Joy, beautiful radiance of the gods, daughter of Elysium, we set foot in your heavenly shrine dazzled by your brilliance. Your charms re-unite what common use has harshly divided: all men
become brothers under your tender wing.
‘An die Freude’ (1785)
Die Sonne geht in meinem Staat nicht unter.
The sun does not set in my dominions.
‘Don Carlos’ (1787) act 1, sc. 6 (Philip II)
Mit der Dummheit kämpfen Götter selbst vergebens.
With stupidity the gods themselves struggle in vain.
‘Die Jungfrau von Orleans’ (1801) act 3, sc. 6
Die Weltgeschichte ist das Weltgericht.
The world’s history is the world’s judgement.
First lecture as Professor of History, Jena, 26 May 1789
7.35 Moritz Schlick
The meaning of a proposition is the method of its verification.
‘Philosophical Review’ (1936) vol. 45, p. 341 ‘Meaning and Verification’
7.36 Artur Schnabel 1882-1951
I don’t think there was ever a piece of music that changed a man’s decision on how to vote.
‘My Life and Music’ (1961) pt. 2, ch. 8
I know two kinds of audiences only—one coughing, and one not coughing.
‘My Life and Music’ (1961) pt. 2, ch. 10
The notes I handle no better than many pianists. But the pauses between the notes—ah, that is where the art resides!
In ‘Chicago Daily News’ 11 June 1958
The sonatas of Mozart are unique: they are too easy for children, and too difficult for artists.
In Ned Shapiro ‘An Encyclopaedia of Quotations about Music’
7.37 Budd Schulberg 1914—
I could have had class. I could have been a contender.
‘On the Waterfront’ (1954 film); words spoken by Marlon Brando
7.38 Diane B. Schulder 1937—
Law is a reflection and a source of prejudice. It both enforces and suggests forms of bias.
In Robin Morgan ‘Sisterhood is Powerful’ (1970) p. 139
7.39 E. F. Schumacher 1911-77
Call a thing immoral or ugly, soul-destroying or a degradation of man, a peril to the peace of the world or to the well-being of future generations: as long as you have not shown it to be ‘uneconomic’ you have not really questioned its right to exist, grow, and prosper.
‘Small is Beautiful’ (1973) pt. 1, ch. 3
7.40 Carl Schurz 1829-1906
Our country, right or wrong! When right, to be kept right; when wrong, to be put right!
Speech, US Senate, 1872.
7.41 Albert Schweitzer 1875-1965
Am Abend des dritten Tages, als wir bei Sonnenuntergang gerade durch eine Herde Nilpferde hindurchfuhren, stand urplötzlich, von mir nicht geahnt und nicht gesucht, das Wort “Ehrfurcht vor dem Leben” vor mir.
Late on the third day, at the very moment when, at sunset, we were making our way through a herd of hippopotamuses, there flashed upon my mind, unforeseen and unsought, the phrase,
‘Reverence for Life’.
‘Aus meinem Leben und Denken’ (My Life and Thought, 1933) ch. 13
Die Wahrheit hat keine Stunde. Ihre Zeit ist immer und gerade dann wenn sie am unzeitgemässesten scheint.
Truth has no special time of its own. Its hour is now—always, and indeed then most truly when
it seems most unsuitable to actual circumstances.
‘Zwischen Wasser und Urwald’ (On the Edge of the Primeval Forest, 1922) ch. 11
7.42 Kurt Schwitters 1887-1948
Ich bin Maler, ich nagle meine Bilder.
I am a painter and I nail my pictures together.
In Raoul Hausmann ‘Am Anfang war Dada’ (In the Beginning was Dada, 1972) p. 63
7.43 Alexander Scott c.1525-84
Love is ane fervent fire, Kindled without desire,
Short pleasure, long displeasure; Repentance is the hire;
And pure treasure without measure. Love is ane fervent fire.
‘Lo, What it is to Love’
7.44 C. P. Scott 1846-1932
A newspaper is of necessity something of a monopoly, and its first duty is to shun the temptations of monopoly. Its primary office is the gathering of news. At the peril of its soul it must see that the supply is not tainted. Neither in what it gives, nor in what it does not give, nor in the mode of presentation must the unclouded face of truth suffer wrong. Comment is free, but facts are sacred.
‘Manchester Guardian’ 5 May 1921
7.45 Robert Falcon Scott 1868-1912
Great God! this is an awful place.
Of the South Pole: Journal, 17 January 1912, in ‘Scott’s Last Expedition’ (1913) vol. 1, ch. 18
For God’s sake look after our people.
Last journal entry, 29 March 1912, in ‘Scott’s Last Expedition’ (1913) vol. 1, ch. 20
Make the boy interested in natural history if you can; it is better than games.
Last letter to his wife, in ‘Scott’s Last Expedition’ (1913) vol. 1, ch. 20
Had we lived, I should have had a tale to tell of the hardihood, endurance, and courage of my companions which would have stirred the heart of every Englishman. These rough notes and our dead bodies must tell the tale.
‘Message to the Public’, in late edition of ‘The Times’ 11 February 1913, and the following day: ‘Scott’s Last Expedition’ (1913) vol. 1, ch. 20
7.46 Sir Walter Scott 1771-1832
The valiant Knight of Triermain Rung forth his challenge-blast again, But answer came there none.
‘The Bridal of Triermain’ (1813) canto 3, st. 10
To the Lords of Convention ’twas Claver’se who spoke, ’Ere the King’s crown shall fall there are crowns to be broke; So let each cavalier who loves honour and me,
Come follow the bonnet of Bonny Dundee. Come fill up my cup, come fill up my can, Come saddle your horses, and call up your men; Come open the West Port, and let me gang free, And it’s room for the bonnets of Bonny Dundee!’
His ready speech flowed fair and free, In phrase of gentlest courtesy;
Yet seemed that tone, and gesture bland, Less used to sue than to command.
‘The Lady of the Lake’ (1810) canto 1, st. 21
He is gone on the mountain, He is lost to the forest,
Like a summer-dried fountain, When our need was the sorest.
‘The Lady of the Lake’ (1810) canto 3, st. 16
Respect was mingled with surprise, And the stern joy which warriors feel In foemen worthy of their steel.
‘The Lady of the Lake’ (1810) canto 5, st. 10
Vengeance, deep-brooding o’er the slain, Had locked the source of softer woe; And burning pride and high disdain Forbade the rising tear to flow.
‘The Lay of the Last Minstrel’ (1805) canto 1, st. 9
If thou would’st view fair Melrose aright, Go visit it by the pale moonlight;
For the gay beams of lightsome day Gild, but to flout, the ruins grey.
‘The Lay of the Last Minstrel’ (1805) canto 2, st. 1
For ne’er
Was flattery lost on poet’s ear:
A simple race! they waste their toil For the vain tribute of a smile.
‘The Lay of the Last Minstrel’ (1805) canto 4, ad fin.
It is the secret sympathy, The silver link, the silken tie,
Which heart to heart, and mind to mind, In body and in soul can bind.
‘The Lay of the Last Minstrel’ (1805) canto 5, st. 13
Breathes there the man, with soul so dead, Who never to himself hath said,
This is my own, my native land!
Whose heart hath ne’er within him burned, As home his footsteps he hath turned From wandering on a foreign strand!
‘The Lay of the Last Minstrel’ (1805) canto 6, st. 1
Despite those titles, power, and pelf, The wretch, concentred all in self, Living, shall forfeit fair renown, And, doubly dying, shall go down
To the vile dust, from whence he sprung, Unwept, unhonoured, and unsung.
O Caledonia! stern and wild, Meet nurse for a poetic child!
Land of brown heath and shaggy wood, Land of the mountain and the flood, Land of my sires! what mortal hand Can e’er untie the filial band
That knits me to thy rugged strand!
‘The Lay of the Last Minstrel’ (1805) canto 6, st. 1
O! many a shaft, at random sent, Finds mark the archer little meant! And many a word, at random spoken,
May soothe or wound a heart that’s broken.
‘The Lord of the Isles’ (1813) canto 5, st. 18
Had’st thou but lived, though stripped of power, A watchman on the lonely tower.
‘Marmion’ (1808) introduction to canto 1, st. 8
Now is the stately column broke,
The beacon-light is quenched in smoke, The trumpet’s silver sound is still,
The warder silent on the hill!
‘Marmion’ (1808) introduction to canto 1, st. 8
And come he slow, or come he fast, It is but Death who comes at last.
‘Marmion’ (1808) canto 2, st. 30
O, young Lochinvar is come out of the west, Through all the wide Border his steed was the best.
‘Marmion’ (1808) canto 5, st. 12 (‘Lochinvar’ st. 1)
So faithful in love, and so dauntless in war, There never was knight like the young Lochinvar.
‘Marmion’ (1808) canto 5, st. 12 (‘Lochinvar’ st. 1)
For a laggard in love, and a dastard in war, Was to wed the fair Ellen of brave Lochinvar.
‘Marmion’ (1808) canto 5, st. 12 (‘Lochinvar’ st. 2)
O come ye in peace here, or come ye in war,
Or to dance at our bridal, young Lord Lochinvar?
‘Marmion’ (1808) canto 5, st. 12 (‘Lochinvar’ st. 3)
And now I am come, with this lost love of mine, To lead but one measure, drink one cup of wine.
‘Marmion’ (1808) canto 5, st. 12 (‘Lochinvar’ st. 4)
O what a tangled web we weave, When first we practise to deceive!
‘Marmion’ (1808) canto 6, st. 17
O Woman! in our hours of ease, Uncertain, coy, and hard to please, And variable as the shade
By the light quivering aspen made; When pain and anguish wring the brow, A ministering angel thou!
‘Marmion’ (1808) canto 6, st. 30
The stubborn spear-men still made good Their dark impenetrable wood,
Each stepping where his comrade stood, The instant that he fell.
‘Marmion’ (1808) canto 6, st. 34
Still from the sire the son shall hear Of the stern strife, and carnage drear, Of Flodden’s fatal field,
Where shivered was fair Scotland’s spear, And broken was her shield!
‘Marmion’ (1808) canto 6, st. 34
O, Brignal banks are wild and fair, And Greta woods are green,
And you may gather garlands there Would grace a summer queen.
‘Rokeby’ (1813) canto 3, st. 16
It’s no fish ye’re buying—it’s men’s lives.
‘The Antiquary’ (1816) ch. 11
Widowed wife, and married maid, Betrothed, betrayer, and betrayed!
‘The Betrothed’ (1825) ch. 15
Vacant heart and hand, and eye,— Easy live and quiet die.
‘The Bride of Lammermoor’ (1819) ch. 2
I live by twa trades...fiddle, sir, and spade; filling the world, and emptying of it.
‘The Bride of Lammermoor’ (1819) ch. 24
Touch not the cat but a glove.
‘The Fair Maid of Perth’ (1828) ch. 34 (but without)
It’s ill taking the breeks aff a wild Highlandman.
‘The Fortunes of Nigel’ (1822) ch. 5
Gin by pailfuls, wine in rivers, Dash the window-glass to shivers!
For three wild lads were we, brave boys, And three wild lads were we;
Thou on the land, and I on the sand, And Jack on the gallows-tree!
‘Guy Mannering’ (1815) ch. 34
The hour is come, but not the man.
‘The Heart of Midlothian’ (1818) ch. 4 title
The passive resistance of the Tolbooth-gate.
‘The Heart of Midlothian’ (1818) ch. 6
Proud Maisie is in the wood, Walking so early,
Sweet Robin sits in the bush, Singing so rarely.
‘The Heart of Midlothian’ (1818) ch. 40
‘Pax vobiscum [Peace be with you]’ will answer all queries.
‘Ivanhoe’ (1819) ch. 26
His morning walk was beneath the elms in the churchyard; ‘for death,’ he said, ‘had been his next-door neighbour for so many years, that he had no apology for dropping the acquaintance.’
‘A Legend of Montrose’ (1819) introduction
March, march, Ettrick and Teviotdale,
Why the deil dinna ye march forward in order? March, march, Eskdale and Liddesdale,
All the Blue Bonnets are bound for the Border.
‘The Monastery’ (1820) ch. 25
Ah! County Guy, the hour is nigh, The sun has left the lea,
The orange flower perfumes the bower, The breeze is on the sea.
‘Quentin Durward’ (1823) ch. 4
And it’s ill speaking between a fou man and a fasting.
‘Redgauntlet’ (1824) letter 11 ‘Wandering Willie’s Tale’
The ae half of the warld thinks the tither daft.
‘Redgauntlet’ (1824) ‘Journal of Darsie Latimer’ ch. 7
But with the morning cool repentance came.
‘Rob Roy’ (1817) ch. 12
Come fill up my cup, come fill up my cann, Come saddle my horses, and call up my man;
Come open your gates, and let me gae free, I daurna stay langer in bonny Dundee.
‘Rob Roy’ (1817) ch. 23.
There’s a gude time coming.
‘Rob Roy’ (1817) ch. 32
The play-bill, which is said to have announced the tragedy of Hamlet, the character of the Prince of Denmark being left out.
‘The Talisman’ (1825) introduction. For an earlier report of this anecdote see T. L. S. 3 June 1939
Rouse the lion from his lair.
‘The Talisman’ (1825) ch. 6
The Big Bow-Wow strain I can do myself like any now going; but the exquisite touch, which renders ordinary commonplace things and characters interesting, from the truth of the description and the sentiment, is denied to me.
On the merits of Jane Austen, in W. E. K. Anderson (ed.) ‘The Journals of Sir Walter Scott’ (1972) 14 March 1826, p. 114.
I would like to be there, were it but to see how the cat jumps.
In W. E. K. Anderson (ed.) ‘The Journals of Sir Walter Scott’ (1972) 7 October 1826, p. 208
The blockheads talk of my being like Shakespeare—not fit to tie his brogues.
In W. E. K. Anderson (ed.) ‘The Journals of Sir Walter Scott’ (1972) 11 December 1826, p. 252
Their factions have been so long envenomed and having so little ground to fight their battle in that they are like people fighting with daggers in a hogshead.
Letter to Joanna Baillie, 12 October 1825, in H. J. C. Grierson (ed.) ‘The Letters of Sir Walter Scott’ vol. 9 (1935) p. 238
All men who have turned out worth anything have had the chief hand in their own education.
Letter to J. G. Lockhart, c.16 June 1830, in H. J. C. Grierson (ed.) ‘The Letters of Sir Walter Scott’ vol. 11 (1936) p. 365
We shall never learn to feel and respect our real calling and destiny, unless we have taught ourselves to consider every thing as moonshine, compared with the education of the heart.
To J. G. Lockhart, August 1825, quoted in Lockhart ‘s ‘Life of Sir Walter Scott’ vol. 6 (1837) ch. 2
7.47 Scottish Metrical Psalms 1650
The Lord’s my shepherd, I’ll not want. He makes me down to lie
In pastures green: he leadeth me the quiet waters by.
My soul he doth restore again; and me to walk doth make Within the paths of righteousness, ev’n for his own name’s sake.
Yea, though I walk in death’s dark vale,
yet will I fear none ill:
For thou art with me; and thy rod and staff me comfort still.
My table thou hast furnished in presence of my foes;
My head thou dost with oil anoint,
and my cup overflows.
Psalm 23, v. 1.
How lovely is thy dwelling-place, O Lord of hosts, to me!
The tabernacles of thy grace how pleasant, Lord, they be!
Psalm 84, v. 1.
I to the hills will lift mine eyes from whence doth come mine aid. My safety cometh from the Lord, who heav’n and earth hath made.
Psalm 121, v. 1.
The race that long in darkness pined have seen a glorious light.
Paraphrase 19. Isaiah ch. 9, v. 2.
7.48 Edmund Hamilton Sears 1810-76
It came upon the midnight clear, That glorious song of old,
From Angels bending near the earth To touch their harps of gold;
‘Peace on the earth, good will to man From Heaven’s all gracious King.’ The world in solemn stillness lay
To hear the angels sing.
‘The Christian Register’ (1850) ‘That Glorious Song of Old’
7.49 Sir Charles Sedley c.1639-1701
Ah, Chloris! that I now could sit As unconcerned as when
Your infant beauty could beget No pleasure, nor no pain!
‘Child and Maiden’
Love still has something of the sea
From whence his mother rose.
‘Love still has something’
Phyllis, without frown or smile, Sat and knotted all the while.
‘Phyllis Knotting’
Phyllis is my only joy, Faithless as the winds or seas;
Sometimes coming, sometimes coy, Yet she never fails to please.
‘Song’
She deceiving, I believing;
What need lovers wish for more?
‘Song’
7.50 Alan Seeger 1888-1916
I have a rendezvous with Death At some disputed barricade,
When Spring comes round with rustling shade And apple blossoms fill the air.
I have a rendezvous with Death
When Spring brings back blue days and fair.
‘I Have a Rendezvous with Death’ (1916)
7.51 Pete Seeger 1919—
Where have all the flowers gone?
Title of song (1961).
7.52 Sir John Seeley 1834-95
We [the English] seem, as it were, to have conquered and peopled half the world in a fit of absence of mind.
‘The Expansion of England’ (1883) Lecture 1
History is past politics, and politics present history.
‘The Growth of British Policy’
7.53 Erich Segal 1937—
Love means not ever having to say you’re sorry.
‘Love Story’ (1970) ch. 13
7.54 John Selden 1584-1654
Scrutamini scripturas [Let us look at the scriptures]. These two words have undone the world.
