Saturday, December 3, 2022

QUOTH THE RAVEN “NEVERMORE.” OR DID HE? By Michael D. Rigg

"Once upon a midnight, dreary...."
Okay, you got me. Edgar Allan Poe’s fantastical Raven really said “Nevermore,” at least in the famous poem. Of course, the Raven and the nearly-napping-guy were figments of Poe’s fertile mind. He created them. So, if Poe quoted the Raven, the Raven must have said it.

But can we make the same assertion about actual historical figures? Did various people utter the pithy, wisdom-laden sayings attributed to them? Quoth the Raven, “Maybe, or maybe not.”

In grade school, many of us learned of George Washington’s commitment to honesty. When confronted by his father about chopping down a cherry tree, six-year-old George confessed his horrific, axe-wielding deed and declared, “I cannot tell a lie.”

Well, I can’t tell a lie, either—at least not about the cherry tree thing. Turns out noted Washington biographer Mason Locke “Parson” Weems invented the story, after Washington’s death. The cherry tree incident didn’t appear in the first edition of The Life of Washington published by Weems in 1800, the year after Washington died. Rather, he added the tale of George and his hatchet in the fifth edition of the biography published in 1806. (For more info, go to Cherry Tree Myth · George Washington's Mount Vernon  (www.mountvernon.org).) Some people claim Weems fabricated the story to sell more books. [Interesting. Would you lie to sell more books? No answer necessary. After all, you have the right to remain silent…]  

Washington’s apocryphal aversion to lying influenced the oft-quoted Samuel Clemens, a/k/a Mark Twain. Twain, it seems, heard about Washington and had this to say during a speech in Chicago in 1871: “I have a higher and grander standard of principle. Washington could not lie. I can lie, but I won’t.” (Check out, I Have a Higher andGrander Standard of Principle. Washington Could Not Lie. I Can Lie, But I Won’t– Quote Investigator.)

No doubt, you’ve read that, “There are three kinds of lies: Lies, Damned Lies, and Statistics.” According to the “Twain Tracker” (my term) at www.twainquotes.com, that truism “…  has been attributed to Mark Twain, who himself attributed it to British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli, who might never have said it in the first place.” 

And don’t get me started about Abraham Lincoln. Or Albert Einstein. Probably the two most misquoted people in modern history. Before you quote them, get verification. See, for example, » Abraham Lincoln Quotes (www.Abraham.Lincoln.org) and 13 Inspiring Einstein Quotes Never Actually Said by Einstein (interestingengineering.com).

This love of quoting famous people seems deeply rooted in our collective psyche. If a genius like Einstein believes it, one might assert, it must be true. We see this tactic in political discourse. Beware! That type of argument exemplifies the logical fallacy called “Appeal to Authority.” Even worse, the statements are often attributed to the wrong person, misquoted, or simply made up out of the proverbial whole cloth.   

Here’s the moral of the story. Before quoting someone, make sure they really said it. If you read a quotation or hear about someone being quoted, do the same. In sum, be your own “quote checker.” There are plenty of websites and other sources to guide you.

Perhaps Sergeant Phil Esterhaus from Hill Street Blues said it best: “Let’s be careful out there.” Or did he?

7 comments:

Maria Hudgins said...

Love this post! I'm aware that a lot of famous people are credited with saying things they never said. But how do you know? Can I trust the fact checkers? How do the writers of websites know what someone actually said? Where did they get their information?

Michael Rigg said...

Thanks, Maria. The best course of action, I think, is to get as close as possible to a primary source as possible. If you can't find the original speech, autobiography, or a non-fiction work with reliable footnotes, the best you can probably do is locate a website dedicated to the person's memory. I found one website with Lincoln quotes that tells you where and when he said something attributed to him.

Teresa Inge said...

Great post! This just burst my bubble about Washington and the cherry tree since I learned that as a kid. But it makes me realize as an author to continue to fact check things I write about and now to fact check things others write about, especially historical figures.

Michael Rigg said...

Thanks, Teresa!

Kim Thorn said...

Nice. It also helps when we have personal documents that they actually wrote themselves, that survive the person. Like with Voltaire, so many of his letters have survived all these years. It’s really fascinating when you think of how long some of these things have survived. At UVA they really taught us how and where to look for primary sources and it was a huge help with my writing. Of course if helps to have access to the special collections library at UVA, too! 😉

Michael Rigg said...

Thanks, Kim! If only everyone was as disciplined and thorough as you, we wouldn't be having so many problems with "news" sources needing to retract their stories (or engage in a cover-up because they can't admit they were lazy and didn't do their homework).

Kim Thorn said...

Exactly. Unfortunately it’s all about the first to get the news out for the media. Never mind if it’s true or not

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