To my knowledge, Disraeli's was the first use of the idiom.
Charles
________________________________________
From: American Scientist Open Access Forum [AMERICAN-SCIENTIST-OPEN-ACCESS-FORUM_at_LISTSERVER.SIGMAXI.ORG] On Behalf Of Stevan Harnad [amsciforum_at_GMAIL.COM]
Sent: 30 June 2010 15:13
To: AMERICAN-SCIENTIST-OPEN-ACCESS-FORUM_at_LISTSERVER.SIGMAXI.ORG
Subject: Re: Royal Society Endorses Immediate Green OA Self-Archiving
On Wed, Jun 30, 2010 at 8:30 AM, C Oppenheim <C.Oppenheim_at_lboro.ac.uk> wrote:
> Yes indeed, Disraeli made the remarks at Oxford 25 November 1864, and his words were reported in The Times the following day.
That Disraeli said it on November 25, 1864 is uncontested. The
question is whether that was when the idiom was born, for that purpose
and in that context (Darwinism), or was he simply using an idiom that
already had a long history, in the more general sense the dictionary
notes below.
Chrs, Stevan
> On 2010-06-30, at 12:04 AM, Joseph Esposito wrote:
>
>> No comment about the Royal Society's practices, but perhaps a
>> listmember can assist in the origin of the phrase "the side of
>> the angels." My understanding is that the phrase was uttered by
>> Benjamin Disraeli in a speech in which he challenged Darwin's
>> theory (law?) of evolution. To be on the side of the angels was
>> to oppose the idea that people descended from apes. To be on the
>> side of the angels thus means to oppose science.
>>
>> If I have my history wrong, I would like to be corrected.
>>
>> If I am correct, however, it would be more appropriate for
>> Professor Harnad to say that the Royal Society was on the side of
>> the apes.
>
> http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/on+the+side+of+the+angels
> "on the side of the angels"
> supporting what is kind, right, or good
> "She was on the side of the angels even though it was neither profitable nor popular."
> See also: angel, side
> Cambridge Dictionary of American Idioms Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2006. Reproduced with permission.
>
> Joseph's etymology for the idiom may or may not be right. (I rather suspect the idiom pre-dated Darwin.)
>
> That said, I'd be only to happy to see a green policy on Open Access self-archiving as being on the side of our fellow-hominids, the apes!
>
> I am right now attending a summer institute on the origins of language -- http://www.summer10.isc.uqam.ca/page/programme.php -- and happily supporting the hypothesis that language created our "Cognitive Commons, "and could never even have arisen, let alone have conferred its untold mutual benefits on our species, had we, from the outset, clammed up rather than spoken (or gestured, rather) freely, for all to see and hear... (Paid consultations, keynotes and how-to books came only much later.)
>
> Poynder, R. (2007) From Glottogenesis to the Category Commons. The Basement Interviews.
> http://ia361300.us.archive.org/13/items/The_Basement_Interviews/Stevan_Harnad_Interview.pdf
>
Received on Wed Jun 30 2010 - 16:39:17 BST