Inspiring words

31 Famous Quotations You've Been Getting Wrong

By Nico Lang,
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Whether its a Facebook status or a bumper sticker, everyone loves a great quote. However, some of the most famous quotes in history, from Gandhi to Mark Twain, aren't what you think they are. Gandhi didn't tell you to "be the change" and Twain didn't only believe in "death and taxes." Sometimes quotes take on new lives after their authors' deaths, changing from the original phrasing. Or they find out they said something that they never said at all, which happened to George Carlin all the time.
Here are 31 of the most famous misquotes in history, from the slightly altered to the completely changed. In life, it turns out that there's no phrase so great that you can't totally butcher it.
1. "Great minds think alike."
This is actually a shortened version of a longer quote, of which there are two versions. For the full quote, you want to say, "Great minds think alike, small minds rarely differ" or "Great minds think alike, and fools seldom differ." Same idea, different phrasing.
2. "Be the change you wish to see in the world."
According to the New York Times, Gandhi himself never said this. The phrase itself is a simplified idea from his works that boils down his words to a nice bumper sticker. What he actually said was: "As a man changes his own nature, so does the attitude of the world change towards him. We need not wait to see what others do."
3. "Curiosity killed the cat."
The popular version is again abridged from a longer statement: "Curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back." The last half of the phrase drastically changes it – because the cats get to live now. So world, cat death = preventable. Just give them that b ball of yarn and they'll be just fine.
4. "Money is the root of all evil."
This quote comes from 6:10 of 1 Timothy and the full version is "The love of money is a root of all sorts of evil." It's a pretty close adaptation but adds a definitiveness that the original is lacking. The Bible suggests that money is a cause of evil – but hardly the only one. So the Kardashians can rest a little easier tonight.

5. "Rome wasn't built in a day."
This phrase was adapted into English in the 16th century from a medieval French proverb, and there are a number of different versions that are floating around. In addition to how we know it, there's another great version I like better: "Rome wasn't built in a day, but it burned in one."
6. "The only traditions of the Royal Navy are rum, sodomy and the lash."
This is another common misattribution. Although the quote has long been sourced as one of Winston Churchill's many famous phrases, it actually came from his assistant and private secretary, the quippy Sir Anthony Montague-Browne. However, never one to let wit go unrecognized, reports state that Churchill later claimed he would have liked to have actually said it.
7. "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it."
Voltaire was a brillian novelist and quote machine. If you've ever heard the phrase "the best of all possible worlds," you've heard it because Voltaire popularized the Leibniz adage in Candide, the philosopher's attempt to theorize evil away. However, Voltaire never said the above, his most famous quote. It was written by Evelyn Beatrice Hall a century later.
8. "The end justifies the means."
Although this concept is introduced in Nicolo Machiavelli's The Prince, the statement itself is never used. The adage itself dates back to Ovid's Heroides, which was composed in 10 BCE. Machiavelli himself said, "One must consider the final result;" however, the gist of that is markedly different and less declarative.
9. "The only two certainties in life are death and taxes."
Mark Twain said a lot of things during his lifetime, but this phrase was not one of them. The quote was misattributed to him, because it sounds like something he might say. However, versions of the quote were written both by Christopher Bullock and Edward Ward. In 1716, Bullock claimed, "Tis impossible to be sure of anything but Death and Taxes," and Ward agreed. He wrote in Dancing Devils (1724): ""Death and Taxes, they are certain."

10. "There's a sucker born every minute."
This phrase is commonly attributed to P.T. Barnum, as an indication of his cynicism about his own work, the way he was able to dupe people into paying for crap. But it was never said by Barnum. One of Barnum's competitors used it to describe the famous showman's exhibits, and it just kind of stuck.
11. "Power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely."
This is a slight misquotation from one of Lord John Dalberg-Acton's writings, a famous British historian from the 19th century. Lord Acton actually wrote: "Power tends to corrupt; absolute power corrupts absolutely." But his next sentence is the more important exclamation point on the idea: "Great men are always bad men." See? It's a lot more interesting that way.
12. "Well behaved women rarely make history."
It's a well-known fact these days that Marilyn Monroe wasn't as dumb as she came off – a much better actress than we give her credit for — and this quote is one of many used to indicate her bubbling-under-the-surface intelligence. However, it isn't hers to claim. It was actually a quote from Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, who teaches on Women's and American History at Harvard.
13. "No rest for the wicked."
This phrase is often used as a busy person excuse for staying up late, and it might be true, but the quote originated as a misquote from the Bible. Isaiah 15:21 reads: "There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked." The words "rest" and "peace" are related to each other, but the idea of sleep completely changes its meaning. It's about finding solace, not a nap.
14. "Blood is thicker than water."
This is one of many Bible verses that has been misadapted for common use, because the word "convenant" doesn't roll off the tongue in everyday use. However, the real version completely changes the meaning. The quote comes from: "The blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb." This actually means that blood shed in battle bonds soldiers more strongly than simple genetics. Although we commonly use it to suggest the strength of family ties, it doesn't refer to family at all.