Famous Anecdote Quotes & Sayings

A famous anecdote concerning Cuvier involves the tale of his visitation from the devil - only it was not the devil but one of his students dressed up with horns on his head and shoes shaped like cloven hooves. This frightening apparition burst into Cuvier's bedroom when he was fast asleep and claimed:
'Wake up thou man of catastrophes. I am the Devil. I have come to devour you!'
Cuvier studied the apparition carefully and critically said,
'I doubt whether you can. You have horns and hooves. You eat only plants. — Georges Cuvier

In the late nineteenth century, many educated Indians were taught the same lesson by their British masters. One famous anecdote tells of an ambitious Indian who mastered the intricacies of the English language, took lessons in Western-style dance, and even became accustomed to eating with a knife and fork. Equipped with his new manners, he travelled to England, studied law at University College London, and became a qualified barrister. Yet this young man of law, bedecked in suit and tie, was thrown off a train in the British colony of South Africa for insisting on travelling first class instead of settling for third class, where 'coloured' men like him were supposed to ride. His name was Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. — Yuval Noah Harari