principles for quotation
Everyone has no doubt read this quote, attributed to proto-conservative Edmund Burke:
All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.
The quotation is bogus, as this essay by Martin Porter (parts one and two) shows. It’s a great read, and illustrates the primary shortcoming of the Internet as a research tool. Porter offers the following rules, which would greatly improve the situation:
I therefore formulate and offer to the world the following Principles for Quotations, two for quoters and two for readers, which, if universally followed, would make an immense improvement to the reliability of the information available on the world wide web.Principle 1 (for readers) Whenever you see a quotation given with an author but no source assume that it is probably bogus.
Principle 2 (for readers) Whenever you see a quotation given with a full source assume that it is probably being misused, unless you find good evidence that the quoter has read it in the source.
Principle 3 (for quoters) Whenever you make a quotation, give the exact source.
Principle 4 (for quoters) Only quote from works that you have read.
(Thanks to Andrew Sullivan for the tip.)
update (11/21 @8:49am):
One of Andrew Sullivan's readers pointed out that JS Mill said something quite similar:
"Bad men need nothing more to compass their ends, than that good men should look on and do nothing."