George Orwell? Coco Chanel? Mae West? Ingrid Bergman? Albert Camus? Abraham Lincoln? Edwin M. Stanton? Lucius E. Chittenden? Albert Schweitzer? Maurice Chevalier? William H. Seward? Edward Lee Hawk? William Shakspeare? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: A person’s true character can be deduced by the careful study of the face according to believers in physiognomy. This notion …
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Every King Springs From a Race of Slaves, and Every Slave Has Had Kings Among His Ancestors
Helen Keller? Socrates? Plato? Seneca the Younger? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: A person has two genetic parents, four grandparents, and eight great-grandparents. The number of ancestors in a generation roughly doubles when going backwards in time, and this exponential growth implies that each individual has an enormous number of ancestors. This line of reasoning suggests …
Years Wrinkle the Skin, But To Give Up Enthusiasm Wrinkles the Soul
Frank Crane? Douglas MacArthur? Watterson Lowe? Ann Landers? Jay B. Nash? L. F. Phelan? Samuel Ullman? Dear Quote Investigator: According to a popular essay about youth the primary cause of aging is the desertion of one’s ideals. Also, years may wrinkle the skin, but losing enthusiasm wrinkles the soul. This essay has been attributed to …
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Quote Origin: Nothing Is Certain, Except Death and Taxes
Benjamin Franklin? Mark Twain? Christopher Bullock? Edward Ward? Daniel Defoe? Joseph Reed? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Grumbling about paying taxes is nearly universal. Here are four versions of a pertinent saying: The U.S. statesman Benjamin Franklin and the humorist Mark Twain have received credit for this remark. Would you please explore this topic? Reply …
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“I Am My Own Worst Enemy” “Not While I’m Alive”
Groucho Marx? Ernest Bevin? George S. Kaufman? Cotton Ed Smith? Franklin P. Adams? Alan Hale? Walter F. George? Oscar Levant? Dear Quote Investigator: A comment which acknowledges criticism has been coupled with a harshly comical riposte. Here are three examples: “I’m my own worst enemy. ” “Not while I’m in the room.” “She is her …
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We Must Play What Is Dealt To Us, and the Glory Consists Not So Much In Winning As In Playing a Poor Hand Well
Jack London? Robert Louis Stevenson? Josh Billings? Henry Wheeler Shaw? H. T. Leslie? Edgar O. Achorn? Albert J. Beveridge? Frank Crane? Dale Carnegie? Dear Quote Investigator: Life is particularly challenging if you are born with medical impairments or negligent parents. Metaphorically, while playing cards you may be dealt a poor hand. You are triumphant when …
There Are Two Types of Speakers: Those Who Are Nervous and Those Who Are Liars
Mark Twain? Richard Branson? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: The following comical remark reassures neophyte speakers that their anxious feelings are universal: There are only two types of speakers: (1) the nervous (2) the liars. This quip is usually attributed to the famous humorist Mark Twain, but I cannot find a solid citation, and I have …
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Say Anything You Like About Me, But Spell My Name Right
George M. Cohan? P. T. Barnum? Mae West? Elinor Glyn? Babe Ruth? Damon Runyon? James J. Johnston? Charley Murphy? Max Schmeling? Walter Winchell? Oscar Wilde? Samuel Johnson? Ed Sullivan? Dear Quote Investigator: A person once planned to write an article or book containing derogatory material about a celebrity. The unruffled response of the celebrity to …
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Whoever First Ate an Oyster Was a Brave Soul
Jonathan Swift? Benjamin Franklin? Shirley Chisholm? Thomas Moffett? John Ward? King James I of England? Thomas Fuller? John Gay? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: During a commencement address I heard the following vivid advice offered to students: Be as bold as the first man or woman to eat an oyster. Apparently, the famous Irish literary figure …
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The Test of a First-Rate Intelligence Is the Ability To Hold Two Opposed Ideas in the Mind at the Same Time
F. Scott Fitzgerald? Lionel Trilling? Katherine A. Powers? H. Maynard Smith? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: Our experiences in the world are often complex, ambiguous, and ill-defined. We must be able to accommodate conflicting hypotheses. Here is a pertinent adage: The truest sign of intelligence is the ability to entertain two contradictory ideas simultaneously. A notion …