“The difference between treason and patriotism is only a matter of dates.”

— Alexandre Dumas , book The Count of Monte Cristo

Source: The Count of Monte Cristo

Last update June 3, 2021. History

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Alexandre Dumas 123

French writer and dramatist, father of the homonym writer a… 1802–1870

Sydney J. Harris (1917–1986) American journalist

"Purely Personal Prejudices" http://books.google.com/books?id=DLcEAQAAIAAJ&q=%22The+difference+between+patriotism+and+nationalism++is+that+the+patriot+is+proud+of+his+country+for+what+it+does+and+the+nationalist+is+proud+of+his+country+no+matter+what+it+does+the+first+attitude+creates+a+feeling+of+responsibility+but+the+second+a+feeling+of+blind+arrogance+that+leads+to+war%22&pg=PA228#v=onepage
Strictly Personal (1953)

“Let's face it: a date is a job-interview, that lasts all night. The only difference between a date and a job interview is: not many job-interviews is there a chance you'll end up naked at the end of it.”

Jerry Seinfeld (1954) American comedian and actor

I'm Telling You for the Last Time (1998)
Context: What is a date, really, but a job interview that lasts all night? The only difference is there aren't many job interviews where there's a chance you'll end up naked at the end of it. "Well, Bill, the boss thinks you're the right man for the job; why don't you strip down and meet some of the people you'll be working with?"

“the difference between a rebel and a patriot depends upon who is in power at the moment.”

Sidney Sheldon book The Sands of Time

Source: The Sands of Time

“Optimists and pessimists differ only on the date of the end of the world.”

Stanisław Jerzy Lec book Unkempt Thoughts

p, 125
Unkempt Thoughts (1957)

“A demon, if you prefer the term; although to be honest, the difference between god and a demon is really only a matter of perspective.”

Joanne Harris book The Gospel of Loki

Source: The Gospel of Loki

“The highest treason in the USA is to say Americans are not loved, no matter where they are, no matter what they are doing there.”

Kurt Vonnegut book A Man Without a Country

A Man Without a Country (2005)

“The difference between a good golf shot and a bad one is the same difference between a beautiful and a plain woman — a matter of millimetres.”

Ian Fleming book Goldfinger

Source: Goldfinger (1959), Ch. 8 : All To Play For

“The difference between the almost right word and the right word is really a large matter—'tis the difference between the lightning-bug and the lightning.”

Mark Twain (1835–1910) American author and humorist

Letter to George Bainton, 15 October 1888, solicited for and printed in George Bainton, The Art of Authorship: Literary Reminiscences, Methods of Work, and Advice to Young Beginners (1890), pp. 87–88 http://books.google.com/books?id=XjBjzRN71_IC&pg=PA87.
Twain repeated the lightning bug/lightning comparison in several contexts, and credited Josh Billings for the idea:
Josh Billings defined the difference between humor and wit as that between the lightning bug and the lightning.
Speech at the 145th annual dinner of St. Andrew's Society, New York, 30 November 1901, Mark Twain Speaking (1976), ed. Paul Fatout, p. 424
Billings' original wording was characteristically affected:
Don't mistake vivacity for wit, thare iz about az mutch difference az thare iz between lightning and a lightning bug.
Josh Billings' Old Farmer's Allminax, "January 1871" http://books.google.com/books?id=sUI1AAAAMAAJ&pg=PT30. Also in Everybody's Friend, or; Josh Billing's Encyclopedia and Proverbial Philosophy of Wit and Humor (1874), p. 304 http://books.google.com/books?id=7rA8AAAAYAAJ&pg=PA304
Source: The Wit and Wisdom of Mark Twain

“…shall we say that the difference between a vegetarian and a cannibal is just a matter of taste?”

Leszek Kolakowski (1927–2009) Philosopher, historian of ideas

"The Idolatry of Politics", New Republic, 1986-June-16, page 31.

“It is interesting but it was tragic. If you receive a military order you must obey. That is where the big difference between a military and a political order comes in. One can sabotage a political order but to disobey a military command is treason.”

Paul Ludwig Ewald von Kleist (1881–1954) German general during World War II

To Leon Goldensohn (25 June 1946). Quoted in "The Nuremberg Interviews", Leon Goldensohn, Robert Gellatel (2004).

“The difference between treason and patriotism is only a matter of dates.”

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