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Help identifying source of a Lytton Strachey quote (beehaw.org)

submitted 1 year ago by beezkneez@beehaw.org to c/literature@beehaw.org

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Hi guys, how's it going? I'm trying to identify the source of a commonly cited quote by Lytton Strachey that goes as follows: "Perhaps the best test of a man's intelligence is his capacity for making a summary."

Searching for this serves me countless results from quotes-websites, with no reference to where it was written / said and when. Do any of you know this? I'm beginning to wonder if it really is a genuine quote.

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[–] beezkneez@beehaw.org 4 points 1 year ago

So I've gotten nowhere for a long time. But as so often happens, just as I ask for help, new ideas start popping into my head. I got a hold of a copy of his collected works and searched for 'intelligence' (not a difficult strategy to come up with one would think...). Found it in the essay on Henri Beyle in Books & Characters from 1922. Leaving this up in case there is any interest, but I won't be offended if someone removes it.