Tracing Quotations
Abraham Lincoln? Jacques Abbadie? Denis Diderot? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: One of the most famous sayings attributed to Abraham Lincoln is about deception: You can fool all the people some of the time and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time. I was astounded …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: You Cannot Fool All the People All the Time”
Abraham Lincoln? Alphonse Karr? B. Fay Mills? Roe Fulkerson? J. Kenfield Morley? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: A popular quotation about achieving the proper perspective on life is often attributed to Abraham Lincoln: We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses. Optimistic and pessimistic viewpoints are ingeniously contrasted …
Abraham Lincoln? Charles G. Halpine? Anonymous? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: There is a brilliant anecdote about President Lincoln defending General Grant from an accusation of drunkenness. I have read conflicting statements about whether this anecdote is accurate. Perhaps you could examine this tale for the next Presidents’ Day holiday? Reply from Quote Investigator: The …
Abraham Lincoln? Frank Crane? Orison Swett Marden? Dale Carnegie? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: On twitter recently there was an exchange about a deeply insightful quotation credited to Abraham Lincoln: Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be. I love this saying, and it helps me to reflect constructively …
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Abraham Lincoln? Adlai Stevenson? Edward J. Stieglitz? Edward Barrett Warman? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: There are posters, shirts, mugs, and other commercial products displaying the following inspirational quote: And in the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years. Abraham Lincoln is credited with this aphorism, …
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.? John B. Finch? John Stuart Mill? Abraham Lincoln? Zechariah Chafee, Jr.? Dear Quote Investigator: I am writing a book on the theme of freedom and would like to include a classic quotation about the pragmatic limitations on liberty. My research has identified several versions of this popular saying: The right to …
Continue reading “Your Liberty To Swing Your Fist Ends Just Where My Nose Begins”
Abraham Lincoln? Ambrose Burnside? Charles Fair? Dear Quote Investigator: One of the worst military strategists in history was a Civil War general named Ambrose Burnside (sideburns are named after his whiskers). After a military fiasco called the Battle of the Crater, Abraham Lincoln relieved him of command and supposedly said: Only Burnside could have managed …
Abraham Lincoln? Mark Twain? Biblical Proverb? Maurice Switzer? Arthur Burns? John Maynard Keynes? Confucius? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Here are two versions of an entertaining saying that is often credited to Abraham Lincoln or Mark Twain: Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and to remove all doubt. It’s …