Quote Verification
Quote Verification
Investigating whether sayings attributed to religious teachers, philosophers, scientists, writers and public figures are authentic, misquoted, paraphrased, unsupported or fabricated.
Each investigation separates two questions: whether the person actually said or wrote the words, and whether the words accurately represent that person's documented views.
The rule
A familiar saying is not evidence of authorship.
TBR separates the wording of a quotation from its attribution. Primary texts, authoritative editions and identifiable translations are preferred over quote websites, memes and unsourced compilations.
Browse verified voices
People in the quotation archive
Select a name to see the quotations currently associated with that person.
The Buddha
11 verified quotes
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Aristotle
10 verified quotes
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Epictetus
10 verified quotes
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Marcus Aurelius
10 verified quotes
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Marcus Tullius Cicero
5 verified quotes
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Plato
5 verified quotes
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Socrates
5 verified quotes
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Quotation library
Search the evidence
“Nothing is more commendable, nothing more becoming in a pre-eminently great man than courtesy and forbearance.”
Marcus Tullius Cicero
Walter Miller translation (1913), Perseus Digital Library
“We must keep ourselves free from every disturbing emotion.”
Marcus Tullius Cicero
Walter Miller translation (1913), Perseus Digital Library
“There is nothing so characteristic of narrowness and littleness of soul as the love of riches.”
Marcus Tullius Cicero
Walter Miller translation (1913), Perseus Digital Library
“Nothing is generous, if it is not at the same time just.”
Marcus Tullius Cicero
Walter Miller translation (1913), Perseus Digital Library
“First, that no harm be done to anyone; second, that the common interests be conserved.”
Marcus Tullius Cicero
Walter Miller translation (1913), Perseus Digital Library
Verification method
What TBR checks before calling a quotation verified
Find the source
Locate the primary text, speech, recording, canonical text or authoritative scholarly edition.
Check the wording
Identify the exact passage and record the translator or edition when the words originated in another language.
Check the attribution
Separate authorship, reported speech and traditional or canonical attribution from later paraphrase or invention.
Continue researching
Move from a quotation to the evidence around it
A quote should be an entry point into a person's ideas, source texts and the wider evidence—not an isolated slogan.
ThinkersExplore philosophers, religious figures and influential minds.
SourcesTrace claims to texts, documents and source records.
GuidesRead durable explanations and foundational TBR conclusions.
FindingsSee evidence-led conclusions reached elsewhere on TBR.
ArticlesFollow current analysis, investigations and developing ideas.
Belief SystemsPut religious quotations into the tradition that preserved them.