The Oxford dictionary of modern quotations (47 page)

Collected Essays (1959) "Case of Voluntary Ignorance"

The proper study of mankind is books.

Crome Yellow (1921) ch. 28

Too much consistency is as bad for the mind as it is for the body.

Consistency is contrary to nature, contrary to life. The only completely

consistent people are the dead.

Do What You Will (1929) "Wordsworth in the Tropics"

The end cannot justify the means, for the simple and obvious reason that

the means employed determine the nature of the ends produced.

Ends and Means(1937) ch. 1

So long as men worship the Caesars and Napoleons, Caesars and Napoleons

will duly arise and make them miserable.

Ends and Means (1937) ch. 8

Chastity--the most unnatural of all the sexual perversions, he added

parenthetically, out of Remy de Gourmont.

Eyeless in Gaza (1936) ch. 27

"Death," said Mark Staithes. "It's the only thing we haven't succeeded in

completely vulgarizing."

Eyeless in Gaza (1936) ch. 31

"Bed," as the Italian proverb succinctly puts it, "is the poor man's

opera."

Heaven and Hell (1956) p. 41

A million million spermatozoa,

All of them alive:

Out of their cataclysm but one poor Noah

Dare hope to survive.

And among that billion minus one

Might have chanced to be

Shakespeare, another Newton, a new Donne--

But the One was Me.

Leda (1920) "Fifth Philosopher's Song"

Beauty for some provides escape,

Who gain a happiness in eyeing

The gorgeous buttocks of the ape

Or Autumn sunsets exquisitely dying.

Leda (1920) "Ninth Philosopher's Song"

Then brim the bowl with atrabilious liquor!

We'll pledge our Empire vast across the flood:

For Blood, as all men know, than Water's thicker,

But Water's wider, thank the Lord, than Blood.

Leda (1920) "Ninth Philosopher's Song"

Ragtime...but when the wearied Band

Swoons to a waltz, I take her hand,

And there we sit in peaceful calm,

Quietly sweating palm to palm.

Leda (1920) "Frascati's"

I can sympathize with people's pains, but not with their pleasures. There

is something curiously boring about somebody else's happiness.

Limbo (1920) "Cynthia"

After silence, that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is

music.

Music at Night (1931) p. 17

"And besides," he added, forgetting that several excuses are always less

convincing than one, "Lady Edward's inviting an American editor specially

for my sake."

Point Counter Point (1928) ch. 1

A bad book is as much of a labour to write as a good one; it comes as

sincerely from the author's soul.

Point Counter Point (1928) ch. 13

There is no substitute for talent. Industry and all the virtues are of no

avail.

Point Counter Point (1928) ch. 13

Brought up in an epoch when ladies apparently rolled along on wheels, Mr

Quarles was peculiarly susceptible to calves.

Point Counter Point (1928) ch. 20

Parodies and caricatures are the most penetrating of criticisms.

Point Counter Point (1928) ch. 28

That all men are equal is a proposition to which, at ordinary times, no

sane human being has ever given his assent.

Proper Studies (1927) "The Idea of Equality"

Those who believe that they are exclusively in the right are generally

those who achieve something.

Proper Studies (1927) "Note on Dogma"

Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored.

Proper Studies (1927) "Note on Dogma"

Experience is not what happens to a man; it is what a man does with what

happens to him.

Texts and Pretexts (1932) p. 5

Most human beings have an almost infinite capacity for taking things for

granted.

Themes and Variations (1950) "Variations on a Philosopher"

"There's only one corner of the universe you can be certain of improving,

and that's your own self. Your own self," he repeated. So you have to

begin there, not outside, not on other people. That comes afterwards,

when you've worked on your own corner.

Time Must Have a Stop (1945) ch. 7

8.96 Sir Julian Huxley =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

1887-1975

Operationally, God is beginning to resemble not a ruler but the last

fading smile of a cosmic Cheshire cat.

Religion without Revelation (1957 edn.) ch. 3

9.0 I =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

9.1 Dolores Ibarruri ('La Pasionaria') =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

1895-1989

Il vaut mieux mourir debout que de vivre � genoux!

It is better to die on your feet than to live on your knees.

Speech in Paris, 3 Sept. 1936, in L'Humanit� 4 Sept. 1936 (also attributed

to Emiliano Zapata)

No pasar�n.

They shall not pass.

Radio broadcast, Madrid, 19 July 1936, in Speeches and Articles 1936-38

(1938) p. 7 (cf. Anonymous 6:25)

9.2 Henrik Ibsen =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

1828-1906

Luftslotte,--de er s� nemme at ty ind i, de. Og nemme at bygge ogs�.

Castles in the air--they are so easy to take refuge in. And so easy to

build, too.

Bygmester Solness (The Master Builder, 1892) act 3

Flertallet har aldrig retten p� sin side. Aldrig, siger jeg! Det er en af

disse samfundsl�e, som en fri, t�nkende mand m� g� opr�imod. Hvem er

det, som udg�flertallet af beboerne i et land? Er det de kloge folk,

eller er det d� dumme? Jeg taenker, vi f�r vaere enige om, at dumme

mennesker er tilstede i en ganske forskraek kelig overv�ldende majoritet

rundt omkring p� den hele vide jord. Men det kan da vel, for fanden,

aldrig i evighed vaere ret, at de dumme skal herske over de kloge!

The majority never has right on its side. Never I say! That is one of the

social lies that a free, thinking man is bound to rebel against. Who makes

up the majority in any given country? Is it the wise men or the fools? I

think we must agree that the fools are in a terrible overwhelming

majority, all the wide world over.

En Folkefiende (An Enemy of the People, 1882) act 4

En skulde aldrig ha' sine bedste buxer p�, n�r en er ude og strider for

frihed og sandhed.

You should never have your best trousers on when you go out to fight for

freedom and truth.

En Folkefiende (An Enemy of the People, 1882) act 5

Sagen er den, ser I, at den st�rkeste mand i verden, det er han, som st�r

mest alene.

The thing is, you see, that the strongest man in the world is the man who

stands most alone.

En Folkefiende (An Enemy of the People, 1882) act 5

Mor, gi' mig solen.

Mother, give me the sun.

Gengangere (Ghosts, 1881) act 3

Men, gud sig forbarme,--sligt noget g�man da ikke!

But good God, people don't do such things!

Hedda Gabler (1890) act 4

Hvad skal manden v�re? Sig selv, det er mit korte svar.

What ought a man to be? Well, my short answer is "himself."

Peer Gynt (1867) act 4

Tar de livsl�en fra et gennemsnitsmenneske, s� tar De lykken fra ham med

det samme.

Take the life-lie away from the average man and straight away you take

away his happiness.

Vildanden (The Wild Duck, 1884) act 5

9.3 Harold L. Ickes =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

1874-1952

The trouble with Senator Long...is that he is suffering from halitosis of

the intellect. That's presuming Emperor Long has an intellect.

Speech, 1935, in G. Wolfskill and J. A. Hudson All But the People:

Franklin D. Roosevelt and his Critics, 1933-39 (1969) ch. 11

Dewey threw his diaper into the ring.

On the Republican candidate for the presidency, in New York Times 12 Dec.

1939, p. 32

9.4 Eric Idle =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

1943-

See Graham Chapman et al. (3.47)

9.5 Francis Iles (Anthony Berkeley Cox) =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

1893-1970

It was not until several weeks after he had decided to murder his wife

that Dr Bickleigh took any active steps in the matter. Murder is a serious

business.

Malice Aforethought (1931) p. 7

9.6 Ivan Illich =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

1926-

Man must choose whether to be rich in things or in the freedom to use

them.

Deschooling Society (1971) ch. 4

In a consumer society there are inevitably two kinds of slaves: the

prisoners of addiction and the prisoners of envy.

Tools for Conviviality (1973) ch. 3

9.7 Charles Inge =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

1868-1957

This very remarkable man

Commends a most practical plan:

You can do what you want

If you don't think you can't,

So don't think you can't think you can.

Weekend Book (1928) "On Monsieur Cou�"

9.8 William Ralph Inge (Dean Inge) =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

1860-1954

The aim of education is the knowledge not of facts but of values.

"The Training of the Reason" in A. C. Benson (ed.) Cambridge Essays on

Education (1917) ch. 2

The enemies of Freedom do not argue; they shout and they shoot.

End of an Age (1948) ch. 4

The effect of boredom on a large scale in history is underestimated. It is

a main cause of revolutions, and would soon bring to an end all the static

Utopias and the farmyard civilization of the Fabians.

End of an Age (1948) ch. 6

To become a popular religion, it is only necessary for a superstition to

enslave a philosophy.

Idea of Progress (Romanes Lecture delivered at Oxford, 27 May 1920) p. 9

Many people believe that they are attracted by God, or by Nature, when

they are only repelled by man.

More Lay Thoughts of a Dean (1931) pt. 4, ch. 1

It takes in reality only one to make a quarrel. It is useless for the

sheep to pass resolutions in favour of vegetarianism, while the wolf

remains of a different opinion.

Outspoken Essays: First Series (1919) "Patriotism"

The nations which have put mankind and posterity most in their debt have

been small states--Israel, Athens, Florence, Elizabethan England.

Outspoken Essays: Second Series (1922) "State, visible and invisible"

A man may build himself a throne of bayonets, but he cannot sit on it; and

he cannot avow that the bayonets are meant to keep his own subjects quiet.

Philosophy of Plotinus (1923) vol. 2, lecture 22

Literature flourishes best when it is half a trade and half an art.

Victorian Age (Rede Lecture delivered at Cambridge, 1922) p. 49

9.9 Eug�ne Ionesco =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

1912-

C'est une chose anormale de vivre.

Living is abnormal.

Le Rhinoc�ros (1959) act 1

Tu ne pr�vois les �v�nements que lorsqu'ils sont d�j� arriv�s.

You can only predict things after they have happened.

Le Rhinoc�ros (1959) act 3

Un fonctionnaire ne plaisante pas.

A civil servant doesn't make jokes.

Tueur sans gages (The Killer, 1958) act 1

9.10 Weldon J. Irvine =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Young, gifted and black.

Title of song (1969; music by Nina Simone)

9.11 Christopher Isherwood =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

1904-1986

The common cormorant (or shag)

Lays eggs inside a paper bag,

You follow the idea, no doubt?

It's to keep the lightning out.

But what these unobservant birds

Have never thought of, is that herds

Of wandering bears might come with buns

And steal the bags to hold the crumbs.

Exhumations (1966) "Common Cormorant"

I am a camera with its shutter open, quite passive, recording, not

thinking. Recording the man shaving at the window opposite and the woman

in the kimono washing her hair. Some day, all this will have to be

developed, carefully printed, fixed.

Goodbye to Berlin (1939) "Berlin Diary" Autumn 1930

Mr Norris changes trains.

Title of novel (1935)

See also W. H. Auden (1.67) and Christopher Isherwood

10.0 J =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

10.1 Holbrook Jackson =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

1874-1948

A mother never realizes that her children are no longer children.

All Manner of Folk (1912) "On a Certain Arrangement" p. 89

Pedantry is the dotage of knowledge.

Anatomy of Bibliomania (1930) vol. 1, p. 150

As soon as an idea is accepted it is time to reject it.

Platitudes in the Making (1911) p. 13

10.2 Joe Jacobs =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

1896-1940

We was robbed!

Shouted into the microphone after Jack Sharkey beat Max Schmeling (of whom

Jacobs was manager) in the heavyweight title fight, 21 June 1932, in Peter

Heller In This Corner (1975) p. 44

I should of stood [i.e. have stayed] in bed.

Said after he left his sick-bed in October 1935 to attend the World

Baseball Series in Detroit and he bet on the losers, in John Lardner

Strong Cigars (1951) p. 61

10.3 Mick Jagger and Keith Richard (Keith Richards) =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Mick Jagger 1943-

Keith Richard 1943-

It's only rock 'n' roll.

Title of song (1974)

Ev'rywhere I hear the sound of marching, charging feet, oh, boy,

'Cause summer's here and the time is oh, right for fighting in the

street, boy.

But what can a poor boy do

Except to sing for a rock 'n' roll band,

'Cause in sleepy London town

There's just no place for street fighting man!

Street Fighting Man (1968 song)

10.4 Henry James =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

1843-1916

The ever-importunate murmur, "Dramatize it, dramatize it!"

Altar of the Dead (1909 ed.) preface

The terrible fluidity of self-revelation.

Ambassadors (1909 ed.) preface

Live all you can; it's a mistake not to. It doesn't so much matter what

you do in particular, so long as you have your life. If you haven't had

that, what have you had?

Ambassadors (1903) bk. 5, ch. 11

The deep well of unconscious cerebration.

The American (1909 ed.) preface

The historian, essentially, wants more documents than he can really use;

the dramatist only wants more liberties than he can really take.

Aspern Papers (1909 ed.) preface

Summer afternoon--summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two

most beautiful words in the English language.

In Edith Wharton Backward Glance (1934) ch. 10

He [Henry James] is said to have told his old friend Lady Prothero, when

she saw him after the first stroke, that in the very act of falling (he

was dressing at the time) he heard in the room a voice which was

distinctly, it seemed, not his own saying: "So here it is at last, the

distinguished thing!"

Edith Wharton Backward Glance (1934) ch. 14

To kill a human being is, after all, the least injury you can do him.

Complete Tales (1962) vol. 1 "My Friend Bingham" (1867 short story)

We work in the dark--we do what we can--we give what we have. Our doubt

is our passion and our passion is our task. The rest is the madness of

art.

Complete Tales (1964) vol. 9 "Middle Years" (1893 short story)