George Gordon, Lord Byron, from The Works of Lord Byron, ed. Rowland E. Prothero (1901), vol. V: Letters and Journals, ch. XXIII: "Detached Thoughts" (15 October 1821 - 18 May 1822), paragraph 72 (p. 445) Read the full notes
Misattributed quotes
Some of the most-shared quotes were never said by the people they are credited to. Here are the ones Wikiquote lists as misattributed, with what is known about where they really came from.
We rely on the notes and sources recorded on Wikiquote and show them next to each quote. “Misattributed” means the evidence points away from the credited person — it does not always tell us who did say it.
Account no man happy till he dies.
Cf. Herodotus, bk. 1 ch. 32: But refrain from calling him fortunate before he dies; call him lucky. (tr. A. D. Godley, 1920) Read the full notes
And God said, Love your enemy, & I obeyed Him & loved myself.
Paraphrasing of Gibran's quote "My enemy said to me, 'Love your enemy.' And I obeyed him and loved myself.", misattributed on these websites: GaiamLife (blog) & Quote Corner - Khalil Gibran quotes Part 1 Read the full notes
When we ask for advice, we are usually looking for an accomplice.
Demander un conseil, c'est presque toujours chercher un complice. — Adélaïde-Édouard le Lièvre, marquis de La Grange et de Fourilles (1796–1876), Pensées (1872) Read the full notes
"This is a bad translation of the Kalama Sutta — so bad, in fact, that it contradicts the message of the sutta, which says that reason and common sense are not sufficient for ascertaining the truth." Read the full notes
No government ought to be without censors; and where the press is free, none ever will.
Thomas Jefferson, letter to George Washington (9 September 1792) Read the full notes
Actually said by Charles de Gaulle, on leaving his presidency, as quoted in Life (9 May 1969) Read the full notes
That which is not just is not law.
That which is not just, is not Law; and that which is not Law, ought not to be obeyed. | Discourses Concerning Government (1698) Ch. 3, Sect. 11 Read the full notes
Christopher Logue's poem "Come to the Edge" from New Numbers (London: Cape, 1969) pp. 65-66. It was originally written for a poster advertising an Apollinaire exhibition at the ICA in 1961 or 1962, and was titled "Apollinaire Said"; hence… Read the full notes
I am much less interested in what is called God's word than in God's deeds. All bibles are man-made.
John Burroughs, in "Religious Contrasts : Letters of Pantheist and a Churchman", in The Atlantic Monthly, Vol. 128, No. 4 (October 1921), p. 520 Read the full notes
If you can be well without health, you may be happy without virtue.
First known in Thomas Fuller's Gnomologia: Adages and Proverbs (1732), but not found in the writings of Edmund Burke. Read the full notes
Be not afraid of life. Believe that life is worth living, and your belief will help create the fact.
William James, "Is Life Worth Living?," The Will to Believe and Other Essays in Popular Philosophy (1897) Read the full notes
You are never too old to set another goal, or to dream a new dream.
Unknown, but also attributed to Les Brown, a motivational speaker. Commonly attributed to C.S. Lewis, but never with a primary source listed. Read the full notes
Time is the fire in which we burn.
Source: The Delmore Schwartz poem "Calmly We Walk Through This April's Day" from Summer Knowledge: New and Selected Poems (1959). The line was quoted in Star Trek: Generations; Schwartz was given credit in the film. Read the full notes
The doctrine of the divinity of Jesus is made a convenient cover for absurdity.
Attributed to Adams in Pathway to the Stars (2007) by Rev. Ernest A. Steadman, p. 66; this seems to be another paraphrase of the entry for 13 February 1756. Read the full notes
I hate mankind, for I think myself one of the best of them, and I know how bad I am.
Actually said by Giuseppe Baretti, February 13, 1766. The Samuel Johnson Sound Bite Page, retrieved 24 October 2018 Read the full notes
Art is the symbol of the two noblest human efforts: to construct and to refrain from destruction.
Simone Weil, The Pre-War Notebook (1933-1939), published in First and Last Notebooks (1970) edited by Richard Rees Read the full notes
The evolution toward Communism is inevitable.
Reported in the National Review (November 1962) as a misattribution created by extreme rightists. See Paul F. Boller, John George, They Never Said It: A Book of Fake Quotes, Misquotes, and Misleading Attributions (1990), p. 33. Read the full notes
Talking is a necessity, listening is an art.
According to http://falschzitate.blogspot.de/2017/04/reden-ist-uns-ein-bedurfnis-zuhoren-ist.html pure invention. Read the full notes
Unidentified ‘member’ of MySpace.com circa 2007–08, quoted in Richard Kennedy The Disgrace of MySpace (self-published [Lulu.com] 23 August 2008, ISBN 9781435760042, page 123. This passage and slight variants of it have been widely… Read the full notes