phrases, sayings, idioms and expressions at

Believe only half...

Posted by Masakim on May 20, 2003

In Reply to: Believe only half... posted by ESC on May 20, 2003

: Answering question from the other "page":

: BELIEVE ONLY HALF OF WHAT YOU SEE AND NOTHING YOU HEAR - "Question everything, especially rumors. The proverb has been traced back to 'Proverbs of Alfred' (c. 1300). First attested in the United States in 1770. In 1845, it was used by American poet Edgar Allen Poe (1809-49)." From Random House Dictionary of Popular Proverbs and Sayings by Gregory Y. Titelman (Random House, New York, 1996).

Gin thu neuere leuen alle monnis spechen, Ne alle the thinge that thu herest stingen. (_Proverbs of Alfred_, c1300)

You must not take Everything to be true that is told to you. (C. Carroll in a letter dated September 4, 1770)

You are younger yet ... but the time will arrive when you will learn to judge for yourself.... Believe nothing you hear, and only one half that you see. (E.A. Poe in _Graham's Magazine_, November 1845)

© 1997 – 2024 Phrases.org.uk. All rights reserved.