Quote Origin: Three Stages of Discovery: First, They Deny It Is True; Second, They Deny It Is Important; Third, They Deny It Is New

Alexander von Humboldt? Voltaire? Samuel Eliot Morison? Timothy Ferris? Bill Bryson? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Time is required for a society to fully comprehend and accept a major discovery. Resistance to a breakthrough occurs in a series of phases. Here are two versions of a cogent saying: Three degrees of doubt: First, deny the …

Quote Origin: When Colombus Promised a New Hemisphere, All Said That It Could Not Exist. When He Found It, All Said It Had Been Known Long Before

Voltaire? Abraham Hayward? Alexander von Humboldt? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: The resistance to new ideas is tenacious. Yet, there is a breathtaking reversal in attitude once a new idea is established. The philosopher Voltaire has received credit for presenting the following example regarding Christopher Columbus. When the explorer proposed an expedition to reach a new …

Quote Origin: Doctors Are Paid To Talk Nonsense With the Patient Until Nature Heals Or the Remedies Kill

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) …

Quote Origin: I Never Was Ruined But Twice, Once When I Gained a Lawsuit, and Once When I Lost It

Voltaire? Mark Twain? Richard Brinsley Sheridan? John Bright? Apocryphal? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Legal conflicts are extraordinarily expensive and time-consuming for all the participants. Even the winner of a lawsuit can suffer financially. The ill-fated contender in two legal entanglements once said something like the following. Here are two versions. The word “gained” is …

Life Is Thick Sown with Thorns, and I Know No Other Remedy Than To Pass Quickly Through Them

Voltaire? Louis Mayeul Chaudon? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: The famous French writer Voltaire (François-Marie Arouet) apparently said something like: Life is bristling with thorns. One must travel through them quickly to minimize the pain and harm. Would you please help me to find a citation? Quote Investigator: Voltaire died in 1778, and Louis Mayeul Chaudon …

Be Moderate In Everything Including Moderation

Mark Twain? Oscar Wilde? Socrates? Nancy Weber? Judy Tillinger? Horace Porter? J. F. Carter? Gaius Petronius Arbiter? James Ogilvy? Thomas Paine? Voltaire? Richard A. Posner? Benjamin Franklin? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: The ancient Greek poet Hesiod stated:[ref] 2008, Oxford Dictionary of Proverbs, Fifth Edition, Edited by Jennifer Speake, Entry: Moderation in all things, Quote Page …

No Snowflake in an Avalanche Ever Feels Responsible

Voltaire? George Burns? Paul Harvey? Stanisław Jerzy Lec? Percy Bysshe Shelley? Etaislaw Lee? Stanisław Leszczyński? Stanisław Lem? Jacek Galazka? Dear Quote Investigator: A mob or a mass movement can cause enormous destruction. Also, the inaction of a large apathetic group in a perilous time can lead to ruination. Yet, individuals disavow liability. Here are three …

I Have Seen So Many Extraordinary Things, That There Is Nothing Extraordinary To Me Now

Voltaire? Lewis Carroll? George Sand? François-Marie Arouet? C. L. Dodgson? Aurore Dupin Dudevant? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: The following remark perfectly encapsulates a world-weary perspective: I have seen so many extraordinary things, nothing seems extraordinary any more. This expression has been attributed to three people who employed pseudonyms: witty philosopher Voltaire (François-Marie Arouet), fantasy author …

Those Who Can Make You Believe Absurdities Can Make You Commit Atrocities

Voltaire? Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan? Desmond MacCarthy? Sissela Bok? Joseph Wood Krutch? Norman L. Torrey? Marvin Lowenthal? Henry Hazlitt? Richard Dawkins? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: A system that forces people to embrace absurd beliefs causes damage to their processes of rational thought. These impaired people are more likely to act illogically and destructively. With encouragement they may …

God Gave Us the Gift of Life; It Is Up To Us To Give Ourselves the Gift of Living Well

Voltaire? François-Marie Arouet? Jean Orieux? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: A famous writer of the Enlightenment stated that God gave each of us the gift of life. It is our responsibility to take advantage of this gift by living fully and well. Voltaire has received credit for a remark of this type. Would you please explore …

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