Are quotes worthwhile without knowing who said it?

[TiG]

For example.

"Believe in yourself! Have faith in your abilities! Without a humble but reasonable confidence in your own powers you cannot be successful or happy"

Seems to be a very worthwhile quote, but having done a bit of digging into who said it i've found myself perplexed at now questioning whether its important to know who said it.

Thoughts?

TiG

[Funkstar]

Interesting one.

I'm sure there are a lot of quotes out there, that taken at face value, are very good and meaningfull or inspirational. But perhaps when you find out when and when they were said, or even in the actual context they were said in, they take on another meaning.

I can't quote any, but i'm sure i've heard this from things Hitler is reported to have said.

Who was that quote from TiG?

[schmunk]

I don't think it matters, as I think it is possible to separate the words, and the inferred meaning, from the person

(although there may be instances where the actual meaning differs from the inferred meaning in a rather negative way, e.g. some of the many wonderful and inspirational quotes I imagine may have been produced by the Nazi party in their time...)


Edit: Damn you Funkstar, you got in there first...


It looks like that quote was from Norman Vincent Peale, an American motivational Christian speaker ("If you do good things, you'll go to Heaven" and the like, I imagine...)

[malfunction]

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

Bah, beaten to it...

As far as it being important who said something - I think it depends on the person and the intended sentiment. It can probably be separated in most cases but in some cases if the original person and hence the intent behind the statement is 'corrupt' I'm not sure the actual phrase should be used as-is - even if the sentiment is good it's probably better to find another way of saying it

[manwithnoname]

I'm not sure knowing who said the above adds anything to it, but to quote someone you normally refer to the source - I had to do this in my thesis and attributions to bloke down the pub doesn't cut the mustard...

'Damned if you do damned if you don't'

[IBM]

Norman Vincent Peale

I think the individual should take whatever merit the quote has, regardless of who said it. Unfortunately, as with many of the less pleasant characters in history, despots and tyrants were often intelligent charismatic individuals, and real insights into the human condition were often matched with horrific hateful viewpoints.

For many people, who admire a particular quote, it would be easy to be swayed by a disagreable philosophy simply because of an initial favourable impression. Hitler would be a good example....

It all comes down to whether the quote works for you. That's why words become famous, because they strike the right chord with enough people.

[TiG]

Well thats exactly the problem i've got with it. Yes the words are fine by me, they imply the kind of thoughts I have about my own abilities.

But its "if you do good things you'll go to heaven", using words to manipulate people.

I mean "We shall fight on the beaches. We shall fight on the landing grounds. We shall fight in the fields, and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills. We shall never surrender!" is wonderful and used to stir british resilience.

But that did start me thinking about this.

TiG

[dave87]

Some quotes are true even without a background knowledge of the author.

For instance:

Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read.

or,

A child of three could understand this, fetch me a child of three.

Both quotes by Groucho Marx, but equally good without knowing who wrote them.

[JPreston]

Secular schools can never be tolerated because such schools have no religious instruction, and a general moral instruction without a religious foundation is built on air; consequently, all character training and religion must be derived from faith.

[headbrace]

At the risk of being a pedant, I must at this juncture step in and point out that it is "quotation" and not "quote". Petty, I know, but it's one of these things that makes me grind my teeth together and make a "nnggg" sound.

I think that a lot of quotations do need the information about the author and the situations that they were coined in. Others, such as the Groucho Marx ones above, are excellent in their own right, and often knowing who they are from only serves to show us how brilliant/deranged/controversial (delete as applicable) the author is/was.

One of my personal favourites is from Charles de Secondat: "I have never known a trouble that an hours reading did not assuage."

[TiG]

lol, to quote headbrace "NNNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGG" heh

TiG

[IBM]

'Nuther pedant here.

I think that a lot of quotations do need the information about the author and the situations that they were coined in.

I thought you weren't supposed to end a sentence with a preposition?

[noTHINGface]

lol, to quote headbrace "NNNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGG"

-ve, thats not a quote, you have paraphrased.

To quote Simran Khurana;

To quote means to repeat the exact words of another with the acknowledgement of the source.
A quotation is a phrase or a sentence from a book or a speech that reflects the author's profound thoughts.

I only ever trust Simran...

[headbrace]

'Nuther pedant here.



I thought you weren't supposed to end a sentence with a preposition?

Well, Dryden wasn't a fan of them certainly, and that was in 1672.

Although, I would rather respond to this with a quotation allegedly from Churchill, although everyone version is read is different.

Having been asked/told/had his work edited (depending on who you read) owing to the aforesaid preposition issues, he may or not have responded

"This is the kind of impertinence up with which I shall not put."

The defence rests.

[IBM]

Yeah, but in my defence, you're not Churchill

[TiG]

-ve, thats not a quote, you have paraphrased.

To quote Simran Khurana;



I only ever trust Simran...

"Computers make it easier to do a lot of things, but most of the things they make it easier to do don't need to be done."

Like face the wrath of TiG

TiG