Tracing Quotations
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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Voltaire? Molière? Jean Scholastique Pitton? Nicolas Frémont d’Ablancourt? Pierre Ortigue de Vaumorière? Benjamin Franklin? Laurence Sterne? Samuel Johnson? Ben Jonson? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: A family of sayings presents a humorously cynical viewpoint about medicine. Here are four examples: (1) Physicians sit by your bedside till they kill you, or nature cures you. (2) …
Samuel Johnson? James Boswell? Robert J. Hanlon? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Misquotations and misattributions are prevalent online, but people who are presenting this faulty information are rarely lying deliberately. Instead, they are naively repeating misinformation they have encountered in the past. The famous English lexicographer Samuel Johnson once said something pertinent which contrasted “carelessness …
Samuel Johnson? Noah Webster? Orison Swett Marden? Charles Caleb Colton? Tryon Edwards? Question for Quote Investigator: If one’s contentment depends upon external forces and events that one cannot control then one should expect continual heartache. Seeking happiness requires changing one’s own dispositions. This notion has been attributed to the famous English lexicographer Samuel Johnson, the …
Samuel Johnson? James Boswell? Samuel Maunder? Henry F. Mason? Bernard J. Sheil? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: A politician whose popularity is dropping may attempt to recapture acceptance by disingenuously embracing jingoistic patriotism. Here are three versions of a germane saying: Pretended patriotism is the last refuge of scoundrels. Patriotism is the first refuge of a …
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Aeschylus? Philip Snowden? Ethel Annakin? Samuel Johnson? Anne MacVicar Grant? E. D. Morel? W. T. Foster? Agnes Maude Royden? Hiram Johnson? Arthur Ponsonby? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: The participants in a violent conflict often engage in crude propaganda and advocacy. Here are four versions of a pertinent saying: Truth is the first casualty in …
Samuel Johnson? Frances Burney? Hester Lynch Piozzi? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: The superlative English lexicographer Samuel Johnson once defined sorrow as the rust of the soul which could be scoured away by engaging with life and becoming active. Would you please help me to find a citation. Quote Investigator: In 1750 Samuel Johnson began to …
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George M. Cohan? P. T. Barnum? Mae West? Elinor Glyn? Babe Ruth? Damon Runyon? James J. Johnston? Charley Murphy? Max Schmeling? Walter Winchell? Oscar Wilde? Samuel Johnson? Ed Sullivan? Dear Quote Investigator: A person once planned to write an article or book containing derogatory material about a celebrity. The unruffled response of the celebrity to …
Continue reading “Say Anything You Like About Me, But Spell My Name Right”
Winston Churchill? Samuel Johnson? James Boswell? Aristotle? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: The rights and freedoms enshrined in political documents are sometimes nullified by oppressive governments. The health of a society depends on the principles and the bravery of the populace. Here is a pertinent adage: Courage is the first of human qualities because it is …
Samuel Johnson? William Makepeace Thackeray? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: The craft of storytelling is ancient; hence, creating original plots and characters is difficult. On the other hand, experimental tales without connections to the past are discordant. Here is a germane adage about successful creators: The two most engaging powers of an author are to make …