WHO SAID THAT?

November 30, 2008 12:36 am

EVER WONDER if Paul Revere really proclaimed, "the British are coming" or where Benjamin Franklin got all his "Poor Richard" wisdom?

'We Hold These Truths,' a new book from Colonial Williamsburg, answers those questions, and countless more, about the quotes we've all grown up hearing.

And, as it turns out, a lot of what we believe about these famous sayings and those who supposedly uttered them is entirely wrong.

Paul Aron, a senior editor and writer for Colonial Williamsburg, has researched the famous words and the stories behind them. And what fascinating stories they are!

For example, Nathan Hale may have said something along the lines of "I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country," but he may have been paraphrasing a then-famous play by Joseph Addison, called "Cato."

Jack Rakove, author of "Original Meanings," said of the book: "Just as popular culture has its urban legends, so history has its famous quotations. Some were never uttered, but many others were--not always quite as we imagined or for the reasons we think. Sometimes you'll be surprised, and more often, delighted."

The book is available throughout retail spots in Colonial Williamsburg, and online at williamsburgmarketplace.com.

Laura L. Hutchison is an editor at The Free Lance-Star.

WE HOLD THESE TRUTHS: And Other Words That Made America By Paul Aron, in association with Colonial Williamsburg(Rowman and Littlefield Publishers, $18.95)