To fill our mind with the brightest pearls of wisdom from the greatest men and women of letters is one of the best things you can do for yourself. As the actress Marlene Dietrich memorably put it: “I love quotations because it is a joy to find thoughts one might have, beautifully expressed with much authority by someone recognized wiser than oneself.” So, let’s see how well-up on your quotations you are, by testing your knowledge of these oft-misquoted expressions with BabaMail’s ultimate quotation quiz! Simply fill in the missing blanks.
“The _____ life is not worth living.” Socrates
Classical Athenian philosopher Socrates was wont to repeat the phrase, the “unexamined life is not worth living.”
Unexamined
Unwanted
Briefest
good
“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a ______.” Lao Tzu
The following Chinese adage: “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step”, was written by Lao Tzu.
Single step
Positive attitude
First step
Firm resolution
“The ____shall inherit the Earth.” Jesus of Nazareth
Jesus Christ in the sermon on the mount proclaimed the good news that the “meek shall inherit the Earth.”
Meek
Poor
Saints
Good
Wikipedia
“If I have seen further, it is from _______.” Sir Isaac Newton
The physicist Sir Isaac Newton wrote that he may have furthered science, but only by “standing on the shoulders of giants.”
Standing on the shoulders of giants
Hard work and perspicacity
Learning from the best teachers
Careful thought and reflection
“Give the Devil ______.” Miguel de Cervantes
The correct quotation from Spain’s greatest writer, Cervantes, ends thus: “Give the Devil his due.”
His due
A good kicking
A wide berth
Some credit
“____ is the soul of wit.” William Shakespeare
Shakespeare’s full quotation “brevity is the soul of wit” comes from Hamlet, ironically it’s found in a tediously long speech.
Brevity
Lepidity
Learned
Courtesy
“Hope springs eternal ______.” Alexander Pope
These words “Hope springs eternal in the human breast” come from Pope’s Essay on Man, which was a huge sensation across Europe.
In the human breast
Come what may
To a Christian man
I’ve heard it said
“’Tis better to have ______ than never to have loved at all.” Alfred Lord Tennyson
The following words, “'Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all” come from In Memoriam A.H.H. written on the occasion of Tennyson’s friend Arthur Hallam dying suddenly.
Loved and lost
Loved once
Been in love
Lost one’s love
“A room without _____ is like a body without a soul.” G.K. Chesterton
Actually, there is some debate whether Chesterton coined the phrase “A room without books is like a body without a soul” himself, rather than the Roman statesman, Cicero.
Books
Windows
A view
Joy
“Man is born free and_____.” Jean Jacques Rousseau
Rousseau’s quote here - “Man is born free and everywhere he is in chains” - sums up the chief argument in “The Social Contract”.
Everywhere he is in chains
Blessed by God
Noble
Righteous
“Nothing can be said to be certain, except _____.” Benjamin Franklin
When talking about the establishment of US constitution, Franklin expressed doubt that it would remain for long, saying: “in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.”
Death and taxes
Little is in doubt
This: I think therefore I am
Everyman thinks himself wise
“Hitch your wagon ____” Ralph Waldo Emerson
American writer Ralph Waldo Emerson coined the inspiring expression: “Hitch your wagon to a star.”
To a star
To a comet
To the moon
To a thoroughbred
“God is in his heaven; __________” Robert Browning
In the dramatic poem Pippa Passes, we find the memorable line: “God's in his Heaven/All's right with the world!”
All’s right with the world
Christ is by his side
We are down below
The world is in its place
“East is east and west is west and _______.” Rudyard Kipling
The opening line “East is East and West is West, and never the twain shall meet” in the Ballad of East and West is contradicted later in the poem, when Kipling writes: “But there is neither East nor West, Border, nor Breed, nor Birth.”
Never the twain shall meet
North and south are separate
Let that be a lesson to you
This much I know for sure
“____ the ultimate aphrodisiac.” Henry Kissinger
Former US Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger was once quoted in the New York Times exclaiming that “Power” was the “ultimate aphrodisiac.”
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Tony A.
3/24/2020
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