Bartlett's Familiar Quotations

by John Bartlett, Justin Kaplan (Editor)

Thoroughly revised and updated, the new edition of the classic reference encompasses more than twenty thousand quotations, arranged chronologically and featuring the wit and wisdom of such newcomers as Russell Baker, Mel Brooks, and Salman Rushdie. 75,000 first printing. $150,000 ad/promo.

Genres: Reference, Nonfiction, Writing, Language, History, Classics, Poetry

1472 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1855

About the author

American publisher and editor John Bartlett compiled Familiar Quotations in 1855 and a Shakespearean concordance in 1894.

From fathers of the Mayflower, the ship of the Pilgrims, he descended. A very bright boy, he read at three years of age in 1823 and finished the entire Bible before nine years of age in 1829. He finished school in 1836 and went to Cambridge, Massachusetts, and work for the university bookstore that served Harvard.
He owned the store before 1849. Stumped persons in the community knew to "ask John Bartlett," for trivia.

He began keeping a commonplace book to answer queries and in 1855 privately printed it first. From 169 authors, those 258 pages contained entries. From the Bible and from the works of the bard came one-third of the book; from the great English poets came lines in most of the balance.

Reviews

[Lisa Vegan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Two friends who’d been my mother’s friends gave this book to me the summer before I entered high school. I know I read it cover to cover, most of it over that summer but finishing up early in the school year, and I didn’t love it even though I was interested in much of what was in it. When I was in high school and college and beyond though, whenever I dipped into it or when I looked up something specific or came upon something unexpected, I loved it. I love it as a resource. Reading it cover to cover is too much of a chore, but perusing it judiciously is so much fun.

And yes, this 14th edition is my edition.

[Shadin Pranto · Rating 4 out of 5]

Freedom is an indivisible word. If we want to enjoy it, and fight for it, we must be prepared to extend it to everyone, whether they are rich or poor, whether they agree with us or not, no matter what their race or the color of their skin. - Wendell Lewis


ছোটবেলা থেকেই বাণী চিরন্তনী ধাঁচের কেতাবের কদর চারপাশে দেখেছি। এমনকি কোনো একটি বিচিত্র কারণে আমি নিজেও বাণী চিরন্তনী ধরনের বই পড়তে পছন্দ করি। এই ধরনের গ্রন্থগুলো একবসায় পড়ার জন্য না। প্রতিদিন একটু একটু করে পড়তে হয়। তাতে প্রাজ্ঞ ও গুণীদের গভীর কথাগুলোর মানে তলিয়ে বোঝার চেষ্টা অন্তত করা যায়। এবারও বেশ সময় নিয়ে পড়েছি। লাইনের পর লাইন টুকে রেখেছি। অনেক সময় মুগ্ধ হয়েছি ; কখনো কখনো দ্বিমত করেছি আবার দ্বান্দ্বিক কথাবার্তায় দ্বিধায় মধ্যে হাবুডুবু খেয়েছি। সবকিছু মিলে প্রায় ১৫ শ পাতার বইখানা পাঠককে কখনোই ক্লান্ত করবে না। বরং সন্ধান দেবে নতুন চিন্তার ও দর্শনের।


উইনস্টন চার্চিল তার সাম্রাজ্যবাদী ও বর্ণবাদী নীতির কারণে প্রচণ্ড সমালোচিত ও ঘৃণিত। কিন্তু তা সত্ত্বেও চার্চিলের পড়াশোনার গণ্ডি বিস্তৃত ছিল, সেই সত্য স্বীকার করতেই হবে। চার্চিলের একটি লেখা পড়তে গিয়েই বইটির সন্ধান পাই। তিনি উল্লেখ করেছিলেন, নিয়মিত এই বইটি তিনি পড়ার চেষ্টা করতেন। এমনকি এটিকে নিজের অন্যতম প্রিয় বই হিসেবে উল্লেখ করেছেন তিনি। অর্থাৎ, চার্চিলের মতো সাম্রাজ্যবাদী ও বর্ণবাদীর প্রিয় বই হওয়ার কারণেই হয়তো এখানে এত এত গুণীজনের বাণী থাকলেও আফ্রো-এশিয়ার গুণীজনেরা প্রায় ব্রাত্য। পশ্চিমের শত শত নাম না জানা ও আধা পরিচিত কবি-সাহিত্যিকের সৃষ্টিকর্ম থেকে পাতার পর পর উদ্ধৃতি বইটিতে স্থান পেয়েছে। কিন্তু আফ্রো-এশিয়ার সৃষ্টিশীল ব্যক্তিদের স্থান সেখানে একান্তই নগণ্য। যেমন: গান্ধিজির মাত্র দুইটি কোটেশন এখানে স্থান পেয়েছে!


প্রতীচ্যের প্রতি প্রবল একদেশদর্শিতার সকল লক্ষণ ১৫ শ পাতার বইয়ের সর্বত্র খুঁজে পাবেন। তবুও বইটি বারবার পড়ার মতো।



There can be no higher law in journalism than to tell the truth and shame the devil.
Liberty and the News [1920]. Journalism and the Higher. - Walter Lippmann

[Aldean · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is another tome I would scarcely leave home without (not if I was going to be gone for more than forty-nine hours, at least). I had the library edition checked out as often as they would let me have it when I was teenager, and my sole reason for joining the Book-of-the-Month Club was to get my hands on my very own (and much newer) copy. In college I would sit up at night and page through, looking for the next day's quote, which I would then calligraphy onto an index card or other scrap of paper and post on my dorm room door. This has been, and will remain, one of four or five reference works that I absolutely have to have within easy reach whenever I sit down to work. Absolutely worth the investment to add this to your collection.

[Mike (the Paladin) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have this book, and it's a wonderful resource. I hate to admit however that in this "digital age" I'm far more likely to, when preparing to speak, try to track down quotes I might want to use on line.

That is such a sad admission. There is in the volume something that can never be captured by a screen. It can be browsed and enjoyed. Like so many books it's a friend, that sets there on the shelf waiting for us to visit again, to stop by and spend time with the thoughts and wisdom saved here between the covers.

[booklady · Rating 4 out of 5]

It probably seems silly to list this book, but as I use certain reference books ALL the time, I wanted them on my bookshelves.

[Bernie4444 · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is indispensable for writing.

I like this book and look for odd sayings to spring on people at work. The index is just large enough to find things that you were not looking for. Nothing punches up a memo better than a relevant quote.

However, if you are of limited funds you need to look at Bartlett's Roget's Thesaurus, first. There are not as many good quotes but the combination of Bartlett's and Roget's is better by far than either one alone.

[Katja Labonté · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars. This is a beast of a read, being over 1,000 pages—though to be honest the index makes up about half—and it took me over 6 months to read it, adopting a brilliant idea my friend Kelsey Bryant mentioned, i.e., reading it as I ate my breakfast every morning. Despite the time it took, I loved it! The specific edition I read was the 9th edition, published in 1905, and I recognized so many quotes from Alcott and Montgomery and other authors of the time. I also enjoyed seeing what was often the best writings of various authors—I found several I have to check out!!; finding the truth about some now distorted or misattributed sayings; and discovering where common phrases, expressions, proverbs, etc, come from. It’s a fascinating read and I highly recommend it—especially to people writing books set in this era. ;)

[Dennis Littrell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Invaluable, authoritative, probably the "best"

Comparing this, the 17th edition of the best known and arguably the most authoritative collection of quotations ("familiar," memorable, or just plain quotable--you choose the terminology), to its predecessor the 16th edition, the question arises, should you upgrade? I own both books and have examined them in some detail. I have used the 16th for many years.

The 17th is set in a new typeface which is both slightly narrower and less bold than that of the 16th. The result is a cleaner look to the pages and more white space. The difference in the number of pages--1431 for the new, 1405 for the old--is slight, and a little misleading. In fact the new addition has more entries--"around one hundred" authors are quoted for the first time, and some authors have additional entries. But the text in the 17th actually takes up less room. Its Index, for example, although it has more entries, has only 564 pages to 608 for the 16th. This is accomplished mainly because the narrower type is also shorter, allowing more entries per column.

The question then is, is the smaller type harder to read? Surprisingly, I would say no. The new type is sharper, crisper and, because the pages have a cleaner appearance, is easier on the eyes. I have a strong suspicion that the publishers--whose investment in this most famous and most important reference work is considerable--tested the readability of their new type before adopting it!

Some additional space, according to editor Justin Kaplan, has been gained by the elimination of "several hundred purely mechanical and nonsubstantive cross-references." For example in the 16th on page 247 is given this quotation from Fredrich von Logau: "Though the mills of God grind slowly, yet they grind exceeding small." A footnote at the bottom of the column refers us to Euripides and George Herbert who wrote something similar. In the 17th that footnote is gone and we have no handy reference to the two earlier instances of von Logau's expression. I think this is a clear loss and not something simply "mechanical and nonsubstantive" as editor Justin Kaplan has it in his Preface to the Seventeenth Edition. (p. viii)

Okay, what about the new authors being quoted and the additional quotations by authors already present in the 16th addition? Do they constitute a significant upgrade?

This is a question difficult to answer partly because only time will tell if the new additions--many of them are so new--will really remain worth remembering. Bill Clinton's rather infamous "It depends on what the meaning of the word 'is' is" surely will be around for a while, but film director Cameron Crowe's "Show me the money!" from his film Jerry Maguire (1997) may not seem so memorable or familiar a generation or two down the road. (Or maybe I have that backwards!) A quick way to address the question of whether the new quotations are worthwhile is to look at the last pages of entries just before the Anonymous section. Because Bartlett's presents its quotations chronologically, from the earliest (the first quote is from the Egyptian The Song of the Harper 2650 B.C.) to the latest (Sesame Street's Kermit the Frog's "It ain't easy bein' green") most of the new entries are near the back. By the way, technically speaking, Kermit the Frog's dictum is older than Cameron Crowe's movie. But that is a quibble.

Of course there are additions that are not from new authors. French mathematician, Pierre de Fermat, who does not appear in the 16th, appears here in the 17th, noting that his "truly marvellous" proof for his famous Last Theorem, will not fit into "this margin." Fermat was rediscovered by Bartlett's no doubt because in 1994 Andrew Wiles finally proved the theorem--taking considerably more than a margin to do it, by the way.

Some other authors appearing for the first time are Mother Teresa, Richard Feynman, Margaret Atwood, Princes Diana, etc. Vladimir Nabokov, Edith Wharton, Gertrude Stein and W. Somerset Maugham are among about two dozen who have had their space extended. Kaplan doesn't mention it, but there are also some deletions from the previous edition. I was particularly disappointed to find that one of the central tenets of the Vedas, from the Chandogya Upanishad, "Thou art that" was eliminated.

Also eliminated (and I think this is to the good) are the Ibid's that sometimes ran all the way down the page in the 16th. Now the title of the work is repeated.

If you don't have this reference, you really should get it or the comparable Oxford Dictionary of Quotations. See my review of that very excellent book for a comparison. Suffice it to say here, if you are an American who prefers a slight emphasis on American authors to an emphasis on English authors, you'll want to get this book.

Bottom line: no serious writer (especially of literature, culture and history) should be without this invaluable and authoritative book. Next to a dictionary it is my most consulted work of reference.

--Dennis Littrell, author of the mystery novel, “Teddy and Teri”

[Keith · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is not the book of familiar quotations that I expected. It is an abbreviated version that my Kindle app reports as only 267 pages long. Beware, it does not contain the quotes that are cited as from "Familiar Quotations, by John Bartlett"

For example this quote is not in there. There is nothing by Emerson in this edition.
Ralph Waldo Emerson put it this way. He said, “We do not count a man’s years until he has nothing else to count.” (John Bartlett, Familiar Quotations, 14th ed. [Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1968], p. 609.)

Don't get this edition - get the real thing.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent resource; it's organization allows easy, thorough searching

[Kate Casserly · Rating 3 out of 5]

It wasn't easy to borrow this from the library. However, Hennepin County modified it policy and loaned this reference book for a limited time. Difficult to navigate the e book.

[Max · Rating 5 out of 5]

A valuable volume and an essential desk reference.

[Chaplain2 · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent resource, a standard in reference books.

[Cheryl]

I've heard that it can be fun to read this as a pointer towards other lit. Reading a great quote by an author I don't know might lead me to a new favorite book or author.
---
Gosh it's a big book. Got to Tecumseh on this go, but I'll send it back to the library and take a break until I inherit my mother's old copy. Of course this is a much newer edition, but, given my purpose, either is fine.

So, what did I find?

I def. do want to read Sappho.

I like the line by Maimonides, born 1135,"Astrology is a disease, not a science."

The Ship of Fools looks interesting, if the translation is lively of course. "The world wants to be deceived."

Christopher Marlowe, born 1564, wrote, "I count religion but a childish toy,/ And hold there is sin but ignorance."

William Congreve, born 1670, has several interesting lines.

I keep meaning to read Voltaire, born 1694. Here's another reason why, "I have never made but one prayer to God, a very short one: 'O Lord, make my enemies ridiculous.' And God granted it."

In The Marriage of Figaro there is the line, "If censorship reigns there cannot be sincere flattery, and only small men are afraid of small writings."

And I'm delighted to be reminded of the grandmother of the novel Frankenstein, Mary Wollstonecraft[Godwin], born 1759. "It is justice, not charity, that is wanting in the world." (I do hope colleges find a way to accomplish what affirmative action was meant to do before it was struck down.)

Closely skimmed first half or so during most of June & July 2023.

[Jaki]

This doesn't feel like the kind of book I'd attach a rating to so I'll leave it be. I also heavily skimmed parts so it doesn't necessarily seem fair to say I "read" it, but I did make one last multi-day effort to peruse each page before I passed it on to a little free library.

I originally picked up this book for free as a college student among an assortment of old books being cleared from a faculty member's office. (14th edition)

Some notes:
- So many delightful phrases from the Bible have found their way into everyday speech without me realizing it until now (sometimes paraphrased), like "out of the mouths of babes"
- Aesop though might have the Bible beat for how many phrases found their way into common use (like "Don't count your chickens before they are hatched")
- John Heywood is also a strong contender for "wow so many of your words are now our words!" but he did write a book called Proverbs so not clear that he originated those words in circulation (e.g. "two heads are better than one", "look before you leap")
- Shakespeare's words found their way into common usage as you might expect
- It was weird to find highly specific origins for phrases like "to a T" and exception to the rule and cool as a cucumber (originally "cold as cucumbers") and fish out of water and "rain cats and dogs"
- The most shockingly specific origin story was probably "steal my thunder" (quite literally, a theater company's unique way of making thunder sounds was stolen by another production)
- Definitely some phrases evolved into cuter forms over time, like "two peas in a pod" didn't make it in there but a clear ancestral form did
- Some really horrifying misogyny spanning thousands of years, immortalized as iconic quotations...yikes! There were a few that made me laugh (are women really that scary?) but a lot that were painful to read thinking about how they were taken as wise words for so many generations

[Robbie Travis]

Bartlett, J. & O’Brien, G. (2012) Bartlett’s familiar quotations. Boston, MA: Little, Brown, & Company.

Type of Reference: Handbook

Citation by: Robbie Travis

Content/Scope: This handbook includes over 20,000 passages, phrases, and proverbs from ancient and modern literature.

Accuracy/Authority/Bias: This is the longest-lived and most widely known collection of quotations available. The book was first published in 1885, and is currently in its 18th edition.

Arrangement/Presentation: Entries are by author, and authors are entered chronologically by date of birth (rather than alphabetically). Within years, authors are arranged alphabetically and quotations are arranged chronologically. Pages are formatted using 2 columns. A keyword index is included. The book contains 148 pages.

Relation to Other Text: Several similar books exist, including the Oxford Dictionary of Quotes and Reader’s Digest Quotable Quotes. However, Bartlett’s is the most widely- and well-known source for quotations.

Cost: $35.00.

Professional Reviews:
Yue, J. (2012). How familiar is it anymore? Reference User Services Quarterly, 42 (1), 26-29.

[Jennifer Whitney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Familiar Quotations

Citation by: Jennifer Emberton
Type of Reference: Factbook
Call Number: 808.8 Bar
ISBN-13: 9780316250184
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Publication date: 12/2/2014
Sold by: Hachette Digital, Inc.
Format: eBook
Edition number: 18
Pages: 1504
File size: 3 MB

Content/Scope: This is an updated Bartlett quote book, with more than 2,500 new quotes!
Accuracy/Authority/Bias: Bartlett’s Familiar Quotes have been around for years. This edition appears to be just as reliable as the last. However, there is always bias in writing when someone is making a choice on what goes into the book.
Arrangement/Presentation: Alphabetically by author's last name.
Relation to other works: Quotations and Speeches
Accessibility/Diversity: Easy to read; online format offers easy access to define unknown words. The App is another choice for accessibility.

Cost: $19.99 B&N ebook- $0.00 Amazon ebook

Professional Review:
Schlembach, K. (2013). Bartlett's familiar quotations, 18th edition for mobile app. Indexer, 31(3), 122.

[Erica · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book and Benet's Readers Encyclopedia have been a part of my life since I was old enough to read. My mother had several different editions of both books. We would sit together, each with an edition, reading bits we liked, and comparing what was included, and what had been deleted or added from edition to edition. My love for this book stems from both its content, and its context in my life. I know that the Interet has surpassed mere books for speed of reference, and I use the online version of Bartlett's at www.bartleby.com frequently, as well as Google to find quotes I need quickly. But nothing beats sitting with Bartlett's (or Benet's) and a cup of tea, and just browsing through the pages.

[Monique · Rating 4 out of 5]

Who does not Have Bartlett's quotations on their bookshelves. I, for one, and I will remedy this omission pronto and buy the latest edition.What a gem to be able to refer to at any time. It reminds me of browsing the dictionary when I was young and memorizing new words. Obviously, I needed a life...

My only beef with it is that quotations from French authors are translated in English; many I learned in French as a youngster and it is a bit jarring to see how the effect and meaning can be different through the use of another language.

As Boileau said:

Ce que l'on conçoit bien s'énonce clairement et les mots pour le dire arrivent aisément.

Obviously, a great many authors have managed to do just that and are now quoted in aeternum.

[Perry · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love hunting for books like this one at secondhand stores and yard sales. I am very much a nerd for this kind of stuff. I find so much value in my life to plopping down and really studying the language and vocabulary that many of the writers express in this book in particular. Of course not every quote or referenced author stands out or conveys relevant ideas that strike home fore me, but, over all I have devoured this book. I have highlighted, circled, folded pages, wrote alongside in the margins my own ponderings to some quotations and have really used this book as a way of expanding my understanding of my life experiences, the world, and human nature. Books of this kind are a great workout for mental expansion.

[Susan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Trying to find the perfect close to a (classy) love letter? Need an inspirational quote for a sadsack friend? Look no further ...

Sure you can 'google' a poet or a topic, but it's so much more fun to open to a random page and spend the next hour marking the best finds. Trust, me, I know.

My original copy, found in my parent's basement, was lost after I loaned it to a fellow x-country runner - she wanted to post motivational stuff on the locker room bb. And then she STOLE IT. Or at least she had it at home and we graduated and I never picked it up. Damn you, Kristin. I got a replacement, but it's just not the same.

[Lisa (Harmonybites) · Rating 5 out of 5]

The strongest reason for getting rid of this book is the reason I probably never will--this stood on the family bookshelves before I was born--this edition is from 1955. I remember browsing through it as a child and finding quotations that spoke to me. As such it was a gateway to literature, since it made me want to read books by the authors of those beautiful lines. And I like that although there are Author and Subject Indices, the book is organized chronologically, from Ancient Egypt ("To resist him that is set in authority is evil" - The Instruction of Ptahhotep) to Queen Elizabeth II ("My whole life, whether it be long or short, shall be devoted to your service...")

[Alicialeeanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really really enjoy this book.It has some great quotations but not on authors I would expect.I own The Divine Comedy but never got a chance to read it and the selections from that book in my Bartlet's was really great but writers that I love and was hoping to see good quotes on like Poe and Lord Byron were a little disappointing.So its a mixed bag but holds lots of uncharted territory that I look forward to continue reading its such a large book.

[Claude · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, some gems in here. Knowing how specific I am when looking for things, I personally just needed a little patience to find applicable thoughts, but in return I (conveniently) found many thought provoking passages/quotes.

Also, for the creative that deals with the use of language in art, I recommend this book as a sprawling pool of creative inspiration. Any book that does this is welcome to sit around on my desk.

[Eric · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read this cover to cover at least twice. I'm about to toss it on top of my toilet and read it again. It is consistently fascinating and easily digested.

I'm about a third of the way through transcribing all of my quotes into one page on my website. You can find it here:
http://furst.bigwhoop.org/?page_id=2513

I hope to be done by the end of winter break.

[Stephen Witt]

How obsolete is this thing? I don't even think it has any Simpsons quotes. I'm putting it on my bookshelf between my copy of the Minneapolis/St. Paul 1994 Yellow Pages and the 'C-D' volume of a World Book encyclopedia I stole from the library.

[Richard · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's really meant to be a reference book, but I read it straight through once. There is some great stuff in here. All of the noteworthy passages from Shakespeare, also a lot from the classical Greek and Roman writers, and the Bible.

[Theresa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bartlett's Familiar Quotations: A Collection of Passages, Phrases and Proverbs Traced to Their Sources in Ancient and Modern Literature
Bartlett, John
i have a note book of quotes form this book gathered in high school

[Kathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I use this falling apart paperback all the time when at a loss for words or want something special to quote when writing. I can't imagine living without it. Ok, that's a little dramatic, but you get the point.

[Patti · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rather dry

Needs work on editing. Some famous quotes had no headings, and long quotes were broken by lines, though they were the same poem. A few were interesting, but lacking context they remained obscure.