Tracing Quotations
Lucille Ball? Benjamin Franklin? Elbert Hubbard? W. J. Kennedy? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: A popular proverb suggests that when you are faced with a large task you should call upon someone with an ongoing track record of accomplishment. Here are three versions: If you want something done, ask a busy person. If you want anything …
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Elbert Hubbard? Apocryphal? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: I’m intrigued by the following counter-intuitive adage: The love we give away is the only love we keep. Would you please explore its provenance? Quote Investigator: Elbert Hubbard was the founder of a community of artisans called Roycrofters who were located in East Aurora, New York. He also …
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Mark Twain? Lilian Bell? Elbert Hubbard? Frank Ward O’Malley? Bruce Calvert? H. L. Mencken? Charles Dickens? Edna St. Vincent Millay? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: The following statement of exasperation and resignation has been attributed to the luminary Mark Twain, the aphorist Elbert Hubbard, and the journalist Frank Ward O’Malley: Life is just one damn thing …
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Ralph Waldo Emerson? Elbert Hubbard? Sarah S. B. Yule? John R. Paxton? Orison Swett Marden? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: A remarkably popular adage about innovation highlights mousetraps and celebrity: Build a better mousetrap, and the world will beat a path to your door. The origin of this saying was complex, and the topic has been …
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George Bernard Shaw? Puck? Saxby’s Magazine? Elbert Hubbard? Confucius? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: The following adage is the perfect antidote to excessive negativity and obstructionism: People who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it. These words are often attributed to Asian sage Confucius and to the acclaimed playwright George …
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Aristotle? Elbert Hubbard? William Pitt? Fred Shero? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: Receiving criticism is an unpleasant experience, but it is also inevitable. If your actions in the world are significant then you will draw detractors. This notion is cleverly expressed in the following pointed remark: To avoid criticism, say nothing, do nothing, be nothing. This …
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Albert Einstein? Alexandre Dumas, fils? Elbert Hubbard? Brooks F. Beebe? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: The following funny saying is usually attributed to Albert Einstein: The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits. Yet, no one provides any justification for crediting the brilliant scientist with this jest. Is this another fake Einstein …
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Charles De Gaulle? Georges Clemenceau? Elbert Hubbard? R. C. O’Brien? Vladmir Bjornberg? Seth Wiggins? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: I would love to have a specific citation for the following quotation. Here are two versions that I’ve seen many times: 1) The graveyards are full of indispensable men. 2) The cemeteries are full of indispensable men. …
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