Wikiquote:Reference desk/Archive/6

"For most men the pursuit of God means not running away quite as fast."

What is the correct quote and who is the author? I thought it was A. W. Tozer, but I can't find it any where. --anon —This unsigned comment is by Gayle (talk • contribs) 08:10, 3 February 2010.

Does anyone know who said, and the exact wording on the following?

Men who rule men rule men who rule machines and men who rule money rule them both.

As far as we know, there are no such quotes. TeleComNasSprVen (talk) 09:07, 10 March 2014 (UTC)

How many films do you list at WikiQuote please?

How many films do you list at WikiQuote please? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 80.218.213.159 (talk) 19:25, 28 March 2010

If we add up the sum total of all pages in each of the subcategories of Category:Films, and exclude Category:Film stubs and Category:Fictional characters, it equates to approximately 1853 films. However, because this approximation is prone to error, especially with entries duplicated between subcategories, it's best you check out the category tree structure of Category:Films and its attendant subcategories yourself. Or alternatively, you can try and count the number of films listed on our page List of films. TeleComNasSprVen (talk) 09:07, 10 March 2014 (UTC)

M A S H quote

"ladies and gentlemen take my advice, take off your pants and slide on the ice.".....sydney freidman.

What episode is this from???? Why isn't it in your list of M A S H quotes? Can it be added please? —This unsigned comment is by Ded 96 (talk • contribs) 19:58, 28 March 2010.

Season 3, episode "O.R.", now listed on Wikiquote. TeleComNasSprVen (talk) 09:07, 10 March 2014 (UTC)

Wisdom from trees.

Anyone know a quote that runs broadly as follows:

There's more wisdom to be found in one hour spent looking at a tree than a hundred years reading books.

Many thanks,

--anon —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 86.142.238.110 (talk) 05:46, 15 April 2010

As far as we know, there is no such quote. TeleComNasSprVen (talk) 09:07, 10 March 2014 (UTC)

Why would a site be black listed, and how do I get it off such a list

I wanted to add www.mansonquotes.com to Marilyn Mansons quote page but it said that it was black listed. why? How does that get removed? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 142.176.13.22 (talk) 05:27, 28 June 2010

Sites are normally blacklisted because they're heavily abused as a form of link spamming, where spambots will typically insert them everywhere into our articles in order to increase search engine optimization (SEO) in terms of Google PageRanks for the sites they link to. You can ask an administrator to whitelist your site by posting at Wikiquote:Administrators' noticeboard, but if your site has been abused by spambots, I doubt the proposal would pass. TeleComNasSprVen (talk) 09:07, 10 March 2014 (UTC)

who said

which actress said? marvelous darling just marvelous? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 70.182.63.118 (talk) 18:03, 7 July 2010

Joanna Lumney regularily in her hit tv series "Absolutely Fabulous" —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 83.70.240.233 (talk) 01:59, 25 January 2012

If you're referring to a variation on the popular quote "marvelous darling, simply marvelous", then see this thread in our archives. According to that, it's possible that the quote came from the franchise Breakfast at Tiffany's. TeleComNasSprVen (talk) 09:07, 10 March 2014 (UTC)

getting permission to use a quote. Also identifying where a quote is from

I want to use a quote by Oliver Wendell Holmes in my novel. How do I get permission? Also, where did this quote occur. "I don't give a fig for simplicity on this side of complexity, but I would die for simplicity on the other side of complexity." Thanks 254 932-6745 —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 67.79.250.25 (talk) 18:19, 6 March 2011

Colonization, assimilation and civilizing missions

who coined the saying and is this the whole saying? 'You stay in your village and I will stay in mine, If your sheep eat our grass we may kill you, If our sheep have no grass we may kill you anyway. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 114.78.28.240 (talk) 03:53, 26 April 2011

Name of movie

I am looking for a movie that is a few years old. I am collecting some dancing/cheerleading/gymnastics movies with great music and for the life of me I can't remember the title of one I want.

The girl is rebellious and sent to take gymnastics. She is a show off at first but then starts fitting in. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 99.187.187.127 (talk) 04:13, 28 April 2011

Ceaser's wife without doubt

who said that "Ceaser's wife is without doubt". Which is the other quote to counter this qoute? —This unsigned comment is by Jagdishshah (talk • contribs) 08:24, 28 July 2011.

Where is this line from? Do anyone know the whole quote?

"between good and evil stands a warrior" Does anyone: 1) know the whole quote; 2) know where it comes from radio, tv, movie? I know it was used in a tv ad recently but i am wondering about the original usage. --lsid—This unsigned comment is by Lsid (talk • contribs) 01:53, 31 July 2011.

Ronald Reagan quote

When (where and in what context) did Ronald Reagan say: "What Energy Crisis?"? Thank you. My e-mail address is: rob@lordanglin.com—The preceding unsigned comment was added by 24.4.10.107 (talk) 17:26, 6 September 2011

Quotes

Where did the quote ‘Do you wanna piece of me?” come from? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 81.159.168.204 (talk) 09:41, 8 September 2011

Who said? Quote

Who said: "Our lives are not determined by what happens to us but by how we react to what happens, not by what life brings to us, but by the attitude we bring to life. A positive attitude causes a chain reaction of positive thoughts, events, and outcomes; it is a catalyst, a spark that creates extraordinary results" —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 65.23.212.42 (talk) 14:38, 22 September 2011

how did daniel and friedrich keep warm in the winter

how did fredrich keep warm in the winter what danger did rosa face afer being fired from her job how did the group of young people punish the man who was stealing his childrens bread —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 174.91.150.236 (talk) 23:27, 1 November 2011

quote about aging and re-experiencing adolescence

Looking for a quote that was part of Andrew Zuckerman's photo exhibit "Wisdom". I saw it in Toronto this year. The theme of the quote was that as the speaker became older, he/she felt they were increasingly going into an adolescent period, rather than becoming older and wiser. —This unsigned comment is by Connected (talk • contribs) 15:39, 9 November 2011.

A Question About a Denise Levertov Quotation

I cannot locate or identify the source of the following quote by Denise Levertov; can you help me, please?

Acknowledgement, and celebration, of mystery probably constitutes the most consistent theme of my poetry from its very beginnings. Because it is a matter of which I am conscious, it is possible, however imprecisely, to call it an intellectual position; but it is one which emphasizes the incapacity of reason alone (much though I delight in elegant logic) to comprehend experience, and considers Imagination the chief of human faculties. It must therefore be by the exercise of that faculty that one moves toward faith, and possibly by its failure that one rejects it as delusion. Poems present their testimony as circumstantial evidences, not as closing argument. Where Wallace Stevens says, "God and the imagination are one," I would say that the imagination, which synergizes intellect, emotion and instinct, is the perceptive organ through which it is possible, though not inevitable, to experience God. A Poets View (1984)

from Walter R. Dickhaut at walterrdickhaut@yahoo.com—The preceding unsigned comment was added by 24.145.145.42 (talk) 12:56, 10 January 2012

That's the way it goes. . . . . First your money then your clothes.

Does anyone know the rest of this verse?

—The preceding unsigned comment was added by 72.161.56.91 (talk) 27 February 2012

In my memory, was:

That's the way it goes... first your money, then your clothes, next your wife and then your life... That's the way it goes. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 24.88.119.169 (talk) 18:01, 23 June 2012

marvelous simply marvelous darling

marvelous simply marvelous darling —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 75.144.52.25 (talk) 19:00, 13 March 2012

Unknown quote about Father

Need help finding a quote I read a long time ago. Can't remember the exact words, just the content. It said: when i was young, my father was smart and know everything; when i grow up, i see that my father didn't know much of anything; when i was old and he was gone, wish he was still around to give me advice. That's the content i recall from memory, most likely not the exact wording. Similar to Mark Twain quote but Twain's quote only have 2 parts about being at 14 and 21 years old. I'm fairly sure this quote has 3 parts about being very young, being teenage year and being old age; very sure about the old age part. It's what i remember the most from the quote. Thanks for helping me find it. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 24.242.233.42 (talk) 15:14, 27 March 2012

Kipling Signature

How can I find out if I have an authentic signature of Mr. Kipling?--50.124.20.40 17:21, 7 May 2012

Poem by James Allen OR Ella Wheeler Wilcox

Can you clearly determine who wrote this poem? I suspect that Mr Allen quoted Ms Wilcox without credit. (As a Man Thinketh, end of chapter 2) I found contradictions between your site and theotherpages.org with the credit given to either James Allen or Ella Wheeler Wilcox.

YOU will be what you will to be; Let failure find its false content In that poor word "environment," But spirit scorns it, and is free, It masters time, it conquers space, It cows that boastful trickster Chance, And bids the tyrant Circumstance Uncrown and fill a servant's place. The human Will, that force unseen, The offspring of a deathless Soul, Can hew the way to any goal, Though walls of granite intervene. Be not impatient in delay, But wait as one who understands; When spirit rises and commands, The gods are ready to obey. The river seeking for the sea Confronts the dam and precipice, Yet knows it cannot fail or miss; You will be what you will to be!

http://www.theotherpages.org/poems/wilcox01.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ella_Wheeler_Wilcox

http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/James_Allen

Thank you! —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 74.111.197.26 (talk) 18:05, 8 June 2012

Quotation

Who said, "Stupidity may get you into trouble, but it is pride that keeps you there."? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 75.51.164.131 (talk) 17:39, 19 June 2012

“Dogs and philosophers do the greatest good and get the fewest rewards.” Who said it?

“Dogs and philosophers do the greatest good and get the fewest rewards.”

I’ve seen it attributed to Diogenes but that doesn’t seem to be right.

Thanks! Alison Cummins —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 216.191.72.153 (talk) 13:17, 7 August 2012

Quote about cows and walls

I have been looking for a quote about how walls work well because the cows do not test them. I think it may be by Anais L

Source of a famous Rosa Luxemburg quotation

"Those who do not move, do not notice their chains" is a much quoted statement attributed to Rosa Luxemburg, and to no other. However, I cannot find the document source for the quote anywhere. --80.193.162.87 08:25, 12 August 2013 (UTC)

Seconded. Haxwell (talk) 21:22, 10 October 2014 (UTC)

A quote from Terry Eagleton

I'd like to get the citation of Terry Eagleton's quote: "The marginal has occupied the central position whereas the central has retreated to the marginal"when he refered to the contemporary Bitish poetry.Sorry I foegot where I read it. I'm now in need of this citation because I want to quote it in my recent book. I'll be very much grateful if anyone could help. Thanks! Emma Liang from China

Hi Emma, could this be it?—

«The poets who seem to me to matter most are those ‘"skewed" to the dominant social wisdom [...] in the sense of having access to historical or symbolic resources, submerged allegiances and affiliations’ and characterised the period ‘as (very broadly) polarized between [...] writing, where the marginal becomes somehow central, and a self-absorbed, knowing, postmodernist ironizing’.»

—Terry Eagleton, "surveying British poetry of the 1980s for Poetry Review", as quoted in D. Kennedy Sheffield Hallam Working Papers: Value (2001).

The earliest appearance I could find of this quote was in: The Poetry Review, Vol. 79 (Poetry Society of America, 1989), p. 278. DanielTom (talk) 14:24, 14 November 2013 (UTC) posted 15:06, 16 December 2013 (UTC)

Possible Nelson Mandela quotes on communism?

I found found a few claims online that claim the following quotes are from the late Nelson Mandela. I checked the Wikiquote page on Mandela but did not find these. Is there any truth behind these being attributed to him. I was trying to make a point that it is strange that those who consider Mandela a hero are often those who believe communism is an evil philosophy. Here are the quotes:

"The cause of communism is the greatest cause in the history of mankind!"

"Under a Communist Party government, South Africa will become a land of milk and honey. Political, economic and social rights will cease to be enjoyed by whites only. They will be shared equally by whites and non-whites. There will be enough land and houses for all. There will be no unemployment, starvation and disease. Workers will earn decent wages; transport will be cheap and education free."

“Communists everywhere fight to destroy capitalist society and to replace it with socialism, where the masses of the common people, irrespective of race or color, will live in complete equality, freedom and happiness. They seek to revolutionize society and are thus called revolutionaries. Those who support capitalism with its class divisions and other evils and who oppose our just struggles to end oppression are called counter revolutionaries.”

“In our own country, the struggles of the oppressed people are guided by the South African Communist Party and inspired by its policies. The aim of the S.A.C.P. is to defeat the Nationalist government and to free the people of South Africa from the evils of racial discrimination and exploitation.”

--94.11.27.51 22:01, 11 December 2013 (UTC)

You can find all those quotes in Mandela's How To Be A Good Communist. Cheers, DanielTom (talk) 15:12, 16 December 2013 (UTC)

Schrodinger quote reference

Where and when did Erwin Schrodinger write, “Quantum physics thus reveals a basic oneness of the universe.” --66.74.191.77

He didn't. Fritjof Capra did, in his book The Tao of Physics (1975). ~ DanielTom (talk) 22:50, 15 January 2014 (UTC)

Fritjof Capra said, "Quantum theory thus reveals a basic oneness of the universe." ...theory, not physics.... There's numerous examples of people using the Schrodinger quote, “Quantum physics thus reveals a basic oneness of the universe,” but I can't find a reference to where and when he said it. Hopefully he did actually say it. --66.74.191.77 02:59, 17 January 2014 (UTC)

a quote from a british prime minister telling a senior doctor that he intended to control the profession

something along the lines of "doctor, we mean to control/enslave/nobble you"

Me

How/Where can I add my entry? Geoffrey Forrest.

You don't appear to be notable enough to have a Wikiquote page, as of yet. Please see my reply at Wikiquote:Requested entries#People. As a rule, it is best to let other people create a page for you, if you are notable, rather than doing it yourself. Take care, DanielTom (talk) 12:52, 3 February 2014 (UTC)

How to handle a quotation misattributed to Carl Sagan but quoted under him anyway?

The line absence of evidence is not evidence of absence is often attributed to Carl Sagan. In looking to check it, I found it on his page here, but twice: once as a sourced quotation and once as a misattribution, well sourced to Martin Rees.

I'm a fairly experienced Wikipedian, but not much experienced here. ISTM that once a quote from person X is demonstrated as misattributed to person Y, it shouldn't be listed as a quote under Y at all, except in the "Misattributed" section. I couldn't find guidance on that here, so I commented that quote out of Sagan's page—

Carl Sagan#The Demon-Haunted World : Science as a Candle in the Dark (1995), Ch. 12 : The Fine Art of Baloney Detection, p. 221

—and put a note on the Talk page, at the end of a long discussion about this quote that was mostly not relevant to the misattribution.

Now I'm asking for help: What's the policy on this kind of issue? I don't come to WQ often, but I'll try to check back here regularly. --Thnidu (talk) 22:12, 19 February 2014 (UTC)

Hello. I restored that quotation because it actually does appear in the book, and is adequately sourced. I don't see a good justification here for the removal of said sourced material – indeed, I see the opposite, as the reference made to it in the "Misattributed" section would stop making sense if that quote was removed. If you wish, you may add a note next to the quote, clarifying that it was Martin Rees who originated it, but please do not remove the sourced quote. ~ DanielTom (talk) 22:31, 19 February 2014 (UTC)

I saw this on someones twitter account. Is this out of a book? Where can I find this saying? (Her smile stops shooting stars in their spiral. No starry night covers her luster without stare. Dawn stretches out eagerly for her awake)

Please email me back at rainbowsparklesmiles@yahoo.com

LBJ quote

The following quote has been attributed to Lyndon Baines Johnson and while it sounds like something he could or would have said, I cannot find it documented anywhere. I want to know if it is a true quote. I do, of course, recognize that he might have said it in company that would have not captured the moment. "I will have these niggers voting Democratic for the next 200 years". Please advise if it is a documented quote.—This unsigned comment is by ProudTexan62 (talk • contribs) .

Hi. Apparently the earliest source attributing it to LBJ was Kessler's book Inside The White House (1996). This attribution to LBJ also appears in other published works, e.g., here (2001, with no citation/source given), and here (citing "The American Sentinel, Sept 1997, p. 9"). Cheers. ~ DanielTom (talk) 13:24, 25 March 2014 (UTC)

Expanding on the first source, Ronald Kessler's Inside the White House (Simon and Schuster, 1996), here is the quotation in context (p. 33): «During one trip, Johnson was discussing his proposed civil rights bill with two governors. Explaining why it was so important to him, he said it was simple: "I'll have them niggers voting Democratic for two hundred years."» [1] Citation given: «Interview on March 28, 1993, with MacMillan.» [2] ~ DanielTom (talk) 14:03, 25 March 2014 (UTC)

My eyes are up here

I've always found this an amusing and pithy response to the male habit of starting at something other than a woman's face while conversing. When I came across it at Know Your Meme, which currently traces its print use to newspapers in 1996, I thought that this has got to have a much older provenance. So far, the earliest print occurrence I've found (courtesy Google Book Search) is by Kathie Lee Gifford, who mentions it in her autobiography:

• I put my mike up and started talking, but he wouldn't meet my eyes. He wasn't even close. Missed by about a foot. "Excuse me," I wisecracked. "Those are my breasts. My eyes are up here."
  • Kathie Lee Gifford & Jim Jerome, I Can't Believe I Said That!: An Autobiography, G.K. Hall, 1993, ISBN 0816157863, page 270–271

Since it's hard to believe that this is the first print version, let alone the first utterance, I didn't think it wise to create a Kathie Lee Gifford article just to establish it. So I'm posting this here to see if anyone wants to do some deeper research into the phrase's origins. ~ Jeff Q (talk) 03:05, 4 May 2014 (UTC)

How to find some anonymous quotes

Many people search some jokes on the Internet, which is a particular type of quotes without any known author.

However we don't treat them here yet. We have comedy from some famous persons, and anonymous, a very long page which can't be:

1. Precisely sorted: it's categorized into Category:People and we can't get a desired topic (like jokes) in the table of content.
2. Sourced, it can be a problem with Wikiquote:What_Wikiquote_is_not#Wikiquote_is_not_a_collection_of_your_personal_quotes.

That's why I propose to split it in different categories, eventually:

1. In a new namespace.
2. With one page per anonymous quote: if these quotes are some titles (at least there 255 first characters) then we can get the same list as now in a category.

I really think that it could bring more readers. JackPotte (talk) 16:38, 18 May 2014 (UTC)

“Your enemy is in your gardern with missiles that can destroy your major cities”

Thank you to anyone who could inform me about the one who quotes that. I would like the identity and when (day, month, year). This sentence is extracted from a syllabus concerning the Cold War and was apparently pronounced around the Cuban crisis in 1962.

Thank you in advance to all of you,

Cecileg

--Cecileg (talk) 10:27, 11 June 2014 (UTC)

"I will not die, it's the world that will end."

Ayn Rand quotes this saying here, but says she can't remember who said it... I tried, but also couldn't find it (though it vaguely reminds me of Lucretius). Can anyone find its true author/source? ~ DanielTom (talk) 22:46, 3 July 2014 (UTC)

"One sees the sun slowly set, yet one is surprised when it suddenly becomes dark."

Geert Wilders attributes this quote to Franz Kafka [3], but I couldn't find it in any of his writings... Does anyone know where it originated? ~ DanielTom (talk) 23:31, 18 July 2014 (UTC)

Isaac Asimov book about physicists

I don't know if I am asking this in the right place. Does anyone know how to find a book by Isaac Asimov about the leaps of insight physicists made after having worked on a problem for a long time and then doing something, for example taking a bath, and suddenly they just knew the answer they were seeking? It would have one chapter about that interspersed with another chapter that was fictional. It is written for lay adults, not for elementary students. I have searched the listing he made by categories, but I cannot tell which book it might be. I really really want to find that book - I loved it so much. Can anyone help lead me to an Asimov expert?--HLDREDDOGII (talk) 03:56, 8 September 2014 (UTC)

Thomas Jefferson - The Eyes Of Vigilance

Former US Congressman Ron Paul attributed the quote "Let the eyes of vigilance never be closed" to American Founding Father, Thomas Jefferson. I have been unable to confirm this. If anyone is able to confirm these are the words of Thomas Jefferson, could it please be added to the appropriate Wikiquote page. --176.25.115.204 20:45, 10 September 2014 (UTC)

They are indeed Jefferson's words, from a letter he wrote to Judge Roane on March 9, 1821: "Let the eye of vigilance never be closed." (Source: [4]; Diff: [5]) ~ DanielTom (talk) 21:21, 10 September 2014 (UTC)

TE Lawrence: "Nothing is written" quote provenance

Hi. Here's a challenging one: did TE Lawrence ever say anywhere "Nothing is written" as his character did in Lawrence of Arabia? I can't seem to find reference to it regarding anything but the film. I would have thought it would have showed up in a google search if it was in his Seven Pillars of Wisdom, but I'm having no luck. Any help would be greatly appreciated. 209.121.225.209 21:58, 11 September 2014 (UTC)

Hello. The film is based on his book, Seven Pillars of Wisdom, and "Nothing is written" is not in the book. This leads me to believe that he never did say it, although of course I can't be sure. I couldn't find any book or journal, published before the film, that attributes this line to him, and later attributions are all linked to the film. (Exception: Here, "Nothing is written" is attributed to him, and the date "1917" is given, but no source is provided.) ~ DanielTom (talk) 22:58, 11 September 2014 (UTC)

Thanks. Hmmm.... I don't have permissions to view that link. Is there any way to screen capture it? Was the book that cites it published before the film? Thanks again. Would like to really figure this one out.... 209.121.225.209 23:37, 11 September 2014 (UTC)

Haha maybe he said it or wrote it in Arabic, which would make it a true nightmare to figure out... 209.121.225.209 23:38, 11 September 2014 (UTC)

No, it was published in 2013. (That's why it has no credibility.) If the link I provided above doesn't work for you, try searching "T.E. Lawrence (1917, attr.)" on Google Books (use quotation marks), and you will probably be able to see it. ~ DanielTom (talk) 23:45, 11 September 2014 (UTC)

This educated write-up seems to assume it wasn't:

" "Nothing is written!" probably the greatest single line in the greatest single motion picture of all time - Lawrence of Arabia. Obviously something was written (that line for one) and Robert Bolt was the man who wrote it. Bolt was an English playwright, which, all things being equal, usually consigns one to a life of anonymity. David Lean and Sam Spigel hired Bolt to produce the screenplay to Lawrence of Arabia. It was his first ever screenplay and at the 1962 Academy Awards Bolt’s brilliant penmanship was rewarded as only Hollywood could do so. They gave the Best Screenplay Oscar to Horton Foote for editing a novel Harper Lee had written a couple years earlier.

"That said (or written) Bolt may not have come up with the line . . . the screenplay for Lawrence was largely written by Michael Wilson who was fired in pre-production. Bolt rewrote huge slabs of it so “Nothing is written” could have been written by either . . . it sure as hell wasn’t written by Foote. "

209.121.225.209 23:49, 11 September 2014 (UTC)

Source: http://reubenstein.com/recent.asp?category_id=7&ID=28

209.121.225.209 23:53, 11 September 2014 (UTC)

Right, the credit should go to the screenwriters. ~ DanielTom (talk) 00:03, 12 September 2014 (UTC) P.S. I think it's more likely that it was Wilson who wrote it, not Bolt, because apparently Seven Pillars was for Bolt his "prime, almost [his] only source", while Wilson seems to have taken greater liberties: "Wilson's first draft of the screenplay includes events from Seven Pillars along with characters and incidents of his own invention" – we are also told that "Bolt consulted Wilson's earlier script". Source: True to the Spirit: Film Adaptation and the Question of Fidelity (Oxford University Press, 2011), p. 160. ~ DanielTom (talk) 00:40, 12 September 2014 (UTC)

I used to know where I read this, hadn't thought of it in years...until about 3 years ago. And, I can't remember who it was, and it's making me nuts.

The quote as I remember it was pretty close to the following: "The greatest division within mankind is not between the 'haves and have nots; it lies between those who can sleep and those who cannot'". I really hope it rings a bell with someone.

Thank you.

Lincoln quote citation needed: "I know the Norwegians, No immigrants have served America better than they." A

"I know the Norwegians, No immigrants have served America better than they." Abraham Lincoln

I need a source citation.

Thanks.

mark hennick Madison Torske Klubben Historian

@Madison Torsk Klubben Historian: The best I can find is this which is at least apocryphal, probably spurious. —Justin (koavf)❤T☮C☺M☯ 20:23, 6 December 2014 (UTC)

Who said "If there are two fish fighting in the middle of the ocean, the English are behind it somehow"

It was described to me as being something Ghandi said, but I cannot find any reference to it.

Please help! I need to know who wrote this quote:

“I like the darkness. There’s something to the feeling of not knowing your surroundings, not seeing the color of things as they appear, but as they truly are. There is something about the unknown, the quiet, the cold. There’s something unspoken about the dark, something I can never quite put words to. Something terrifying yet beautiful.” Jen (jhendorn@yahoo.com)

JFK on DC

According to many places on the internet and at least one more reputable source (The Economist) John F. Kennedy reportedly called Washington, D.C. a city of "Southern efficiency and Northern charm". Could anyone help source this? It definitely strikes me as the sort of clever quip attributed to a well-loved figure. --BDD (talk) 01:30, 9 January 2015 (UTC)

@BDD: 1971's Congressional Record, Volume 117, Part 20 page 25955 credits it to Kennedy but 1954's The Army Wife by Nancy Shea page 337 says that it's a "long-standing local witticism". This is shortly after Kennedy joined the Senate and the book does not attribute it to him. —Justin (koavf)❤T☮C☺M☯ 01:38, 9 January 2015 (UTC)

Thanks. Is there a way to incorporate this on his page somehow? --BDD (talk) 22:11, 9 January 2015 (UTC)

@BDD: Yes! It's completely appropriate to add spurious quotes. See e.g. Oscar_Wilde#Misattributed. —Justin (koavf)❤T☮C☺M☯ 06:49, 10 January 2015 (UTC)

Who said this quote about power?

For many years I have thought that the following was said by Harold Wilson:

"If you want power write the first draft"

It has proved a correct statement many times but I have recently tried to check whether it was Harold Wilson or someone else that said it but I cannot find reference to the quote anywhere. Have I imagined it?

--Psax01 (talk) 20:58, 18 February 2015 (UTC)

Well Google search for exactly that phrase (with quotes) yields only a single hit, to this Reference Desk thread. Without quotes, I get all sorts of material about overcoming the writer's block. (don't talk secrets) (talk) 10:42, 8 April 2015 (UTC)

“It is the weak man who urges compromise — never the strong.”

A tweet by Cadillac and a Bing search show that this is attributed to Elbert Hubbard but it's not found on his Wikiquote page. Is every other website mistaken? Was it actually said or written by Elbert H. Hubbard? Thanks in advance. Dyspeptic skeptic (talk) 23:45, 10 April 2015 (UTC)

This quote appears in A Thousand & One Epigrams: Selected from the Writings of Elbert Hubbard (1911), p. 52, and I've just now added it to his WQ page. DanielTom (talk) 09:34, 11 April 2015 (UTC)

HTML p tag: should or shouldn't it be used?

Should a <p> tag be used for good wikitext formatting? For example: Should this be used:

* [1st paragraph]

[2nd paragraph]
** [source]

Or this:

* [1st paragraph]<p>[2nd paragraph]
** [source]

And if the p tag is to be used, should it be accompanied with a closing p tag? —User 000 name 01:03, 22 May 2015 (UTC)

You can just use <p> (no need for a closing tag). Another option is using <br> or <br /> (a break which gives less space between the lines compared to <p> paragraph) depending on what you want to achieve. Your first option wouldn't work well with the bullets. (You can test/give all these a try at Wikiquote:Sandbox if you want.) ~ DanielTom (talk) 10:17, 22 May 2015 (UTC)

Albert Einstein

Does Albert Einstein said "If an idea does not seem absurd at first, then there is no hope that it becomes something"?

No. See page 224 of the Yale Book of Quotations for the probable source of the quote you mention.

Who is Michaels

Information required of Michaels the author of `Through the eyes of the child shines the love of the father`

There's a shit storm coming

I would like to identify the author of the quotation "I have seen the future, and there's a shit storm coming." Obviously a gloss on John Reed's "I have seen the future and it works." I suspect either Allen Ginsberg or Norman Mailer. It is possible there is no author and that it came to me out of some hidden space. Thanks. --Oatwillie71 (talk) 17:23, 23 June 2015 (UTC)

It's probably N. Mailer's [6]. ~ DanielTom (talk) 17:35, 23 June 2015 (UTC)

Looking for a poem about the Johnstown Flood. The only line I remember...

... is the punchline: "... a price once paid for fish!" Or something along those lines. Cheers! Shir-El too (talk) 07:17, 15 July 2015 (UTC)

Here it is:

Many thousand human lives—
Butchered husbands, slaughtered wives,
Mangled daughters, bleeding sons,
Hosts of martyred little ones,
(Worse than Herod's awful crime)
Sent to heaven before their time;
Lovers burnt and sweethearts drowned,
Darlings lost but never found!
All the horrors that hell could wish,
Such was the price that was paid for—fish!

by Isaac Reed. ~ DanielTom (talk) 08:11, 15 July 2015 (UTC)

The Ford Model T.

I have read somewhere that after saying you can have any colour so long as its black. Henry Ford commissioned some cars to be painted white for a friend who only ran model Ts but wanted only white cars. Can you tell me is this correct and where have I seen it. Thank you. Ralph [Lincoln UK]

Two pages about Yu Gi Oh and Doctor Who

Hello, there are Yu-Gi-Oh! GX and Yu-Gi-Oh GX which deal (I think) about the same subject. Would you please check and, if so, merge them? Thanks :) --Superchilum (talk) 13:05, 26 March 2016 (UTC)

What about Last words in Doctor Who media and List of last words in the Whoniverse, which seem to be the same? --Superchilum (talk) 18:38, 26 March 2016 (UTC)

Fear and Intimacy

Can you provide the source of the quote attributed to Henri Nouwen: "Fear is the great enemy of intimacy. Fear makes us run away from each other or cling to each other but does not create true intimacy." Thank you, --Lataggart (talk) 23:20, 12 May 2016 (UTC)

It's from Nouwen's Lifesigns: Intimacy, Fecundity, and Ecstasy in Christian Perspective (1986) – you can find it in excerpts from the book at Amazon and Random House or on Google Books. ~ DanielTom (talk) 00:30, 13 May 2016 (UTC)

Quote on cover of Thomas Paine's "Common Sense"

Thomas Paine chose anonymity with his publication of "Common Sense" however he included a quote on the lower portion of the pamphlet cover, the author being one named "Thomson" I've exhausted my sources and have failed to identify this Thomson. My interest is genealogical as I am descendant of David Thomson who settled New Hampshire in 1624 and am looking for a link to the author of the quote (I have omitted to save time) Thank you in advance for any help you may provide.—This unsigned comment is by 96.32.4.107 (talk • contribs) .

"Man knows no Master save creating Heaven,/ Or such as Choice and Common Good ordain." It is by James Thomson (co-author of "Rule, Britannia!"), from his Liberty, A Poem (1736), Part IV, lines 636–637. ~ DanielTom (talk) 09:54, 1 August 2016 (UTC)

Who said “We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give”? Who attributed it to Winston Churchill?

We are assured by http://www.winstonchurchill.org/resources/quotations/135-quotes-falsely-attributed that this was not Winston Churchill. I have to admit it is not even all that interesting or well-constructed, just one of those warm and woolly things company communications departments seem to love. But since brainyquote.com (which appears to me a drivel dispenser) attributes it to him, it would be nice to have it refuted – or do they just make them up themselves there? --PJTraill (talk) 12:04, 27 September 2016 (UTC)

Any website that collects unsourced quotations is bound to be unreliable. If you look at Wikiquote's Winston Churchill page, you'll find this quote already listed under the "Misattributed" section. It was (mis)attributed to Churchill in Never Give in: The Extraordinary Character of Winston Churchill (1995) by Stephen Mansfield, p. 224, and in many later publications, but the phrase itself goes back at least to the 1940s. ~ DanielTom (talk) 12:34, 27 September 2016 (UTC)