French essayist and philosopher Paul Valéry (1871-1945) is credited with:
“A businessman is a hybrid of a dancer and a calculator.”
(“Il fallait un calculateur, ce fut un danseur qui l’obtint.”)
The line was published in Valéry’s work between 1941 and 1943. Collected Works of Paul Valery, Volume 14: Analects (1970) translated the line:
“The businessman…a cross between a dancer and a ready-reckoner. ( ‘It was a dancer who got her.’ )”
“A businessman is a hybrid of a dancer and a calculator” appeared in an English language book in 1977.
Wikipedia: Paul Valéry
Ambroise-Paul-Toussaint-Jules Valéry (/vɑːleɪˈri/; French: [pɔl valeʁi]; 30 October 1871 – 20 July 1945) was a French poet, essayist, and philosopher. In addition to his poetry and fiction (drama and dialogues), his interests included aphorisms on art, history, letters, music, and current events. Valéry was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature in 12 different years.
OCLC WorldCat record
Tel quel ...
Author: Paul Valéry
Publisher: [Paris] Gallimard [1941-43]
Edition/Format: Print book : French
“Il fallait un calculateur, ce fut un danseur qui l’obtint.”
Google Books
Collected Works of Paul Valery
Volume 14: Analects
By Paul Valéry
1970
Pg. 164:
The businessman…a cross between a dancer and a ready-reckoner. (“It was a dancer who got her.”)
Google Books
How to Manage a Nonprofit Organization
By John Fisher
Toronto, ON: Management and Fund Raising Centre
1977
Pg. 65:
“A businessman is a hybrid of a dancer and a calculator.
Paul Valery
Google Books
Forbes
Volume 154, Issues 6-10
1994
Pg. 164:
A businessman is a hybrid between a dancer and a calculator.—Paul Valery
Google Books
The Biteback Dictionary of Humorous Business Quotations
By Fred Metcalf
London: Biteback Publishing Ltd
2014
Pg. ?:
A businessman is a hybrid of a dancer and a calculator.
Paul Valéry, French novelist and playwright
Google Books
Forbes Book of Quotations:
10,000 Thoughts on the Business of Life
Edited by Ted Goodman
New York, NY: Black Dog & Leventhal
2016
Pg. ?:
A businessman is a hybrid between a dancer and a calculator.
Paul Valéry
Twitter
Gunny
@OldMarine1
“A businessman is a hybrid of a dancer and a calculator.”... Paul Valery (In this case, Trump dances over and around the Constitution)
2:50 AM - 29 Mar 2016
Above, a 1934 plaque from the Big Apple Night Club at West 135th Street and Seventh Avenue in Harlem. Discarded as trash in 2006. Now a Popeyes fast food restaurant on Google Maps.
Recent entries:
•“I read old books because I would rather learn from those who built civilization than those who tore it down” (4/18)
•“I study old buildings because I would rather learn from those who built civilization than those who tore it down” (4/18)
•“Due to personal reasons, I’m still going to be fluffy this summer” (4/18)
•“Do not honk at me. My life is worthless. I will kill us both” (bumper sticker) (4/18)
•Entry in progress—BP16 (4/18)
More new entries...
Above, Big Apple Corner at 54th Street and Broadway in Manhattan. Google Maps. Stolen and missing, 2021-2024.
Above, John J. Fitz Gerald, from the Aug. 15, 1931, Binghamton (NY) Press, pg. 14.
Listen to Robert Emmerich introduce "The Big Apple," a hit song from 1937. Music written by Bob and performed by Tommy Dorsey's Clambake Seven with Bob on piano. Lyrics written by Buddy Bernier and sung by Edythe Wright. Audio provided by Dorothy Emmerich.
Also listen to a 1937 "The Big Apple" song by Ozzie Nelson and his Orchestra. See a 1929 photo of John J. Fitz Gerald and a 1931 photo of John J. Fitz Gerald.
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