Tracing Quotations
Margaret Fuller? Thomas Carlyle? Henry James Sr.? William James? Ralph Waldo Emerson? Horace Greely? Julia Ward Howe? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: A famous nineteenth-century thinker once delivered a grand affirmation of the universe: “I accept the universe.” Another well-known intellectual heard about this pronouncement and attempted to puncture the elevated tone of the avowal: …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: “I Accept the Universe” “Gad! She’d Better!””
Thomas Carlyle? Benjamin Franklin? Samuel Taylor Coleridge? Johann P. F. Richter? Minna Antrim? Heinrich Heine? William Ralph Inge? Question for Quote Investigator: The most memorable and painful lessons are usually learned via direct experience, but the cost can be very high. A family of adages depict this point of view. Here are two instances: This …
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe? Thomas Carlyle? Mary Shelley? Percy Bysshe Shelley? Thomas S. Monson? Apocryphal? Question for 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 …
Elbert Hubbard? Thomas Carlyle? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Working for a living consumes enormous amounts of time and energy. If you wish to be happy in life then it is essential to try and obtain happiness from your work. Would you please determine who created an adage expressing this idea? Reply from Quote Investigator: …
Creator: Thomas Carlyle, Scottish philosopher, historian, and satirist Context: The book “Past and Present” by Carlyle contains the following passage which metaphorically contrasts a swamp and a meadow. Emphasis added: Blessed is he who has found his work; let him ask no other blessedness. He has a work, a life-purpose; he has found it, and …
Henri Bergson? Robertson Davies? Johann Wolfgang von Goethe? Thomas Carlyle? Anais Nin? Anonymous? Question for 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 …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: The Eye Sees Only What the Mind Is Prepared To Comprehend”
Thomas Carlyle? Patrick Geddes? Robertson Davies? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: When you interpret a visual scene your grasp is limited by your knowledge and preconceptions. The eye can only see what it is prepared to see. The Scottish philosopher and historian Thomas Carlyle said something similar to this. Would you please help me to …
Mark Twain? Madame de Sévigné? Madame Roland? Alphonse de Lamartine? Alphonse Toussenel? Louise de la Rameé? Alfred D’Orsay? Thomas Carlyle? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: A popular expression combines disappointment with humanity together with praise for canines. Here are four versions: These words have been attributed to Mark Twain and Alphonse Toussenel. Would you please …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: The More I Know About People, the Better I Like Dogs”
Napoleon Bonaparte? Frederick the Great? Thomas Carlyle? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Proper logistics are crucial to any successful military campaign. The importance of food supply is highlighted in a well-known aphorism. Here are four versions: This saying has been ascribed to the famous leaders Napoleon Bonaparte and Frederick the Great. Would you please explore …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: An Army Marches On Its Stomach”
Samuel Johnson? James Boswell? Thomas Carlyle? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: Two statements that sound the same but have very different meanings have been attributed to the esteemed dictionary maker and man of letters Samuel Johnson: 1) Clear your mind of cant. 2) Clear your mind of can’t. In the first statement the noun “cant” referred …
Continue reading “Clear Your Mind of Cant / Clear Your Mind of Can’t”