Quote Checker

David Deutsch misquotes Pericles

In-house rules Jan 29, 2024 · By Dennis Hackethal

Fork Check another quote

Misquote: 3 issues found

Unmarked changes are underlined in wavy red. Hover over themTap them or see the explanation below. Checked using the pattern . and the Histogram algorithm.

Suggested fix

The quote with each unmarked change either marked or undone. It passes the check.

[...] [I]nstead of looking [upon] discussion as a stumbling-block in the way of action, we think it an indispensable preliminary to any wise action at all.

Original text

Our public men have, besides politics, their private affairs to attend to, and our ordinary citizens, though occupied with the pursuits of industry, are still fair judges of public matters; for, unlike any other nation, regarding him who takes no part in these duties not as unambitious but as useless, we Athenians are able to judge at all events if we cannot originate, and, instead of looking on discussion as a stumbling-block in the way of action, we think it an indispensable preliminary to any wise action at all.
Thucydides. The History of the Peloponnesian War. Book 2, chapter 4, Pericles’s ‘Funeral Oration’. Translated by Richard Crawley. https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/7142/pg7142.txt

Quote text

Instead of looking upon discussion as a stumbling-block in the way of action, we think it an indispensable preliminary to any wise action at all.
Deutsch, David. The Beginning of Infinity, chapter 9. Apple Books. https://books.apple.com/us/book/the-beginning-of-infinity/id451546463

Ellipsis used (if any): ‘[...]’

Diff

Our‧public‧men‧have,‧besides‧politics,‧their‧private‧affairs‧to‧attend‧to,‧and‧our‧ordinary‧citizens,‧though‧occupied‧with‧the‧pursuits‧of‧industry,‧are‧still‧fair‧judges‧of‧public‧matters;‧for,‧unlike‧any‧other‧nation,‧regarding‧him‧who‧takes‧no‧part‧in‧these‧duties‧not‧as‧unambitious‧but‧as‧useless,‧we‧Athenians‧are‧able‧to‧judge‧at‧all‧events‧if‧we‧cannot‧originate,‧and,‧iInstead‧of‧looking‧upon‧discussion‧as‧a‧stumbling-block‧in‧the‧way‧of‧action,‧we‧think‧it‧an‧indispensable‧preliminary‧to‧any‧wise‧action‧at‧all.
added in the quote removed from the original wavy not marked as a change ‧ space
Part-by-part explanation
# Part Valid? Explanation
1 
Our‧public‧men‧have,‧besides‧politics,‧their‧private‧affairs‧to‧attend‧to,‧and‧our‧ordinary‧citizens,‧though‧occupied‧with‧the‧pursuits‧of‧industry,‧are‧still‧fair‧judges‧of‧public‧matters;‧for,‧unlike‧any‧other‧nation,‧regarding‧him‧who‧takes‧no‧part‧in‧these‧duties‧not‧as‧unambitious‧but‧as‧useless,‧we‧Athenians‧are‧able‧to‧judge‧at‧all‧events‧if‧we‧cannot‧originate,‧and,‧i
 × no Deletions must be indicated, eg by ‘[...]’ or [replacement].
2 
I
 × no Insertions must be surrounded by [brackets].
3 
nstead‧of‧looking‧
4 
up
 × no Insertions must be surrounded by [brackets].
5 
on‧discussion‧as‧a‧stumbling-block‧in‧the‧way‧of‧action,‧we‧think‧it‧an‧indispensable‧preliminary‧to‧any‧wise‧action‧at‧all.

Notes

The removal at the beginning should be indicated by writing ‘[I]instead’. The change from “on” to ‘upon’ could be made legal by writing ‘[up]on’, but that change seems unnecessary. The link to the Gutenberg source is the one Deutsch gave me. I removed linebreaks from it since they seem to be used only for line wrapping.

Embed this check

Paste this snippet into your site or blog to show the diff where you quote.

<script type="text/javascript" src="https://quote-checker.com/diffs/david-deutsch-misquotes-pericles/embed.js"></script>
Please note: limitations of this tool