Anecdote: When I wrote it, only God and I knew the meaning; now God alone knows

[Stephen Goranson]

Here, a little earlier: August 13, 1826, The Observer [London], p. 4 col. 2. Similar to the Sept. 18 text, with some differences: spelled Richter; delete "fairly"; "possible" instead of "probable"; delete "totally." Those changes may not be surprising. But I was surprised to read, not that his works are, to all but [some] German, almost "impenetrable," but almost "uninteresting."

Stephen Goranson
http://people.duke.edu/~goranson/

________________________________________
From: American Dialect Society [ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] on behalf of ADSGarson O'Toole [adsgarsonotoole at GMAIL.COM]
Sent: Tuesday, September 24, 2013 6:55 PM
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
Subject: [ADS-L] Anecdote: When I wrote it,              only God and I knew the meaning; now God alone knows

I was asked to trace the following tale:

[Begin excerpt]
There is an amusing anecdote about a young scholar asking an elderly
sage what a particularly impenetrable passage in one of his books
meant. The sage replies: "When I wrote that, there were two who
understood: me and Him [pointing up to heaven to indicate God]. Now
there is only one."
[End excerpt]

Here is a link to the analysis:
http://quoteinvestigator.com/2013/09/24/god-knows/

This comical story has an extensive history with similar comments
attributed to Johann Paul Böhme, Johann Gottlieb Fichte, Robert
Browning and others. Well-known writers such as Harriet Beecher Stowe,
Mark Twain, and G. K. Chesterton were amused enough to record the
remark.

The earliest evidence I could find was published in 1826 when the quip
was attributed to the German writer Johann Paul Friedrich Richter who
died shortly before in 1825. The anecdote used the alternate
appellation John Paul Ritcher with a misspelled last name.

[ref] 1826 September 18, New-York American, (Items reprinted from
periodicals in London up to the 8th, U.S. periodicals for August, and
Number 87 of the Edinburgh Review), (Filler item), Quote Page 3,
Column 2, New York, New York. (GenealogyBank)[/ref]

http://books.google.com/books?id=uSYXAQAAIAAJ&q=%22puzzled+him%22#v=snippet&

[Begin excerpt]
The Works of John Paul Ritcher are almost unintelligible to any but
Germans, and even to some of them. A worthy German, just before
Ritcher's death, edited a complete edition of his works, in which one
particular passage fairly puzzled him.—Determined to have it explained
at the source, he went to John Paul himself, and asked him what was
the meaning of the mysterious passage. John Paul's reply was very
German and characteristic. "My good friend," said he, "when I wrote
that passage, God and I knew what it meant. It is probable that God
knows it still; but as for me, I have totally forgotten."
[End excerpt]

This story can be expressed in many ways and instances before 1826 may
exist. Early examples of the anecdote typically feature German
intellectuals, and the tale may have appeared previously in a German
language book or periodical.

Feedback and citations welcome. Thanks,
Garson

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