Chamblee54

The facebook friend linked to an article with the catchy title “Falser Words Were Never Spoken”. It is about the quotes used to decorate coffee mugs and automobile bumpers. Many of these phrases are inspiring and life changing. The only problem is, the famous person never said it. The key phrase of this feature is When you start to become aware of these bogus quotations, you can’t stop finding them. Mr. Google produces 23 million results.
The second result, and this is true , is typical. It has a quote from the NYT article, and a second quote … “Don’t believe everything you read.” – Julius Caesar. Since Mr. Caesar did not speak english, this is a translation. Since he lived a long time ago, it was written down by someone, probably years after it was said. The wikiquote page for Mr. Caesar does not mention this quote. This probable misquote was in several of the results. You should think before you retweet.
This trip to google city is a disappointment. There are a lot of people quoting the NYT and JC, but little commentary of the business of jazzing up quotes. There are lots, and lots, and lots, of quotes. There are heartbreak quotes by redneck girl, sponsored by Allstate insurance. The quotegarden has Quotations about Men. There is a site devoted to clever sayings, All Aphorisms, All The Time .
AAATT has a post about a book of clever sayings, Landmines of the Mind: One Thousand Asseverations, Surmises, and Questions about the Design of the Universe and the Meaning of Life. The amazon comments are fun. Plagarism R’ Us By Robert L. Cronyn “Some great aphorisms from the ages. Problem is, no citations, thus rendering the book useless. I suppose the auther wants me to attribute these great thoughts to him since no one else is acknowledged. Loved the thoughts, hated the lack of sources . . . ” author’s response to Cronyn By Manfred Weidhorn “There is no documentation because the aphorisms are original and are all mine. Thanks for the inadvertent compliment! “
If you want to bask in wisdom, follow the links and dive in. Check the batteries on your BS detector first. Pictures today are from The Library of Congress.