The Oxford dictionary of modern quotations (85 page)

Books and Characters (1922) "Lives of the Poets"

The history of the Victorian Age will never be written: we know too much

about it. For ignorance is the first requisite of the

historian--ignorance, which simplifies and clarifies, which selects and

omits, with a placid perfection unattainable by the highest art.

Eminent Victorians (1918) preface

The time was out of joint, and he [Hurrell Froude] was only too delighted

to have been born to set it right.

Eminent Victorians (1918) "Cardinal Manning" pt. 2. Cf. Oxford

Dictionary of Quotations (1979) 524:4

Miss Nightingale, however, with all her experience of public life, never

stopped to consider the question whether God might not be a Limited

Monarchy. Yet her conception of God was certainly not orthodox. She felt

towards Him as she might have felt towards a glorified sanitary engineer;

and in some of her speculations she seems hardly to distinguish between

the Deity and the Drains.

Eminent Victorians (1918) "Florence Nightingale" pt. 4

His legs, perhaps, were shorter than they should have been.

Eminent Victorians (1918) "Dr Arnold"

Asked by the chairman [of a military tribunal] the usual question: "I

understand, Mr Strachey, that you have a conscientious objection to war?"

he replied (in his curious falsetto voice), "Oh no, not at all, only to

this war." Better than this was his reply to the chairman's other stock

question, which had previously never failed to embarrass the claimant.

"Tell me, Mr Strachey, what would you do if you saw a German soldier

trying to violate your sister?" With an air of noble virtue: "I would try

to get between them."

Robert Graves Good-bye to All That (1929) ch. 23

Discretion is not the better part of biography.

In Michael Holroyd Lytton Strachey vol. 1 (1967) preface

He [Max Beerbohm] has the most remarkable and seductive genius--and

I should say about the smallest in the world.

Letter to Clive Bell, 4 Dec. 1917, in Michael Holroyd Lytton Strachey

vol. 2 (1968) pt. 1, ch. 5

"If this is dying," he remarked quietly, just before falling into

unconsciousness, "then I don't think much of it."

Michael Holroyd Lytton Strachey vol. 2, (1968) pt. 2, ch. 6

19.128 Igor Stravinsky =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

1882-1971

Music is, by its very nature, essentially powerless to express anything at

all...music expresses itself.

In Esquire Dec. 1972

My music is best understood by children and animals.

In Observer 8 Oct. 1961

A good composer does not imitate; he steals.

In Peter Yates Twentieth Century Music (1967) pt. 1, ch. 8. Cf. T. S.

Eliot 76:8, Lionel Trilling 218:1

19.129 Simeon Strunsky =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

1879-1948

People who want to understand democracy should spend less time in the

library with Aristotle and more time on the buses and in the subway.

No Mean City (1944) ch. 2

Famous remarks are very seldom quoted correctly.

No Mean City (1944) ch. 38

19.130 G. A. Studdert Kennedy =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

1883-1929

Waste of Muscle, waste of Brain,

Waste of Patience, waste of Pain,

Waste of Manhood, waste of Health,

Waste of Beauty, waste of Wealth,

Waste of Blood, and waste of Tears,

Waste of youth's most precious years,

Waste of ways the saints have trod,

Waste of Glory, waste of God,

War!

More Rough Rhymes of a Padre by "Woodbine Willie" (1919) "Waste"

When Jesus came to Golgotha they hanged Him on a tree,

They drave great nails through hands and feet, and made a Calvary.

They crowned Him with a crown of thorns, red were His wounds and deep,

For those were crude and cruel days, and human flesh was cheap.

When Jesus came to Birmingham they simply passed Him by,

They never hurt a hair of Him, they only let Him die.

For men had grown more tender and they would not give Him pain,

They only just passed down the street, and left Him in the rain.

Peace Rhymes of a Padre (1921) "Indifference"

19.131 Terry Sullivan =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

She sells sea-shells on the sea-shore,

The shells she sells are sea-shells, I'm sure,

For if she sells sea-shells on the sea-shore,

Then I'm sure she sells sea-shore shells.

She Sells Sea-Shells (1908 song; music by Harry Gifford)

19.132 Arthur Hays Sulzberger =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

1891-

We [journalists] tell the public which way the cat is jumping. The public

will take care of the cat.

Time 8 May 1950

19.133 Edith Summerskill =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

1901-1980

The housewife is the Cinderella of the affluent state.... She is wholly

dependent on the whim of an individual to give her money for the

essentials of life. If she complains she is a nagger--for nagging is the

repetition of unpalatable truths.

Speech to Married Women's Association, House of Commons, 14 July 1960, in

The Times 15 July 1960

19.134 Jacqueline Susann (Mrs Irving Mansfield) =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

1921-1974

Valley of the dolls.

Title of novel (1966)

19.135 Hannen Swaffer =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

1879-1962

Perhaps it was about now [circa.1902] that he [Swaffer] began to formulate

a dictum which, though not always attributed to him, has often been quoted

(among others, by witnesses before the first Royal Commssion on the

Press): "Freedom of the press in Britain means freedom to print such of

the proprietor's prejudices as the advertisers don't object to."

Tom Driberg Swaff (1974) ch. 2

19.136 Herbert Bayard Swope =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

1882-1958

The First Duty of a newspaper is to be Accurate. If it is Accurate, it

follows that it is Fair.

Letter to New York Herald Tribune 16 Mar. 1958

He [Swope] enunciated no rules for success, but offered a sure formula for

failure: Just try to please everyone.

In E. J. Kahn Jr. World of Swope (1965) p. 7 See also Bernard Baruch

(2.27)

19.137 Eric Sykes and Max Bygraves =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

1922-

Eric Sykes had this quick ear and could tell by any inflection I put into

a line how to make it a catch phrase--at one time I had more catch phrases

than I could handle. I had the whole country saying things like "I've

arrived and to prove it I'm here!" "A good idea--son" "Bighead!" "Dollar

lolly."

Max Bygraves I Wanna Tell You a Story! (1976) p. 96 (describing

catch-phrases on Educating Archie, 1950-3 BBC radio comedy series)

19.138 John Millington Synge =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

1871-1909

"A man who is not afraid of the sea will soon be drownded," he said "for

he will be going out on a day he shouldn't. But we do be afraid of the

sea, and we do only be drownded now and again."

Aran Islands (1907) pt. 2

"A translation is no translation," he said, "unless it will give you the

music of a poem along with the words of it."

Aran Islands (1907) pt. 3

When I was writing "The Shadow of the Glen," some years ago, I got more

aid than any learning could have given me from a chink in the floor of the

old Wicklow house where I was staying, that let me hear what was being

said by the servant girls in the kitchen.

Playboy of the Western World (1907) preface

Oh my grief, I've lost him surely. I've lost the only Playboy of the

Western World.

Playboy of the Western World (1907) act 3 (last lines)

19.139 Thomas Szasz =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

1920-

A child becomes an adult when he realizes that he has a right not only to

be right but also to be wrong.

The Second Sin (1973) "Childhood"

Masturbation: the primary sexual activity of mankind. In the nineteenth

century, it was a disease; in the twentieth, it's a cure.

The Second Sin (1973) "Sex"

Traditionally, sex has been a very private, secretive activity. Herein

perhaps lies its powerful force for uniting people in a strong bond. As we

make sex less secretive, we may rob it of its power to hold men and women

together.

The Second Sin (1973) "Sex"

Happiness is an imaginary condition, formerly often attributed by the

living to the dead, now usually attributed by adults to children, and by

children to adults.

The Second Sin (1973) "Emotions"

The stupid neither forgive nor forget; the na�ve forgive and forget; the

wise forgive but do not forget.

The Second Sin (1973) "Personal Conduct"

Two wrongs don't make a right, but they make a good excuse.

The Second Sin (1973) "Social Relations"

If you talk to God, you are praying; if God talks to you, you have

schizophrenia. If the dead talk to you, you are a spiritualist; if God

talks to you, you are a schizophrenic.

The Second Sin (1973) "Schizophrenia"

Formerly, when religion was strong and science weak, men mistook magic for

medicine; now, when science is strong and religion weak, men mistake

medicine for magic.

The Second Sin (1973) "Science and Scientism"

19.140 George Szell =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

1897-1970

Conductors must give unmistakable and suggestive signals to the

orchestra--not choreography to the audience.

Newsweek 28 Jan. 1963

19.141 Albert von Szent-Gy�rgyi =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

1893-1986

Discovery consists of seeing what everybody has seen and thinking what

nobody has thought.

In Irving Good (ed.) The Scientist Speculates (1962) p. 15

20.0 T =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

20.1 Sir Rabindranath Tagore =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

1861-1941

Bigotry tries to keep truth safe in its hand

With a grip that kills it.

Fireflies (1928) p. 29

20.2 Nellie Talbot =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Jesus wants me for a sunbeam.

Title of hymn (1921), in CSSM Choruses No. 1

20.3 S. G. Tallentyre (E. Beatrice Hall) =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

1868-

"On the Mind" [De l'Esprit] became not the success of the season, but one

of the most famous books of the century. The men who had hated it, and had

not particularly loved Helv�tius, flocked round him now. Voltaire forgave

him all injuries, intentional or unintentional.... "I disapprove of what

you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it," was his

attitude now.

The Friends of Voltaire (1906) ch. 7 (often attributed to Voltaire but

not found in his works)

20.4 Booth Tarkington =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

1869-1946

There are two things that will be believed of any man whatsoever, and one

of them is that he has taken to drink.

Penrod (1914) ch. 10

20.5 A. J. P. Taylor =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

1906-1990

He [Lord Northcliffe] aspired to power instead of influence, and as

a result forfeited both.

English History, 1914-1945 (1965) ch. 1

Communism continued to haunt Europe as a spectre--a name men gave to their

own fears and blunders. But the crusade against Communism was even more

imaginary than the spectre of Communism.

Origins of the Second World War (1962) ch. 2

A racing tipster who only reached Hitler's level of accuracy would not do

well for his clients.

Origins of the Second World War (1962) ch. 7

20.6 Bert Leston Taylor =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

1866-1901

A bore is a man who, when you ask him how he is, tells you.

The So-Called Human Race (1922) p. 163

20.7 Norman Tebbit =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

1931-

We cannot ignore the price that unemployment today is exacting from the

failures of the past. I have known about these things. I grew up in the

Thirties with our unemployed father. He did not riot, he got on his bike

and looked for work.

Speech at Conservative Party Conference, 15 Oct. 1981, in Daily Telegraph

16 Oct. 1981

20.8 Archbishop William Temple =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

1881-1944

In place of the conception of the power-state we are led to that of the

welfare-state.

Citizen and Churchman (1941) ch. 2