Quote Investigator® – Page 65

Quote Origin: God Gave Us the Gift of Life; It Is Up To Us To Give Ourselves the Gift of Living Well

Voltaire? François-Marie Arouet? Jean Orieux? Apocryphal?

Question for Quote Investigator: A famous writer of the Enlightenment stated that God gave each of us the gift of life. It is our responsibility to take advantage of this gift by living fully and well. Voltaire has received credit for a remark of this type. Would you please explore this topic?

Reply from Quote Investigator: Voltaire (François-Marie Arouet) died in 1778. The 1880 edition of “Œuvres complètes de Voltaire” (“Complete Works of Voltaire”) included the following statement in its appendix. Boldface added to excerpts:¹

Dieu nous a donné le vivre; c’est à nous de nous donner le bien vivre.

The 1979 book “Voltaire: A Biography of the Man & His Century” by Jean Orieux contained the following English translation:²

God gave us the gift of life; it is up to us to give ourselves the gift of living well. (Remarks)

This statement occurred in a section of the 1880 work called “Extracts from a Manuscript in the Hand of M. de Voltaire”, but QI does not know any details about the provenance of the manuscript. Hence, the accuracy of the attribution to Voltaire depends on the expertise of the 1880 editor of “Œuvres complètes de Voltaire”.

Quote Origin: It’s Easier To Fool People Than To Convince Them That They’ve Been Fooled

Mark Twain? Baltasar Gracian? John Maynard Keynes? Norman Angell? Apocryphal?

Question for Quote Investigator: An energetic liar can confuse, mislead, and deceive people. Yet, in many cases, that same liar is unable to reverse the deception. Hoodwinked people embrace their misperceptions. Here is a pertinent adage:

It’s easier to fool people than to convince them that they have been fooled.

Mark Twain has received credit for this statement, but I have been unable to find a citation, and I have become skeptical. Would you please explore this topic?

Reply from Quote Investigator: QI has found no substantive evidence that Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens) authored this remark. The earliest close match known to QI appeared in a tweet transmitted on January 10, 2011. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:¹

“It’s easier to fool ppl than to convince them that they’ve been fooled” ~Mark Twain #skeptic #atheist #skepticism

Thematically related statements have a long history, and Twain did express similar sentiments in 1906 as shown further below.

Here are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Quote Origin: Every Blockhead Is Thoroughly Persuaded That He Is In the Right

Baltasar Gracián y Morales? Mountstuart Grant Duff? Joseph Jacobs? Christopher Maurer? Martin Fischer? Apocryphal?

Question for Quote Investigator: Thoughtful people periodically revise their opinions as their knowledge grows. Obstinate and foolish people develop an opinion and then refuse to change it even when evidence accumulates that their original position is deeply flawed. Clinging to erroneous beliefs is wrong-headed.

The Spanish Jesuit writer and philosopher Baltasar Gracián (Baltasar Gracián y Morales) said something like this in the 17th century. Would you please help me to find a citation?

Reply from Quote Investigator: Baltasar Gracián wrote “Oráculo Manual y Arte de Prudencia” (“The Art of Worldly Wisdom”) in 1647. The work primarily consisted of three hundred maxims together with commentary. The following passage in Spanish discussed the wisdom of cultivating intellectual flexibility. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:¹

No aprender fuertemente. Todo necio es persuadido, y todo persuadido necio, y quanto mas erroneo su dictamen, es mayor su tenacidad: aun en caso de evidencia es ingenuidad el ceder, que no se ignora la razon que tuvo, y se conoce la galanteria que tiene.

In 1877 the British author Mountstuart Grant Duff published a piece in “The Fortnightly Review” of London which included material from Gracián’s book. The Spanish text above corresponded to maxim 183, and Duff presented the following partial translation:²

Do not hold your opinions all too firmly.—Every blockhead is thoroughly persuaded that he is in the right, and every one who is all too firmly persuaded is a blockhead, and the more erroneous is his judgment the greater is the tenacity with which he holds it.

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Quote Origin: It Is Easier to Bamboozle People Than It Is To Unbamboozle Them

John Maynard Keynes? Norman Angell? Carter Field? Lionel Robbins? Malcolm W. Bingay? Apocryphal?

Question for Quote Investigator: With time and effort it is possible to bamboozle people, i.e., to fool or mislead them. Unfortunately, this process of deception can be so thorough that it is impossible to debamboozle them, i.e., to convince them of the truth. I think the prominent economist John Maynard Keynes said something like this. Would you please explore this topic?

Reply from Quote Investigator: John Maynard Keynes did employ an expression of this type, but he was specifically referring to the thoughts and actions of U.S. President Woodrow Wilson who was a participant in the Paris Peace Conference at the end of World War I.

World leaders met in the Palace of Versailles after Germany signed an armistice agreement. French Prime Minister Georges Clemenceau, British Prime Minister David Lloyd George, and Wilson were the most powerful figures. Keynes believed that the demands placed upon Germany by the triumphant leaders were too onerous. He feared that Germany’s economy would collapse and harm all the countries in the region.

Initially, Wilson also believed that provisions in the Treaty of Versailles were too harsh. Yet, during the months of negotiation other leaders convinced Wilson to support the treaty. Keynes published in 1919 “The Economic Consequences of the Peace” which criticized the accord and included the following passage. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:¹

To his horror, Mr. Lloyd George, desiring at the last moment all the moderation he dared, discovered that he could not in five days persuade the President of error in what it had taken five months to prove to him to be just and right. After all, it was harder to de-bamboozle this old Presbyterian than it had been to bamboozle him; for the former involved his belief in and respect for himself.

The terms to “debamboozle” and to “unbamboozle” have been used as synonyms. Also, both terms have been hyphenated sometimes: “de-bamboozle” and “un-bamboozle”.

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Quote Origin: Don’t Be Yourself—Be Someone a Little Nicer

Mignon McLaughlin? Leata McQuiston? Barbara Bush? Anonymous?

Question for Quote Investigator: “Be yourself” is an ubiquitous platitude. Here is a funny variant: Don’t be yourself—be someone a little nicer. Would you please explore the provenance of this quip?

Reply from Quote Investigator: The earliest instance located by QI appeared in a newspaper column called “Chatter” by Leata McQuiston published in the “Hobbs Daily News-Sun” of New Mexico in May 1964. The statement was enclosed in quotation marks signaling that the columnist was disclaiming credit for the humorous remark:¹

“Don’t be yourself—be someone a little nicer.”

The second earliest instance located by QI appeared in “The Spokesman-Review” of Washington as a filler item within an advertisement section called “Shop With Sue” in October 1964. No attribution was specified.²

Thus, the quip was circulating as an anonymous joke by 1964.

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Quote Origin: Our Homes Are Our Prisons; Let Us Find Freedom in Their Decoration

Coco Chanel? Gabrielle Chanel? Pierre Reverdy? Apocryphal?

Question for Quote Investigator: People spend many hours in their homes. The fashion icon Coco Chanel (Gabrielle Chanel) recommended beautifying one’s abode. She said something like this:

Our homes are our prisons; one finds liberty in their decoration.

This saying resonates powerfully in 2020 because of the Covid-19 restrictions. Would you please help me to find the original version in French?

Reply from Quote Investigator: In September 1938 “Vogue” magazine of Paris published a two page spread of “Maximes et Sentences” (“Maxims and Sentences”) by Gabrielle Chanel. The following statement appeared among the 31 items. Boldface added to excerpts buy QI:¹

Nos maisons sont nos prisons; sachons y retrouver la liberté dans la façon de les parer.

Here is one possible translation into English:

Our homes are our prisons; let us find freedom in their decoration.

Below is one additional citation followed by the conclusion.

Quote Origin: We Must Walk Consciously Only Part Way Toward Our Goal, and Then Leap in the Dark To Our Success

Henry David Thoreau? William Ellery Channing? Apocryphal?

Question for Quote Investigator: When you are pursuing a goal you should be guided by conscious and unconscious thoughts. These two complementary elements will each take you part of the way to the goal. As you approach the objective you must make a leap in the dark to attain success.

Philosopher and poet Henry David Thoreau said something like this. Would you please help me to find a citation.

Reply from Quote Investigator: On March 11, 1859 Thoreau wrote the following in his journal. Boldface added to excepts by QI:¹

We must walk consciously only part way toward our goal, and then leap in the dark to our success.

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Quote Origin: If Fifty Million People Say a Foolish Thing, It Is Still a Foolish Thing

Anatole France? Bertrand Russell? W. Somerset Maugham? Oliver Goldsmith? J. A. Schmit? Laurence J. Peter? Apocryphal?

Question for Quote Investigator: Fifty million people may parrot a false or foolish statement, but that will not metamorphose it into a true or sensible remark. Here are two instances in this family of statements:

If fifty million people say a foolish thing, it is still a foolish thing.
If forty million people say a foolish thing, it does not become a wise one

This saying has been attributed to French Nobel Prize-Winning author Anatole France, British philosopher Bertrand Russell, and English novelist W. Somerset Maugham. Would you please explore this topic?

Reply from Quote Investigator: A semantically similar remark was penned by novelist Oliver Goldsmith in “The Vicar of Wakefield” in 1766. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:¹

. . . the united voice of myriads cannot lend the smallest foundation to falsehood.

A separate QI article about the expression above is available here.

In 1874 another semantic match appeared in an article by J. A. Schmit published in the “Revue Catholique” of Louvain, Belgium. Here is the original statement in French followed by one possible translation into English:²

. . . la vérité est qu’une sottise, même après avoir passé par un million de bouches, n’en reste pas moins une sottise.

. . . the truth is that a stupidity, even after having passed through a million mouths, does not become less foolish.

In 1890 an article in a journal of the Theosophical Publishing Company in London contained a related observation:³

. . . the fact remains that if a million people believe a thing, it neither makes it true nor false. What right, then, have we to found anything on an assumption?

In 1900 Anatole France printed a germane remark about foolishness within a piece in “Le Figaro” newspaper of Paris.⁴ The piece was part of his novel titled “Monsieur Bergeret à Paris” which was published during the following year:⁵ The crucial remark was spoken by a character named Henri Léon who was unhappy with the prevalence of foolishness, but he seemed resigned to its presence. Here is the original French followed by a translation:

Et si nous ne sommes pas bêtes, il faut faire comme si nous l’étions. C’est encore la bêtise qui réussit le mieux en ce monde. Les hommes d’esprit sont des sots. Ils n’arrivent à rien.

And if we are not stupid, we must act as if we are. It is still foolishness that succeeds the best in this world. Intelligent men are fools. They are not getting anywhere.

In 1901 W. Somerset Maugham penned a close match to the saying under examination in one of his personal notebooks:⁶

If forty million people say a foolish thing it does not become a wise one, but the wise man is foolish to give them the lie.

The phrase “to give them the lie” here means “to show them that the foolish thing is inaccurate or untrue”. Maugham’s 1901 remark was published in 1949 many years after it was written.

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Quote Origin: The United Voice of Myriads Cannot Lend the Smallest Foundation To Falsehood

Oliver Goldsmith? H. L. Mencken? Apocryphal?

Question for Quote Investigator: In the Internet Age a falsehood is sometimes repeated incessantly and propagated across the world. Yet, the collective voice of one million people cannot transform a falsehood into a truth. This insight has a long history. The prominent Anglo-Irish novelist and playwright Oliver Goldsmith said something like this in the 1700s. Would you please help me to find a citation.

Reply from Quote Investigator: In 1766 Oliver Goldsmith published the novel “The Vicar of Wakefield” which contained the following statement. Boldface added to excerpts:¹

. . . the united voice of myriads cannot lend the smallest foundation to falsehood.

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Quote Origin: What Would Remain of Our Tragedies If a Literate Insect Were To Offer Us Hers?

Emil M. Cioran? W. H. Auden? Louis Kronenberger? Richard Howard? Apocryphal?

Question for Quote Investigator: Humans experience many tragedies, but contemplating the extreme hardships faced by other creatures provides a sobering perspective. The Romanian and French literary figure Emil M. Cioran said something like the following:

What would be left of our tragedies if an insect were to present us his?

Would you please help me to find a citation:

Reply from Quote Investigator: In 1952 Emil M. Cioran published “Syllogismes de l’amertume”. The title of this French book has been translated into English as “All Gall Is Divided” although a more direct rendering is “Syllogisms of Bitterness”. The following passage is from the 2013 Kindle edition:¹

Quand Eschyle ou Tacite vous semblent trop tièdes, ouvrez une Vie des Insectes – révélation de rage et d’inutilité, enfer qui, heureusement pour nous, n’aura ni dramaturge ni chroniqueur. Que resterait-il de nos tragédies si une bestiole lettrée nous présentait les siennes?

Richard Howard formulated the following translation:²

When Aeschylus or Tacitus seems tepid, open a Life of the Insects — a revelation of rage and futility, an inferno which, fortunately for us, will have neither a playwright nor a chronicler. What would remain of our tragedies if a literate bug were to offer us his?

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.