Quotes on Anecdotes
With a tale, forsooth, he cometh unto you; with a tale which hold-eth children from play, and old men from the chimney corner.
Sir Philip Sidney (1554-1586) English poet, critic, soldier
The history of a soldier’s wound beguiles the pain of it
Laurence Sterne (1713-1768) English author
If it isn’t true at least it’s a happy invention.
Giordano Bruno (1548-1599) Italian philosopher
A good storyteller is a person who has a good memory and hopes other people haven’t.
Irvin S. Cobb (1876-1944) American writer
How is it that we remember the least triviality that happens to us, and yet not remember how often we have recounted it to the same person?
Francois, Duc de La Rochefoucauld (1613-1680) French writer, moralist
We may be willing to tell a story twice, never to hear it more than once.
William Hazlitt (1778-1830) English essayist
Faith! he must make his stories shorter Or change his comrades once a quarter.
Jonathan Swift (1667-1745) Anglo-Irish satirist