Who was the author of this [approximate] quotation: "All the world is mad but me and thee, and I think I have doubts about thee?"

griffinj

"All the world is queer save thee and me, and even thou art a little queer." --Robert Owen, 1828 Nov 26 03, 6:19 PM

McGruff

I've found several variations. This article simply credits a Yorkshireman. It was the Yorkshireman who said to his friend "Everyone in the world is quite mad, except for me and thee. And sometimes I have my doubts about thee." http://www.fawlty-towers.com/fawlty-towers/complaints.htm Nov 27 03, 2:26 AM

griffinj

I found that page too, McGruff. In that form I can't find the quote definitely attributed to anyone. I think the Yorkshire attribution comes from that being about the only place the formal "thee" is still used, now that even American Quakers had given up the practice by WWI. The substitution of 'mad for 'queer' is self-explanatory, I think. Here are a few places crediting Robert Owen: http://www.tondering.dk/maria/friend_q.txt http://lists.ccil.org/pipermail/sophia/2001q1/000897.html http://chandigarhweb.com/Footer/quotes/CatQuote.asp?RID=Queer http://www.geocities.co.jp/Bookend-Ohgai/4174/remark/remark-human.htm http://www.chelmsfordtuc.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/Quotes.html http://web1.mtnl.net.in/~sivam/quotes.html#O http://www.chooseyourlife.com/ml/docs/quotes.htm And finally "Bartlett's Familiar Quotations" gives the circumstances as "on severing business relations with his partner William Allen, 1828". Nov 27 03, 5:29 AM