Editors of Famous Quotation Book Struggle to Keep Up

Editors of Famous Quotation¹ Book Struggle to Keep Up

A book called Bartlett's Familiar Quotations² has been published in the United States since the 1850s. A quotation is something that has been said or written that people like to repeat.

It started with John Bartlett, the owner of a bookstore near Boston, Massachusetts. He selected words, or quotations, from famous people, including Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Paine and John Keats for the book.

Geoffrey O'Brien is the current editor of the 170-year-old book. He said it is hard to keep up with so many quotations because of "the speed of events" in modern times. "No matter when we went to press, we would be cutting off in the middle of the story," he said.

The 19th edition of Bartlett's just came out. It is the first publication since 2012 and the second under O'Brien. "With the Internet and cable news, you have the constant manufacturing of statements of one kind or another," O'Brien said. So, he tried to choose quotations that have staying power beyond current news events.

The book's editors have paid attention to people like writer Ta-Nehisi Coates, the late Supreme³ Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Tesla founder⁴ Elon Musk⁵ and President Joe Biden.

But of all the quotations, or quotes, over the last 10 years, O'Brien said the words of former President Donald Trump⁶ presented both a clear choice and a problem.

Trump said a lot of things. He said them at all hours of the day. And his news-making quotes came from everywhere, from radio and television programs to Twitter. O'Brien said he tried to look for words that were important or memorable⁷. "It's guesswork at best since nobody knows how anything is going to turn out," he said.

One of the Trump quotes came from a speech in Nevada where he said, "I love the poorly educated!" During a debate with Hillary Clinton, he said "Such a nasty woman." And there were even some bad words from his talk with then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions that were included in an investigation⁸ report by Robert Mueller.

O'Brien said Bartlett's has "evolved over time."

In the early days, the book was mostly made up of quotations from white men. But recently, the book includes words from the singer Beyoncé and the track and field athlete Usain Bolt. It even has thoughts from other languages such as Russian and Navajo, a Native American language. The Russian quote is: "Live with wolves, howl like a wolf." The Navajo part is about hunting: "Blessed am I, in the luck of the chase."

With so many new quotes, some older ones had to be removed. O'Brien said he was sad to drop comments by John Dryden, one of his favorite poets.

O'Brien also needs to keep the book to about 1,400 pages. So, once very well-known American comedians¹⁰ like Bob Hope and Johnny Carson are not in the latest book. Also gone are quotes from former U.S. Vice¹¹ President Dan Quayle and actor Sally Field.

Singer Dolly Parton is included for the first time. Her comment about her appearance: "it takes a lot of money to look this cheap" is in the book but words from the famous song Jolene are not.

O'Brien said the goal of the book is to be "representative" but not like an encyclopedia¹². Not everyone can get in. He said he was sad to not be able to include a comment from U.S. civil rights activist¹³ and politician John Lewis, who died in 2020.

Words in This Story

familiar –adj. frequently seen or heard

editor –n. a person whose job is to edit something

guesswork –n. the act of finding an answer by guessing

nasty –adj. very unpleasant

evolve –v. to change or develop slowly

howl –v. to make a long loud sound

comedian⁹ –n. a person who performs in front of audiences to make people laugh

cheap –adj. something that is not costly

1 quotation   

n.引文，引语，语录；报价，牌价，行情

参考例句：

• He finished his speech with a quotation from Shakespeare.他讲话结束时引用了莎士比亚的语录。
• The quotation is omitted here.此处引文从略。

2 quotations   

n.引用( quotation的名词复数 )；[商业]行情（报告）；（货物或股票的）市价；时价

参考例句：

• The insurance company requires three quotations for repairs to the car. 保险公司要修理这辆汽车的三家修理厂的报价单。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• These quotations cannot readily be traced to their sources. 这些引语很难查出出自何处。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

3 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

4 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

5 musk   

n.麝香, 能发出麝香的各种各样的植物，香猫

参考例句：

• Musk is used for perfume and stimulant.麝香可以用作香料和兴奋剂。
• She scented her clothes with musk.她用麝香使衣服充满了香味。

6 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

7 memorable   

adj.值得回忆的，难忘的，特别的，显著的

参考例句：

• This was indeed the most memorable day of my life.这的确是我一生中最值得怀念的日子。
• The veteran soldier has fought many memorable battles.这个老兵参加过许多难忘的战斗。

8 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

9 comedian   

n.喜剧演员；滑稽演员

参考例句：

• The comedian tickled the crowd with his jokes.喜剧演员的笑话把人们逗乐了。
• The comedian enjoyed great popularity during the 30's.那位喜剧演员在三十年代非常走红。

10 comedians   

n.喜剧演员，丑角( comedian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The voice was rich, lordly, Harvardish, like all the boring radio comedians'imitations. 声音浑厚、威严，俨然是哈佛出身的气派，就跟无线电里所有的滑稽演员叫人已经听腻的模仿完全一样。 来自辞典例句
• He distracted them by joking and imitating movie and radio comedians. 他用开玩笑的方法或者模仿电影及广播中的滑稽演员来对付他们。 来自辞典例句

11 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

12 encyclopedia   

n.百科全书

参考例句：

• The encyclopedia fell to the floor with a thud.那本百科全书砰的一声掉到地上。
• Geoff is a walking encyclopedia.He knows about everything.杰夫是个活百科全书，他什么都懂。

13 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。