Tracing Quotations
Mignon McLaughlin? William Butler Yeats? Bertrand Russell? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: The present state of the world might be best explained with the following acerbic remark: The know-nothings of the world are, regrettably, not the do-nothings. I am not sure of the original phrasing. Would you please help me to trace this saying and …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: The Know-Nothings Are, Unfortunately, Seldom the Do-Nothings”
George Orwell? Bertrand Russell? Thomas Sowell? Nicholas Kisburg? George Will? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Intelligent individuals sometimes embrace remarkably foolish ideas. Here are four versions of an acerbic remark: (1) One has to belong to the intelligentsia to believe things like that: no ordinary man could be such a fool. (2) This is one …
Bertrand Russell? Ruth Nanda Anshen? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: A prominent thinker said something like the following: the success of fascism is based on fascinating the fools and muzzling the intelligent. Would you please help me to determine the name of the author and the correct phrasing? Reply from Quote Investigator: In 1940 U.S. …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: Fascist Movement – To Fascinate Fools and Muzzle the Intelligent”
Hester Lynch Piozzi? William James? Bertrand Russell? Mark Twain? Henry David Thoreau? Carl Sagan? Terry Pratchett? Samuel Purchas? John Locke? George B. Cheever? Joseph F. Berg? George Chainey? John Phoenix? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: According to legend a prominent scientist once presented a lecture on cosmology which discussed the solar system and galaxies. Afterwards, a …
Bertrand Russell? Leo Rosten? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: The relationship between government and law can be deftly summarized with two contrasting statements: Government can exist without law(s). Law(s) cannot exist without government. These dual notions have been attributed to the famous British mathematician and social critic Bertrand Russell. Would you please help me to find …
Continue reading “Government Can Easily Exist Without Law, But Law Cannot Exist Without Government”
Anatole France? Bertrand Russell? W. Somerset Maugham? Oliver Goldsmith? J. A. Schmit? Laurence J. Peter? Apocryphal? Dear 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 …
Continue reading “If Fifty Million People Say a Foolish Thing, It Is Still a Foolish Thing”
Bertrand Russell? Apocryphal? Dear 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? Quote Investigator: …
Continue reading “Life Is Nothing But a Competition To Be the Criminal Rather Than the Victim”
Bertrand Russell? Arnold J. Toynbee? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: People who are attempting to climb the ladder of success today are often working more hours than ever before. Yet, the notable mathematician and intellectual Bertrand Russell envisioned a different future world in which the crucial challenge would be deciding how to fill leisure time intelligently. …
Continue reading “To Be Able To Fill Leisure Intelligently Is the Last Product of Civilization”
Bertrand Russell? Leo Rosten? Apocryphal? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: The prominent British philosopher and essayist Bertrand Russell co-wrote an important book of classical logic titled “Principia Mathematica”. An anecdote about Russell is based on a humorously rigorous logical interpretation of a question. A colleague spoke to Russell shortly after his wife had a baby: “Congratulations. …
Continue reading ““Is Your New Baby a Boy Or a Girl?” “Yes””
Bertrand Russell? George Orwell? Arthur Koestler? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: Humanity faces many existential dangers: hydrogen bombs, bioweapons, asteroid impacts, nanoplagues, and artificial intelligence. Yet, most of these dangers were created by humankind, and all can be ameliorated by wise decisions. The British philosopher Bertrand Russell once said something like: The question is how to …
Continue reading “The Difficulty Is To Persuade the Human Race To Acquiesce in Its Own Survival”