The Oxford dictionary of modern quotations (64 page)

of them.

Gone with the Wind (1936) ch. 38

Scarlett...I wish I could care what you do or where you go but I

can't....My dear, I don't give a damn.

Gone with the Wind (1936) ch. 57 (in Sidney Howard's script for the film

version (1939) this became "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn!")

Tomorrow, I'll think of some way to get him back. After all, tomorrow is

another day.

Gone with the Wind (1936) ch. 57 (closing words)

13.106 Jessica Mitford =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

1917-

According to one of my correspondents, Jessica Mitford was overheard to

remark, "I have nothing against undertakers personally. It's just that

I wouldn't want one to bury my sister."

Saturday Review 1 Feb. 1964

13.107 Nancy Mitford =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

1904-1973

"Always be civil to the girls, you never know who they may marry" is an

aphorism which has saved many an English spinster from being treated like

an Indian widow.

Love in a Cold Climate (1949) pt. 1, ch. 2

"Twenty three and a quarter minutes past," Uncle Matthew was saying

furiously, "in precisely six and three-quarter minutes the damned fella

will be late."

Love in a Cold Climate (1949) pt. 1, ch. 13

An aristocracy in a republic is like a chicken whose head has been cut

off: it may run about in a lively way, but in fact it is dead.

Noblesse Oblige (1956) p. 39

I have only ever read one book in my life, and that is White Fang It's so

frightfully good I've never bothered to read another.

Pursuit of Love (1945) ch. 9

Uncle Matthew's four years in France and Italy between 1914 and 1918 had

given him no great opinion of foreigners. "Frogs," he would say, "are

slightly better than Huns or Wops, but abroad is unutterably bloody and

foreigners are fiends."

Pursuit of Love (1945) ch. 15

13.108 Addison Mizner =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

1892-1933

See Ethel Watts Mumford (13.139)

13.109 Wilson Mizner =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

1876-1933

Among his [Mizner's] philosophical maxims were "Be nice to people on your

way up because you'll meet 'em on your way down," "Treat a whore like

a lady and a lady like a whore," and "If you steal from one author, it's

plagiarism; if you steal from many, it's research."

Alva Johnston The Legendary Mizners (1953) ch. 4

Mizner's comment on Hollywood, "It's a trip through a sewer in a

glass-bottomed boat," was converted by Mayor Jimmy Walker into "A reformer

is a guy who rides through a sewer in a glass-bottomed boat."

Alva Johnston The Legendary Mizners (1953) ch. 4

13.110 Walter Mondale =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

1928-

See Cliff Freeman (6.46)

13.111 William Cosmo Monkhouse =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

1840-1901

There once was an old man of Lyme

Who married three wives at a time,

When asked "Why a third?"

He replied, "One's absurd!

And bigamy, Sir, is a crime!"

Nonsense Rhymes (1902)

13.112 Harold Monro =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

1879-1932

When the tea is brought at five o'clock,

And all the neat curtains are drawn with care,

The little black cat with bright green eyes

Is suddenly purring there.

Children of Love (1914) "Milk for the Cat"

13.113 Marilyn Monroe =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

1926-1962

Asked if she really had nothing on in the [calendar] photograph, Marilyn,

her blue eyes wide, purred: "I had the radio on."

Time 11 Aug. 1952

13.114 C. E. Montague =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

1867-1928

War hath no fury like a non-combatant.

Disenchantment (1922) ch. 16

13.115 Field-Marshal Montgomery (Viscount Montgomery of Alamein) =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

1887-1976

Rule 1, on page 1 of the book of war, is: "Do not march on Moscow."

Various people have tried it, Napoleon and Hitler, and it is no good. That

is the first rule. I do not know whether your Lordships will know Rule 2

of war. It is: "Do not go fighting with your land armies in China." It is

a vast country, with no clearly defined objectives, and an army fighting

there would be engulfed by what is known as the Ming Bing, the people's

insurgents.

Hansard (Lords) 30 May 1962, col. 227

Far from helping these unnatural practices along, surely our task is to

build a bulwark which will defy evil influences which are seeking to

undermine the very foundations of our national character--defy them; do

not help them. I have heard some say--and, indeed, the noble Earl said so

himself--that such practices are allowed in France and in other NATO

countries. We are not French, and we are not other nationals. We are

British, thank God!

Hansard (Lords) 24 May 1965, col. 648 (2nd reading of Sexual Offences

Bill)

13.116 George Moore =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

1852-1933

All reformers are bachelors.

Bending of the Bough (1900) act 1

A man travels the world in search of what he needs and returns home to

find it.

Brook Kerith (1916) ch. 11

Had I not myself written, only half conscious of the truth, that art must

be parochial in the beginning to become cosmopolitan in the end?

Hail and Farewell: Ave (1911) p. 3

The lot of critics is to be remembered by what they failed to understand.

Impressions and Opinions (1891) "Balzac"

Our contention is...that acting is therefore the lowest of the arts, if it

be an art at all.

Impressions and Opinions (1891) "Mummer-Worship"

13.117 Marianne Moore =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

1887-1972

O to be a dragon,

a symbol of the power of Heaven--of silkworm

size or immense; at times invisible.

Felicitous phenomenon!

O To Be a Dragon (1959) title poem

I, too, dislike it: there are things that are important beyond all this

fiddle.

Reading it, however, with a perfect contempt for it, one discovers in

it, after all, a place for the genuine.

Selected Poems (1935) "Poetry"

Nor till the poets among us can be

"literalists of

the imagination"--above

insolence and triviality and can present

for inspection, imaginary gardens with real toads in them, shall we have

it.

Selected Poems (1935) "Poetry"

My father used to say,

"Superior people never make long visits,

have to be shown Longfellow's grave

or the glass flowers at Harvard."

Selected Poems (1935) "Silence"

Nor was he insincere in saying, "Make my house your inn."

Inns are not residences.

Selected Poems (1935) "Silence"

13.118 Larry Morey =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

1905-1971

Heigh-ho, heigh-ho,

It's off to work we go.

Heigh-Ho (1937 song; music by Frank Churchill)

Whistle while you work.

Title of song (1937; music by Frank Churchill)

13.119 Robin Morgan =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

1941-

Sisterhood is powerful.

Title of book (1970)

13.120 Christian Morgenstern =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

1871-1914

Es war einmal ein Lattenzaun,

mit Zwischenraum, hindurchzuschaun.

Ein Architekt, der dieses sah,

Stand eines Abends pl�tzlich da--

und nahm den Zwischenraum heraus

und baute draus ein grosses Haus.

One time there was a picket fence

With space to gaze from hence to thence.

An architect who saw this sight

Approached it suddenly one night,

Removed the spaces from the fence

And built of them a residence.

Galgenlieder (Gallows Songs, 1905) "Der Lattenzaun"; tr. Max Knight 1963

13.121 Christopher Morley =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

1890-1957

Life is a foreign language: all men mispronounce it.

Thunder on the Left (1925) ch. 14

13.122 Lord Morley (John, Viscount Morley of Blackburn) =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

1838-1923

Simplicity of character is no hindrance to subtlety of intellect.

Life of Gladstone (1903) vol. 1, p. 194

You have not converted a man, because you have silenced him.

On Compromise (1874) ch. 5

13.123 Desmond Morris =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

1928-

Clearly, then, the city is not a concrete jungle, it is a human zoo.

The Human Zoo (1969) p. 8

There are one hundred and ninety-three living species of monkeys and apes.

One hundred and ninety-two of them are covered with hair. The exception

is a naked ape self-named Homo sapiens.

The Naked Ape (1967) p. 9

13.124 Herbert Morrison (Baron Morrison of Lambeth) =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

1888-1965

Work is the call. Work at war speed. Good-night--and go to it.

Broadcast as Minister of Supply, 22 May 1940, in Daily Herald 23 May 1940

13.125 Jim Morrison, Ray Manzarek, Robby Krieger, and John Densmore =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Jim Morrison 1943-1971

Ray Manzarek 1935-

Robby Krieger 1946-

John Densmore 1945-

C'mon, baby, light my fire.

Light My Fire (1967 song)

13.126 R. F. Morrison =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Just a wee deoch-an-doris,

Just a wee yin, that's a'.

Just a wee deoch-an-doris,

Before we gang awa'.

There's a wee wifie waitin',

In a wee but-an-ben;

If you can say

"It's a braw bricht moonlicht nicht,"

Ye're a' richt, ye ken.

Just a Wee Deoch-an-Doris (1911 song; music by Whit Cunliffe; sung by

Harry Lauder)

13.127 Dwight Morrow =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

1873-1931

The world is divided into people who do things and people who get the

credit. Try, if you can, to belong to the first class. There's far less

competition.

Letter to his son, in Harold Nicolson Dwight Morrow (1935) ch. 3

13.128 John Mortimer =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

1923-

The shelf life of the modern hardback writer is somewhere between the milk

and the yoghurt.

In Observer 28 June 1987

No brilliance is needed in the law. Nothing but common sense, and

relatively clean finger nails.

Voyage Round My Father (1971) act 1

13.129 J. B. Morton ('Beachcomber') =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

1893-1975

One disadvantage of being a hog is that at any moment some blundering fool

may try to make a silk purse out of your wife's ear.

By the Way (1931) p. 282

Hush, hush,

Nobody cares!

Christopher Robin

Has

Fallen

Down-

Stairs.

By the Way (1931) p. 367

Mr Justice Cocklecarrot began the hearing of a very curious case

yesterday. A Mrs Tasker is accused of continually ringing the doorbell of

a Mrs Renton, and then, when the door is opened, pushing a dozen

red-bearded dwarfs into the hall and leaving them there.

Diet of Thistles (1938) pt. 7

The Doctor is said also to have invented an extraordinary weapon which

will make war less brutal. It is described as a very powerful liquid which

rots braces at a distance of a mile.

Gallimaufry (1936) "Bracerot"

The man with the false nose had gone to that bourne from which no

hollingsworth returns.

Gallimaufry (1936) "Another True Story"

Dr Strabismus (Whom God Preserve) of Utrecht has patented a new invention.

It is an illuminated trouser-clip for bicyclists who are using main roads

at night.

Morton's Folly (1933) p. 99

13.130 Rogers Morton =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

1914-1979

After losing five of the last six primaries, President Ford's campaign

manager, Rogers Morton, was asked if he plans any change in strategy. Said

Morton: "I'm not going to rearrange the furniture on the deck of the

Titanic."

Washington Post 16 May 1976, p. C8

13.131 Sir Oswald Mosley =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

1896-1980

I am not, and never have been, a man of the right. My position was on the

left and is now in the centre of politics.

Letter in The Times 26 Apr. 1968