{"id":41516,"date":"2014-03-25T09:02:57","date_gmt":"2014-03-25T15:02:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2014\/03\/25\/on-quotations-accuracy-and-edmund-burke.html"},"modified":"2014-03-25T13:15:41","modified_gmt":"2014-03-25T19:15:41","slug":"on-quotations-accuracy-and-edmund-burke","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2014\/03\/25\/on-quotations-accuracy-and-edmund-burke.html","title":{"rendered":"On quotations, accuracy, and Edmund Burke"},"content":{"rendered":"
Burke only because he (and misquotations of him) are the target of this particular inquiry.<\/p>\n

The underlying essays (http:\/\/tartarus.org\/martin\/essays\/burkequote.html<\/a> and\u00a0http:\/\/tartarus.org\/martin\/essays\/burkequote2.html<\/a>) are good ones. \u00a0As someone who loves both history and quotations, I certainly share with the frustration of Mr Porter about how many quotations are quoted without source.<\/p>\n

In the case of the Burke quote, I'm pleased to note that in my WIST quotation database (http:\/\/wist.info\/burke-edmund\/819\/<\/a>) I properly note that this is an unverified quotation; in fact I do so in the context of that quote that may (or may not) be the inspiration for it.<\/p>\n

It's for just this reason that I spend an inordinate amount of time trying to find the source (online) for anything I put into \u00a0WIST — either a link to the actual source text (unless it's widely known) or, at a minimum, a citation of the source. \u00a0If I can't source it, I note it as "(Attributed)" as a warning sign. I also use "(Unverified)" in some cases where there has been some effort to track it down by experts. Where it's been definitively debunked (as best as such can be), it's "(Spurious)"<\/p>\n

When I do look up and find a quotation in the source material I often provide a longer context (multiple sentences) for quotations — and, yes, the meaning is often subtly shaded (if not outright changed) by that context. At a minimum it frequently adds depth of meaning to what was said (if not an additional quotation or two).<\/p>\n

Porter suggests some principles for users of quotations which are a good idea, in general, but probably more as ideals that one best simply realize where one's falling short:<\/p>\n

Principle 1 (for readers)<\/b>
Whenever you see a quotation given with an author but no source assume that it is probably bogus.<\/b><\/p>\n

You certainly shouldn't assume it's authentic, or accurately quoted. That even applies on building inscriptions. Treat it as a jumping-off point to learn more, or simply as a cautionary note.<\/p>\n

Unless it's a quote that's been distributed as an Internet graphic. In which case you should believe it implicitly, because It's a Pretty Picture on the Internet!<\/i><\/p>\n

Principle 2 (for readers)<\/b>
Whenever you see a quotation given with a full source assume that it is probably being misused, unless you find good evidence that the quoter has read it in the source.<\/b><\/p>\n

As with the previous principle, I'd rather phrase this as a cautionary warning: don't assume that, even with a citation, that the original author meant the same thing in context.<\/p>\n

That said, sometimes inspirational words are of value, even out of context. \u00a0They just shouldn't be assume to reflect the actual sentiments of the original author.<\/p>\n

Principle 3 (for quoters)<\/b>
Whenever you make a quotation, give the exact source.<\/b><\/p>\n

Fair enough. I do my best. Sometimes it's not a completely appropriate forum to provide a full footnote (and, honestly, if I can get something down to a chapter number, I don't mind omitting the page number from the book).\u00a0<\/p>\n

Principle 4 (for quoters)<\/b>
Only quote from works that you have read.<\/b><\/p>\n

This one I have to disagree with. It's certainly a good idea to quote from material you're familiar with, but hardly practical.<\/p>\n

I might throw in a principle myself here: when we're talking about quoting the Bible, most of the above principles apply in spades.<\/p>\n

I try to regard quotation collection (and use) as something of an academic pursuit, even as a hobby. \u00a0There's both the truths (or interest) of the words themselves, but also of the framework they fall into (the people who said them, the era, the source material). Taking shortcuts in the latter tends to reduce the former to Hallmark greeting card babble. In which case, why bother?<\/p>\n

Reshared post from +George Wiman<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

A history teacher schooled on quote accuracy, lives to write about it:\u00a0\ufeff<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\n \n <\/div>\n

Smoking out the bogus: Martin Porter’s “Four Principles of a Quotation”<\/a>
\n Commenter SBH put me on to this interesting set of principles from a mathematician, on bogus quotes, and how to determine that they are bogus, and most important, how to avoid creating a bogus quot…\n <\/p>\n

View this post on Google+<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Burke only because he (and misquotations of him) are the target of this particular inquiry. The underlying essays (http:\/\/tartarus.org\/martin\/essays\/burkequote.html and\u00a0http:\/\/tartarus.org\/martin\/essays\/burkequote2.html) are good ones. \u00a0As someone who loves both history and quotations, I certainly share with the frustration of Mr Porter about how many quotations are quoted without source. In the case of the Burke quote, … Continue reading “On quotations, accuracy, and Edmund Burke”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[106,33],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-41516","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-plusposts","category-wist"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":137150,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2018\/09\/12\/six-famous-they-didnt-actually-say-that-quotations.html","url_meta":{"origin":41516,"position":0},"title":"Six famous they-didn’t-actually-say-that quotations","author":"***Dave","date":"Wed 12-Sep-18 12:47pm","format":false,"excerpt":"You have probably heard \/ seen all of these quotations, and may have even reforwarded them on to friends and family. If you do so in the future, please attribute them correctly. 6 Famous Quotes You See On Facebook (That Are Crazy Fake) Most of these people would never said\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "~PlusPosts"","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/jefferson.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":136610,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2018\/05\/27\/inspirational-but-imaginary.html","url_meta":{"origin":41516,"position":1},"title":"Inspirational, but Imaginary","author":"***Dave","date":"Sun 27-May-18 11:59pm","format":false,"excerpt":"This is the cover page of the program for +James Hill's graduation.\u00a0As a quotations wonk, my brain klaxons started whooping as soon as I sat down and saw (a) a quote attributed to Albert Einstein that (b) really didn't sound like Einstein. 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It's always nice (and\/or frightening) to see one's compulsive activities reach some new plateau of over-achievement. #ddtb Embedded Link ~~Admin - 10,000 quotations, huzzah! | WIST Quotations Sometime over\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "~PlusPosts"","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":129922,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2016\/02\/29\/one-of-my-favorite-quotations.html","url_meta":{"origin":41516,"position":3},"title":"One of my favorite quotations","author":"***Dave","date":"Mon 29-Feb-16 9:53am","format":false,"excerpt":"When I tell people I collect quotation, the immediate question is, \"What's your favorite?\" And I always stand there and stammer and drool a bit while my mind tries to sift through the thousand I've curated.I need to keep this one in my back pocket, since it really is (a)\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "~PlusPosts"","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":37947,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2013\/06\/30\/quotations-blogs-updates.html","url_meta":{"origin":41516,"position":4},"title":"Quotations! 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