famous quote syntactically mangled, nobody notices

[Garson O'Toole]

The elaborated version in which Lee pronounces the quotation to
Longstreet was being propagated by 1907. I will search a bit more for
an earlier instance and then post when I can.

Clarification: I am searching for these instances of the quotation and
sharing them to help others. I do not know enough currently to take a
stance on historical reality of the quotation. I defer to JL's
knowledgeable judgment.

Garson

On Sat, Jun 30, 2012 at 4:52 PM, Jonathan Lighter
<wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com> wrote:
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM>
> Subject:      Re: famous quote syntactically mangled, nobody notices
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Yes. I've actually *read* _Surry of Eagle's Nest_ (well, much of it), and
> the footnote is undoubtedly a guarantee of the sentiment's authenticity.
>
> It would be pedantically satisfying, however, to know just how Cooke
> learned of it.
>
> It is now frequenly said that he made the remark to Gen. James
> B. Longstreet, but JBL seems not to be mentioned in connection with the
> remark till 1931 (GB). Furthermore, Cooke asserts that Lee "murmured" the
> words to no one in particular.
>
> My thoroughly gratuitous SWAG is that Cooke heard the anecdote from one of
> Lee's other officers, or conceivably was told by Lee himself that
> he'd thought something like that.  What better way to immortalize the idea
> than to make it pithy and claim it had actually been "murmured"?  That
> would be much simpler and more inspiring than to write, "I was later told
> that General Lee had offered his opinion that...," or "General Lee later
> told me that he'd been thinking that...."
>
> JL
> On Sat, Jun 30, 2012 at 3:52 PM, Garson O'Toole
> <adsgarsonotoole at gmail.com>wrote:
>
>> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
>> -----------------------
>> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>> Poster:       Garson O'Toole <adsgarsonotoole at GMAIL.COM>
>> Subject:      Re: famous quote syntactically mangled, nobody notices
>>
>> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>> Jonathan Lighter wrote:
>> >
>> > Cooke was himself the "early biographer" (1871) referred to.  _Surry_ is
>> > fiction.
>> >
>> > Cooke, a successful novelist, was an officer on Jeb Stuart's staff. I
>> > haven't found any information as to Cooke's whereabouts at the battle of
>> > Fredericksburg. I suspect that he heard the comment at second hand
>> > and tweaked it into memorable form.
>> >
>> > Only to be untweaked by the Internet.
>>
>> Thanks for your response, JL. Yes, both YBQ and QV list the 1871
>> biography by John Esten Cooke. Below is a link to the biography. The
>> 1866 and 1871 versions of the saying are slightly different. The word
>> "would" in 1866 is replaced by "should" in 1871. The asterisk note may
>> have indicated that Cooke was asserting the quote was genuine in the
>> 1866 work. There is another early cite given below from Cooke.
>>
>> Cite: 1871, A Life of Gen. Robert E. Lee by John Esten Cooke
>>
>>
>> http://books.google.com/books?id=cTEOAAAAIAAJ&q=%22so+terrible%22#v=snippet&
>>
>> [Begin excerpt]
>> They had returned as rapidly as they had charged, pursued by shot and
>> shell, and General Lee, witnessing the spectacle from his hill,
>> murmured, in his grave and measured voice: "It is well this is so
>> terrible! we should grow too fond of it!"
>> [End excerpt]
>>
>> John Esten Cooke also included a version of the quote in an 1870 book.
>>
>> Cite: 1870, Hammer and Rapier by John Esten Cooke
>>
>>
>> http://books.google.com/books?id=1zYrAAAAYAAJ&q=%22so+terrible%22#v=snippet&
>>
>> [Begin excerpt]
>> As Gen. Meade's lines were now seen flying, pursued by Jackson's men,
>> Lee gazed at them in silence; then, in that deep voice, which never
>> lost its grave and measured accent, he murmured:
>> "It is well this is so terrible; we would grow too fond of it!"
>> [End excerpt]
>>
>> 1866: It is well this is so terrible-we would grow too fond of it!
>> 1870: It is well this is so terrible; we would grow too fond of it!
>> 1871: It is well this is so terrible! we should grow too fond of it!
>>
>> Please check for typos and OCR errors before using any of this
>> information. Thanks,
>> Garson
>>
>> ------------------------------------------------------------
>> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>>
>
>
>
> --
> "If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org