Quote Origin: A Work of Art That Contains Theories Is Like an Object on Which the Price Tag Has Been Left

Marcel Proust? Alexander Pope? Frederick A. Blossom? Sydney Schiff? Apocryphal?

A red tag with the words " best price ".
Illustration of a price tag from Pixabay

Question for Quote Investigator: A prominent literary figure disapproved of intellectual works filled with abstract discourse and archetypal characters. The critique was expressed as follows:

A work of art that contains theories is like an object on which the price tag has been left.

This statement has been attributed to the French novelist Marcel Proust and the English poet Alexander Pope? Would you please help me to determine the correct author together with a solid citation?

Reply from Quote Investigator: QI has found no substantive evidence supporting the ascription to Alexander Pope who died in 1744.

Marcel Proust is best known for the multivolume work  “A la recherche du temps perdu†(“Remembrance of Things Past†or “In Search of Lost Timeâ€). The seventh and final volume in this series was “Le Temps retrouvé†(“Time Regained†or “Finding Time Againâ€) published in 1927 which contained the following passage:1

D’où la grossière tentation pour l’écrivain d’écrire des œuvres intellectuelles. Grande indélicatesse. Une œuvre où il ya des théories est comme un objet sur lequel on laisse la marque du prix. Encore cette dernière ne fait-elle qu’exprimer une valeur qu’au contraire en littérature le raisonnement logique diminue.

Below is a translation by Frederick A. Blossom from an edition published in 1932:2

From this comes the vulgar temptation for the writer to write intellectual works. A grave lack of fine feeling! A book in which there are theories is like an article from which the price mark has not been removed. And even at that, a price mark merely expresses value, whereas in literature logical reasoning lessens it.

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Quote Origin: The Hottest New Programming Language Is English

A computer screen with some colored coding on it
Screen displaying computer code

Andrej Karpathy? Apocryphal?

Question for Quote Investigator: The capabilities of artificial intelligence (AI) systems have dramatically improved in recent years. One important challenge for AI has been the synthesis of computer programs based on English language descriptions. Apparently, a prominent AI researcher said:

The hottest new programming language is English

Would you please help me to find a citation for this remark?

Reply from Quote Investigator: On January 24, 2023 AI researcher Andrej Karpathy tweeted the following. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:1

The hottest new programming language is English

Andrej Karpathy is best known for co-founding the OpenAI company and working on computer vision for the autopilot system at Tesla.

In conclusion, Andrej Karpathy deserves credit for this statement which he tweeted in 2023.

Image Notes: Screen displaying computer code. The image has been cropped and resized.

  1. Social Network: X/Twitter, Handle: Andrej Karpathy @karpathy, Timestamp: 3:14 PM – Jan 24, 2023. link ↩︎

Quote Origin: The Important Thing Is Not to Stop Questioning. Curiosity Has Its Own Reason for Existence

Albert Einstein? William Miller? Apocryphal?

A computer rendering of the james webb space telescope.
Illustration of the James Webb Space Telescope from NASA

Question for Quote Investigator: A famous scientist once stated that it was important to never stop questioning because curiosity has it own reason for existing. I do not recall the exact phrasing. This notion has been attributed to physicist Albert Einstein. Would you please help me to find a citation?

Reply from Quote Investigator: “LIFE†magazine editor William Miller visited Albert Einstein at his home in Princeton, New Jersey and interviewed him. Miller’s piece appeared in the May 2, 1955 issue of “LIFE†shortly after Einstein’s death in April 1955. Miller asked Einstein about curiosity. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:1

The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existence. One cannot help but be in awe when he contemplates the mysteries of eternity, of life, of the marvelous structure of reality. It is enough if one tries merely to comprehend only a little of this mystery every day. Never lose a holy curiosity.

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Adage Origin: A Small Individual Casts a Long Shadow When the Sun Is Setting

Lin Yutang? Venita Cravens? Walter Savage Landor? Andrew Marvell? Anonymous?

A woman walking on the sidewalk with her shadow.
Picture of a person casting a shadow from Unsplash

Question for Quote Investigator: Exceptional individuals accomplished remarkable feats in past ages. Unhappy critics complain that the current period lacks great figures. The talents and achievements of popular people nowadays are diminutive. Here are two versions of a pertinent metaphorical adage:

(1) Little men throw long shadows because our sun is setting.
(2) When small men cast big shadows the sun is about to set.

This saying has been attributed to English writer Walter Savage Landor, Chinese linguist Lin Yutang, and U.S. theater promoter Venita Cravens. I am having trouble finding a good citation. Would you please help?

Reply from Quote Investigator: The earliest match found by QI appeared in a work published by Walter Savage Landor in 1846. Landor wrote a series of “Imaginary Conversations†between prominent historical figures. The 1846 work depicted a fictional discussion between English poet Andrew Marvell and English Bishop Samuel Parker. Marvell criticized contemporary figures, and Parker asserted that Marvell’s judgement was too harsh. “Marvell†was spelled as “Marvelâ€. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:1

Parker. Ever too hard upon great men, Mr. Marvel!

Marvel. Little men in lofty places, who throw long shadows because our sun is setting: the men so little and the places so lofty, that, casting my pebble, I only show where they stand. They would be less contented with themselves if they had obtained their preferment honestly.

This saying has been expressed in many different ways. QI believes that the diverse phrasings evolved from the statement written by Walter Savage Landor.

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Quote Origin: Luck Is the Residue of Design

Branch Rickey? John Milton? Alexander Pope? Anonymous?

Two dice sitting on top of a table.
Two 20-sided dice from Unsplash

Question for Quote Investigator: Confident people believe that luck is really controlled by human action. Religious people believe that luck is actually controlled by divine action. Here is a pertinent adage:

Luck is the residue of design.

This statement has been credited to prominent U.S. sports executive Branch Rickey and major English poet John Milton. I cannot find a good citation. Are either of these ascriptions accurate? Would you please explore this topic?

Reply from Quote Investigator: The earliest close match known to QI appeared in the “Lexington Leader†newspaper of Kentucky in 1915. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:1

Branch Rickey, manager of the St. Louis Browns, and one of the best known base ball men in the country, spoke to the State University Y.M.C.A. last night …

He gave a number of examples to demonstrate his point, and luck, he said, had no place in the lexicon of life, for there was no such thing as luck. Luck, he pointed out, is the residue of design and is governed by causes which are generally in the power of the man himself to govern.

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Quote Origin: There Are Only Two Ways of Telling the Complete Truth — Anonymously and Posthumously

Susan Ohanian? Thomas Sowell? Anonymous?

A grave with the word unknown written on it.
Tombstone engraved with the word “Unknownâ€

Question for Quote Investigator: Social media is rife with conflict. Comments about sensitive topics produce incendiary responses. I am reminded of this mordant insight:

There are only two ways of telling the complete truth—anonymously and posthumously.

U.S. economist Thomas Sowell and U.S. teacher Susan Ohanian have received credit for this remark. Would you please help me to find a citation?

Reply from Quote Investigator: In July 1985 Thomas Sowell published a column containing a long list of quips and adages which included the following three items. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:1

There are only two kinds of schools — those that keep up with the latest educational trends and those that teach.

There are only two ways of telling the complete truth — anonymously and posthumously.

There are only two kinds of gamblers — those who say they have lost more than they have won and those who lie about it.

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Quote Origin: It Is a Miracle That Curiosity Survives Formal Education

Albert Einstein? Paul Arthur Schilpp? Marilyn Ferguson? Apocryphal?

A group of green stadium seats sitting in rows.
Picture of chairs in a lecture hall from Unsplash

Question for Quote Investigator: An overly rigid approach to education is counter-productive because it extinguishes natural inquisitiveness. This viewpoint has been expressed as follows:

It is a miracle that curiosity survives formal education.

The famous physicist Albert Einstein has received credit for this remark, but I have never seen a solid citation, and I have become skeptical. Would you please trace this quotation?

Reply from Quote Investigator: QI has not found an exact match for this statement in the writings of Albert Einstein; however, there is a close match. Einstein penned a short autobiography which appeared in the 1949 book “Albert Einstein: Philosopher-Scientistâ€. The book included Einstein’s original German text together with an English translation by Paul Arthur Schilpp. Here is the pertinent passage in both English and German. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:1

It is, in fact, nothing short of a miracle that the modern methods of instruction have not yet entirely strangled the holy curiosity of inquiry; for this delicate little plant, aside from stimulation, stands mainly in need of freedom; without this it goes to wreck and ruin without fail.

Es ist eigentlich wie ein Wunder, dass der moderne Lehrbetrieb die heilige Neugier des Forschens noch nicht ganz erdrosselt hat; denn dies delikate Pflänzchen bedarf neben Anregung hauptsächlich der Freiheit; ohne diese geht es unweigerlich zugrunde.

QI believes that the concise modern statement evolved from Einstein’s sentence given above. Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

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Quote Origin: It’s Not That I’m So Smart, It’s Just That I Stay With Problems Longer

Albert Einstein? Apocryphal? Anonymous?

A pile of white puzzle pieces sitting on top of each other.
Picture of jumbled puzzle pieces from Unsplash

Question for Quote Investigator: Solving a difficult problem requires hard work for an extended period. To reinforce this viewpoint people enjoy sharing the following humble remark which has been attributed to Albert Einstein:

It’s not that I’m so smart, it’s just that I stay with problems longer.

I have been unable to find a solid citation, and I have become skeptical of this ascription. Is this another fake Einstein quotation? Would you please explore this topic?

Reply from Quote Investigator: The evidence supporting the ascription to Albert Einstein is not substantive. Alice Calaprice, the editor of the important 2010 collection “The Ultimate Quotable Einstein†from Princeton University Press, placed this quotation in the “Probably Not by Einstein†section of her reference.1

Albert Einstein died in 1955. The earliest match known to QI appeared in the 1996 compilation “Bite-Size Einstein: Quotations on Just About Everything from the Greatest Mind of the Twentieth Century†edited by Jerry Mayer and John P. Holms which contained this entry on page seventeen:2

It’s not that I’m so smart; it’s just that I stay with problems longer.

Unfortunately, the editors did not provide a citation. Hence, QI does not know where the editors found the quotation.

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Quote Origin: The First Hundred Years Are the Hardest

Wilson Mizner? Thomas Aloysius Dorgan? Tad Dorgan? Bill Downing? Wilton Lackaye? Clare Briggs? Anonymous?

A cartoon of a dog with the caption " well, as bill downing says the first 1 0 0 years are the hardest ".
Detail from 1918 comic by Thomas Aloysius Dorgan

Question for Quote Investigator: The initial stages of activities can be quite challenging. This hardship is reflected in following saying: the first year is the hardest. When the required period of endurance is extended to multiple years the saying becomes more outlandish and comical. A wit concocted this extreme statement:

The first hundred years are the hardest.

This saying has been credited to U.S. playwright Wilson Mizner and U.S. cartoonist Thomas Aloysius Dorgan, also known as Tad. Would you please explore this topic?

Reply from Quote Investigator: The earliest match located by QI appeared within a one panel comic by Thomas Aloysius Dorgan in January 1918. A small dog in the lower right of the panel utters the following line. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:1

WELL, AS BILL DOWNING SAYS THE FIRST 100 YEARS ARE THE HARDEST

QI is unsure of the identity of Bill Downing. Multiple people shared that name in the U.S. in 1918. Perhaps Downing was one of Dorgan’s friends.

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Quote Origin: Humanity Will Begin To Recover the Moment It Takes Art as Seriously as Physics, Chemistry, or Money

Ernst Levy? Apocryphal?

A painting of two men and a woman.
A Young Woman Composing Music by Gabriël Metsu circa 1662

Question for Quote Investigator: A prominent musicologist once said that humankind should take art as seriously as physics, chemistry, and money. If this happens then humankind will begin the road to recovery. I do not recall the precise phrasing. Would you please help me to locate this quotation and the name of its creator?

Reply from Quote Investigator: Swiss musicologist and composer Ernst Levy wrote a letter to a friend in 1945 that was reprinted in the collection “Letters of Composers: An Anthology 1603-1945â€. The letter contained a match for the quotation under examination. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:1

To a humanity looking for elements of hope, music ought to be an important matter. We may even say that man will begin to recover the moment he takes art as seriously as physics, chemistry, or money. There is no other human activity that asks for such a harmonious cooperation of “intellect†and “soul†as artistic creation and, especially, music …

Our mechanized minds need to be musicalized. We have developed only half of man’s possibilities, or rather, have developed that half completely out of proportion to the other half.

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