Tracing Quotations
Critic: Max Beerbohm? G. K. Chesterton? Hugh Walpole? C. L. Edson? Piccolo? Maurice Francis Egan? John Cournos? Sara Henderson Hay? Theodore Sturgeon? Anonymous? Person Being Criticized: H. G. Wells? John Galsworthy? William Lafayette Strong? Douglas Goldring? Margaret Halsey? Question for Quote Investigator: The Bible tells the story of Esau who made a foolishly impulsive decision …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: Sold His Soul for a Pot of Message”
Abraham Lincoln? Artemus Ward? George Bernard Shaw? Max Beerbohm? Muriel Spark? Question for Quote Investigator: A popular anecdote asserts that Abraham Lincoln was obliged to listen to a prolix lecture about spiritualism by an enthusiastic friend. After the discourse was complete, Lincoln’s opinion was sought, and he replied with a humorously redundant non-committal statement designed …
Max Beerbohm? Rupert Brooke? Philip Guedalla? Oscar Wilde? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: I have heard two distinct, humorous, and antithetical sayings about the composition of history: 1) History repeats itself, and the historians repeat each other 2) History does not repeat itself. The historians repeat each other. Statements of this type have been attributed …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: History Does Not Repeat Itself. The Historians Repeat One Another”
Jimmy Durante? Edna Mae Oliver? Robert M. Hutchins? Chauncey Depew? Mark Twain? Paul Terry? Robert Benchley? Max Beerbohm? J. P. McEvoy? Question for Quote Investigator: The funniest quotation about exercise is usually credited to Mark Twain: Whenever I get the urge to exercise, I lie down until the feeling passes away. But this statement is …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: Whenever I Feel the Urge to Exercise I Lie Down Until It Goes Away”