Ethel Smyth? William Booth? C. S. Lewis? W. H. Auden? Benjamin Harrison? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Newspapers have produced hilarious statements due to misprints. According to an entertaining anecdote, a prominent religious figure once visited a town, and the local periodical reported: After his train had left the station a large crow remained on …
Tag Archives: C. S. Lewis
Quote Origin: People More Frequently Require To Be Reminded Than Informed
Samuel Johnson? C. S. Lewis? Peggy Noonan? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: People often know what they should be doing. A didactic lecture is not required. Instead, a simple reminder is adequate to inspire appropriate action. Here are four examples from a family of pertinent sayings: (1) Men more frequently require to be reminded than …
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Quote Origin: I Have Lived a Thousand Lives. I Have Loved a Thousand Loves . . . Because I Read
George R. R. Martin? Gloria Swanson? C. S. Lewis? A. A. Pape? Vada B. Reese? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: A best-selling author once stated: I have lived a thousand lives. I have loved a thousand loves. This extraordinary achievement had been accomplished vicariously via reading. Fantasy and science fiction author George R. R. Martin …
Quote Origin: I Write Because I Want More Than One Life
Anne Tyler? Lee Smith? C. S. Lewis? George R. R. Martin? Louis L’Amour? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: A prominent author disclosed a fascinating insight into her prime motivation for writing novels. She desired to live more than one life. Would you please help me to identify this author and find a citation? Reply from …
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Quote Origin: In the Sublime War of Humanity Against Reality, Humanity Has But One Weapon, The Imagination
Lewis Carroll? Cheshire Cat? C. S. Lewis? Jules de Gaultier? Benjamin de Casseres? Percy Bysshe Shelley? Herbert Kaufman? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Reality can be cold and disheartening. Yet, humans have the extraordinary facility to imagine a different and more entertaining universe. Here are two versions of a pertinent saying: (1) Imagination is the …
Spaceship Earth: No Instruction Book Came With It
Buckminster Fuller? Richard Dreyfuss? C. S. Lewis? William Nicholson? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: A prominent futurist once said that our planet did not come with an instruction book. Therefore, we should act carefully while creating our own instruction book for living and flourishing. I think the author of this notion was Buckminster Fuller. Would you …
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Quote Origin: Comparison Is the Thief of Joy
Theodore Roosevelt? Mark Twain? C. S. Lewis? Dwight Edwards? John Powell? Ray Cummings? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Comparing your status to others often produces envy and unhappiness. Here are four instances from a family of pertinent adages: Statesman Theodore Roosevelt, humorist Mark Twain, author C. S. Lewis, and religious figure Dwight Edwards have all …
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Most of the Evil in This World Is Done by People with Good Intentions
T. S. Eliot? Ayn Rand? Reinhold Niebuhr? Isabel Paterson? Krister Stendahl? C. S. Lewis? June Bingham? Paul Simon? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: Tyrannical systems are often created by people who believe that they have the highest and noblest intentions. Totalitarian countries, theocratic dictatorships, and abusive cults are typically founded and promoted by those who are …
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How Can I Know What I Think Till I See What I Say?
Graham Wallas? E. M. Forster? André Gide? Anonymous Little Girl? Anonymous Old Lady? Herbert Samuel? W. H. Auden? C. S. Lewis? Arthur Koestler? Christopher Hollis? Dear Quote Investigator: Pre-verbal and non-verbal thoughts are vitally important. Yet, there is an intimate relationship between thinking and using language especially when analysis and reflection are required. A family …
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If You Find a Book You Really Want To Read But It Hasn’t Been Written Yet, Then You Must Write It
Toni Morrison? Benjamin Disraeli? Mickey Spillane? C. S. Lewis? J. R. R. Tolkien? Janet Fitch? Ann Patchett? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: The prominent American editor, writer, and educator Toni Morrison who authored the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel “Beloved” has been credited with an exhilarating remark about the creative process: If there’s a book you really want …