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Letter: Who said that?

Published 17 July 2013

From Ian Hill

The views of Lady Randolph Churchill are quoted in The Last Word on the subject of nations that boast most Nobel prizewinners (29 June): “We owe something to extravagance, for thrift and adventure seldom go hand in hand.” How does this compare with “necessity is the mother of invention”?

Cambridge, UK

Issue no. 2926 published 20 July 2013

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