characters named “Him” and “Me”. Cumming’s text combined some words, e.g., “circus tent” appeared as “circustent”. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:¹

HIM: (Vehemently) Damn everything but the circus! (To himself ) And here am I, patiently squeezing fourdimensional ideas into a twodimensional stage, when all of me that’s any one or anything is in the top of a circustent . . . ( A pause.)

ME: I didn’t imagine you were leading a double life—and right under my nose, too.

HIM: ( Unhearing, proceeds contemptuously ) : The average “painter” “sculptor” “poet” “composer” “playwright” is a person who cannot leap through a hoop from the back of a galloping horse, make people laugh with a clown’s mouth, orchestrate twenty lions.

Here are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Quote Origin: Always Do Sober What You Said You’d Do Drunk. That Will Teach You To Keep Your Mouth Shut

Ernest Hemingway? Charles Scribner IV? Malcolm Forbes? Apocryphal?

Question for Quote Investigator: The prominent U.S. writer Ernest Hemingway once described a strategy to reduce drunken boasting. The inebriated person should wait until soberness returns and then perform the foolish boastful actions. Thus, one will quickly learn to keep one’s mouth shut. Is this genuine advice from Hemingway? Would you please help me to find a citation?

Reply from Quote Investigator: The earliest match for this tale located by QI appeared in “Forbes” magazine in September 1961. The editor Malcolm S. Forbes wrote the following. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:¹

When Charles Scribner (IV) succeeded his late father as head of the country’s most venerable publishing firm in 1952, Ernest Hemingway, an old friend, wrote him a long personal letter, which concluded with a list of his “rules for life.” Among them, this one which we pass on to our readers without further comment:

“Always do sober what you said you’d do drunk: That will teach you to keep your mouth shut.”

Forbes did not explain how he learned about the content of Hemingway’s letter. Perhaps Scribner recounted the story to Forbes.

Additional strong evidence supporting the authenticity of the remark appeared in a book Scribner authored in 1990. He presented the same tale and a longer version of the quotation with the phrase “do when you were drunk”. Details are given further below.

Here are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Quote Origin: There Isn’t Anyone You Couldn’t Love Once You’ve Heard Their Story

Fred Rogers? Mister Rogers? Joanne Rogers? Mary Lou Kownacki? Anonymous?

Question for Quote Investigator: One empathetic thinker suggested that it was possible to love almost anyone once one heard their full story. This notion has been attributed to U.S. television host Fred Rogers who was best known by the appellation “Mister Rogers”, but I have been unable to find a solid citation. Would you please explore this topic?

Reply from Quote Investigator: The earliest strong match located by QI appeared in the 1994 book “More Random Acts of Kindness” by the editors of Conari Press of Berkeley, California. This work contained inspirational stories of kindness together with many quotations such as following. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:¹

Engrave this upon my heart: There isn’t anyone you couldn’t love once you’ve heard their story.
—Mary Lou Kownacki, OSB

The “OSB” designation signaled Kownacki’s membership in the Order of St. Benedict, a monastic religious order of the Roman Catholic Church. She is the leading candidate for originator of this expression.

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Quote Origin: There Are Old Traders and Bold Traders, But There Are No Old, Bold Traders

Bob Dinda? Tom Clapp? Jerry Heaster? W. Thomas Matthews? Ed Seykota? Anonymous?

Question for Quote Investigator: Engaging in risky trades of financial instruments endangers one’s financial health. A Wall Street adage states:

There are old traders and bold traders, but there are no old, bold traders.

Would you please explore the provenance of this saying?

Reply from Quote Investigator: The earliest match located by QI appeared in August 1982 within a newspaper column written by Tom Clapp of the financial services firm Edward D. Jones & Company. Clapp did not claim credit:¹

Quote for the week: “There are old traders around and bold traders, but there are no old, bold traders around.” — Bob Dinda

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Quote Origin: There Are Old Pilots, and There Are Bold Pilots, But There Are No Old, Bold Pilots

Dorothy Verrill? Charles L. Wright? Harry D. Copland? Harry Copewell? Anonymous?

Question for Quote Investigator: The adjective “bold” has positive connotations. Yet, some difficult and dangerous professions do not countenance the inherent riskiness of bold actions. Here is the template of a pertinent adage:

There are old X, and there are bold X, but there are no old bold X.

This saying has been applied to race car drivers, mushroom hunters, airplane pilots, stock traders, and others. Would you please explore this topic?

Reply from Quote Investigator: The earliest instance in this family of expressions located by QI appeared in “Safety Education: A Magazine of the Good Adventure” in May 1931. Airplane pilot Dorothy Verrill wrote about her experiences learning to fly. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:¹

“There are old pilots and there are bold pilots, but there are no old, bold pilots” said my instructor, one day, after we had come down from practising landings, “and it’s not a good idea to make a climbing turn at low altitude right after the take-off, as you did just now. It may be pretty flying, and it may be exciting—give you a thrill—but it’s not safe, especially for a student.”

Dorothy Verrill ascribed the saying to her flight instructor. QI examined articles in “The Hartford Courant” of Connecticut² and “The Kansas City Star” of Missouri³ which identified Lieutenant Charles L. Wright of the L & H Aircraft Corporation as Verrill’s instructor. Thus, Wright is currently one of the leading candidates for creator of this expression.

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Quote Origin: The World Is in Greater Peril from Those Who Tolerate or Encourage Evil Than from Those Who Actually Commit It

Albert Einstein? Pablo Casals? Josep Maria Corredor? Paul S. Reichler? Robert I. Fitzhenry? Apocryphal?

Question for Quote Investigator: A family of sayings about the unwise toleration of evil has been attributed to the famous scientist Albert Einstein. Here are five examples:

(1) The world is in greater peril from those who tolerate or encourage evil than from those who actually commit it.

(2) The world is too dangerous to live in, not because of people’s evil deeds but because of those who sit and let it happen.

(3) The world is a dangerous place not because there are so many evil people in it, but because there are so many good ones willing to sit back and let evil happen.

(4) The world is not dangerous because of those who do harm. It’s dangerous because of those who watch and do nothing.

(5) The world will not be destroyed by those who do evil, but by those who watch them without doing anything.

I am skeptical of these ascriptions because there are so may variants, and I have never seen a solid citation for any of these statements. Would you please explore this topic?

Reply from Quote Investigator: In 1955 Josep Maria Corredor published a book in French about the prominent Spanish cellist Pablo Casals titled “Conversations avec Pablo Casals: souvenirs et opinions d’un musicien”. The book employed an interview format to present commentary from Casals on a variety of topics. In addition, Corredor gathered and printed opinions about Casals from several well-known individuals including Albert Einstein.

Editions of this popular book were issued in other languages. In 1956 an English translation by André Mangeot was published as “Conversations with Casals”. The section containing opinions about Casals began with the following assertion:

We would like to take this opportunity of expressing our gratitude for the opinions reproduced below, which were sent direct by the people concerned.

Thus, the remark from Albert Einstein was based on a note sent from Einstein to the creator of the book. The original German text of the note appears further below. Here is the English rendition. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:¹

Albert Einstein: It is certainly unnecessary to await my voice in acclaiming Pablo Casals as a very great artist, since all who are qualified to speak are unanimous on this subject. What I particularly admire in him is the firm stand he has taken, not only against the oppressors of his countrymen, but also against those opportunists who are always ready to compromise with the Devil. He perceives very clearly that the world is in greater peril from those who tolerate or encourage evil than from those who actually commit it.

QI conjectures that the variant quotations listed at the beginning of this article were derived from Einstein’s statement in the book about Casals. Yet, it remains possible that Einstein made a separate statement in this family which QI has not yet discovered.

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Quote Origin: Love Is a Thing That Can Never Go Wrong; And I Am Marie of Romania

Dorothy Parker? Franklin Pierce Adams? Apocryphal?

Question for Quote Investigator: The famous wit Dorothy Parker once penned an entertaining poem which rhymed “Romania” and “extemporanea”. Would you please help me to find a citation for this poem?

Reply from Quote Investigator: In 1926 Dorothy Parker published the poetry collection “Enough Rope”. The rhyme was contained in a four-line verse titled “Comment”. Parker spelled “Romania” as “Roumania”:¹

Oh, life is a glorious cycle of song,
A medley of extemporanea;
And love is a thing that can never go wrong;
And I am Marie of Roumania.

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Quote Origin: Home Is the Nicest Word There Is

Laura Ingalls Wilder? Melissa Gilbert? Michael Landon? John Hawkins? William Putman? Apocryphal?

Question for Quote Investigator: A comfortable and welcoming home is one of life’s greatest boons. The following remark resonates with people who have an enjoyable domestic life:

Home is the nicest word there is.

This statement is usually attributed to U.S. writer Laura Ingalls Wilder who is best known for the “Little House” series of children’s books. However, I have been unable to find this quotation in her oeuvre. Thus, I suspect the phrase has been misattributed. Would you please explore the provenance of this expression?

Reply from Quote Investigator: Researchers have been unable to find this statement in the writings of Laura Ingalls Wilder, but the confusion about the source is understandable because the phrase occurred in an episode of the popular television series “Little House on the Prairie” which was based on Wilder’s books.

The series ran between 1974 and 1983. The first episode after the pilot was titled “A Harvest of Friends”. The character Laura Ingalls played by Melissa Gilbert was the narrator. Laura conversed with her father Charles Ingalls played by Michael Landon while sitting in her bedroom in the newly built family home. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:¹

Laura: And I’ve decided something.
Charles: What’s that, Half-Pint?
Laura: Home is the nicest word there is.
Charles: One of the nicest, that’s for sure.

The Internet Movie Database (IMDb) specifies John Hawkins and William Putman as creators of the episode teleplay. Hence, this duo probably deserves credit for the dialog.²

Laura Ingalls Wilder did employ a pre-existing proverb that extolled the value of homes within one of her books. Details are given below.

Here are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Quote Origin: I Do Not Paint a Portrait To Look Like the Subject. Rather Does the Person Grow To Look Like His Portrait

Salvador Dali? Pablo Picasso? Gertrude Stein? Alice B. Toklas? Apocryphal?

Question for Quote Investigator: A self-assured painter once suggested that one should never deliberately create a portrait to look precisely like its subject. Instead, the brilliance of the artwork would cause the subject to grow to look like the portrait over time. Would you please help me to determine the identity of this painter and to locate a citation?

Reply from Quote Investigator: In 1943 the Knoedler Galleries of New York presented an exhibition of portraits by the prominent Spanish surrealist painter Salvador Dalí. While commenting about the event Dalí expressed a viewpoint similar to the one above. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:¹

“My aim,” says Dali of these likenesses of wealthy heiresses and glamor women of the international set, “was to establish a rapport of fatality between each of the different personalities and their backgrounds. I do not paint a portrait to look like the subject. Rather does the person grow to look like his portrait.”

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Quote Origin: Everybody Says That She Does Not Look Like It, But That Does Not Make Any Difference. She Will

Pablo Picasso? Gertrude Stein? Alice B. Toklas? Salvador Dali? Glenn Ligon? Arianna Huffington? David Mamet? Clifford Gessler? Michael Schulman? Apocryphal?

Question for Quote Investigator: Depictions of people in paintings, photographs, books, and movies can dramatically change cultural perceptions. Powerful images cause accuracy to be superseded, and stylized portrayals to become reified.

Near the beginning of the twentieth century the famous Spanish artist Pablo Picasso painted a portrait of the prominent writer and art collector Gertrude Stein. Several viewers of the artwork complained that the image was inaccurate. Picasso confidently and astutely replied with a remark similar to this:

It may not look like Gertrude Stein now, but it will.

Is this anecdote correct? Would you please help me to find a citation?

Reply from Quote Investigator: In 1933 Gertrude Stein published “The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas”. Stein wrote the book using the viewpoint and voice of her friend and life partner Toklas. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:¹

After a little while I murmured to Picasso that I liked his portrait of Gertrude Stein. Yes, he said, everybody says that she does not look like it but that does not make any difference, she will, he said.

Creating the portrait was a slow process for Picasso; he painted it during several months in 1905 and 1906. Toklas arrived in Paris in 1907, and Picasso spoke the line while visiting with Toklas and others in Stein’s art-filled home in Paris.

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.