Quote: "Horace Greeley is 'a self-made man who worships his Creator'" (1868)

ADSGarson O'Toole adsgarsonotoole at GMAIL.COM
Sat Jun 14 03:22:04 UTC 2014


Stephen Goranson wrote:
> Only vaguely related: Andrew Lang's introduction to Dicken's
> Hard Times (various editios):
>
>  He dealt a vigorous blow at the odious “self-made man” whose
> boasts, as hath been said, “relieve his Maker of a great responsibility.”

Thanks for pointing to that entertaining thematic variant, Stephen.
There are some incorrect dates in GB for the Dickens collection. The
earliest instance I could find of this variant joke was spoken by a
lecturer at the "Shelley Society" of London in 1886.

The QI article has been updated and it includes an acknowledgement to you.

Your help is appreciated,
Garson

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