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Misattributed quotes


CharonY

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Recently someone posted a quote that was attributed to Aristotle "“It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it". As so often on the internet it is a widespread attribution that does not seem to be accurate. 

In Nicomachean ethics Aristotle said (and I add preceding lines to add context): "Therefore, in a discussion of such subjects, which has to start with a basis of this kind, we must be satisfied to indicate the truth with a rough and general sketch: when the subject and the basis of a discussion consist of matters that hold good only as a general rule, but not always, the conclusions reached must be of the same order. The various points that are made most be received in the same spirit. For a well-educated man is one who searches for that degree of precision in each kind of study which the nature of the subject at hand admits."

Thus the misquotation has a entirely different point that what the original quote meant to convey. What other examples of common misunderstandings/misquotations that changed the original meaning do you know?

 

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