The Oxford dictionary of modern quotations (21 page)

And there the unregulated sun

Slopes down to rest when day is done,

And wakes a vague unpunctual star,

A slippered Hesper; and there are

Meads towards Haslingfield and Coton

Where das Betreten's not verboten.

...would I were

In Grantchester, in Grantchester!

1914 and Other Poems (1915) "The Old Vicarage, Grantchester"

And in that garden, black and white,

Creep whispers through the grass all night;

And spectral dance, before the dawn,

A hundred Vicars down the lawn;

Curates, long dust, will come and go

On lissom, clerical, printless toe;

And oft between the boughs is seen

The sly shade of a Rural Dean.

1914 and Other Poems (1915) "The Old Vicarage, Grantchester"

God! I will pack, and take a train,

And get me to England once again!

For England's the one land, I know,

Where men with Splendid Hearts may go;

And Cambridgeshire, of all England,

The shire for Men who Understand;

And of that district I prefer

The lovely hamlet Grantchester.

For Cambridge people rarely smile,

Being urban, squat, and packed with guile.

1914 and Other Poems (1915) "The Old Vicarage, Grantchester"

They love the Good; they worship Truth;

They laugh uproariously in youth;

(And when they get to feeling old,

They up and shoot themselves, I'm told).

1914 and Other Poems (1915) "The Old Vicarage, Grantchester"

Oh, is the water sweet and cool,

Gentle and brown, above the pool?

And laughs the immortal river still

Under the mill, under the mill?

Say, is there Beauty yet to find?

And Certainty? and Quiet kind?

Deep meadows yet, for to forget

The lies, and truths, and pain?...oh! yet

Stands the Church clock at ten to three?

And is there honey still for tea?

1914 and Other Poems (1915) "The Old Vicarage, Grantchester"

2.135 Anita Brookner =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

1938-

Good women always think it is their fault when someone else is being

offensive. Bad women never take the blame for anything.

Hotel du Lac (1984) ch. 7

Blanche Vernon occupied her time most usefully in keeping feelings at bay.

Misalliance (1986) ch. 1

2.136 Mel Brooks =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

1926-

That's it baby, when you got it, flaunt it.

The Producers (1968 film)

2.137 Heywood Broun =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

1888-1939

Free speech is about as good a cause as the world has ever known. But,

like the poor, it is always with us and gets shoved aside in favour of

things which seem at some given moment more vital....Everybody favours

free speech in the slack moments when no axes are being ground.

New York World 23 Oct. 1926, p. 13

Just as every conviction begins as a whim so does every emancipator serve

his apprenticeship as a crank. A fanatic is a great leader who is just

entering the room.

New York World 6 Feb. 1928, p. 11

Men build bridges and throw railroads across deserts, and yet they contend

successfully that the job of sewing on a button is beyond them.

Accordingly, they don't have to sew buttons.

Seeing Things at Night (1921) "Holding a Baby"

Posterity is as likely to be wrong as anybody else.

Sitting on the World (1924) "The Last Review"

2.138 H. Rap Brown =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

1943-

I say violence is necessary. It is as American as cherry pie.

Speech at Washington, 27 July 1967, in Washington Post 28 July 1967, p. A7

2.139 Helen Gurley Brown =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

1922-

Sex and the single girl.

Title of book (1962)

2.140 Ivor Brown =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

1891-1974

For nearly a century after his death, Shakespeare remained more a theme

for criticism by the few than a subject of adulation by the many.

Shakespeare (1949) ch. 1

2.141 John Mason Brown =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

1900-1969

Tallulah Bankhead barged down the Nile last night as Cleopatra--and sank.

New York Post 11 Nov. 1937, p. 18

2.142 Lew Brown (Louis Brownstein) =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

1893-1958

Life is just a bowl of cherries.

Title of song (1931; music by Ray Henderson)

2.143 Nacio Herb Brown =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

1896-1964

See Arthur Freed (6.44)

2.144 Cecil Browne =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

But not so odd

As those who choose

A Jewish God,

But spurn the Jews.

Reply to verse by William Norman Ewer: see 78:4

2.145 Sir Frederick Browning =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

1896-1965

I think we might be going a bridge too far.

Expressing reservations about the Arnhem "Market Garden" operation to

Field Marshal Montgomery on 10 Sept. 1944, in R. E. Urquhart Arnhem

(1958) p. 4

2.146 Lenny Bruce (Leonard Alfred Schneider) =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

1925-1966

The liberals can understand everything but people who don't understand

them.

In John Cohen Essential Lenny Bruce (1970) p. 59

2.147 Anita Bryant =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

1940-

If homosexuality were the normal way, God would have made Adam and Bruce.

In New York Times 5 June 1977, p. 22

2.148 Martin Buber =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

1878-1965

Der Mensch wird am Du zum Ich.

Through the Thou a person becomes I.

Ich und Du (I and Thou, 1923) in Werke (1962) vol. 1, p. 97

2.149 John Buchan (Baron Tweedsmuir) =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

1875-1940

To live for a time close to great minds is the best kind of education.

Memory Hold-the-Door (1940) ch. 2

"Back to Glasgow to do some work for the cause," I said lightly. "Just

so," he said, with a grin. "It's a great life if you don't weaken."

Mr Standfast (1919) ch. 5

An atheist is man who has no invisible means of support.

In H. E. Fosdick On Being a Real Person (1943) ch. 10

2.150 Frank Buchman =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

1878-1961

I thank heaven for a man like Adolf Hitler, who built a front line of

defence against the anti-Christ of Communism.

New York World-Telegram 26 Aug. 1936

Suppose everybody cared enough, everybody shared enough, wouldn't

everybody have enough? There is enough in the world for everyone's need,

but not enough for everyone's greed.

Remaking the World (1947) p. 56

2.151 Gene Buck (Edward Eugene Buck) and Herman Ruby =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Gene Buck 1885-1957

Herman Ruby 1891-1959

That Shakespearian rag,--

Most intelligent, very elegant.

That Shakespearian Rag (1912 song; music by David Stamper). Cf. T. S.

Eliot 76:21

2.152 Richard Buckle =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

1916-

John Lennon, Paul McCartney and George Harrison are the greatest composers

since Beethoven, with Paul McCartney way out in front.

Sunday Times 29 Dec. 1963

2.153 Arthur Buller =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

1874-1944

There was a young lady named Bright,

Whose speed was far faster than light;

She set out one day

In a relative way

And returned on the previous night.

Punch 19 Dec. 1923, "Relativity"

2.154 Ivor Bulmer-Thomas =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

1905-

If he [Harold Wilson] ever went to school without any boots it was because

he was too big for them.

Speech at Conservative Party Conference, in Manchester Guardian 13 Oct.

1949

2.155 Luis Bu�uel =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

1900-1983

Le charme discret de la bourgeoisie.

The discreet charm of the bourgeoisie.

Title of film (1972)

Gr�ce � Dieu, je suis toujours ath�e.

Thanks to God, I am still an atheist.

In Le Monde 16 Dec. 1959

2.156 Anthony Burgess =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

1917-

Who ever heard of a clockwork orange? Then I read a malenky bit out loud

in a sort of very high type preaching goloss: "The attempt to impose upon

man, a creature of growth and capable of sweetness, to ooze juicily at the

last round the bearded lips of God, to attempt to impose, I say, laws and

conditions appropriate to a mechanical creation, against this I raise my

sword-pen."

A Clockwork Orange (1962) p. 21

It was the afternoon of my eighty-first birthday, and I was in bed with my

catamite when Ali announced that the archbishop had come to see me.

Earthly Powers (1980) p. 7

He said it was artificial respiration, but now I find I am to have his

child.

Inside Mr Enderby (1963) pt. 1, ch. 4

The possession of a book becomes a substitute for reading it.

New York Times Book Review 4 Dec. 1966, p. 74

2.157 Johnny Burke =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

1908-1964

Every time it rains, it rains

Pennies from heaven.

Don't you know each cloud contains

Pennies from heaven?

You'll find your fortune falling

All over town

Be sure that your umbrella

Is upside down.

Pennies from Heaven (1936 song; music by Arthur Johnston)

Like Webster's Dictionary, we're Morocco bound.

The Road to Morocco (1942 song from film The Road to Morocco; music by

James van Heusen)

2.158 John Burns =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

1858-1943

"What have you in the Mississippi?" he [John Burns] asked an American who

had spoken disparagingly of the Thames. The American replied that there

was water--miles and miles of it. "Ah, but you see, the Thames is liquid

history," said Burns.

Daily Mail 25 Jan. 1943

2.159 William S. Burroughs =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

1914-

I think there are innumerable gods. What we on earth call God is a little

tribal God who has made an awful mess. Certainly forces operating through

human consciousness control events.

Paris Review Fall 1965

2.160 Benjamin Hapgood Burt =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

1880-1950

One evening in October, when I was one-third sober,

An' taking home a "load" with manly pride;

My poor feet began to stutter, so I lay down in the gutter,

And a pig came up an' lay down by my side;

Then we sang "It's all fair weather when good fellows get together,"

Till a lady passing by was heard to say:

"You can tell a man who 'boozes' by the company he chooses"

And the pig got up and slowly walked away.

The Pig Got Up and Slowly Walked Away (1933 song)

2.161 Nat Burton =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

There'll be bluebirds over the white cliffs of Dover,

Tomorrow, just you wait and see.

White Cliffs of Dover (1941 song; music by Walter Kent)

2.162 R. A. Butler (Baron Butler of Saffron Walden) =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

1902-1982

Politics is the Art of the Possible. That is what these pages show I have

tried to achieve--not more--and that is what I have called my book.

The Art of the Possible (1971) p. xi. Cf. Bismarck's "Die Politik ist die

Lehre vom M�glichen," Oxford Dictionary of Quotations (1979) 84:20

Reporter: Mr Butler, would you say that this [Anthony Eden] is the best

Prime Minister we have?

R. A. Butler: Yes.

Interview at London Airport, 8 Jan. 1956, in R. A. Butler The Art of the

Possible (1971) ch. 9

2.163 Ralph Butler and Noel Gay (Richard Moxon Armitage) =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

1898-1954

The sun has got his hat on

Hip hip hip hooray!

The sun has got his hat on

And he's coming out today.

The Sun Has Got His Hat On (1932 song)

2.164 Samuel Butler =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

1835-1902

Yet meet we shall, and part, and meet again

Where dead men meet, on lips of living men.

Athenaeum 4 Jan. 1902,

It has been said that the love of money is the root of all evil. The want