Quote Investigator® – Page 76

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:

Nothing is certain except for death and taxes.
Nothing stands fixed, but death and taxes.
Nothing can be depended on but taxes and death.
It’s impossible to be sure of anything but death and taxes.

The U.S. statesman Benjamin Franklin and the humorist Mark Twain have received credit for this remark. Would you please explore this topic?

Reply from Quote Investigator: Benjamin Franklin did employ this saying within a letter dated November 13, 1789 which he wrote to the French physicist Jean Baptiste Le Roy. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:¹

Our new Constitution is now established, and has an appearance that promises permanency; but in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.

Many years before Franklin’s usage, the expression appeared in a farce titled “The Cobler of Preston” by Christopher Bullock which premiered and was published in 1716. The word “cobbler” was spelled “cobler”, and the word “lie” was spelled “lye”. The quip was spoken by a character named Toby Guzzle who was described as “a drunken Cobler”:²

You lye, you are not sure; for I say, Woman, ’tis impossible to be sure of any thing but Death and Taxes—therefore hold your Tongue, or you shall both be soundly whipt . . .

Here are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Quote Origin: The Smallest Good Deed Is Better Than the Grandest Good Intention

Oscar Wilde? Jacques Joseph Duguet? Claude Joseph Dorat? Henry Ward Beecher? Gaspard Dughet? H. Jackson Brown? John Burroughs? Anonymous?

Question for Quote Investigator: Hoping and dreaming are not enough; taking action is crucial. Here are two pertinent statements:

The smallest deed is better than the greatest intention.
The smallest act of kindness is worth more than the grandest intention.

Would you please examine this family of sayings?

Reply from Quote Investigator: The earliest match located by QI appeared in 1863 within the French journal “Le Magasin Pittoresque” (“The Picturesque Store”) . A filler item stated the following. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:¹

Ne préférez jamais une grande bonne intention à une petite bonne action. UN AUTEUR ANGLAIS.

Here is one possible translation into English:

Never prefer a great good intention to a small good action.
AN ENGLISH AUTHOR.

The attribution did not specify the name of the English author, and QI would label the source anonymous based on current knowledge.

Here are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Quote Origin: The Brain Is Merely a Meat Machine

Marvin Minsky? Joseph Weizenbaum? Pamela McCorduck? Edward Fredkin? Apocryphal?

Question for Quote Investigator: Within computer science the discipline of artificial intelligence (AI) is focused on analyzing and constructing entities that display advanced cognitive behaviors. These entities are designed to learn, solve problems, and achieve goals. Critics of the field contend that machines cannot embody genuine intelligence and understanding. An advocate of machine intelligence apparently formulated the following provocative retort:

The brain is merely a meat machine.

Would you please explore the provenance of this remark?

Reply from Quote Investigator: In May 1972 M.I.T. computer scientist Joseph Weizenbaum published a piece in the journal “Science” titled “On the Impact of the Computer on Society”. Weizenbaum believed that retaining the autonomy, freedom, and dignity of humans was essential to civilization. He also thought that the advent of advanced computer systems need not undermine the perceived worth of human life. Yet, he feared that the elevation of crude and over-simplified computer models of human behavior such as those developed by the 1970s might damage societal values. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:¹

The possibility that the computer will, one way or another, demonstrate that, in the inimitable phrase of one of my esteemed colleagues, “the brain is merely a meat machine” is one that engages academicians, industrialists, and journalists in the here and now. How has the computer contributed to bringing about this very sad state of affairs? It must be said right away that the computer alone is not the chief causative agent.

In the passage above from 1972, Weizenbaum did not name the author of the quotation; however, many years later when he was near the end of his life he wrote an article for the journal “IEEE Annals of the History of Computing” in which he ascribed the remark to colleague Marvin Minsky:²

Perhaps the most (in)famous and illustrious American computer scientist and acknowledged principal pioneer of the discipline now known as artificial intelligence (AI), Professor Marvin Minsky of MIT, once pronounced—a belief he still holds—that “the brain is merely a meat machine.”

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Quote Origin: Freedom Lies In Being Bold

Robert Frost? Anita Brookner? Thucydides? Apocryphal?

Question for Quote Investigator: The famous poet Robert Frost enjoyed socializing with people who had strong personalities. He highlighted a connection between freedom and boldness. Would you please help me to find a citation?

Reply from Quote Investigator: In December 1952 “The New Yorker” magazine published a piece by Philip Hamburger who presented statements made by Robert Frost during an interview broadcast on the NBC television network. The ellipses below appeared in the original text. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:¹

“I don’t care about spending much time with people who haven’t a definite personality. I am that kind of an equalitarian. I like to mix with my equals, people who have as much personality as I have … but the great thing is taut boldness. … People … will tell you that freedom lies in being cautious.” Here he violently shook his head. “Freedom lies in being bold.”

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Quote Origin: If You Take the ‘I’ Out of Illness, and Add ‘We’, You End Up With Wellness

Malcolm X? Charles Roppel? Mariel Hemingway? William Crosbie Hunter? Shannon L. Adler? Anonymous?

Question for Quote Investigator: Some health problems can be ameliorated via collaborative action such as installing a water treatment facility, controlling a mosquito population, or reducing the transmission of a contagious disease.

This notion can be expressed by using wordplay. When the letter “I” in “Illness” is replaced by “We”, the result is “Wellness”. Would you please explore the provenance of this witty remark which is sometimes attributed to prominent activist Malcolm X.

Reply from Quote Investigator: The earliest match located by QI appeared in a Baton Rouge, Louisiana newspaper in March 1984. The quotation was spoken during a speech to local residents by Charles Roppel, the head of the Mental Health Promotion Branch of the California Department of Mental Health. The address highlighted the value of establishing and maintaining multiple relationships of friendship and love. Roppel presented his theme adroitly and compactly as follows:¹

He says, “Take the I out of illness, add W and E, and you have wellness.”

Malcolm X died in 1965. QI has not yet located any matches before 1984. The ascription to Malcolm X occurred by 2013. Thus, based on current evidence the linkage to Malcolm X is weak.

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Quote Origin: Life Is Nothing But a Competition To Be the Criminal Rather Than the Victim

Bertrand Russell? Apocryphal?

Question for Quote Investigator: The prominent intellectual Bertrand Russell apparently expressed in a private letter a deeply cynical viewpoint about humanity. He suggested that the oppressed simply wished to become the oppressors, and the populace competed to become criminals instead of victims. Would you please help me to find a citation?

Reply from Quote Investigator: On December 17, 1920 Bertrand Russell sent a letter to his lover Ottoline Morrell. He was dispirited because the recent independence of Poland achieved via the Versailles Treaty had been followed by warfare between Polish and Ukrainian forces. In addition, his opinion of Bolsheviks and other groups had soured. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:¹

But I think all mankind utterly vile. The Bolsheviks, till I knew them, seemed better; now they don’t.

Russell’s dejection facilitated a belief that the moral distinctions between groups were transitory and illusory:

People seem good while they are oppressed, but they only wish to become oppressors in their turn: life is nothing but a competition to be the criminal rather than the victim. The world is rushing down into barbarism, and there seems nothing to do but keep alive civilization in one’s corner, as the Irish did in the 7th and 8th centuries.

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Quote Origin: The Lunatics Have Taken Charge of the Asylum

Edgar Allan Poe? Richard Rowland? Terry Ramsaye? Laurence Stallings? H. L. Mencken? William Gibbs McAdoo? Jack Oakie? Anonymous?

Question for Quote Investigator: The leaders of a group often face a variety of criticisms. Harsh detractors employ a vivid metaphor from the domain of mental health. Here are two examples:

The lunatics have taken over the asylum.
The inmates are in charge of the asylum.

This barb has often been aimed at Hollywood. Would you please explore the provenance of this expression?

Reply from Quote Investigator: The earliest match for this metaphor known to QI appeared in the 1926 book “A Million and One Nights: A History of the Motion Picture Through 1925” by Terry Ramsaye. The statement was applied to the upstart movie studio United Artists and its four founders: prominent film director D. W. Griffith, popular comic actor Charlie Chaplin, well-known star Mary Pickford, and matinee idol Douglas Fairbanks. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:¹

The classic comment of the occasion came from Richard Rowland, then head of Metro Pictures Corporation. He received the interesting tidings from Arthur James, press and intelligence agent of Metro. Rowland meditated on the significance of the new move for almost a full second.

“So,” he remarked, “the lunatics have taken charge of the asylum.”

It should be added, lest there be an assumption that the comment sprang from snobbery, that Rowland has been philosopher enough to classify himself as “one of the accidentally successful.”

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Quote Origin: Put It Before Them Briefly So That They Will Read It, Clearly So That They Will Understand It

Joseph Pulitzer? Alleyne Ireland? Lloyd Cory? Apocryphal?

Question for Quote Investigator: The famous newspaper publisher Joseph Pulitzer once described the writing style he required from his journalists. He demanded brief, clear, forceful, picturesque, and accurate prose. Would you please help me to find citation?

Reply from Quote Investigator: Joseph Pulitzer was the publisher of “The New York World” and the “St. Louis Post-Dispatch”. He died in 1911. The quotation appeared in a 1914 book titled “Joseph Pulitzer: Reminiscences of a Secretary” by Alleyne Ireland.

In 1910 Ireland saw an advertisement for a companion-secretary to an unnamed gentleman. During the multi-part interview process, Ireland learned that the advertisement had been placed on behalf of Pulitzer who required considerable help because of his health problems and blindness.

Ireland’s success during preliminary interviews led to a meeting with Pulitzer himself during which they discussed journalism. Pulitzer contrasted the audiences of “The Times” of London and “The New York World”. Boldface added to excepts by QI:¹

The World isn’t like your Times, with its forty or fifty thousand educated readers. It’s read by, well, say a million people a day; and it’s my duty to see that they get the truth; but that’s not enough, I’ve got to put it before them briefly so that they will read it, clearly so that they will understand it, forcibly so that they will appreciate it, picturesquely so that they will remember it, and, above all, accurately so that they may be wisely guided by its light.

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Quote Origin: Blessed Are Those Who Plant Trees Under Whose Shade They Will Never Sit

Greek Proverb? Indian Proverb? Marcus Tullius Cicero? Joycelyn Elders? Warren Buffett? Hyacinthe Loyson? M. Trottier?

Question for Quote Investigator: A popular adage praises people whose selfless actions are designed to benefit future generations. Here are two versions:

Blessed are old people who plant trees knowing that they shall never sit in the shade of their foliage.
Those who plant trees, knowing that only others will enjoy the shade, are public benefactors.

Would you please explore the provenance of this saying?

Reply from Quote Investigator: The earliest match known to QI appeared in a sermon by French theologian Hyacinthe Loyson delivered in Paris in 1866. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:¹

Ces arbres qu’il plante et à l’ombre desquels il ne s’assoira pas, il les aime pour eux-mêmes et pour ses enfants, et pour les enfants de ses enfants, sur qui s’étendront leurs rameaux.

The sermon was translated into English and published in 1870. Hyacinthe Loyson approvingly described the actions of the proto-farmer:²

These trees which he plants, and under whose shade he shall never sit, he loves them for themselves, and for the sake of his children and his children’s children, who are to sit beneath the shadow of their spreading boughs.

The above prolix passage did not directly state that the planter was blessed. A closer match to the adage under scrutiny appeared in “The Pall Mall Gazette” of London in 1868 within an article titled “Australian Trees and Algerian Deserts”. The article presented a compact saying described as an Indian proverb; hence, the attribution was anonymous. Interestingly, the source text was a French article published in 1868 by M. Trotter:³

The Eucalyptus globulus at fifteen years of age is as valuable as an oak tree of one hundred years. One seed planted near Algiers four years ago is now a tree three feet in circumference at the base. The man who plants the hills of Africa with these trees, though he is no less blessed, does not require the faith spoken of in the Indian proverb, “Blessed is he who plants trees under whose shade he will never sit.”

QI believes that The adage evolved over a long period. Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Dialogue Origin: “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?

Question for 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 own worst enemy.” “Not while I am around.”
“He is his own greatest enemy” “Not while I’m alive, he ain’t.”

Would you please explore the provenance of this type of exchange?

Reply from Quote Investigator: The earliest instance of this schema located by QI appeared in a 1933 article by Franklin P. Adams in the “New York Herald Tribune”. Adams was reviewing a book filled with abbreviations, informal language, and flexible spelling; hence, he decided to retain that style in his analysis. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:¹

. . . only the other night when I said I am my own worst enemy 4 fellows rushed in to say loyaly not while they was alive.

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.