Quoting Quotes

***not actually said by Galileo***

Why are so many quotes incorrectly ascribed to famous people? Shakespeare has it the worst - you can read an ebook detailing the things Shakespeare did not say. One of the most popular pins on Pinterest right now is this gem: "When I saw you I fell in love, and you smiled because you knew." It doesn't sound remotely like Shakespeare - it's much too personal, modern, and unstructured. But convince enough people that the Bard said it, and we'll be seeing it on tattoos and wedding invitations for the next ten years.

There is something satisfying about a just-right quote, and believing it came from someone famous, brilliant, witty, or interesting makes it even better. Free speech debates often include this statement attributed to French philosopher Voltaire: "I may disagree with what you say, but I'll defend to the death your right to say it." He didn't say it, but it accurately sums up his attitude toward free speech. And since he was a provocative, anti-religious libertine, his quote lends a little cachet to the one who repeats it.

Mark Twain is misquoted all the time. He never said that the coldest winter he ever spent was a summer in San Francisco, but just try to visit the Bay Area without having someone quote that back to you.

A Pinterest user started a board ascribing quotes from Adolph Hitler to Taylor Swift. Now you can take a quiz: Who Said It, Hitler or Taylor Swift?

"Oh, what a tangled web we weave/When first we practice to deceive" has two common misattributions. I've heard people say it is from the Bible, which seems implausible when you remember that the Bible doesn't rhyme, nor is it written in iambic tetrameter. Guessing Shakespeare is more respectable, but he wrote in iambic pentameter in verse. It was Sir Walter Scott who wrote those lines.

What famous quotes do you know to be attributed incorrectly? If you don't know for sure, look online for examples. Maybe you've always wondered if Edmund Burke actually said, "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing." Often, the meaning behind the quote is associated with the famous person; someone else just put it more succinctly. When you find some incorrect quotes, think about why that quote was associated with that person and why we should know it wasn't.  Just be careful as you search; as I saw on Facebook a few years ago,