Gunnison news-champion., 1922-11-24
CREDIT TO WHOM?
Memory Test Concerning Popular
Quotation.
Whe VIII Come Forward With Prses
a. to Authorship Of Words
Aseribed 70 Many7

Who said: There, but for the grace
Of God. go L . s- Having asked
practically every one We know and
also some We did not know We have
discovered ourselves 10 be as wise as
when We started
Eminent theologians. quite naturally
II seemed TO u. should have been
the authorities from whose oecislcn
there could De no appeal on this qnes-
tIon- Several Of them, questioned.
knew. but had for the momeut forgot
ten They were 10 let Us know, says
Hartford C0urani writer. We have not
heard from them. Others. not having
forgotten, told Us. II ". had stopped
with one all might have been well. but
seeking corroboraiiye testimony -
fellow worker having put the matter
on a sporting basis rs IL were. by bet
ting 81 that John Buny an said I've
vent further and asked several Of the
eminent ciersymen Those who told u
had - many favor!tes that We were
more bewlldered and amazed than
when We began John Milton, John
Bunyan, Aohn Wesley. Sir Isaac New
ton. Francis Bacon. Samuel johnson,
DR. John Donne. Bishop Hail. Dean
Swlft-we could not believe that
Dean Swift Would have said that
Isaac Watts aud Bishop Berkeley,
those are some that We recall.
Eminent literary men. appealed to.
were equally certain they knew and
did not In all cases disguise an amused
contempt that we should ask a ques-
ton when the answer Was Of nature
that should spring spontaneously TO
the lips Of the educated. but their
choices were as varied as those Of
their eminent brothers In another field
OF endeavor. About the only addenda
to the lists given by the clerzymen
that We recall were Alexander Pope,
Ben JOnson-we know he did not say
ir-wiiiam Pitt, Earl OF Chatham.
sydney Smith and Thomas attempts;
but they, when pressed. produced no
documentary evidence.
A pebble cast into the Pacific at Cal
ifornia will start In motion a wave
that finally breaks upon the distant
Asian shore. we have heard-we do
do we believe lt-and In a somewhat
similar fashion our query began to in
volye others. A young woman hearing
Of the quest kindly called up to In
form us that Francis Bacon had said
II. We asked her how she knew. She
had attended lecture shortly before
and the lecturer had. quoted the
nd IN h.. kVh IN
once remarked that God Almighty
planted the first garden. Somewhat
to her surprise we asked II she could
possibly get In touch with the lecturer
and ascertain where the quotation
with its credit might be found. The
lecturer. It later developed. was GER
tain of~the fact, but could produce no
authority for 1t. That started the
young woman on search among all
the books of quotations that were ever
written and are still extant In Hart.
ford.
One person insisted somewhat heat
edly and with no reservations that MIL
ton said Ii. Perhaps he did. but aside
from discovering that the blind poet
once remarked that
For contempia ton he and vaior formed
For softness she and sweet attractive
grace.
and also
Grace was in all her steps. Heaven N
not to mention
And grace that won who say to wish her
stay.
we were unable to find that he was
ever guilty OF the bombastic and CON.
ceited remark under discussion.
And so 1t went. and SO II goes. Per-
haps some day we will know. but we
have nearly given up hope.