Quote Investigator® – Page 51

Quote Origin: One Idiot Is One Idiot. Two Idiots Are Two Idiots. Ten Thousand Idiots Are a Political Party

Franz Kafka? Leo Longanesi? Robert Browning? Jean Anouilh? Apocryphal?

Question for Quote Investigator: A derisive remark aimed at politically motivated groups of people has been attributed to the influential short-story writer Franz Kafka. Here is the German version followed by an English translation:

Ein Idiot ist ein Idiot. Zwei Idioten sind zwei Idioten. Zehntausend Idioten sind eine politische Partei.

One idiot is one idiot. Two idiots are two idiots. Ten thousand idiots are a political party.

I have been unable to find a solid citation, and I am skeptical of this attribution. Would you please explore this remark?

Reply from Quote Investigator: QI has found no substantive evidence supporting the attribution to Kafka who died in 1924. Instead, QI believes that the statement evolved from a remark published in 1947 by Italian satirist and journalist Leo Longanesi within his book “Parliamo dell’Elefante: Frammenti di un Diario” (“Let’s Talk About the Elephant: Fragments of a Diary”). A near match appeared in an entry dated December 15, 1938. Here is the Italian text followed by one possible English translation. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:¹

Fanfare, bandiere, parate.
Uno stupido è uno stupido. Due stupidi sono due stupidi. Diecimila stupidi sono una forza storica.

Fanfare, flags, parades.
One fool is one fool. Two fools are two fools. Ten thousand fools are a historical force.

During the ensuing decades variants began to circulate in multiple languages. The phrase “historical force” was changed to “political party”, and the ascription was changed to Kafka.

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Quote Origin: In the Middle of Difficulty Lies Opportunity

Albert Einstein? John Archibald Wheeler? A. P. Barton? Bertram Carr? Mirjana R. Gearhart? H. Jackson Brown Jr.? Apocryphal?

Question for Quote Investigator: Everyone experiences challenges and difficulties. Happily, while surmounting these obstacles it is often possible to glimpse wonderful possibilities for the future. Here is a pertinent saying:

In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.

This phrase has often been attributed to the famous scientist Albert Einstein. Would you please explore the provenance of this saying?

Reply from Quote Investigator: The attribution to Einstein is spurious. The saying appears in a section titled “Misattributed to Einstein” in “The Ultimate Quotable Einstein” from Princeton University Press.¹

The phrase can be traced back to John Archibald Wheeler, a prominent U.S. theoretical physicist whose research included work on general relativity and quantum information. Wheeler stated that he discussed physics with Albert Einstein “from time to time over a span of 21 years”. Wheeler published a piece about Einstein in “Newsweek” magazine in 1979. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:²

There were three additional rules of Einstein’s work that stand out for use in our science, our problems, and our times. First, out of clutter find simplicity. Second, from discord make harmony. Third, in the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.

The quotation under examination appeared as the third rule above, but these rules were written by Wheeler and not by Einstein. Wheeler was describing his reaction to Einstein’s’ efforts and accomplishments. Thus, this precise formulation may be attributed to Wheeler; however, the idea being communicated by the quotation has a long history.

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Quote Origin: Be Alone, That Is the Secret of Invention; Be Alone, That Is When Ideas Are Born

Nikola Tesla? Orrin E. Dunlap Jr.? Thomas P. Hughes? Apocryphal?

Question for Quote Investigator: The famous inventor and futurist Nikola Tesla apparently said the following:

Be alone, that is the secret of invention.

Would you please help me to find a citation?

Reply from Quote Investigator: In 1934 Nikola Tesla was interviewed in “The New York Times” by journalist Orrin E. Dunlap Jr, and the brilliant innovator highlighted the value of separateness:¹

“It is providential that the youth or man of inventive mind is not ‘blessed’ with a million dollars,” said Mr. Tesla. “He would find it difficult to think. The mind is sharper and keener in seclusion and uninterrupted solitude. No big laboratory is needed in which to think.

Originality thrives in seclusion free of outside influences beating upon us to cripple the creative mind. Be alone, that is the secret of invention; be alone, that is when ideas are born.”

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Quote Origin: Plenty of Hope; Infinite Hope; Just Not for Us

Franz Kafka? Max Brod? Jonathan Franzen? Josef Paul Hodin? Georg Lukács? Harold Bloom? Apocryphal?

Question for Quote Investigator: In 2019 acclaimed author Jonathan Franzen wrote an essay in “The New Yorker” that began with the following remark of despair attributed to the influential Prague-born writer Franz Kafka.

There is infinite hope; only not for us.

Here are two longer versions I have seen:

(1) Oh, hope enough, infinite hope, — just not for us.
(2) Plenty of hope—for God—no end of hope—only not for us.

Would you please help me to find a citation?

Reply from Quote Investigator: Max Brod was a friend and a biographer of Franz Kafka. In 1921 he published a piece titled “Der Dichter Franz Kafka” (“The Poet Franz Kafka”) in the literary journal “Die Neue Rundschau”. Brod described a conversation he held with his friend in 1920. Below is an excerpt in German followed by one possible translation into English. Boldface added by QI:¹

„Wir sind,“ so sagte er, „nihilistische Gedanken, Selbstmordgedanken, die in Gottes Kopf aufsteigen“. Mich erinnerte das zuerst an das Weltbild der Gnosis: Gott als böser Demiurg, die Welt sein Sündenfall. „O nein,“ meinte er, „unsere Welt ist nur eine schlechte Laune Gottes, ein schlechter Tag.“ — „So gäbe es außerhalb dieser Erscheinungsform Welt, die wir kennen, Hoffnung?“ — Er lächelte: „Oh Hoffnung genug, unendlich viel Hoffnung, — nur nicht für uns.“

“We are,” he said, “nihilistic thoughts, suicidal thoughts that rise up in God’s head”. This reminded me of the worldview of the Gnostics: God is an evil demiurge; the world reflects his fall into sin. “Oh no,” he said, “our world is just a bad mood of God, a bad day.” — “So outside of this world manifestation, which we know, would there be a world that knows hope?” — He smiled: “Oh, hope enough, infinite hope, — just not for us.”

The correctness of this quotation is dependent upon the veracity of Max Brod. In addition, the precise phrasing in English varies because of the inherent imprecision of translations.

Below are additional selected citations.

Quote Origin: Brother, Can You Paradigm?

William Safire? Marie Shear? Cornell Daily Sun? Walter Gieber? Inis L. Claude Jr.? Ben Yagoda? Jack L. Walker? John Leonard? Anonymous?

Question for Quote Investigator: A U.S. song that was popular during the Great Depression era depicted an impoverished person making a plaintive request:

Brother, can you spare a dime?

This song title inspired the creation of a collection of puns:

Buddy, can you paradigm?
Brother, can you spare a paradigm?
Sister, can you paradigm?

William Safire, the language columnist “The New York Times”, used the second of these expressions. Would you please explore the provenance of this wordplay?

Reply from Quote Investigator: The earliest match located by QI appeared in 1933 within the student newspaper of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill called “The Daily Tar Heel”. The paper acknowledged another college while printing the pun. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:¹

To Our Hall Of Fame We Nominate

The Cornell Daily Sun for: “Then there’s the song the Greek prof sings in his classes—Buddy Can You Paradigm?”

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Quote Origin: A Theory Is Not Complete Until You Can Explain It To the Person in the Street

David Hilbert? Mary Winston Newson? Adolphe Quetelet? Joseph Diez Gergonne? Michel Chasles? William Spottiswoode? Henry John Stephen Smith? G. Carey Foster? Alphonse Rebière? Anonymous?

Question for Quote Investigator: In 1900 the influential German mathematician David Hilbert addressed the “International Congress of Mathematicians” held in Paris. He presented a collection of unsolved problems which has had an enormous influence in guiding research during the following century and beyond.

Some of the solutions discovered for these problems have been quite complex and intellectually demanding. Nevertheless, Hilbert indicated in his speech that he placed great value on simplicity and intelligibility. He credited an unnamed old French mathematician with the following remark:

A mathematical theory is not to be considered complete until you have made it so clear that you can explain it to the first man whom you meet on the street.

Would you please explore the provenance of this saying?

Reply from Quote Investigator: The earliest match known to QI appeared in a letter dated February 25, 1825 from French mathematician Joseph Diez Gergonne to Belgian astronomer and statistician Adolphe Quetelet. Below is an image showing the part of the letter containing the quotation. The spelling in the letter differed a bit from current French spelling: “longtemps” was “longtems” and “raconter” was “racconter”. After the image and French text an English translation is shown. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:¹

Il y a longtems que je répète à mes élèves qu’on n’a pas encore le dernier mot de la science sur une théorie, tout aussi longtems qu’on ne l’a pas amenée au point de la racconter à un passant, dans la rue.

For many years I repeated to my students that one does not yet have the last word of science on a theory for as long as one has not brought it to the point of being able to recount it to a passerby on the street.

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Quote Origin: Life Is Not About Finding Yourself. Life Is About Creating Yourself

George Bernard Shaw? Mary McCarthy? Thomas Szasz? Sydney J. Harris? Helen A. De Rosis? Victoria Y. Pellegrino? Karen Horney? Anonymous?

Question for Quote Investigator: For decades pop-psychology has emphasized the task of “finding yourself”, i.e., identifying your deepest values, abilities, feelings, and desires. Yet, these qualities are not immutable. Instead, living fully means endlessly recreating yourself. Here are two versions of a pertinent saying:

(1) Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.

(2) The self is not something you find; it is something you create.

This notion has been attributed to playwright George Bernard Shaw, novelist Mary McCarthy, psychiatrist Thomas Szasz, and journalist Sydney J. Harris. Would you please explore this topic?

Reply from Quote Investigator: Tracing this saying is difficult because it can be expressed in many different ways. QI has found no substantive evidence that George Bernard Shaw who died in 1950 employed this saying; also, QI has seen no substantive evidence that Mary McCarthy who died in 1989 used this saying.

The earliest match located by QI appeared in 1969 within the syndicated column of Sydney J. Harris. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:¹

Young people searching for their “real self” must learn that the real self is not something one finds as much as it is something one makes; and it is one’s daily actions that shape the inner personality far more permanently than any amount of introspection or intellection.

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Quote Origin: I Have the Heart of a Small Boy

Stephen King? Robert Bloch? Bennett Cerf? Gahan Wilson?

Question for Quote Investigator: A famous horror writer employed a comically gruesome paraprosdokian when discussing temperament. There are many phrasings for this quip. Here is one:

I have the heart of a child. I keep it in a jar on my desk.

This joke has been attributed to horror luminaries Stephen King and Robert Bloch. Would you please explore this topic?

Reply from Quote Investigator: Stephen King has employed this line on multiple occasions. However, when he delivered it during a speech at a library in 1983 he credited Robert Bloch.

The earliest match known to QI appeared in “Weird Tales” magazine in 1942. Bloch sent a letter stating that he was crafting new stories that included more humor to accompany the macabre. He illustrated this new direction by providing an amusing self-description. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:¹

As a matter of fact, I am really a very loveable person, as my friends tell me—or they would, if I had any friends. Deep down underneath it all I have the heart of a small boy. I keep it in a jar, on my desk.

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Quote Origin: He Who Knows, and Knows Not He Knows, Is Asleep; Awaken Him

Bruce Lee? Margaret of Valois? Sir John Fenwick? Isabel Burton? Richard Francis Burton? Arabic Apothegm? Asian Saying? Charles Haddon Spurgeon? Park Ludlow? Theron Brown? Anonymous?

Question for Quote Investigator: The following four part saying is about knowledge and self-knowledge:

He who knows not, and knows not he knows not, is a fool; shun him.
He who knows not, and knows he knows not, is simple; teach him.
He who knows, and knows not he knows, is asleep; awaken him.
He who knows, and knows he knows, is wise; follow him.

This saying has been attributed to martial artist and actor Bruce Lee, but I have not seen a solid citation. Would you please explore this topic?

Reply from Quote Investigator: QI has found no substantive evidence that Bruce Lee who died in 1973 employed this expression.

QI believes that this saying evolved over time. A partial precursor appeared in the 1654 book “Heptameron or the History of the Fortunate Lovers” by Princess Margaret of Valois which described a wise person with the phrase: “he who knows that he knows not any thing”. Boldface added to excerpts by QI. Anomalous spelling appeared in the original document:¹

. . .for there is no man a veryer fool, than he who thinks himself to be wise, nor any more wise, than he who knows that he knows not any thing. Howsoever (said Parlament) he knows somthing, who knows that he knows nothing.

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Quote Origin: Cycle Tracks Will Abound In Utopia

H. G. Wells? Diane Ackerman? Apocryphal?

Question for Quote Investigator: When the famous science fiction author and social critic H. G. Wells envisioned utopia he wished to see ubiquitous bicycle paths winding through forests and gardens. Would you please help me to find a citation?

Reply from Quote Investigator: H. G. Wells serialized his alternate history novel titled “A Modern Utopia” in “The Fortnightly Review” with chapter two printed in November 1904,¹ and the full book appearing in 1905. Wells described picturesque bicycle paths:²

Cycle tracks will abound in Utopia, sometimes following beside the great high roads, but oftener taking their own more agreeable line amidst woods and crops and pastures; and there will be a rich variety of footpaths and minor ways. There will be many footpaths in Utopia.

There will be pleasant ways over the scented needles of the mountain pinewoods, primrose-strewn tracks amidst the budding thickets of the lower country, paths running beside rushing streams, paths across the wide spaces of the corn land, and, above all, paths through the flowery garden spaces amidst which the houses in the towns will stand. And everywhere about the world, on road and path, by sea and land, the happy holiday Utopians will go.

Below are two additional selected citations.