Johann Wolfgang von Goethe? Carl Sandburg? Ruth Strang? Johann Peter Eckermann? John Oxenford? Henry R. Tedder? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: When the famous German intellectual Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was an octogenarian he spoke to a friend about the effort required to read a text carefully and deeply. He said something like the following: …
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Quote Origin: Hell Begins On the Day When God Grants Us a Clear Vision of All That We Might Have Achieved
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe? Gian Carlo Menotti? John Greenleaf Whittier? Adelaide Anne Procter? Norman Cousins? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Looking back on one’s life sometimes produces a surge of regret for lost opportunities. Here are two versions of a statement expressing this feeling: (1) Hell begins the day God grants you the vision to …
Quote Origin: Nothing That Makes Us Happy Is an Illusion
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe? Jules Verne? Friedrich Nietzsche? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: A character in a novel by the prominent German poet and novelist Johann Wolfgang von Goethe presented a radical stance on happiness and illusion. Here are two versions: (1) Nothing which makes us happy is an illusion?(2) Can that be a delusion …
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I Prefer an Injurious Truth To a Useful Error. Truth Heals Any Pain It May Inflict On Us
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe? Thomas Mann? André Gide? Arthur Koestler? Garrett Hardin? Horace Mann? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: Sometimes a truthful statement can undermine a cherished belief and provide comfort to an adversary. Thus, it is tempting to embrace an untruthful statement that provides temporary solace. Yet, accepting uncomfortable truths leads to personal growth, whereas …
Tell Me What Company You Keep, and I Will Tell You What You Are
Miguel de Cervantes? Don Quixote? Sancho Panza? Euripides? Lord Chesterfield? Johann Wolfgang von Goethe? Joseph Hordern? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: If you are attempting to assess the character of an individual you can do it indirectly by identifying his or her friends and assessing their proclivities. Here are three versions of a pertinent saying: Show …
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If We Treat People as If They Were What They Ought To Be, We Help Them Become What They Are Capable of Becoming
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe? Thomas Carlyle? Mary Shelley? Percy Bysshe Shelley? Thomas S. Monson? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: There is a family of sayings ascribed to the prominent German literary figure Goethe. Here are two instances in the family: If you treat people as they are, they will become worse. If you treat them as …
I Have Come to a Frightening Conclusion. I Am the Decisive Element in the Classroom
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe? Haim G. Ginott? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: The major German literary figure Goethe has received credit for a passage that begins: I have come to the frightening conclusion that I am the decisive element. It is my personal approach that creates the climate. I have not found any solid ascriptions to …
The Eye Sees Only What the Mind Is Prepared To Comprehend
Henri Bergson? Robertson Davies? Johann Wolfgang von Goethe? Thomas Carlyle? Anais Nin? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: One might see a duck when looking at the famous ambiguous image above, or one might see a rabbit. Perceiving one animal partially blocks the recognition of the other animal, and mental effort is required to switch one’s viewpoint. …
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One Sees What One Carries In One’s Own Heart
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe? Anais Nin? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: During a Rorschach test a patient is shown a series of ambiguous inkblots and his or her reactions and interpretations are recorded. This assessment reminds me of an adage. Here are two versions: You see in the world what you carry in your heart. They …
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Never Attribute to Malice That Which Is Adequately Explained by Stupidity
Robert Heinlein? Napoleon Bonaparte? Ayn Rand? David Hume? Johann Wolfgang von Goethe? Robert J. Hanlon? Arthur Cushman McGiffert? William James Laidlay? Ernst Haeckel? Thomas F. Woodlock? Nick Diamos? Dear Quote Investigator: It is easy to impute hostility to the actions of others when a situation is actually unclear. A popular insightful adage attempts to constrain …
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