The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations

‘National Airs’ (1815) ‘Oft in the Stilly Night’

1.165 Thomas Osbert Mordaunt 1730-1809

Sound, sound the clarion, fill the fife, Throughout the sensual world proclaim, One crowded hour of glorious life

Is worth an age without a name.

‘A Poem, said to be written by Major Mordaunt during the last German War’, in ‘The Bee, or Literary Weekly Intelligencer’ 12 October 1791

1.166 Hannah More 1745-1833

For you’ll ne’er mend your fortunes, nor help the just cause, By breaking of windows, or breaking of laws.

‘An Address to the Meeting in Spa Fields’ (1817), in H. Thompson ‘The Life of Hannah More’ (1838) appendix, no. 7

Small habits, well pursued betimes, May reach the dignity of crimes.

‘Florio’ (1786) pt. 1, l. 77

He liked those literary cooks

Who skim the cream of others’ books; And ruin half an author’s graces

By plucking bon-mots from their places.

‘Florio’ (1786) pt. 1, l. 123

Did not God

Sometimes withhold in mercy what we ask, We should be ruined at our own request.

‘Moses in the Bulrushes’ (1782) pt. 1, l. 35

Whether we consider the manual industry of the poor, or the intellectual exertions of the superior classes, we shall find that diligent occupation, if not criminally perverted from its purposes, is at once the instrument of virtue and the secret of happiness. Man cannot be safely trusted with a life of leisure.

‘Christian Morals’ (1813) vol. 2

The prevailing manners of an age depend more than we are aware, or are willing to allow, on the conduct of the women: this is one of the principal hinges on which the great machine of human society turns.

‘Essays on Various Subjects Principally Designed for Young Ladies’ (1777)

How much it is to be regretted, that the British ladies should ever sit down contented to polish, when they are able to reform; to entertain, when they might instruct; and to dazzle for an hour, when they are candidates for eternity!

‘Essays on Various Subjects Principally Designed for Young Ladies’ (1777)

It is humbling to reflect, that in those countries in which the fondness for the mere persons of

women is carried to the highest excess, they are slaves; and that their moral and intellectual degradation increases in direct proportion to the adoration which is paid to mere external charms.

‘Strictures on the Modern System of Education’ (1799) vol. 1

1.167 Sir Thomas More 1478-1535

Oves inquam vestrae, quae tam mites esse, tamque exiguo solent ali, nunc (uti fertur) tam edaces atque indomitae esse coeperunt ut homines devorent ipsos, agros, domos, oppida vastent ac depopulentur.

Your sheep, that were wont to be so meek and tame, and so small eaters, now, as I hear say, be become so great devourers, and so wild, that they eat up and swallow down the very men

themselves.

‘Utopia’ (1516) bk. 1 (following the marginal prècis ‘The Disaster Produced by Standing Military Garrisons’)

After his head was upon the block, [he] lift it up again, and gently drew his beard aside, and said, This hath not offended the king.

In Francis Bacon ‘Apophthegms New and Old’ (1625) no. 22

In good faith, I rejoiced, son, that I had given the devil a foul fall, and that with those Lords I had gone so far, as without great shame I could never go back again.

In William Roper ‘The Life of Sir Thomas More’ (Early English Text Society: Original Series 197, p. 69)

Indignatio principis mors est.

‘Is that all, my Lord?’ quoth he [to the Duke of Norfolk]. ‘Then in good faith is there no more difference between your grace and me, but that I shall die to-day, and you to-morrow.’

William Roper ‘The Life of Sir Thomas More’ (E. E. T. S. Original Series 197, p. 71)

Son Roper, I thank our Lord the field is won.

In William Roper ‘The Life of Sir Thomas More’ (E. E. T. S. Original Series 197, p. 73)

Is not this house [the Tower of London] as nigh heaven as my own?

In William Roper ‘The Life of Sir Thomas More’ (E. E. T. S. Original Series 197, p. 83)

I pray you, master Lieutenant, see me safe up, and my coming down let me shift for my self.

On mounting the scaffold, in William Roper ‘The Life of Sir Thomas More’ (E. E. T. S. Original Series 197, p. 103)

Pluck up thy spirits, man, and be not afraid to do thine office; my neck is very short; take heed therefore thou strike not awry, for saving of thine honesty.

Words addressed to the executioner, in William Roper ‘The Life of Sir Thomas More’ (E. E. T. S. Original Series 197, p. 103)

We may not look at our pleasure to go to heaven in feather-beds; it is not the way.

In William Roper ‘The Life of Sir Thomas More’

Son Roper, I may tell thee I have no cause to be proud thereof [the King having entertained him at Chelsea], for if my head could wish him a castle in France it should not fail to go.

In William Roper ‘The Life of Sir Thomas More’

If the parties will at my hands call for justice, then, all were it my father stood on the one side, and the Devil on the other, his cause being good, the Devil should have right.

‘The Human Zoo’ (1969) introduction

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) introduction

I enjoy laughter and good living and believe life is like a very short visit to a toyshop between birth and death.

In ‘Sunday Express’ 3 November 1991

1.175 George Pope Morris 1802-64

Woodman, spare that tree! Touch not a single bough! In youth it sheltered me, And I’ll protect it now.

‘Woodman, Spare That Tree’ (1830).

1.176 William Morris 1834-96

What is this, the sound and rumour? What is this that all men hear, Like the wind in hollow valleys when the storm is drawing near, Like the rolling on of ocean in the eventide of fear?

’Tis the people marching on.

‘Chants for Socialists’ (1885) ‘The March of the Workers’

Nor for my words shall ye forget your tears, Or hope again for aught that I can say,

The idle singer of an empty day.

‘The Earthly Paradise’ (1868-70) ‘An Apology’

Dreamer of dreams, born out of my due time, Why should I strive to set the crooked straight? Let it suffice me that my murmuring rhyme Beats with light wing against the ivory gate, Telling a tale not too importunate

To those who in the sleepy region stay, Lulled by the singer of an empty day.

‘The Earthly Paradise’ (1868-70) ‘An Apology’

Forget six counties overhung with smoke, Forget the snorting steam and piston stroke, Forget the spreading of the hideous town; Think rather of the pack-horse on the down,

And dream of London, small and white and clean, The clear Thames bordered by its gardens green.

‘The Earthly Paradise’ (1868-70) ‘Prologue: The Wanderers’ opening lines

Had she come all the way for this, To part at last without a kiss?

Yea, had she borne the dirt and rain That her own eyes might see him slain Beside the haystack in the floods?

‘The Haystack in the Floods’ (1858) l. 1

And ever she sung from noon to noon, ‘Two red roses across the moon.’

‘Two Red Roses across the Moon’

Fellowship is heaven, and lack of fellowship is hell: fellowship is life, and lack of fellowship is death: and the deeds that ye do upon the earth, it is for fellowship’s sake that ye do them.

‘A Dream of John Ball’ (1888) ch. 4

Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.

‘Hopes and Fears for Art’ (1882) ‘Making the Best of It’ (a paper read before the Trades’ Guild of Learning and the Birmingham Society of Artists)

The reward of labour is life.

‘News from Nowhere’ (1891) ch. 15

1.177 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

1.178 Jim Morrison 1943-1971, Ray Manzarek 1935-, Robby Krieger 1946-, and John Densmore 1945—

C’mon, baby, light my fire.

‘Light My Fire’ (1967 song); attributed to Robby Krieger in John Densmore ‘Riders on the Storm’ (1990) ch. 5

1.179 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); popularized by Harry Lauder

1.180 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

1.181 John Mortimer 1923—

The law seems like a sort of maze through which a client must be led to safety, a collection of reefs, rocks and underwater hazards through which he or she must be piloted.

‘Clinging to the Wreckage’ (1982) ch. 7

They do you a very decent death on the hunting field.

‘Paradise Postponed’

At school I never minded the lessons. I just resented having to work terribly hard at playing.

‘A Voyage Round My Father’ (1971) act 1

No brilliance is needed in the law. Nothing but common sense, and relatively clean finger nails.

‘A Voyage Round My Father’ (1971) act 1

All drama is conflict, and unless there’s a war going on, marriage is the great situation in which conflict takes place.

Interviewed in ‘Sunday Times’ 24 April 1988

A champagne socialist.

Describing himself; attributed

1.182 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

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

‘Gallimaufry’ (1936) ‘Another True Story’

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’

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

1.183 Rogers Morton 1914-79

I’m not going to rearrange the furniture on the deck of the Titanic.

Having lost five of the last six primaries as President Ford’s campaign manager, in ‘Washington Post’ 16 May 1976, p. C8

1.184 Thomas Morton c.1764-1838

Approbation from Sir Hubert Stanley is praise indeed.

‘A Cure for the Heartache’ (1797) act 5, sc. 2

I eat well, and I drink well, and I sleep well—but that’s all.

‘A Roland for an Oliver’ (1819) act 1, sc. 1

Always ding, dinging Dame Grundy into my ears—what will Mrs Grundy zay? What will Mrs Grundy think?

‘Speed the Plough’ (1798) act 1, sc. 1

1.185 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 to ‘The Times’ 26 April 1968 1.186 John Lothrop Motley 1814-77

As long as he lived, he was the guiding-star of a whole brave nation, and when he died the little children cried in the streets.

On William of Orange in ‘The Rise of the Dutch Republic’ (1856) pt. 6, ch. 7.

Give us the luxuries of life, and we will dispense with its necessities.

In Oliver Wendell Holmes ‘Autocrat of the Breakfast-Table’ (1857-8) ch. 6

1.187 Peter Anthony Motteux 1660-1718

The devil was sick, the devil a monk would be; The devil was well, and the devil a monk he’d be.

Translation of Rabelais Gargantua and Pantagruel (1693) bk. 4 (1708 ed.) ch. 24 (version of a medieval Latin proverb)

1.188 Lord Louis Mountbatten (Viscount Mountbatten of Burma) 1900-79

The nuclear arms race has no military purpose. Wars cannot be fought with nuclear weapons. Their existence only adds to our perils.

Speech at Strasbourg, 11 May 1979, in P. Ziegler ‘Mountbatten’ (1985) ch. 52

1.189 Robert Mugabe 1924—

Cricket civilizes people and creates good gentlemen. I want everyone to play cricket in Zimbabwe; I want ours to be a nation of gentlemen.

In ‘Sunday Times’ 26 February 1984

1.190 Malcolm Muggeridge 1903-90

I developed...a theory...that to succeed pre-eminently in English public life it is necessary to conform either to the popular image of a bookie or of a clergyman; Churchill being a perfect example of the former, Halifax of the latter.

‘Chronicles of Wasted Time’ vol. 2 ‘The Infernal Grove’ (1973) ch. 1

An orgy looks particularly alluring seen through the mists of righteous indignation.

‘The Most of Malcolm Muggeridge’ (1966) ‘Dolce Vita in a Cold Climate’

Good taste and humour...are a contradiction in terms, like a chaste whore.

‘Time’ 14 September 1953

The orgasm has replaced the Cross as the focus of longing and the image of fulfilment.

‘Tread Softly’ (1966) p. 46

He was not only a bore; he bored for England.

‘Tread Softly’ (1966) p. 147 (of Sir Anthony Eden)

Human life in all its public or collective manifestations is only theatre, and mostly cheap melodrama at that.

In ‘Guardian’ 15 November 1990

1.191 Edwin Muir 1887-1959

And without fear the lawless roads Ran wrong through all the land.

‘Journeys and Places’ (1937) ‘Hölderlin’s Journey’

1.192 Frank Muir

The thinking man’s crumpet.

Of Joan Bakewell (English broadcaster); attributed

1.193 Herbert J. Muller 1905—

Few have heard of Fra Luca Pacioli, the inventor of double-entry book-keeping; but he has probably had much more influence on human life than has Dante or Michelangelo.

‘Uses of the Past’ (1957) ch. 8

1.194 Wilhelm Müller 1794-1827

Vom Abendrot zum Morgenlicht Ward mancher Kopf zum Greise.

Wer glaubt’s? Und meiner ward es nicht Auf dieser ganzen Reise.

Between dusk and dawn many a head has turned white. Who can believe it? And mine has not changed on all this long journey.

‘Die Winterreise’ bk. 2 ‘Der greise Kopf’