[Ads-l] Quip: The way Bernard Shaw believes in himself is very refreshing in these atheistic days when so many believe in no God at all

[ADSGarson O'Toole]

An  investigation of the quotation in the subject line revealed an
interesting class of errors. It is common for the attribution of a
quotation to drift over time from a lesser-known person to a
well-known person.

Nigel Rees coined the term "Churchillian drift" to refer to this
phenomenon with respect to Winston Churchill.

The quotation above is a member of a family of remarks which displays
a different type of drift. The original target of the barb was English
editor William Thomas Stead; however, during subsequent decades the
target was changed to George Bernard Shaw. Stead is a little-known
figure today, but Shaw’s fame has endured.

The creator of the quip was Israel Zangwill, and that attribution has
rarely been altered.

Here is a link to the Quote Investigator article:
Quote Origin: The Way That Person Believes In Themselves Is Quite
Refreshing In These Atheistic Times When Many Believe In No God At All
https://quoteinvestigator.com/2024/05/19/believes-god/

Feedback welcome
Garson

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