Comments on: Glenn Beck’s back (and still misquoting George Washington)

By: Read Chesterton in New Improved Jersey

Read Chesterton in New Improved Jersey — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 14:26:48 +0000

By: barrypopik

barrypopik — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 06:04:04 +0000

BUDDY, YOU’RE DOING IT WRONG.
What am I doing wrong? Glenn Beck is doing it wrong. I wrote to him, he didn’t respond, and he’s still getting it wrong. I like Glenn Beck, but there’s no excuse for this.

IF HE EVER DID SAY IT, I GUESS IT IS PROBABLY HERE.
George Washington’s papers have been digitized (by the University of Virginia), as have many of the papers of our founding fathers. No one can find this quote!

CAN YOU RECOMMEND A BOOK?
Try Fred Shapiro’s YALE BOOK OF QUOTATIONS and Ralph Keyes’ THE QUOTE VERIFIER, two scholarly books with my name in it. Wikiquote is fine, but often gets things wrong (as with all of Wikipedia). Quote Land (quoteland.com) is a nice website. Very often we credit phrases to famous people, but similar phrases with slightly different wording date much earlier. I try to show the history of a phrase (“marketplace of idea” or “battlefield of idea” or “war of ideas”) using a;; important historical variations. Very few books and websites do all that.

By: barrypopik

barrypopik — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 05:53:20 +0000

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,574265,00.html
When Is an Extremist Not an Extremist?
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
(…)
When did words and ideas replace fists and bullets as tools of violence? Read a little George Washington, it’s called the battlefield of ideas: If you don’t fight it there, it will be fought with guns. Don’t you see what they are creating? They are leading us to a cemetery. Society cannot survive like this.

>>Buddy, you’re doing it wrong.<>If he ever did say it, I guess it is probably here:<>Do you know if there are any books that provide a similar background for words or phrases that have played a historically significant role in American history? The link to your website took me to a page requesting a username and password<<
Sorry. That might have been an old link. Try Fred Shapiro’s YALE BOOK OF QUOTATIONS and Ralph Keyes’ THE QUOTE VERIFIER. Wikiquote is very interesting , but not always accurate.Try also the Quote Land website (quoteland.com). I try to tell a larger story than any of these books or websites. For example, people just look for “battlefield of ideas” without at all considering “marketplace of ideas.” You vary the words slightly and you often find earlier citations.

By: FortitudineVincimus

FortitudineVincimus — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 05:22:50 +0000

Barry, I enjoyed the excerpt on the “marketplace of ideas”. Do you know if there are any books that provide a similar background for words or phrases that have played a historically significant role in American history? The link to your website took me to a page requesting a username and password.

By: mschmitt

mschmitt — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 03:36:49 +0000

… but what the heck (it’s interesting anyway). If he ever did say it, I guess it is probably here:

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/7947187

By: Socrates

Socrates — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 03:18:46 +0000

Buddy, you’re doing it wrong.