[Ads-l] Quote: Never argue with stupid people. They will drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience

[ADSGarson O'Toole]

Thanks for sharing an interesting thematic precursor, James.
Also, thanks for pointing to the article on english.stackexchange.com
which contains some helpful citations.
Garson

On Mon, Jan 30, 2023 at 4:50 PM James Eric Lawson <jel at nventure.com> wrote:
>
> I screwed that up thoroughly. The advice quoted is in Howard's Appendix
> (not Defoe's _A true collection_), the provenance of which is as certain
> as could be hoped.
>
> On 1/30/23 13:29, James Eric Lawson wrote:
> >  From my perspective, the quote you mention ("never argue with stupid
> > people, etc.") is of a piece with other similar advice, including
> > negative polarity fights with chimney sweeps, pigs, polecats (aka
> > skunks), et al. For some of these, and some early texts mentioning them,
> > see the question and answers at "Tinkle contest with a skunk", on
> > English Language & Usage:
> >
> > https://english.stackexchange.com/q/486645
> >
> > Quote Investigator articles are referenced in one of the answers there.
> >
> > My latest discovery along these lines is in the Appendix of
>
> Howard's 1756 _A collection of letters_ The advice is the usual:
>
> > 1756  Leonard Howard *A collection of letters* v2, Appendix page 36
> > ...if we quarrel with a Fool it is like taking up the Box or throwing
> > our Stake upon an empty Gaming Table, we have the Discredit to be seen
> > in the Place and can win nothing.
> >
> > https://archive.org/details/collectionoflett02howaiala/page/36/mode/2up?q=quarrel
> >
> >
> >
> > On 1/29/23 23:38, ADSGarson O'Toole wrote:
> >> The saying in the subject line is often attributed to humorist Mark
> >> Twain and comedian George Carlin without substantive evidence. Matt
> >> Seybold who is an Associate Professor of American Literature & Mark
> >> Twain Studies at Elmira College performed excellent research on this
> >> topic. He connected the saying to actor Yul Brynner and French artist
> >> Jean Cocteau.
> >>
> >> Now I’ve posted an article:
> >> https://quoteinvestigator.medium.com/316627b20567
> >> Abbreviated article:
> >> https://quoteinvestigator.com/2023/01/29/never-argue/
> >>
> >> [Begin acknowledgements]
> >> Great thanks to Marian T. Wirth, Brian Zachary Mayer, Thayne Davidson
> >> Muller, Robert McMillan, AnxiousPony, and Jane Bella whose inquiries
> >> led QI to formulate this question and perform this exploration. Also,
> >> thanks to Matt Seybold for his pioneering research.
> >> [End acknowledgements]
> >>
> >> Feedback and early citations would be welcome
> >> Garson
> >>
> >> ------------------------------------------------------------
> >> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> >
>
> --
> James Eric Lawson
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

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