Bartlett's Familiar Quotations

Bartlett's is still the best resource for researching quotations, better than anything I found on the net, including a site that was called Bartlett's. The print Bartlett's does an excellent job of cross-referencing, so when I wanted to track the original source of a quotation, only the print Bartlett's solved the problem. That's why I bought this copy for my local library. Computers haven't solved every research problem yet.

This is a fine book, loaded with familiar (and some unfamiliar) quotations. Many of them are ancient-demonstrating the wisdom of the past. [Note: all the quotes below are from Familiar Quotations, John Bartlett, Little, Brown & Co., Boston, 1968] Frequently, they reveal who said a familiar bit of wisdom: p. 86a: "Every man is like the company he is wont to keep." Euripides, Phoenix, fragment 809 or p. 91a: "Let each man exercise the art he knows. You cannot teach a crab to walk straight." Aristophanes, Peace, 421 B.C., l.1083 or p. 74b: "A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step." Lao Tzu, The Way of Lao Tzu, p. 64 Sometimes there are several saying much the same thing in different words: p. 125: "While we stop to think, we often miss our opportunity." Publilius Syrus, Maxim 185 vs. p. 125: "You should hammer your iron when it is glowing hot. (Publilius Syrus, Maxim 262; and p. 123: "Once a word has been allowed to escape, it cannot be recalled." Horace, xviii, 71 vs. p. 123: "It is as easy to recall a stone thrown violently from the hand as a word which has left your tongue." (Menander [343-292 B.C.], Fragment or. p. 123: "Thoughts unexpressed may sometimes fall back dead; but God himself can't kill them when they're said." Will Carlton, The First Settler's Story, 1895-1912, st. 21 and As geographers, Sosius, crowd into the edges of their maps parts of the world which they do not know about, adding notes in the margin to the effect that beyond this lies nothing but sandy deserts full of wild beasts, and unapproachable bogs. (Plutarch [46-120 A.D.], Lives, Aemilius Paulus, Section 5, quoted in Familiar Quotations by John Bartlett, Little, Brown & Co., Boston, 1968, p. 136a.) vs. "So geographers, in Afric maps With savage pictures fill their gaps, And o'er unhabitable downs Place elephants for want of towns." p. 136a: Jonathan Swift, On Poetry, A Rhapsody, 1733, Some are humorous as well as wise: p. 129: "I was shipwrecked before I got aboard." (Seneca, 8 B.C.-65 A.D., 87,1, Epistles and p. 126: "You cannot put the same shoe on every foot." Publilius Syrus, Maxim 596, first century B.C. and p. 125: "It is well to moor your bark with two anchors." Publilius Syrus, Maxim 119 Some are reminiscent of other famous sayings or quotes: p. 108: "Moderation in all things." Publius Terentius Afer, c.190-159 B.C., Andria [The Lady of Andros] l.61 reminds me of Aristotle's Golden Mean or the Tibetan Buddhist Middle Way etc. and p. 107: "Wise men profit more from fools than fools from wise men; for the wise men shun the mistakes of fools, but fools do not imitate the successes of the wise. (Marcus Porcius Cato, the Elder, 234-149 B.C., from Plutarch's Lives, Cato, Section 8 which is reminiscent of Oscar Wilde's statement. Some are quite practical: p. 127: "Everything is worth what its purchaser will pay for it" Publilius Syrus, 1st century BC, Maxim 847 and p. 123: "He who has begun has half done. Dare to be wise; begin

I always wondered how speakers knew all those quotations. Now I know. They check "Barltett's Quotations."This book consists of an extensive collection of thousands of familiar quotations from hundreds of sources spanning the history of the world. Biblical books, literary works, historical figures, authors, politicians, religious figures and even the anonymous all contribute to this vast collection.The collection is assembled by source, listed, more or less, chronologically. The book contains two indices. In the front, the reader finds the Index by Authors. After the quotations, we find a general index of topics. For each listing in the general index, we find the lead word as a heading with the citation for each lead word with the words which follow it in the quotation.I have found this book to be a valuable resource on many occasions. Just reading through it educates the reader to the source of many sayings with which we are familiar. When I have been searching my brain for the particular phrase, I have often found it in "Bartlett's". When looking for a witty phrase with which to liven a speech, "Bartlett's" often comes in handy.I strongly recommend this book to anyone who needs a source for quotations for speeches, writings, or just to satisfy your own curiosity.

I'm a politician and frequently prepare speeches and articles that are meant to persuade or provide appropriate commentary. Bartlett's is indespensible if your style accomodates the quoting of others. For those moments when I must mark events (Memorial Day) or meet an expectation of seriousness I find Bartlett's to be an excellent source for just the right phrase.This is a massive reference book, which is good in and of itself. Where Bartlett's really shines is in it's organization. Quotes in the body are arranged chronologically and by author. The index is superb, with quotes locatable by subject and author. For most topics, the writer will be confronted with multiple quotes from which to choose which best illustrates the heft and value of this tome.My only criticism, which has been noted by other commentators, is that this latest edition does seem to be moderately invaded by political correctness. For example, the quotes selected to characterize Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher almost seem to be designed to belittle their historic contributions and commentary -- while much more historic and significant utterances are ignored (missing for example are "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall," or any of Reagan's wonderful D-Day commemmoration speech). I personnally find this annoying because my need for quotes does run to the political. One also gets the sneaky suspicion that some of the newer entries were inserted for reasons other than the significance or value of the quote.That said however, the book is an excellent resource. It is rich, covering almost any topic you may want to highlight and reaches back to beyond biblical times for quotable utterances. A must for any reference library.

This is a 'thinking man's' book, it is very well laid out, includes many (sometimes very obscure) quotations, is extremely well on sources (something that is so blatantly absent from many dictionairies of quotations), and includes a large amount of cross-references (although you can find a lot more yourself by careful browsing). If you buy only one book of quotations, this should be your choice. A good second is Oxford's, but Bartlett has got the best index of any reference work ever (it is more than 700 pages itself!) The preface of the book contains a sour message on the state of illiteracy in the USA, it is best left alone, but the rest of the book cannot be recommended enough. In sum, this is the best reference book of quotations available.