Saidbook

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.

Passing by the walled town of Peron on our left, we found the horsemen of the French army setting out from the town towards us, with the view of drawing us within the shot and missiles of the enemy, but our horsemen making a stand, they quickly fled into the town. After we had passed the town about a mile, we found the roads strangely trodden by the French army, as if they had gone before us in many thousands; and then we who were the remnant of the people, not to say of the more powerful, dreading the impending battle, raised our hearts and eyes to heaven, crying with voices of the deepest earnestness, for God to have compassion upon us, and of his unspeakable goodness to turn away from us the power of the French.

Thomas Elmham Misattributed

Henry V marches north after crossing the Somme, 21 October 1415. Henrici Quinti Angliae Regis Gesta, BL Cotton MS. Julius E. IV (ed. Benjamin Williams, 1850; tr. Harris Nicolas, 1832). This work, often referred to as the "chaplain's life"… Read the full notes

In cases which concern private revelations, it is better to believe than not to believe, for, if you believe, and it is proven true, you will be happy that you have believed, because our Holy Mother asked it. If you believe, and it should be proven false, you will receive all blessings as if it had been true, because you believed it to be true.

Pope Urban VIII Misattributed Pope Urban VIII on Private Revelation (2001)

Whether or not Urban VIII said this is debated. He did make a public statement about private revelations and their dissemination in the Catholic Church in his Constitution, Sanctissimus Dominus Noster of 1625-03-13. Read the full notes

Woman is a violent and uncontrolled animal, and it is useless to let go the reins and then expect her not to kick over the traces. You must keep her on a tight rein [...] Women want total freedom or rather - to call things by their names - total licence. If you allow them to achieve complete equality with men, do you think they will be easier to live with? Not at all. Once they have achieved equality, they will be your masters ...

Cato the Elder Misattributed

This is composed of excerpts (with some paraphrasing) from a speech of Cato as reported in Livy's History of Rome, book 34, sections 2-4. Read the full notes

The man who has a chance to pay his court
To a fair woman, and at eve to drink
Two bottles full of richest Lesbian wine,
Must be a wise man; these are real goods.
These things I speak of are what Epicurus
Tells us are real joys; and if the world
All lived the happy life I live myself,
There would not be one wicked man on earth.

Plato Misattributed

Baton of Athens, frg. 3 K.-A. (tr. C. D. Yonge, 1854); misattributed to Plato due to a confusion in in Athenaeus, Deipnosophists, VII.9. Read the full notes

The awareness is slowly gaining ground that the regulation of the functions and careers of public prosecutors cannot be identical to that of judges, as their functions are different and, therefore, so are the aptitudes, mental habits, and professional skills required to perform such different tasks: the public prosecutor is an investigator in all respects, while the judge is the arbiter of the dispute. We must move in this direction, setting aside the specter of the prosecutor's dependence on the executive and the discretion of criminal prosecution, which is regularly touted whenever the differentiation of careers is discussed. To deny the specificity of prosecutorial functions as opposed to judicial ones, in an anachronistic attempt to continue to consider the judiciary as a single entity, paradoxically amounts to guaranteeing less independence and autonomy for the judiciary itself.

Giovanni Falcone Misattributed

Giovanni and Francesca Falcone Foundation, Giovanni Falcone, interventi e proposte (1982 1992), p. 179. See here. Read the full notes

As Soviet power grows, there will be a greater aversion to Communist parties everywhere. So we must practice the techniques of withdrawal. Never appear in the foreground; let our friends do the work. We must always remember that one sympathizer is generally worth more than a dozen militant Communists. A university professor, who without being a party member, lends himself to the interests of the Soviet Union, is worth more than a hundred men with party cards. A writer of reputation, or a retired general, are worth more than 500 poor devils who don't know any better than to get themselves beaten up by the police. Every man has his value, his merit. The writer who, without being a party member, defends the Soviet Union, the union leader who is outside our ranks but defends Soviet international policy, is worth more than a thousand party members.

Georgi Dimitrov Misattributed

Reported as a misattribution in Paul F. Boller, Jr., and John George, They Never Said It: A Book of Fake Quotes, Misquotes, & Misleading Attributions (1989), p. 20-21. Read the full notes