Help my find this quotation about editing

February 12, 2009 12:08 PM

Help my find this quotation about editing...

A long time ago, I ran across a great quote but didn't write it down. It was, in essence, "There is no greater urge than the desire to edit another man's text." I seem to recall it was Mark Twain's, but who knows.

Anyone?

posted by VeniceGlass to writing & language (8 comments total)

This t-shirt attributes it to Arthur Evans, whichever of the many Arthur Evanses offered by Google he may be.

Also, ordering it.
posted by catlet at 12:15 PM on February 12

This site attributes a different version to H.G. Wells:

No compulsion in the world is stronger than the urge to edit someone else's document.
H. G. Wells
posted by lockedroomguy at 12:18 PM on February 12

Well, I imagine a T-shirt is more authoritative. Thanks!
posted by VeniceGlass at 12:27 PM on February 12

Ok, here's the actual quote:

"No passion in the world is equal to the passion to alter someone else's draft"
--H.G. Wells

Drop that into Google and you find many more finds than for the other version or for Evans' quote, so I'm guessing the Evans is a later edit of Wells' original!
posted by lockedroomguy at 12:36 PM on February 12 [3 favorites]

That also explains why I never found it - "edit" != "alter". Ah, for content-aware search engines!
posted by VeniceGlass at 12:43 PM on February 12

I think Mark Twain and Einstein are the kings of misattributed quotes. If it's witty, they MUST have said it, right?

(back to editing job)
posted by lisa g at 1:25 PM on February 12

I can't find anything like an authoritative attribution of the supposed Evans version (let alone any indication of who he was). But it seems less similar to the one you had in mind anyway.

This is a case where Google's wildcard operator may have helped (except you didn't have enough of the words right to start with).
posted by dhartung at 2:20 PM on February 12

Actually I think it's:

"No passion on Earth, neither love nor hate, is equal to the passion to alter someone else's draft" - H.G. Wells

No?
posted by Skyanth at 8:13 AM on February 16