Tracing Quotations
Aldous Huxley? George Bernard Shaw? Voltaire? Andy Capp? Reg Smythe? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: A dejected literary figure apparently experienced an alarming eschatological revelation: Maybe this world is another planet’s Hell. This notion has been credited to English writer Aldous Huxley who penned the classic dystopian novel “Brave New World”. Credit has also been given …
Continue reading “How Do You Know That the Earth Isn’t Some Other Planet’s Hell?”
Naval Officer? Voltaire? William Pitt Lennox? Herb Caen? Howard Jacobs? Norman R. Augustine? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: When an organization encounters difficulties, and its members experience low morale, it is counterproductive to enforce harsh discipline. This notion can be captured with the following sarcastic remark: The beatings will continue until morale improves. Close variants of …
Continue reading “The Floggings Will Continue Until Morale Improves”
Voltaire? Antoine Court de Gébelin? Louis de Bonald? Edward Moor? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: Voltaire (François-Marie Arouet) has often received credit for a humorous remark about the study of language and its evolution. Here are two versions: In etymology vowels are nothing, and consonants next to nothing. Etymology is the science where vowels matter naught …
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Voltaire? Bernard Le Bovier de Fontenelle? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: Coffee enthusiasts enjoy sharing an anecdote about Voltaire who savored the aromatic beverage throughout his life. The famous philosopher’s physician warned him that coffee was a slow poison. He replied, “Yes, it is a remarkably slow poison. I have been drinking it every day for …
Mark Twain? Thomas Jefferson? Voltaire? Edward Young? George Bernard Shaw? Laird MacKenzie? Elsie McCormick? Bertrand Russell? Kurt Vonnegut? Apocryphal? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: Several thinkers have offered an anguished explanation for the dangerously disordered state of the world. Here are four versions: This world is the lunatic asylum for other planets. Earth is a madhouse …
Continue reading “This World Is the Lunatic Asylum of the Universe”
Voltaire? Bernard le Bovier de Fontenelle? Edward Young? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: The famous French philosopher and satirist Voltaire apparently wrote a story in which the universe consisted of millions of worlds, and Earth was designated a peculiar place: Our little globe is the lunatic ward of the universe. Would you please help me to …
Voltaire? Peter Gay? William F. Bottiglia? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: Many dubious quotations have been ascribed to the preeminent French satirist and philosopher Voltaire. One popular saying depicts life as a metaphorical shipwreck. The survivors are exhorted to sing while sitting in the lifeboats. Is this saccharine guidance really from the acrid pen of Voltaire? …
Continue reading “Life Is a Shipwreck, But We Must Not Forget To Sing in the Lifeboats”
Winston Churchill? Voltaire? Julian Amery? Ronald Reagan? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: According to legend a political rival of Winston Churchill was once praised with the description “He is a modest man.” Churchill responded with the quip “He has much to be modest about.” Would you please investigate this tale? Reply from Quote Investigator: Clement …
Continue reading “He Is a Modest Man Who Has a Great Deal To Be Modest About”
Napoléon Bonaparte? Voltaire? Bernard Le Bovier de Fontenelle? Claude Adrien Helvétius? Wendell Phillips? Ralph Waldo Emerson? Dear Quote Investigator: A popular skeptical viewpoint about history can be expressed in a few different ways: 1) What is history but a fable agreed upon? 2) History is a set of lies agreed upon. 3) History is a …
Voltaire? Spider-Man? Winston Churchill? Theodore Roosevelt? Franklin D. Roosevelt? Lord Melbourne? John Cumming? Hercules G. R. Robinson? Henry W. Haynes? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: There is a popular saying about the relationship between ascendancy and obligation: With great power comes great responsibility. This expression has been attributed to two very different sources: Voltaire and the …
Continue reading “With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility”