
“He has singed the beard of the king of Spain.”
The Dutch Picture, reported in Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. (1919).
G 4
Variant translations:
It is almost impossible to carry the torch of wisdom through a crowd without singeing someone's beard.
It is virtually impossible to carry the torch of truth through a crowd, without singeing someone's beard
Aphorisms (1765-1799), Notebook G (1779-1783)
“He has singed the beard of the king of Spain.”
The Dutch Picture, reported in Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. (1919).
“How terribly hard and almost impossible it is to tell the truth.”
Entry (1954)
Eric Hoffer and the Art of the Notebook (2005)
Context: How terribly hard and almost impossible it is to tell the truth. More than anything else, the artist in us prevents us from telling aught as it really happened. We deal with the truth as the cook deals with meat and vegetables.
Van Gogh, the Man Suicided by Society (1947)
“Truth like a torch, the more 'tis shook, it shines.”
Discussions on Philosophy, Title Page, reported in Hoyt's New Cyclopedia Of Practical Quotations (1922), p. 818-22.
No way, 'cause it'll go straight through that as well. They'll be dead, in other words.
Quoted in * 2002-09-23
The Left and 9/11
Adam
Shatz
The Nation
http://www.thenation.com/docprint.mhtml?i=20020923&s=shatz
2000s, 2002
Source: 1980s, The Ecstasy of Communication (1987), p. 73
Bewilderness: New York (audio CD, 2002)