“A rose by any other name...”

SHAKESPEARE’S FAMOUS LINES: “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose By any other name would smell as sweet.”        William Shakespeare (1564-1616)         British playwright and poet        Famed lines spoken by Juliet in Romeo and Juliet (c. 1591), Act II, Scene II        In this great tragedy, Romeo and Juliet are “star-crossed lovers” (a term Shakespeare coined in the play). Romeo’s family, the Montagues, are feuding with the Capulets, Juliet’s family. But Romeo and Juliet can’t help their mutual attraction and fall in love with each other.        The rose metaphor comes in the play’s famous balcony scene, in which Romeo sees Juliet standing on the balcony of her bedroom and overhears her saying she loves him, even though he is a Montague.        She muses aloud:            “O Romeo, Romeo! wherefore art thou Romeo?            Deny thy father and refuse thy name;            Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love,            And I’ll no longer be a Capulet...            ‘Tis but thy name that is my enemy;            Thou art thyself, though not a Montague.            What’s Montague? it is nor hand, nor foot,            Nor arm, nor face, nor any other part            Belonging to a man. O, be some other name!            What’s in a name? That which we call a rose            By any other name would smell as sweet;            So Romeo would, were he not Romeo call’d,            Retain that dear perfection which he owes            Without that title. Romeo, doff thy name,            And for that name which is no part of thee            Take all myself.”        According to legend, the lines about the smell of a rose were also an inside joke. The Rose Theatre in London was a rival of Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre. Supposedly, the Rose’s bathroom facilities were quite odiferous and Shakespeare's mention of a smelly rose slyly poked fun at that. The excellent Phrase Finder site says this story is probably just creative folk etymology, but London tour guides like to use it to amuse tourists.

A RECENT VARIATION FOR ANTI-GAY “CHRISTIANS”: “There’s been a brouhaha on the Internet about the decision by the Associated Press to recognize same-sex couples and in news stories refer to a gay man’s spouse as ‘husband’ and a lesbian’s spouse ‘wife.’ Christian fundamentalist Marvin Olasky wrote that this action by the world’s leading wire service was not being neutral but was ‘endorsing same-sex marriage.’...Christians don’t have a copyright on the word ‘husband.’ What’s in a name, anyway? A Christian by any other name could still be petty and mean-spirited.”        Henry Denton, of Charleston, Utah (a beautiful corner of the Heber Valley)         In a letter to the editor Henry wrote to The Salt Lake Tribune, published March 26, 2013

THE ORIGINAL ANTI-SPAM VARIATION: “What’s in a name? That which we call Spam By any other name would taste as lousy.”          Satiric poem in YANK magazine, January 14, 1944         Quoted in the book Minnesota Goes To War: The Home Front During World War II (2009)        This take-off on Shakespeare, which was illustrated with the cartoon at left, was in an article complaining about the Spam “luncheon meat” that was regularly included in K rations and B rations given to American GIs during World War II. The YANK article noted: “It’s not what they call it. It’s the frequency with which they throw it into your mess kit. Spam — sorry, we mean luncheon meat — might not be so bad if it was only served at luncheon. But when you get it at breakfast and supper, too, you can’t be blamed for getting mad at it.”

DA FUNK MASTER’S VERSION: "At certain times you have to change to words you use to describe something. Change the interpretation of something, even though the essence is still the same. Like the word funk — we can use the word as long as we need to use the word, then we could just change it. But the rhythms would always go on being the same. Because funk by any other name would still be funky."        George Clinton        American musician and music producer        In an interview with Chip Stern, published in Musician Magazine, April 1979

A LAUGH-IN GIRL’S FUNNY VERSION: “A chrysanthemum by any other name would be easier to pronounce.”        Goldie Hawn        American actress and founder of The Hawn Foundation         In a comic bit on the TV show Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In (1968-1973)

A POLITICAN’S UNFUNNY BUZZKILL VERSION: “In real life, unlike in Shakespeare, the sweetness of the rose depends upon the name it bears. Things are not only what they are. They are, in very important respects, what they seem to be.”        Hubert H. Humphrey (1911–1978)        Democratic politician and U.S. Vice President        In a speech on March 26, 1966 in Washington, D.C.

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A new quotation site I like – QUOTO.COM Recently, I ran across a new quotation site with a large collection of quotes that’s a cut above those that are just compilations recycled from other sites. It’s called Quoto.com and it includes a collection of over 150,000 quotes organized and easily searched by name and topic. Unlike many sites, Quoto.com actually provides some background information about most of the quotes in its collection, such as thumbnail bios and context info written by the site’s contributors. It also has a cool collection of photos with quotes that can be reposted on Facebook and elsewhere. And, the design of the Quoto.com site is top notch. I encourage other quote buffs to check it out.

 

“To err is human; to forgive, divine.” (Though Mae West and others put it somewhat differently.)

THE POPULAR POETIC PLATITUDE: “To err is human; to forgive, divine.”        Alexander Pope (1688-1744)        English poet         The famous saying created by line 525 of his poem An Essay on Criticism, Part II (1711)        An Essay on Criticism was Pope’s first major work. Although the title calls it an “essay” it’s actually written as a poem, in the rhyming heroic couplet format.        “To err is human; to forgive, divine” is one of three well-known quotes from the poem. The others are “a little learning is a dangerous thing” and “fools rush in where angels fear to tread.”        Pope didn’t coin the phrase “to err is human.” That’s the traditional English translation of the ancient Latin proverb “Errare humanum est.” However, by adding “to forgive, divine” he created a famous quotation that is still commonly used, adapted and spoofed today.        The usual meaning ascribed to Pope’s version is that every human can make a mistake, so we should forgive those that do, just as God is said to show his divine mercy in forgiving sinners. The line comes at the end of the stanza reprinted below, which discusses (in an amazingly obtuse and flow’ry way) how writers sometimes overly praise or harshly criticize other writers:             If Wit so much from Ign’rance undergo,           Ah let not Learning too commence its Foe!           Of old, those met Rewards who cou’d excel,           And such were Prais’d who but endeavour’d well:           Tho’ Triumphs were to Gen’rals only due,           Crowns were reserv’d to grace the Soldiers too.           Now, they who reached Parnassus’ lofty Crown,           Employ their Pains to spurn some others down;           And while Self-Love each jealous Writer rules,           Contending Wits becomes the Sport of Fools:           But still the Worst with most Regret commend,           For each Ill Author is as bad a Friend.           To what base Ends, and by what abject Ways,           Are Mortals urg’d thro' Sacred Lust of praise!           Ah ne’er so dire a Thirst of Glory boast,           Nor in the Critick let the Man be lost!           Good-Nature and Good-Sense must ever join;           To err is Humane; to Forgive, Divine        By the way, the use of the word humane above is not a typo. When An Essay on Criticism was published in 1711, that was the common spelling used for the word human.

THE MAE WEST COUNTERQUOTE: “To err is human, but it feels divine.”        Mae West (1893-1980)        American stage and movie star, playwright and pioneering Celebrity Sex Goddess        This quip is widely attributed to West. No specific source is given. However, it does sound like one of her sassy zingers and it’s mentioned in biographies about her (such as Mae West: It Ain't No Sin), so she may have actually said it.

THE MARINER’S MOTTO: “The tendency to err is human but to err on the safe side is just being intelligent.”         Commander Walter L. Taylor (1876-1952)        Quoting a naval saying in an article published in Vol. 65 of the Proceedings of the United States Naval Institute (1939)        Taylor said this was a variation of the mariners’ “General Prudential Rule.”

THE PATHETICALLY TRUE POLITICAL VARIATION: “To err is human. To blame it on someone else is politics.”        Hubert Humphrey (1911-1978)        American Democratic politician; U.S. Vice President 1965-1969 under Pres. Lyndon B. Johnson         This quote is widely attributed to Humphrey, sometimes beginning with the words “We believe that…” Documentation of when he said it is elusive. So, although it’s certainly true, it may not be a true quotation.

THE CRINGE-INDUCING CORPORATE CREDO: “To err is human, but to be paid for it is divine.”        H. James Harrington        American author, engineer, entrepreneur and “consultant in performance improvement”        In his book of advice for corporate managers, Total Improvement Management (1995)

See more uses and abuses of “To err is human…” in this previous QuoteCounterquote.com post…

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