More "last best hope" research
In the Babylon 5 episode I watched tonight, Sheridan apparently quoted Abraham Lincoln as saying "...we shall nobly save, or meanly lose, our last best hope for Earth.'"
This would indicate that the last best hope snowclone did not in fact originate with mister Reagan, but in fact with everyone's favorite log-cabin Republican. It might also seem to put a balance weight on the side of "gee, maybe this is too common a construction to count as a snowclone."
The trouble is, I can't find it actually attested to Lincoln in any kind of reputable way.
Searching for the direct quote produced a lot of geeky fan sites, but the only site actually attributing the quote to Lincoln was this one. The second quote down on the list was from Babylon 5, and I don't think it's unreasonable to suggest that perhaps the individual responsible heard the quote in context on the show and attributed it to Lincoln without any fact-checking.
Searching for ["last best hope for *" lincoln -babylon -sheridan] turned up a few more results, but nothing I can trace to a reputable source. Most of these results allude to Lincoln's assertion of America as "the last best hope for mankind." This is interesting, because that's also what Reagan referred to the last best hope for. I've found some of these in a google book search, but nowhere does anyone actually cite when or where lincoln said such a thing.
The basic point is: I have no answers. Lincoln may or may not have actually referred to the last best hope for anything, and it may or may not even be significant if the construction is widespread enough to be disqualified from consideration for snowclone status.
EDIT: a link to the source of Lincoln's quote has been provided by one of my weekly Babylon 5 companions. Lincoln's Annual Message to Congress - December 1st, 1862.
This would indicate that the last best hope snowclone did not in fact originate with mister Reagan, but in fact with everyone's favorite log-cabin Republican. It might also seem to put a balance weight on the side of "gee, maybe this is too common a construction to count as a snowclone."
The trouble is, I can't find it actually attested to Lincoln in any kind of reputable way.
Searching for the direct quote produced a lot of geeky fan sites, but the only site actually attributing the quote to Lincoln was this one. The second quote down on the list was from Babylon 5, and I don't think it's unreasonable to suggest that perhaps the individual responsible heard the quote in context on the show and attributed it to Lincoln without any fact-checking.
Searching for ["last best hope for *" lincoln -babylon -sheridan] turned up a few more results, but nothing I can trace to a reputable source. Most of these results allude to Lincoln's assertion of America as "the last best hope for mankind." This is interesting, because that's also what Reagan referred to the last best hope for. I've found some of these in a google book search, but nowhere does anyone actually cite when or where lincoln said such a thing.
The basic point is: I have no answers. Lincoln may or may not have actually referred to the last best hope for anything, and it may or may not even be significant if the construction is widespread enough to be disqualified from consideration for snowclone status.
EDIT: a link to the source of Lincoln's quote has been provided by one of my weekly Babylon 5 companions. Lincoln's Annual Message to Congress - December 1st, 1862.
posted by Wendell Kimper at 9:49 PM
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