Quote: Not to be a republican at twenty is proof of want of heart (Evidence in 1875)

[ADSGarson O'Toole]

Dennis Lien at Minnesota kindly examined the 1936 and 1924 editions of
"Benham's Book of Quotations". The quote is apparently not in the 1924
edition. However, it is present in the 1936 edition.

This seems to be the earliest evidence linking the quotation to
François Guizot and a variant to Georges Clemenceau. A separate
message was sent to the ADS list with a citation in 1875 linking a
version of the quote to Burke.

Book: Benham's Book of Quotations Proverbs and Household Words
Author: Sir Gurney Benham
Edition: Completely Revised and Enlarged Edition
Year: 1936
Quote Page: 751a
Column: 1
Publisher: Ward, Lock & Co., London

[Begin excerpt]
N'être pas republicain à vingt ans est preuve
d'un manque de coeur; l'être après trente ans
est preuve d'un manque de tête.—Not to be
a republican at twenty is proof of want of
heart; to be one at thirty is proof of want of
head.

F. Guizot (1787-1874). (French statesman
under Louis Philippe.) M. Clemenceau
adapted this saying, substituting "social-
iste" for "republicain."
[End excerpt]

Special note: The 1936 edition does not have the year directly listed
in its text. The preface states: "The present edition is the first
complete revision since 1924." The number of pages matches
bibliographic data for the 1936 edition. The 1948 edition was released
by a different publisher.

Garson

On Thu, Jul 18, 2013 at 5:01 PM, ADSGarson O'Toole
<adsgarsonotoole at gmail.com> wrote:
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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       ADSGarson O'Toole <adsgarsonotoole at GMAIL.COM>
> Subject:      Re: Quote: Not to be a republican at twenty is proof of want of
>               heart (Evidence in 1875)
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Thanks for your response Victor. There are many thematically related
> expressions, and YBQ has cites for variants connected to John Adams,
> François Guizot, George Bernard Shaw, and Georges Clemenceau as noted
> in my original post.
>
> Thanks for sharing additional claims connected to Winston Churchill,
> Aristide Briand, Benjamin Disraeli, Will Durant, Robert Frost. You are
> right that I have seen most of these claims but not all.
>
> It is a large complex topic and several attributions have very weak
> support. The earliest solid cite I know of is in 1799. YBQ has this:
>
> [Begin excerpt]
> John Adams
> U.S. president, 1735–1826
>
> A boy of fifteen who is not a democrat is good for nothing, and he is
> no better who is a democrat at twenty.
> Quoted in Thomas Jefferson, Journal, Jan. 1799
> [End excerpt]
>
> My previous post contained a citation in 1875 that attributed an
> instance to "Burke". Are there any other cites before 1875?
> Garson
>
> On Thu, Jul 18, 2013 at 3:41 PM, victor steinbok <aardvark66 at gmail.com> wrote:
>> ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
>> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>> Poster:       victor steinbok <aardvark66 at GMAIL.COM>
>> Subject:      Re: Quote: Not to be a republican at twenty is proof of want of
>>               heart (Evidence in 1875)
>> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>> OK, last bit. Here's some info posted on "Quotations Page" forum in
>> 2007 (surely GOT already has this, but not posting it because it's
>> only partially referenced):
>>
>> http://tinyurl.com/motoowl
>>
>> The phrase originated with Francois Guisot (1787-1874): "Not to be a
>> republican at twenty is proof of want of heart; to be one at thirty is
>> proof of want of head." It was revived by French Premier Georges
>> Clemenceau (1841-1929): "Not to be a socialist at twenty is proof of
>> want of heart; to be one at thirty is proof of want of head."
>> Clemenceau supposedly said his version when he learned his son had
>> just joined the Communist party: My son is twenty-two years old. If he
>> had not become a Communist at twenty-two, I would have disowned him.
>> If he is still a Communist at thirty, I will do it then.
>>
>> Variations of the saying have occuured throughout history:
>>
>> Aristide Briand (1862-1932): The man who is not a Socialist at twenty
>> has no heart. If he is a Socialist at 30, he has no brain.
>>
>> George Bernard Shaw in a lecture at the University of Hong Kong in
>> Feb., 1933: Steep yourself in revolutionary books. Go up to your neck
>> in Communism, because if you are not a red revolutionist at 20, you
>> will be at 50 a most impossible fossil. If you are a red revolutionist
>> at 20, you have some chance of being up-to-date at 40.
>>
>> Benjamin Disraeli (attr.): A man who is not a Liberal at 16 has no
>> heart; a man who is not a Conservative at 60 has no head.
>>
>> Will Durant (1885-1982): There is nothing in Socialism that a little
>> age or a little money will not cure.
>>
>> Robert Frost, Precaution, (1936): I never dared be radical when
>> young/For fear it would make me conservative when old.
>>
>> ------------------------------------------------------------
>> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>
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