John Bartlett (1820–1905). Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. 1919.
2141 Robert Burton 1577-1640 John Bartlett
| NUMBER: | 2141 |
| AUTHOR: | Robert Burton (1577–1640) |
| QUOTATION: | We can make majors and officers every year, but not scholars; kings can invest knights and barons, as Sigismund the emperor confessed. 1 |
| ATTRIBUTION: | Anatomy of Melancholy. Part i. Sect. 2, Memb. 3, Subsect. 15. |
| Note 1. When Abraham Lincoln heard of the death of a private, he said he was sorry it was not a general: “I could make more of them.” [back] |