Accuracy and Retranslation
Photo by Martin Adams
We take great care to document the source of quotations.
This often requires a good amount of digging—with extreme attention to detail. While the internet can be a huge help, it is frequently a detriment. A quotation may be repeatedly credited online to someone, but with no documentation of the source. Take this quote as an example:
An ounce of action
is worth more than
a ton of theory.
It has been attributed countless times online to Ralph Waldo Emerson, Friedrich Engels, Lenin, and Gandhi. Who knows? Some would say, “Who cares?” As the author of Dialaropia says:
We should care, indeed.
Not only because of the possibility of plagiarism,
but mainly because a misattribution
leads us to misunderstand ideas,
theories, writers, thinkers, religions, etc.¹
Another frequently misattributed quotation is the following:
Silence is the language of God;
all else is poor translation.
However, “It was Saint John of the Cross who wrote, ‘silence is the first language of God,’ and the contemporary Christian mystic, Father Thomas Keating, who added, ‘all else is a poor translation.’ But today people are very lazy about checking references and attribute every spiritual saying that sounds good to Rumi, Laotzu, or Buddha.”²
We also need to set the record straight on this quotation frequently attributed to the Talmud:
The highest form of wisdom
is kindness.
“What is the source? It is of Spanish-Christian origin. It is found in “Excelencias de San Pedro, príncipe de los apóstoles” [“Excellences of Saint Peter, the apostles’ prince”], book III, ch. 6 (page 287), written by Don Juan de Palafox y Mendoza, Spanish bishop and viceroy of New Spain in the 17th century.”³
It also can happen that two people or their translators, centuries and/or continents apart, may use essentially the same, or even identical, words. Is this plagiarism? Probably not.
It is difficult to communicate a sense of infinity with finite words. Documentation gets even more complex when students quote their teacher(s), who quote their teacher(s), etc. It also happens that the ‘still small voice’ of divinity reveals Itself in similar, or different, ways at different times as world consciousness requires. Yes, sometimes even with the same words!
While some misquotes are fabricated,
most are simply the result
of a large-scale game
of cultural telephone.⁴
— Kevin Dickinson
When we at Expressions of Joy feel comfortable with a source but can't document it, we indicate it with the notation ‘attributed to.’ We would be delighted if you could confirm the authenticity of any quote that is simply ‘attributed to’ someone. Shiviti reward offered.
Likewise, if you find that an attribution is in error, please kindly contact us with documentation so we may make a correction. A notice of errors of any kind—yes, even a typo—is also most welcome and warmly rewarded!
When appropriate for metaphysical clarity, we retranslate words, as is common in religious texts. We hope you enjoy the references at the end of each post. The references use brackets to identify any retranslated words and amended quotations. You’ll also often find links so you can explore further.
Whoever recites a teaching
in the name of the one who said it,
brings redemption to the world.⁵
— Jewish Sages
Waves of the Ocean
[1] “The highest form of wisdom is kindness”… or isn’t?, http://dialorapia.com/archives/365 12.30.2022 AX 4231
[2] Stack Exchange, Did Rumi actually say "Silence is the language of God; all else is poor translation"? https://literature.stackexchange.com/questions/12190/did-rumi-actually-say-silence-is-the-language-of-god-all-else-is-poor-translat 01.27.2025 AX 5260
[3] “The highest form of wisdom is kindness”… or isn’t?, http://dialorapia.com/archives/365 12.30.2022 AX 4231
[4] Kevin Dickinson, Einstein didn’t say that: How viral misquotes evolve and replicate: From Einstein to Twain, Garson O’Toole investigates the truth behind your favorite—and often misattributed—quotes, https://bigthink.com/high-culture/how-viral-misquotes-evolve-and-replicate/ 02.11.2025
[5] R. Gil Student, Rabbi Sacks and Citation of Sources, https://www.torahmusings.com/2024/11/rabbi-sacks-and-citation-of-sources/#:~:text=Maimonides%20declared%2C%20'Accept%20the%20truth,brings%20redemption%20to%20the%20world 01.05.2025 AX 8187
