The Oxford dictionary of modern quotations (12 page)

Biography should be written by an acute enemy.

In Observer 30 Jan. 1927

It is unfortunate, considering that enthusiasm moves the world, that so

few enthusiasts can be trusted to speak the truth.

Letter to Mrs Drew, 19 May 1891, in Some Hawarden Letters (1917) ch. 7

2.9 Whitney Balliett =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

1926-

Critics are biased, and so are readers. (Indeed, a critic is a bundle of

biases held loosely together by a sense of taste.) But intelligent readers

soon discover how to allow for the windage of their own and a critic's

prejudices.

Dinosaurs in the Morning (1962) introductory note

The sound of surprise.

Title of book on jazz (1959)

2.10 Pierre Balmain =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

1914-1982

The trick of wearing mink is to look as though you were wearing a cloth

coat. The trick of wearing a cloth coat is to look as though you are

wearing mink.

In Observer 25 Dec. 1955

2.11 Tallulah Bankhead =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

1903-1968

I'm as pure as the driven slush.

Quoted by Maurice Zolotow in Saturday Evening Post 12 Apr. 1947

There is less in this than meets the eye.

In Alexander Woollcott Shouts and Murmurs (1922) ch. 4 (describing a

revival of Maeterlinck's play "Aglavaine and Selysette")

Cocaine habit-forming? Of course not. I ought to know. I've been using it

for years.

Tallulah (1952) ch. 4

2.12 Nancy Banks-Smith =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

In my experience, if you have to keep the lavatory door shut by extending

your left leg, it's modern architecture.

Guardian 20 Feb. 1979

I'm still suffering from the big d�nouement in [Jeffrey Archer's book] Not

A Penny More when "the three stood motionless like sheep in the stare of a

python." The whole thing keeps me awake at night. Here are these sheep,

gambolling about in the Welsh jungle, when up pops a python. A python,

what's more, who thinks he's a cobra.

Guardian 26 Mar. 1990

2.13 Imamu Amiri Baraka (Everett LeRoi Jones) =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

1934-

A rich man told me recently that a liberal is a man who tells other people

what to do with their money.

Kulchur Spring 1962 "Tokenism"

A man is either free or he is not. There cannot be any apprenticeship for

freedom.

Kulchur Spring 1962 "Tokenism"

God has been replaced, as he has all over the West, with respectability

and airconditioning.

Midstream (1963) p. 39

2.14 W. N. P. Barbellion (Bruce Frederick Cummings) =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

1889-1919

Give me the man who will surrender the whole world for a moss or a

caterpillar, and impracticable visions for a simple human delight. Yes,

that shall be my practice. I prefer Richard Jefferies to Swedenborg and

Oscar Wilde to Thomas � Kempis.

Enjoying Life and Other Literary Remains (1919) "Crying for the Moon"

Am writing an essay on the life-history of insects and have abandoned the

idea of writing on "How Cats Spend their Time."

Journal of a Disappointed Man (1919) 3 Jan. 1903

I can remember wondering as a child if I were a young Macaulay or Ruskin

and secretly deciding that I was. My infant mind even was bitter with

those who insisted on regarding me as a normal child and not as a prodigy.

Journal of a Disappointed Man (1919) 23 Oct. 1910

2.15 Maurice Baring =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

1874-1945

In Mozart and Salieri we see the contrast between the genius which does

what it must and the talent which does what it can.

Outline of Russian Literature (1914) ch. 3

2.16 Ronnie Barker =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

1929-

The marvellous thing about a joke with a double meaning is that it can

only mean one thing.

Sauce (1977) "Daddie's Sauce"

2.17 Frederick R. Barnard =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

One picture is worth ten thousand words.

Printers' Ink 10 Mar. 1927

2.18 Clive Barnes =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

1927-

This [Oh, Calcutta!] is the kind of show to give pornography a dirty name.

New York Times 18 June 1969, p. 33

2.19 Julian Barnes =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

1946-

What does this journey seem like to those who aren't British--as they head

towards the land of embarrassment and breakfast?

Flaubert's Parrot (1984) ch. 7

The writer must be universal in sympathy and an outcast by nature: only

then can he see clearly.

Flaubert's Parrot (1984) ch. 10

Do not imagine that Art is something which is designed to give gentle

uplift and self-confidence. Art is not a brassi�re. At least, not in the

English sense. But do not forget that brassi�re is the French for

life-jacket.

Flaubert's Parrot (1984) ch. 10

Books say: she did this because. Life says: she did this. Books are where

things are explained to you; life is where things aren't. I'm not

surprised some people prefer books. Books make sense of life. The only

problem is that the lives they make sense of are other people's lives,

never your own.

Flaubert's Parrot (1984) ch. 13

2.20 Peter Barnes =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

1931-

Claire: How do you know you're...God?

Earl of gurney: Simple. When I pray to Him I find I'm talking to

myself.

The Ruling Class (1969) act 1, sc. 4

2.21 Sir J. M. Barrie =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

1860-1937

I'm not young enough to know everything.

The Admirable Crichton (performed 1902, pubd. 1914) act 1

His lordship may compel us to be equal upstairs, but there will never be

equality in the servants' hall.

The Admirable Crichton (performed 1902, pubd. 1914) act 1

It's my deserts; I'm a second eleven sort of chap.

The Admirable Crichton (performed 1902, pubd. 1914) act 3

Times have changed since a certain author was executed for murdering his

publisher. They say that when the author was on the scaffold he said

goodbye to the minister and to the reporters, and then he saw some

publishers sitting in the front row below, and to them he did not say

goodbye. He said instead, "I'll see you later."

Speech at Aldine Club, New York, 5 Nov. 1896, in Critic 14 Nov. 1896

The life of every man is a diary in which he means to write one story, and

writes another; and his humblest hour is when he compares the volume as it

is with what he vowed to make it.

The Little Minister (1891) vol. 1, ch. 1

It's grand, and you canna expect to be baith grand and comfortable.

The Little Minister (1891) vol. 1, ch. 10

I loathe entering upon explanations to anybody about anything.

My Lady Nicotine (1890) ch. 14

When the first baby laughed for the first time, the laugh broke into a

thousand pieces and they all went skipping about, and that was the

beginning of fairies.

Peter Pan (1928) act 1

Every time a child says "I don't believe in fairies" there is a little

fairy somewhere that falls down dead.

Peter Pan (1928) act 1

To die will be an awfully big adventure.

Peter Pan (1928) act 3. Cf. Charles Frohman

Do you believe in fairies? Say quick that you believe! If you believe,

clap your hands!

Peter Pan (1928) act 4

That is ever the way. 'Tis all jealousy to the bride and good wishes to

the corpse.

Quality Street (performed 1901, pubd. 1913) act 1

The printing press is either the greatest blessing or the greatest curse

of modern times, one sometimes forgets which.

Sentimental Tommy (1896) ch. 5

Someone said that God gave us memory so that we might have roses in

December.

Rectorial Address at St Andrew's, 3 May 1922, in The Times 4 May 1922

Never ascribe to an opponent motives meaner than your own.

Rectorial Address at St Andrew's, 3 May 1922, in The Times 4 May 1922

Courage is the thing. All goes if courage goes!

Rectorial Address at St Andrews, 3 May 1922, in The Times 4 May 1922

For several days after my first book was published I carried it about in

my pocket, and took surreptitious peeps at it to make sure that the ink

had not faded.

Speech at the Critics' Circle in London, 26 May 1922, in The Times 27 May

1922

Have you ever noticed, Harry, that many jewels make women either

incredibly fat or incredibly thin?

The Twelve-Pound Look and Other Plays (1921) p. 27

One's religion is whatever he is most interested in, and yours is Success.

The Twelve-Pound Look and Other Plays (1921) p. 28

Oh the gladness of her gladness when she's glad,

And the sadness of her sadness when she's sad,

But the gladness of her gladness

And the sadness of her sadness

Are as nothing, Charles,

To the badness of her badness when she's bad.

Rosalind in The Twelve-Pound Look and Other Plays (1921) p. 113

Charm...it's a sort of bloom on a woman. If you have it, you don't need

to have anything else; and if you don't have it, it doesn't much matter

what else you have. Some women, the few, have charm for all; and most have

charm for one. But some have charm for none.

What Every Woman Knows (1918) act 1

A young Scotsman of your ability let loose upon the world with �300, what

could he not do? It's almost appalling to think of; especially if he went

among the English.

What Every Woman Knows (1918) act 1

My lady, there are few more impressive sights in the world than a Scotsman

on the make.

What Every Woman Knows (1918) act 2

You've forgotten the grandest moral attribute of a Scotsman, Maggie, that

he'll do nothing which might damage his career.

What Every Woman Knows (1918) act 2

The tragedy of a man who has found himself out.

What Every Woman Knows (1918) act 4

Every man who is high up loves to think that he has done it all himself;

and the wife smiles, and lets it go at that. It's our only joke. Every

woman knows that.

What Every Woman Knows (1918) act 4

2.22 Ethel Barrymore =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

1879-1959

For an actress to be a success, she must have the face of a Venus, the

brains of a Minerva, the grace of Terpsichore, the memory of a Macaulay,

the figure of Juno, and the hide of a rhinoceros.

In George Jean Nathan The Theatre in the Fifties (1953) p. 30

2.23 John Barrymore =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

1882-1942

He [Barrymore] would quote from Genesis the text which says, "It is not

good for man to be alone," and then add, "But O my God, what a relief."

Alma Power-Waters John Barrymore (1941) ch. 13

My only regret in the theatre is that I could never sit out front and

watch me.

In Eddie Cantor The Way I See It (1959) ch. 2

Die? I should say not, old fellow. No Barrymore would allow such a

conventional thing to happen to him.

In Lionel Barrymore We Barrymores (1951) ch. 26

2.24 Lionel Bart =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

1930-

See Frank Norman (14.23)

2.25 Karl Barth =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

1886-1968

Die Menschen aber waren nie gut, sind es nicht und werden es auch nie

sein.

Men have never been good, they are not good and they never will be good.

Christliche Gemeinde (Christian Community, 1948) p. 36

Whether the angels play only Bach in praising God I am not quite sure; I

am sure, however, that en famille they play Mozart.

In New York Times 11 Dec. 1968, p. 42

2.26 Roland Barthes =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

1915-1980

Ce que le public r�clame, c'est l'image de la passion, non la passion

elle-m�me.

What the public wants is the image of passion, not passion itself.

Esprit (1952) vol. 20, pt. 10, p. 412 "Le monde o� l'on catche" (The

world of wrestling)

Je crois que l'automobile est aujourd'hui l'�quivalent assez exact des

grandes cath�drales gothiques: je veux dire une grande cr�ation d'�poque,

con�ue passionn�ment par des artistes inconnus, consomm�e dans son image,

sinon dans son usage, par un peuple entier qui s'approprie en elle un

objet parfaitement magique.

I think that cars today are almost the exact equivalent of the great

Gothic cathedrals: I mean the supreme creation of an era, conceived with

passion by unknown artists, and consumed in image if not in usage by a

whole population which appropriates them as a purely magical object.