“A House Divided”

FAMOUS BIBILICAL QUOTE: “Every city or house divided against itself shall not stand.”        Jesus        Quoted in the Bible, Matthew 12:25        The inspiration for Abraham Lincoln’s famous quote

STUDENT COUNTERQUOTE: “A horse divided against itself cannot stand.”         A “student blooper”         Quoted by Richard Lederer in The Bride of Anguished English

ANTHROPOLIGIST’S VERSION: “A cultural system divided against itself cannot behave in a rational manner.”        Leslie Alvin White (1900-1975)        American anthropologist        Comment in 1975, quoted by Jack P. Gibbs in Control: Sociology’s Central Notion

GEORGE DIVIDED VARIATION: “You see, right now I have Relationship George. But there is also Independent George...If Relationship George walks through this door, he will kill Independent George. A George divided against itself cannot stand!”         George Costanza (actor Jason Alexander)         In the “Pool Guy” episode of Seinfeld (Season 7, Episode 8, 1995)

More from Richard Lederer and Leslie A. White…