[Ads-l] Quote: Truth is the first casualty in war

[Jonathan Lighter]

Glad to be of help.

JL

On Mon, Jun 19, 2023 at 4:42 PM ADSGarson O'Toole <adsgarsonotoole at gmail.com>
wrote:

> Great work, JL. The Quote Investigator article has now been updated.
> Changes should be visible within 24 hours.
> https://quoteinvestigator.com/2020/04/11/casualty/
>
> [Begin acknowledgements]
> Many thanks to Jonathan Lighter who found the important July 19, 1915
> citation.
> [End acknowledgements]
>
> Garson
>
> On Mon, Jun 19, 2023 at 11:08 AM Jonathan Lighter
> <wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> > Here's a one-month antedating (or interdating) for Garson's great
> article.
> > "Mrs. Philip Snowden was the same "Ethel Annakin" cited by Garson. Her
> > husband Philip, later 1st Viscount Snowdon, became Chancellor of the
> > Exchequer in 1929. Ethel Snowden was well placed to circulate the saying
> in
> > influential circles: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethel_Snowden  The
> > newspaper report of her address describes at as "bitter" and "fearless."
> >
> > 1915 _San Diego Union_ (July 19) 4:
> >
> > Secret diplomacy, blundering officiadom, commercial conspiracy, the
> > suppression of truth, the fostering of race hatred, all the cross
> currents
> > and interlocking forces that underlie and lead up to the decrees of "bad
> > men in power" and plunge nations into war were laid bare and relentlessly
> > lashed by Mrs. Philip Snowdon [sic], wife of a member of the British
> > parliament, who was one of the chief speakers last night at the
> > international parliament of peace at the Isis theatre....
> >
> > "Someone has said that 'truth is the first casualty of warfare,"' she
> > [said], "and this has been proved by the appalling misconceptions that
> have
> > been spread broadcast since the war began."
> >
> > [Mrs. Snowden was shared the stage with Frau Riag Hellman, a German peace
> > activist. The United States was still neutral at this time.]
> >
> > JL
> >
> > On Sun, Apr 12, 2020 at 1:09 AM ADSGarson O'Toole <
> adsgarsonotoole at gmail.com>
> > wrote:
> >
> > > The adage in the subject line was discussed on this mailing list
> > > within a thread initiated by Jonathan Lighter back in March 2011.
> > >
> > >
> http://listserv.linguistlist.org/pipermail/ads-l/2011-March/107699.html
> > >
> > > After a brief interval of nine years the QI website now has an article
> > > on this topic:
> > >
> > > https://quoteinvestigator.com/2020/04/11/casualty/
> > >
> > > [Begin excerpt]
> > > Great thanks to Christopher Field, Mark Schulman, Peter Gainsford,
> > > Peter Olausson (faktoids), and DarksideJohnny whose inquiries led QI
> > > to formulate this question and perform this exploration.
> > >
> > > Special thanks to researchers Barry Popik, Jonathan Lighter, Charles
> > > Clay Doyle, Wolfgang Mieder, Fred R. Shapiro, Stephen Goranson, and
> > > Nigel Rees and others who have explored this topic.
> > > [End excerpt]
> > >
> > > The earliest close match, I believe, was located by Barry Popik back
> > > in January 2011. It is listed on his website and also within "The
> > > Dictionary of Modern Proverbs" (2012) of Charles Clay Doyle, Wolfgang
> > > Mieder, and Fred R. Shapiro.
> > >
> > > The QI article contains some new information.
> > >
> > > (1) U.S. Senator Hiram Johnson has often received credit for the adage
> > > based on a speech he supposedly delivered in 1917 or 1918.
> > > Unfortunately, a precise citation for this elusive oration has never
> > > been located.
> > >
> > > Now, the QI article reveals that Johnson did employ the line, but he
> > > was speaking in 1929 about Kellogg–Briand Anti-War Pact. "The
> > > Baltimore Sun" on January 16, 1929 reported that Johnson said, "The
> > > first casualty when war comes is truth". The 1948 reference "The
> > > Macmillan Book Of Proverbs" shifted the date of the Johnson
> > > attribution to 1918 for unclear reasons.
> > >
> > > (2) Aeschylus often receives credit although the attribution is
> > > currently unsupported.
> > >
> > > The QI article presents evidence regarding the earliest
> > > misattribution; historian Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr.'s  biographical
> > > work "A Thousand Days: John F. Kennedy in the White House" states that
> > > JFK credited Aeschylus with "In war, truth is the first casualty" in a
> > > loose-leaf notebook that he kept for recording bon mots circa 1945-46.
> > >
> > > The QI article also presents a hypothetical mechanism for the
> > > Aeschylus misattribution. See the 1950 citation.
> > >
> > > Garson
> > >
> > > ------------------------------------------------------------
> > > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> > >
> >
> >
> > --
> > "If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the
> truth."
> >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------
> > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>


-- 
"If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."

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