The ghostly shadow of posture, or the very convoluted history of misquoting

Abstract

The metaphor of posture accompanying movement as a shadow is an integral part of our understanding of the nature of posture and its significance for movement. Authorship is usually attributed to Robert Magnus or Sir Charles Sherrington, but it does not actually appear in the sources usually cited. A search using the current capabilities of online libraries and search tools has shown that the original author of the metaphor was probably Ramsay Hunt, from whom Sherrington took it. This particular example underlines the importance of returning to the original sources and taking a responsible approach to citation, no matter how tedious this often is. And also the importance of critical reading of a professional text, regardless of the aura or laurel wreath surrounding the head of its author.