Who Said That? E-Book

J. Ajlouny

• Herausgeber: Fresh Ink Group
• Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2018

Seitenzahl: 106

Beschreibung

Who Said That?? provides an entertaining and authoritative reference for the origins and meanings of our common figures of speech.

• Who said 100+ famous expressions?


• Who really said them?


• What did they actually say?


• What did they actually mean?


• Why did they say them that way?


• Who repeated what was said?

Surprisingly true, sometimes strange, always fascinating, the stories about whence came these expressions will entertain, educate, and even amaze you.

Leseprobe

WHO SAID THAT?The Stories Behind Familiar Expressions

For Readers, Writers, Word Lovers, and Trivia Buffs,

Fresh Ink Group Explains Whence Come

Those Phrases That Color Everyday Speech

Copyright © 2017, 1997

by J. Ajlouny

All rights reserved

Fresh Ink Group

An Imprint of:

The Fresh Ink Group, LLC

Box 931

Guntersville, AL 35976

Email: [email protected]

FreshInkGroup.com

Book design by Ann E. Stewart

Cover design by Stephen Geez

Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without prior written permission of the Fresh Ink Group, LLC.

BISAC Subject Headings:

REF019000 REFERENCE / Quotations

LAN014000 LANGUAGE ARTS & DISCIPLINES / Reference

REF022000 REFERENCE / Thesauri

Library of Congress Control Number: 2016949885

ISBN: 978-1-936442-31-7 Paper-cover

ISBN: 978-1-396442-32-4 Hard Cover

ISBN: 978-1-936442-70-6 eBook Editions

To admirers of literature everywhere

Contents

Introduction

Chapter 1. Who Said That?

Quotations for which the source is not widely known

Chapter 2. Who Really Said It?

Quotations often erroneously attributed

Chapter 3. What Was Actually Said?

Quotations often misquoted

Chapter 4. What Was Really Meant?

Quotations often misunderstood

Chapter 5. Why Was It Said?

Quotations in their original context

Chapter 6. Who Repeated That?

Recycled quotations in new contexts

About the Author

Alphabetical Index

Introduction

John Bartlett (1820–1905) rendered a great service to the English-speaking world when his Familiar Quotations was first published in Boston in 1855. So mixed was the reaction that he was compelled to revise, supplement, and re-edit it three times before his next major work, a concordance of the works of Shakespeare, was published in 1894. During those intervening years he and his work were the subject of much debate, some praise and a good deal of criticism. The major thrust of the critical remarks was that he included obscure quotes while neglecting the more popular expressions of the day.

Bartlett’s reluctance to include colloquial expressions rested upon two points. First, he sought to distance his work from the hugely successful Dictionary of Americanisms (1848) collected by his namesake, John Russell Bartlett (1805–1886) of Rhode Island. Second, Bartlett sought to develop a useful work that satisfied his own penchant for inquiry into classical literature. He thus set about collecting a list of formal quotations that he thought should be familiar to the average educated American. His purpose was not to develop a reference work; rather, he sought to create a vast summary of recorded western thought, a book that readers could cuddle up with when the desire to commune with Archimedes or Zola struck them. But, as we shall see, “the best laid plans of mice and men often go astray.”

Good quotes are popular, or should I say, popular quotes are good, because they are a nifty way to say something that frequently needs to be said. They are handy expressions that are useful in a wide variety of circumstances. Yet they have become so familiar to us that we fail to ponder their authors or the context in which they were first written or uttered. This collection of popular quotations and the circumstances of their seminal publication is a modest attempt to remedy this neglect.

Take for example, “You’ve hit the nail on the head.” How many hundreds of times have you heard this expression? You know exactly what it means and it is difficult to imagine someone using it in error. It’s that familiar. And just as you wouldn’t think of asking your grandfather the name of his first girlfriend—not because it would be wrong but because you just never thought about it—you probably haven’t given any thought to who originated this popular expression, where and why. But as it turns out, it’s quite an interesting story.

Who Said That? is filled with the stories of how popular quotations were given birth. But be forewarned. In many cases these tales are subject to speculation. Just as no one can credibly claim to have originated a proverb, some quotations have such a checkered past that it is impossible to trace them with utter certainty. In many instances the explanations provided here may not be the only ones. As Bartlett intended his work be one of learning, I intend this work be one of fun while learning. If it stands for anything, I would hope it fosters a sense of curiosity in the reader to question what is read and what is heard. You never know, the nugget of a fascinating tale may be soon discovered.

This collection of stories and anecdotes about the origin of popular quotes owes its existence to my love of the writings of G. K. Chesterton (1874–1936), the prodigious British journalist, essayist, novelist, playwright, literary critic, philosopher, and lecturer extraordinaire. It was at a conference dedicated to his literary tradition that this book was conceived. Though Chesterton is regarded as the second most frequently quoted writer in the English language, sadly none of his remarkable quotations have won their way into the language to be called “popular.” It’s a shame because his wit and epigrams are unequaled, and paradoxical.

To John Peterson, Dale Ahlquist, Dan Krotz, Sister Bernadette Sheridan, and my fellow Chestertonians, I offer my thanks for their contrbutions, suggestions, and good cheer. To Marilyn Krol Zerlak, Tempest Moore, Berg Djelderian, Lawrence Ajlouny, Nezza Bendele, Tahira K. Ahmad, and my bookish old friend Hedger Breed, I offer my thanks for their efforts in assisting me with this task. To Stephen Geez and Ann Stewart at Fresh Ink Group, I offer my thanks for their indulgence, and to Gwen Foss I offer my special thanks for everything else. She deserves it!

Joseph S. AjlounyDetroit

CHAPTER 1WHO SAID THAT?

Quotations for Which the Source Is Not Widely Known

“Leave no stone unturned.”

Euripides (c.485–406 BCE)

Greek playwright Euripides is ranked with Aeschylus and Sophocles as the greatest of Greek dramatists. He prospered at the court of Archelaus, king of Macedonia, and it is said he won first prize in five dramatic contests. His tragedy Herakleidae contains the expression “turn every stone,” which over time has metamorphosed into the common expression we hear today.

“Necessity is the mother of invention.”

Plato (427–347 BCE)

The political discourse of Greek philosopher Plato is legendary. The famous statement appears in Book II of his masterpiece, The Republic (c.375 BCE). The sage’s premise is that necessity is the creator of the ideal state, one which would administer justice, uphold the law and provide a stable society whose individuals could prosper to the best of their capabilities. The original quote translates as, “The true creator is necessity, who is the mother of our invention.” The folk process has expanded upon Plato’s wisdom to produce the common saying, “Necessity is the mother of invention and peril is the father.”

“A friend in need is a friend indeed.”

Titus Maccius Plautus (c.255–184 BCE)

Roman playwright Plautus’ comedy Epidicus is the first known source of this ancient saying, which appears in the original as, “A friend in need is the finest thing a man can have.” The irony is that the speaker, Periphanes, is in the process of being fooled by his own slave. Ordered to find him a girl, the slave, hoping to earn more money, brings in a young woman whom he claims is his daughter. Later, he sells her for another girl who turns out to be Periphanes’ long-lost daughter. The only happy person in the end of the play is the hapless Periphanes, who remains blissfully ignorant of the machinations of his devious slave.

“It makes no sense to flog a dead horse.”

Titus Maccius Plautus (c.255–184 BCE)

Although its literal meaning belabors the obvious, its figurative meaning clearly suggests that it is futile to carry on a fruitless endeavor. In seventeenth century England, “working out the dead horse” meant working off a debt you will never be able to pay. Plautus, whose play Epidi-cus contains the earliest known reference to this well worn saying, was a Roman writer of lively, bawdy comedies based on Greek originals. Many of his characters and stories were recycled in the twentieth century in a popular musical play entitled A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.

“Love conquers all.”

Virgil (70–19 BCE)

Roman poet Publius Vergilius Maro, better known as Virgil, wrote the pastoral poem Eclogues from 40–37 BCE. In this lengthy opus, Virgil writes of the power and tyranny of the god of love. The protagonist Gallus, forlorn because his love has left him and he no longer finds joy in life, succumbs to this simple truth: “No toil of ours can change that god… Love conquers all; let us, too, yield to Love!”

“Bad news travels fast.”

Plutarch (c.45–c.125)

Greek biographer Plutarch, an expert on ethics, wrote more than sixty essays on varying topics between the years 90–110, which were published under the title Moralia. In the chapter on courtesy, Plutarch attempts to redirect the energies of gossips, stating those who expend their curiosity learning about other people’s lives should instead spend it learning about the world. His eloquently stated truth translates as,

How much more readily than glad eventsIs mischance carried to the ears of men!

“A sound mind in a sound body.”

Juvenal (c.60–c.140)

Little is known about the life of the Roman poet Juvenal (Decimus Junius Juvenalis), but his sixteen surviving bitter and biting Satires were admired and imitated by the likes of Samuel Johnson, Jonathan Swift, Alexander Pope and John Donne. In Satire 10, the poet writes that the best thing to pray for is Mens sana in corpore sano, “A healthy mind in a healthy body,” because anything else one might want—power, wealth, beauty—can only cause trouble. In the same work, Juvenal prophetically declares the only things the public wants are “bread and circuses.”

“Every man for himself.”

Geoffrey Chaucer (c.1343–1400)

English poet Geoffrey Chaucer’s classic, The Canterbury Tales (c.1387–1392), contains a series of stories related by pilgrims on their journey to Canterbury. The opus includes the story of a pair of cousins serving life terms in prison. The two men see a woman out their cell window and, as fate would have it, both fall in love with her. One cousin mentions the old story of two dogs fighting over a bone, and comments how each dog has to look out for its own interests. The character sums up the situation saying, “Ech man for hymself.”

“Beggars can’t be choosers.”

John Heywood (1497–1580)

The Proverbs of John Heywood (1546) consists of an epic, proverb-laden poem. Many of the popular sayings we know today first appeared in print in this monumental work. In Part I, chapter 10, Heywood attempts to dispel the habit of marrying at too young an age. He writes of a young wife whose family scolds her for deciding to marry. Eager to repent, the woman does not ask her angry aunt what her punishment is to be, for she knows she is in no position to be demanding.

Nay, (quoth I), be they winners or losers,Folk say always beggars should be no choosers.

“You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink.”

John Heywood (1497–1580)

The Proverbs of John Heywood (1546) contains many of the apothegms and colloquialisms we know today. This expression is no exception. To demonstrate the wisdom of the familiar phrase, Heywood relates the story of a man whose uncle disapproves of his hedonistic lifestyle. The uncle reminds him that if he runs after pleasure, pleasure will run away; if he runs from pleasure, pleasure will chase him on. The advice, as written in the original, reads,

A man may well bring a horse to the water,but he cannot make him drink without he will.

“Forewarned is forearmed.”

Miguel de Cervantes (1547–1616)

Arguably the most famous of Spanish writers, Miguel de Cervantes is the celebrated author of ElIngeniosoHidalgo Don Quixote de la Mancha, better known to musical theater aficionados as The Man of LaMancha and to dazed high school students everywhere as Don Quixote. Considered his masterpiece, it was published in two parts in 1605 and 1615. The full quote, from Part I, Book I, chapter 17, reads, “Forewarned is forearmed; to be prepared is half the victory.” Cervantes, a career soldier, became a writer after being wounded in the Battle of Lepanto, a naval engagement between the Ottoman Turks and the European allies, Spain and Venice, in 1571. Variations of dozens of other proverbial nuggets appear in Don Quixote.

“A man’s home is his castle.”

Sir Edward Coke (1552–1634)