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| "Once upon a midnight, dreary...." |
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:
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?
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.
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.
Thanks, Teresa!
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! 😉
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).
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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