“X is the last refuge of Y” - who first?
3
What is the source of the snowclone:
X is the last refuge of Y
Here are the following examples I could find:
- Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel - Samuel Johnson
- Audacity is the last refuge of guilt - Samuel Johnson
- Consistency is the last refuge of the unimaginative - Oscar Wilde
- Conformity is the last refuge of the unimaginative - Oscar Wilde
- Moderation is the last refuge of the unimaginative - Oscar Wilde
- Conversation about the weather is the last refuge of the unimaginative - Oscar Wilde
- Ambition is the last refuge of the failure - Oscar Wilde
- Sarcasm is the last refuge of the modest - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
- Sarcasm is the last defense of the truly witless - John Pollard
- [a country] is the last refuge of freedom/liberty - everybody
Oscar Wilde seems to be the most prolific user of it, but Samuel Johnson seems to be the oldest.
So is Samuel Johnson the oldest recorded example of this snowclone?
There's also the related pattern:
X is the only refuge of Y
as in:
- Seriousness is the only refuge of the shallow. Oscar Wilde
(I'm beginning to think that Oscar Wilde really liked this pattern, or every variation was ascribed to him)
history snowclone
asked Dec 5 at 23:15
Mitch
50.1k15101211
|
show 1 more comment
3
What is the source of the snowclone:
X is the last refuge of Y
Here are the following examples I could find:
- Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel - Samuel Johnson
- Audacity is the last refuge of guilt - Samuel Johnson
- Consistency is the last refuge of the unimaginative - Oscar Wilde
- Conformity is the last refuge of the unimaginative - Oscar Wilde
- Moderation is the last refuge of the unimaginative - Oscar Wilde
- Conversation about the weather is the last refuge of the unimaginative - Oscar Wilde
- Ambition is the last refuge of the failure - Oscar Wilde
- Sarcasm is the last refuge of the modest - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
- Sarcasm is the last defense of the truly witless - John Pollard
- [a country] is the last refuge of freedom/liberty - everybody
Oscar Wilde seems to be the most prolific user of it, but Samuel Johnson seems to be the oldest.
So is Samuel Johnson the oldest recorded example of this snowclone?
There's also the related pattern:
X is the only refuge of Y
as in:
- Seriousness is the only refuge of the shallow. Oscar Wilde
(I'm beginning to think that Oscar Wilde really liked this pattern, or every variation was ascribed to him)
history snowclone
asked Dec 5 at 23:15
Mitch
50.1k15101211
3
The first quote by Johnson is generally considered to be the mother of all those others.
– Hot Licks
Dec 6 at 13:34
1
@HotLicks Can you point to any provenance of that? Citations with dates? Other quotes? The idea is that I'd like to justify what you said (which I also believe).
– Mitch
Dec 6 at 13:40
Simply that it's the most famous by far, and seems likely to have inspired the others.
– Hot Licks
Dec 6 at 13:50
2
The idiom seems to have been used in this sense in 1739. Of course, no telling if Johnson wrote the stuff.
– Hot Licks
Dec 6 at 14:00
The 'patriotism' version is well attributed to Johnson, and ascribed to him by Boswell as behind stated 'evening of April 7, 1775' meaning that he spoke it and Boswell put it into print as such.
– Mitch
Dec 6 at 14:19
|
show 1 more comment
3
3
3
What is the source of the snowclone:
X is the last refuge of Y
Here are the following examples I could find:
- Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel - Samuel Johnson
- Audacity is the last refuge of guilt - Samuel Johnson
- Consistency is the last refuge of the unimaginative - Oscar Wilde
- Conformity is the last refuge of the unimaginative - Oscar Wilde
- Moderation is the last refuge of the unimaginative - Oscar Wilde
- Conversation about the weather is the last refuge of the unimaginative - Oscar Wilde
- Ambition is the last refuge of the failure - Oscar Wilde
- Sarcasm is the last refuge of the modest - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
- Sarcasm is the last defense of the truly witless - John Pollard
- [a country] is the last refuge of freedom/liberty - everybody
Oscar Wilde seems to be the most prolific user of it, but Samuel Johnson seems to be the oldest.
So is Samuel Johnson the oldest recorded example of this snowclone?
There's also the related pattern:
X is the only refuge of Y
as in:
- Seriousness is the only refuge of the shallow. Oscar Wilde
(I'm beginning to think that Oscar Wilde really liked this pattern, or every variation was ascribed to him)
history snowclone
asked Dec 5 at 23:15
Mitch
50.1k15101211
What is the source of the snowclone:
X is the last refuge of Y
Here are the following examples I could find:
- Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel - Samuel Johnson
- Audacity is the last refuge of guilt - Samuel Johnson
- Consistency is the last refuge of the unimaginative - Oscar Wilde
- Conformity is the last refuge of the unimaginative - Oscar Wilde
- Moderation is the last refuge of the unimaginative - Oscar Wilde
- Conversation about the weather is the last refuge of the unimaginative - Oscar Wilde
- Ambition is the last refuge of the failure - Oscar Wilde
- Sarcasm is the last refuge of the modest - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
- Sarcasm is the last defense of the truly witless - John Pollard
- [a country] is the last refuge of freedom/liberty - everybody
Oscar Wilde seems to be the most prolific user of it, but Samuel Johnson seems to be the oldest.
So is Samuel Johnson the oldest recorded example of this snowclone?
There's also the related pattern:
X is the only refuge of Y
as in:
- Seriousness is the only refuge of the shallow. Oscar Wilde
(I'm beginning to think that Oscar Wilde really liked this pattern, or every variation was ascribed to him)
history snowclone
history snowclone
asked Dec 5 at 23:15
Mitch
50.1k15101211
asked Dec 5 at 23:15
Mitch
50.1k15101211
edited Dec 18 at 15:03
asked Dec 5 at 23:15
Mitch
50.1k15101211
asked Dec 5 at 23:15
Mitch
50.1k15101211
asked Dec 5 at 23:15
Mitch
50.1k15101211
50.1k15101211
3
The first quote by Johnson is generally considered to be the mother of all those others.
– Hot Licks
Dec 6 at 13:34
1
@HotLicks Can you point to any provenance of that? Citations with dates? Other quotes? The idea is that I'd like to justify what you said (which I also believe).
– Mitch
Dec 6 at 13:40
Simply that it's the most famous by far, and seems likely to have inspired the others.
– Hot Licks
Dec 6 at 13:50
2
The idiom seems to have been used in this sense in 1739. Of course, no telling if Johnson wrote the stuff.
– Hot Licks
Dec 6 at 14:00
The 'patriotism' version is well attributed to Johnson, and ascribed to him by Boswell as behind stated 'evening of April 7, 1775' meaning that he spoke it and Boswell put it into print as such.
– Mitch
Dec 6 at 14:19
|
show 1 more comment
3
The first quote by Johnson is generally considered to be the mother of all those others.
– Hot Licks
Dec 6 at 13:34
1
@HotLicks Can you point to any provenance of that? Citations with dates? Other quotes? The idea is that I'd like to justify what you said (which I also believe).
– Mitch
Dec 6 at 13:40
Simply that it's the most famous by far, and seems likely to have inspired the others.
– Hot Licks
Dec 6 at 13:50
2
The idiom seems to have been used in this sense in 1739. Of course, no telling if Johnson wrote the stuff.
– Hot Licks
Dec 6 at 14:00
The 'patriotism' version is well attributed to Johnson, and ascribed to him by Boswell as behind stated 'evening of April 7, 1775' meaning that he spoke it and Boswell put it into print as such.
– Mitch
Dec 6 at 14:19
3
3
The first quote by Johnson is generally considered to be the mother of all those others.
– Hot Licks
Dec 6 at 13:34
The first quote by Johnson is generally considered to be the mother of all those others.
– Hot Licks
Dec 6 at 13:34
1
1
@HotLicks Can you point to any provenance of that? Citations with dates? Other quotes? The idea is that I'd like to justify what you said (which I also believe).
– Mitch
Dec 6 at 13:40
@HotLicks Can you point to any provenance of that? Citations with dates? Other quotes? The idea is that I'd like to justify what you said (which I also believe).
– Mitch
Dec 6 at 13:40
Simply that it's the most famous by far, and seems likely to have inspired the others.
– Hot Licks
Dec 6 at 13:50
Simply that it's the most famous by far, and seems likely to have inspired the others.
– Hot Licks
Dec 6 at 13:50
2
2
The idiom seems to have been used in this sense in 1739. Of course, no telling if Johnson wrote the stuff.
– Hot Licks
Dec 6 at 14:00
The idiom seems to have been used in this sense in 1739. Of course, no telling if Johnson wrote the stuff.
– Hot Licks
Dec 6 at 14:00
The 'patriotism' version is well attributed to Johnson, and ascribed to him by Boswell as behind stated 'evening of April 7, 1775' meaning that he spoke it and Boswell put it into print as such.
– Mitch
Dec 6 at 14:19
The 'patriotism' version is well attributed to Johnson, and ascribed to him by Boswell as behind stated 'evening of April 7, 1775' meaning that he spoke it and Boswell put it into print as such.
– Mitch
Dec 6 at 14:19
|
show 1 more comment
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3
The first quote by Johnson is generally considered to be the mother of all those others.
– Hot Licks
Dec 6 at 13:34
1
@HotLicks Can you point to any provenance of that? Citations with dates? Other quotes? The idea is that I'd like to justify what you said (which I also believe).
– Mitch
Dec 6 at 13:40
Simply that it's the most famous by far, and seems likely to have inspired the others.
– Hot Licks
Dec 6 at 13:50
2
The idiom seems to have been used in this sense in 1739. Of course, no telling if Johnson wrote the stuff.
– Hot Licks
Dec 6 at 14:00
The 'patriotism' version is well attributed to Johnson, and ascribed to him by Boswell as behind stated 'evening of April 7, 1775' meaning that he spoke it and Boswell put it into print as such.
– Mitch
Dec 6 at 14:19