“PATRON, n. One who countenances, supports or protects. Commonly a wretch who supports with insolence, and is repaid in flattery.”
A Dictionary of the English Language (1755)
Help us to complete the source, original and additional information
Samuel Johnson362
English writer 1709–1784Related quotes
“Prejudice, n. A vagrant opinion without visible means of support.”
Ambrose Bierce book The Devil's Dictionary
The Devil's Dictionary (1911)
George W. Bush (1946) 43rd President of the United States
2000s, 2006, State of the Union (January 2006)
“An atheist is a man who has no invisible means of support.”
Fulton J. Sheen (1895–1979) Catholic bishop and television presenter
Though Sheen is quoted as saying this in Look magazine (14 December 1955) the earliest located declaration of this witticism was by John Buchan, 1st Baron Tweedsmuir on 21 February 1936: "I have heard an atheist defined as a man who had no invisible means of support."
Misattributed
Herbert Spencer (1820–1903) English philosopher, biologist, sociologist, and prominent classical liberal political theorist
The Development Hypothesis (1852)
Context: Those who cavalierly reject the Theory of Evolution, as not adequately supported by facts, seem quite to forget that their own theory is supported by no facts at all. Like the majority of men who are born to a given belief, they demand the most rigorous proof of any adverse belief, but assume that their own needs none.
Bonar Law (1858–1923) Former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
Speech in the Albert Hall (26 January, 1912).
Warren Farrell (1943) author, spokesperson, expert witness, political candidate
Source: Why Men Are the Way They Are (1988), p. 154.