[Ads-l] The lightning ain=?UTF-8?Q?=E2=80=99t_?=distributed right. Mark Twain

ADSGarson O'Toole adsgarsonotoole at GMAIL.COM
Sat Oct 10 20:00:18 UTC 2020


A librarian in Texas asked me about a quip attributed to Mark Twain.
The earliest instance I found appeared in a 1927 book titled "More
Maxims of Mark" compiled by Merle Johnson. Twain died in 1910, but
scholars apparently believe that the sayings in this slim volume are
authentic Twainisms.

Johnson's book was published as a fifty copy limited edition, and a
friend accessed / photographed it in the Rubenstein Rare Book Library
at Duke University. The quotation was on page 13.

[Begin excerpt]
THE TROUBLE AIN'T THAT THERE IS TOO MANY FOOLS, BUT THAT THE LIGHTNING
AIN'T DISTRIBUTED RIGHT.
[End excerpt]

https://quoteinvestigator.com/2020/10/06/fools-lightning/

Feedback and earlier evidence would be welcome,
Garson O'Toole

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



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