“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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“That government is best which governs least.” (Or not all?)

THOREAU’S VERSION OF THE AXIOM ABOUT GOVERNMENT: “I heartily accept the motto, — ‘That government is best which governs least.’”        Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862)        American author, philosopher, naturalist and social critic        In his essay “Civil Disobedience” (1849)         The quotation “That government is best which governs least” is often attributed to Thomas Jefferson, but without any specific source. No source is given because, as noted by Jefferson scholars and books like Not So!: Popular Myths About America From Columbus to Clinton, there is no record that Jefferson ever said it. Nor did Thomas Paine, another “Founding Father” who is sometimes wrongly credited with the quote.        Henry David Thoreau did use the line in “Civil Disobedience” (originally titled “Resistance to Civil Government”) and its appearance in that famous essay probably popularized the saying in its best known form. However, Thoreau seemed to be making it clear that he was citing an existing motto.           He may have been paraphrasing the slogan coined by American journalist and editor John Louis O’Sullivan. In 1837, O’Sullivan wrote “The best government is that which governs least” in the opening editorial for his periodical The United States Magazine and Democratic Review. He then used those words as the motto of the Review until it ceased publication in 1859.        Thoreau’s friend Ralph Waldo Emerson also penned an earlier version. In 1844, Emerson wrote in an essay titled “Politics”: “The less government we have, the better.”         Modern political conservatives are quite fond of the quote “That government is best which governs least.” But even most conservatives might not agree with what Thoreau went on to say about it in “Civil Disobedience.” He envisioned taking the axiom to its anarchic extreme, writing: “Carried out, it finally amounts to this, which also I believe, — ‘That government is best which governs not at all.’”

ROBERT HUTCHINS’ TAUTOLOGICAL COUNTERQUOTE: “That government is best which governs best.”        Robert M. Hutchins (1899-1977)        Dean of Yale Law School          Remark made in a speech in New York on January 21, 1959, upon receiving the Sidney Hillman Award for Meritorious Public Service

WILLIAM PENN’S COUNTER-COUNTERQUOTE: “It is not true that that government is best which is best administered — it is a sophism invented by tyranny to quiet the inquisitive mind; a good administration is at best but a temporary palliative to a bad government, but it does not alter its nature.”        William Penn (1644-1718)        English businessman and Quaker leader who founded the American Province of Pennsylvania        In an essay published in the Philadelphia Independent Gazetteer, January 2, 1788

THE CORPORATE ETHICS EXTRAPOLATION: “‘The government is best that governs least.’ If correct, corporations should be left to pursue their own ends unfettered by government.’”        Thomas Donaldson        Professor of Legal Studies and Business Ethics, University of Pennsylvania        In his book Corporations and Morality (1982)

A “DEJA VU ALL OVER AGAIN” QUOTE: “For twelve years this Nation was afflicted with hear-nothing, see-nothing, do-nothing Government...Powerful influences strive today to restore that kind of government with its doctrine that that government is best which is most indifferent.”        Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882-1945)        Democratic politician and 32nd President of the United States        In a speech on October 31, 1936, commenting on his Republican predecessors (Herbert Hoover and Calvin Coolidge) and the opponents of his “New Deal” social programs

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“With great power comes great responsibility.”

The new, expanded and updated version of this post is now on my ThisDayinQuotes.com blog. Click this link  or the image below to go there. THE EVOLUTION OF THE PITHY PROVERB: “With great power comes great responsibility.”        Catchphrase popularized by  Spider-Man comics and movies        This now well-known line was first used in Marvel comic books featuring Spider-Man, the web-slingin’ superhero created by  Stan Lee and  Steve Ditko in 1962. It was more widely popularized by director Sam Raimi’s hugely-popular  2002 Spider-Man film, which made it familiar to millions of people who never read a Spider-Man comic.        The line evolved from narrative text written by Stan Lee for the original Spider-Man origin story published in August 1962 in  Vol. 1, #15 of the Marvel comic Amazing Fantasy.        In that story, after student Peter Parker accidentally gets his Spider-Man superpowers from the bite of a radioactive spider, he initially uses them to make money by performing in local wrestling matches and other public shows. One night, as he’s leaving a show, he sees a cop chasing a burglar. The cop wants him to help stop the criminal, but Peter refuses. Shortly thereafter, his beloved Uncle  Ben Parker is murdered and Peter finds out the killer was the burglar he had refused to capture.        The final panel in the story shows a small figure of Peter in his Spider-Man costume, dejectedly walking down a city street in the dark. Lee’s text in that panel provided the inspiration for the saying that would become famous. It says:        “AND A LEAN. SILENT FIGURE SLOWLY FADES INTO THE GATHERING DARKNESS, AWARE AT LAST THAT IN THIS WORLD, WITH GREAT POWER THERE MUST ALSO COME --  GREAT RESPONSIBILITY.”          Spider-Man fan sites like Spiderfan.org say the quote “With great power comes great responsibility” was first used in a comic book in 1987, in Spider-Man vs. Wolverine #1. It’s mentioned as a saying of Uncle Ben’s in that issue, though not spoken by him. The first time Ben said it in a comic was in February 2002,  in Amazing Spider-Man, Vol. 2, #38.        A few months later, in May 2002, Raimi’s Spider-Man film was released. The line was  used twice in the movie and launched it into pop culture meme status. It’s first spoken by actor Cliff Robertson, as Uncle Ben, and repeated at the end by Tobey Maguire, who plays Peter Parker/Spider-Man.          There are similar quotes linking power and responsibility that predate the Spider-Man catchphrase.        For example, as noted by veteran comic and television writer Mark Evanier  on his great NewsFromMe.com site, Theodore Roosevelt wrote in a 1908 letter that “responsibility should go with power.” And, in 1945, Teddy's relative Franklin D. Roosevelt said “great power involves great responsibility.”        There’s also a famous historical quip about irresponsible power-wielders:  “Power without responsibility — the prerogative of the harlot throughout the ages.” That zinger was used in 1931 by UK politician Stanley Baldwin, in a speech attacking the media barons who owned British newspapers (the forerunners of Rupert Murdoch).

A PITHY REVIEW OF THE NEW SPIDER-MAN MOVIE: “With great power comes great responzzzzzzzZzzzzzzzzzz…”         Marty Beckerman        Author, journalist and self-described “nice, semi-demented Jewish boy” from Alaska         In his review of the recently-released Amazing Spider-Man movie on Salon.com, July 3, 2012, which ponders the question: “Is there an original idea left in Hollywood?”

THE U CAN HAS FREE CHEEZBURGER VERSION: “We know that with great burgers comes great responsibility. So, we are doing our part to celebrate America’s birthday, Spider-Man’s birthday and the release of The Amazing Spider-Man film by giving anyone dressed as Spider-Man a free Amazing Grilled Cheese Bacon Burger on the Fourth of July.”         Brad Haley         Chief marketing officer for CKE Restaurants, parent company of Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s        In  a press release issued on June 25, 2012

DR. HOUSE’S OBSERVATION: “With great power comes great micromanaging.”          Hugh Laurie, as the character Dr. Gregory House         In  the “Better Half” episode of the TV show House M.D. (Season 8, Ep. 9 , first aired Jan. 23, 2012).

THE KICK-ASS VARIATION: “With no power, comes no responsibility.”          *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     * Comments? Corrections?  Post them on the Famous Quotations Facebook group .

 

“I Don’t Care” quotes – Part III…

THE FAMOUS QUOTE ABOUT DOING IT IN FRONT OF THE HORSES: “I don’t care what they do, so long as they don’t do it in the street and frighten the horses.”        Mrs. Patrick Campbell (Beatrice Stella Tanner Campbell; 1865-1940)        British stage actress        This is the usual version of a legendary quotation about homosexuals that’s commonly attributed to Mrs. Campbell. It may be a paraphrase of her actual quote, or she may have said it different ways on different occasions. In the biography Mrs. Patrick Campbell (1961), author Alan Dent gives her quote as: “Does it really matter what these affectionate people do — so long as they don’t do it in the streets and frighten the horses!” In The Duchess of Jermyn Street (1964) by in Daphne Fielding, Campbell is quoted as saying “It doesn't matter what you do in the bedroom, as long as you don't do it in the street and frighten the horses.”        Language maven Barry Popik has an in-depth post about the history of this quote on his great site “The Big Apple.” He notes that the saying has been cited in print since at least 1929 and that Mrs. Campbell apparently said about an actor she knew or about the playwright Oscar Wilde.

A TALK SHOW HOST’S CLUELESS COMMENT: “You’re entitled to behave however the hell you like as long as you don’t scare the horses and the children.”        Piers Morgan        TV talk show host and game show judge        In an interview with Charlie Sheen in February 2011        Morgan seemed oblivious to allegations that Sheen had threatened and abused some of his wives and girlfriends. As noted by Anna Holmes, creator of the feminist website Jezebel: “Mr. Morgan...like many of Mr. Sheen’s past and present press enablers, showed little to no urgency in addressing the question of violence against women. ‘You’re entitled to behave however the hell you like as long as you don’t scare the horses and the children,’ Mr. Morgan said at one point. Scaring women, it seems, was just fine.

A CLUELESS POLITICAN’S JOKE: “I don't care what position we take, as long as doggy style is included.”        Michael Wiener         A New Mexico County Commissioner who recently made headlines after being photographed with some local hookers during a trip to the Philippines         This was his reported response during a Bernalillo County Commission meeting in 2011, when someone asked if the Commission might change its position on an issue being discussed.

EXCERPT FROM “I DON’T CARE QUOTES – Part II” (The Sexual Preference Edition): “I don’t care if a soldier is ‘straight’, as long as he can shoot straight.”        Attributed to Barry Goldwater (1909-1998)        The common paraphrase of a remark Goldwater made in 1993         What he actually said was “You don’t need to be ‘straight’ to fight and die for your country.”         To read the rest of this previous post, click this link.

EXCERPT FROM “I DON’T CARE QUOTES – Part I” (The Celebrity Edition): “I don’t care what they say as long as they talk about me.”         Tallulah Bankhead (1902-1968)        American theater and movie actress        Her famous version of the old Hollywood publicity axiom        To read the rest of this previous post, click this link.

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“Speak softly and carry a big stick” – from Teddy Roosevelt to Joe Biden to Jack Nicholson…

TEDDY ROOSEVELT’S FAMOUS BIG STICK: “Speak softly and carry a big stick.”        Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt (1858-1919)        American politician who served as the 26th President of the United States         One of Roosevelt’s favorite sayings, which he popularized but didn’t coin        According to many sources, Roosevelt’s first documented use of the saying was in a letter he wrote on January 26, 1900 when he was the Governor of New York. In the letter (to New York legislator Henry L. Sprague), Roosevelt used it in reference to his recent victory in a political scuffle over who he appointed as the state’s Insurance Commissioner. Powerful leaders in the State Assembly wanted him to reappoint their corrupt crony, Louis Payn. Roosevelt refused and threatened to take the fight public, forcing them to back down. Roosevelt wrote in the letter: “I have always been fond of the West African proverb: ‘Speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far.’ If I had not carried the big stick, the organization [i.e., the legislature] would not have gotten behind me.”        Roosevelt’s first famous public use of “Speak softly and carry a big stick” was in a speech at the Minnesota State Fair on September 2, 1901, when he was serving as Vice President of the United States under President William McKinley. He linked it in that address to the Monroe Doctrine, the longstanding U.S. policy against interference of European countries in the affairs of countries in the Western Hemisphere. Roosevelt said: “There is a homely adage which runs ‘Speak softly and carry a big stick – you will go far.’ If the American nation will speak softly, and yet keep at a pitch of the highest training a thoroughly efficient navy, the Monroe Doctrine will go far.’” He used the same lines in another oft-cited speech in Chicago on April 2, 1903, after he had been catapulted into the presidency by the assassination of McKinley — and probably in other stump speeches he gave that year during a widely-covered tour of the country.        Since Roosevelt’s presidency, the term “big stick policy” has been employed as a common political term, especially in reference to U.S. foreign policy. It is generally used to refer to policy positions that will be backed up with military force if necessary.        “Speak softly and carry a big stick” has also become a more general saying suggesting that a person should not make blustery threats, but should be ready to use force or leverage to get their way.        There doesn’t seem to be any proof that the saying started out as a West African proverb, as Roosevelt claimed (perhaps jokingly) in his letter to Henry L. Sprague. His later description of it as an adage that existed before he used it is probably true. But Teddy certainly deserves credit for making it a familiar saying and it will be forever be cited as one of his most famous quotations.

BIDEN’S SCHTICK ABOUT OBAMA’S BIG STICK: “President Obama has said, and I quote, now is the time to let our increased pressure sink in, and to sustain the broad international coalition we have built. Now is the time to heed the timeless advice from Teddy Roosevelt: ‘speak softly and carry a big stick.’ I promise you, the President has a big stick. I promise you.”        Joe Biden        Democratic politician and Vice President of the United States        In a widely-reported speech at New York University on April 26, 2012        Biden’s apparent double entendre about the size of President Obama’s, er, stick sparked laughter from his audience and many jokes on talk shows. It’s hard to know whether it was another Biden gaffe or a deliberate attempt at lame humor. In context, Biden’s big stick comments were part of an attack on Obama’s Republican Presidential challenger, Mitt Romney, who had suggested he would declare war on Iran if that country seemed to be continuing an effort to develop nuclear weapons. Biden warned: “This kind of Romney-talk is just not smart.” He then accurately quoted something Pres. Obama had said in a speech to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee on March 4, 2012. Then he went a metaphor too far.

MITT ROMNEY’S BIG STICK ENVY: “I want to carry the big stick. I hope I don’t have to use it, but I want to make sure we have it so that people understand we are a nation of strength.”        Mitt Romney        Republican politician and presidential candidate        In a speech in Dubuque, Iowa on June 16, 2007, during his previous failed attempt to win the Republican nomination for President

THE GRAFFITI ARTIST’S VARIATION: “Speak softly, but carry a big can of paint.”        Banksy        UK-based artist and social activist best known for his outdoor graffiti art         A quote widely attributed to the edgy artist (who keeps his real name secret)

JACK NICHOLSON’S VARIATION: “Walk softly and carry an armored tank division, I always say.”         Jack Nicholson as Col. Nathan R. Jessup in the movie A Few Good Men (1992)       (See this post for some funny variations on Nicholson’s most famous line from the film.)

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