title: [Citation errors: Uplavici (for Hlava) and William the Silent (for Jules Verne and Mignet)].
abstract: A certain 'O Uplavici' was cited for more than fifty years, although he had never existed. This error probably came from a misinterpretation of the Czech language, in which the real author's name--Hlava--can mean 'Title'. It was finally recognized, which was not the case for the author of the sentence: 'I have no need of hope to take action, nor of success to persevere', it is still regularly attributed in France to William I, Prince of Orange, called the Silent. It is a mistake, and no serious reference certifies that an historical figure would have pronounced this sentence. It was written by the historian Mignet in 1841, to describe the character of William III, Prince of Orange and King of England. It was then used in 1875 by Jules Verne, to describe a character in 'The Mysterious Island'.
authors.affiliation: Département d'anesthésie-réanimation, hôpital Saint-Antoine, université Pierre-et-Marie-Curie, 184 rue du Faubourg-Saint-Antoine, Paris cedex 12, France. andre.lienhart@sat.aphp.fr
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lienhart
mesh_terms: D003604:Czechoslovakia; D004403:Dysentery / Q000266:history*; D049670:History, 17th Century; D049672:History, 19th Century; D006801:Humans; D007802:Language; D008091:Literature; D011643:Publishing