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

[ADSGarson O'Toole]

Great! Thank you very much, Stephen. The word "uninteresting" does
change the coloration of the anecdote. There is a slightly earlier
August 9 instance in the database "19th Century British Newspapers:
Gale" here:

THE MIRROR OF FASHION .
The Morning Chronicle (London, England), Wednesday, August 9, 1826; Issue 17755.

Garson


On Wed, Sep 25, 2013 at 8:11 AM, Stephen Goranson <goranson at duke.edu> wrote:
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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Stephen Goranson <goranson at DUKE.EDU>
> Subject:      Re: Anecdote: When I wrote it,              only God and I knew
>               the meaning; now God alone knows
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Based on a snippet, maybe also in
>
> Saturday 12 August 1826 ,  Manchester Courier and Lancashire General Advertiser ,  Greater Manchester, England
> Type:  Article    Words:  2254    Page:  4
> at British Newspaper Archive
>
> SG
> ________________________________________
> From: American Dialect Society [ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] on behalf of Stephen Goranson [goranson at DUKE.EDU]
> Sent: Wednesday, September 25, 2013 7:51 AM
> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> Subject: Re: [ADS-L] Anecdote: When I wrote it,              only God and I knew the meaning; now God alone knows
>
> 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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