[Ads-l] Quote: All generalizations are false, including this one

[ADSGarson O'Toole]

I received a request to explore the expression in the subject line
which has been attributed to Mark Twain. This remark is a member of a
family of sayings. The New Yale Book of Quotations has an instance
attributed to Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. in 1930 (see further below).

Here are links to the Quote Investigator analysis:
Full: https://quoteinvestigator.medium.com/222242addb05
Abbrev: https://quoteinvestigator.com/2023/08/29/generalization-no/

This notion has been expressed in many ways. The identity of the
creator remains uncertain. A precursor was penned in 1710 by English
aristocrat Lady Mary Wortley Montagu who achieved fame via her
eloquent letters. Below is an overview sampling with attributions and
dates:

1710: General notions are generally wrong. (Lady Mary Wortley Montagu)

1882 Jul: All generalizations are false, including this one.
(Attributed to a “witty Frenchman”)

1886: All generalizations are dangerous, even this one. (Attributed to
Alexandre Dumas fils)

1892 Dec: No concise, unqualified assertion is ever entirely true—not
even this one. (Manley H. Pike)

1894: No generalization is quite true; not even this one! (French adage)

1895 Aug: No generalization is absolutely correct—not even this one.
(French adage)

1896 Jun: No generalization is accurate—not even this one. (Ellen Osborn)

1897 Jun: No generalization is quite true, not even this one.
(Attributed to a “famous Frenchman”)

1903 May: No generalization is wholly true, not even this one. (Anonymous)

1911 Jul: No generalization is wholly true—not even this one. (Private
detective Roger O’Mara)

1917 Feb: No generalization is ever completely true, not even this
one. (Attributed to a Frenchman by Henry Cabot Lodge)

1926: Toutes les généralisations sont fausses, y compris celle que je
viens de faire. Translation: All generalizations are wrong, including
the one I just made. (Anonymous)

1930: No generalization is wholly true—not even this one. (Attributed
to Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. by Owen Wister)

1943: All generalizations are dangerous, even this one. (Attributed to
Alexandre Dumas fils)

1973 Jan: All generalizations are false including this one.
(Attributed to Mark Twain)

1979 Mar: All generalizations are false, including this one.
(Attributed to Ben Johnson)

1981: All generalizations are false, including this one. (Attributed
to Benjamin Disraeli)

1984: All generalizations are false, including this one. (Attributed
to Alexander Chase)

Feedback welcome
Garson O’Toole

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