The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations
.pdfImprisoned in every fat man a thin one is wildly signalling to be let out.
‘The Unquiet Grave’ (1944) pt. 2.
The true index of a man’s character is the health of his wife.
‘The Unquiet Grave’ (1944) pt. 2
We are all serving a life-sentence in the dungeon of self.
‘The Unquiet Grave’ (1944) pt. 2
Peeling off the kilometres to the tune of ‘Blue Skies’, sizzling down the long black liquid reaches of Nationale Sept, the plane trees going sha-sha-sha through the open window, the windscreen yellowing with crushed midges, she with the Michelin beside me, a handkerchief binding her hair.
‘The Unquiet Grave’ (1944) pt. 3
Our memories are card-indexes consulted, and then put back in disorder by authorities whom we do not control.
‘The Unquiet Grave’ (1944) pt. 3
Destroy him as you will, the bourgeois always bounces up—execute him, expropriate him, starve him out en masse, and he reappears in your children.
In ‘Observer’ 7 March 1937
Perfect fear casteth out love.
In ‘Observer’ 1 December 1974, obituary notice by Philip Toynbee, to whom Connolly addressed the remark during the Blitz
3.160 James Connolly 1868-1916
The worker is the slave of capitalist society, the female worker is the slave of that slave.
‘The Re-conquest of Ireland’ (1915) p. 38
3.161 Joseph Conrad (Teodor Josef Konrad Korzeniowski) 1857-1924
In plucking the fruit of memory one runs the risk of spoiling its bloom.
‘The Arrow of Gold’ (author’s note, 1920, to 1924 Uniform Edition) p. viii
The conquest of the earth, which mostly means the taking it away from those who have a different complexion or slightly flatter noses than ourselves, is not a pretty thing when you look into it.
‘Heart of Darkness’ (1902) ch. 1
We live, as we dream—alone.
‘Heart of Darkness’ (1902) ch. 1
Exterminate all the brutes!
‘Heart of Darkness’ (1902) ch. 2
The horror! The horror!
‘Heart of Darkness’ (1902) ch. 3
Mistah Kurtz—he dead.
‘Heart of Darkness’ (1902) ch. 3
A man that is born falls into a dream like a man who falls into the sea. If he tries to climb out into the air as inexperienced people endeavour to do, he drowns...to the destructive element submit yourself, and with the exertions of your hands and feet in the water make the deep, deep sea keep you up.
‘Lord Jim’ (1900) ch. 20
You shall judge of a man by his foes as well as by his friends.
‘Lord Jim’ (1900) ch. 34
My task which I am trying to achieve is by the power of the written word, to make you hear, to make you feel—it is, before all, to make you see. That—and no more, and it is everything.
‘The Nigger of the Narcissus’ (1897) preface
Action is consolatory. It is the enemy of thought and the friend of flattering illusions.
‘Nostromo’ (1904) pt. 1, ch. 6
It’s only those who do nothing that make no mistakes, I suppose.
‘Outcast of the Islands’ (1896) pt. 3, ch. 2
The terrorist and the policeman both come from the same basket.
‘The Secret Agent’ (1907) ch. 4
All ambitions are lawful except those which climb upwards on the miseries or credulities of mankind.
‘Some Reminiscences’ (1912; in USA ‘A Personal Record’) preface
Only in men’s imagination does every truth find an effective and undeniable existence. Imagination, not invention, is the supreme master of art, as of life.
‘Some Reminiscences’ (1912) ch. 1
The scrupulous and the just, the noble, humane, and devoted natures; the unselfish and the intelligent may begin a movement—but it passes away from them. They are not the leaders of a revolution. They are its victims.
‘Under Western Eyes’ (1911) pt. 2, ch. 3
A belief in a supernatural source of evil is not necessary; men alone are quite capable of every wickedness.
‘Under Western Eyes’ (1911) pt. 2, ch. 4
I remember my youth and the feeling that will never come back any more—the feeling that I could last for ever, outlast the sea, the earth, and all men; the deceitful feeling that lures us on to joys, to perils, to love, to vain effort—to death; the triumphant conviction of strength, the heat of life in the handful of dust, the glow in the heart that with every year grows dim, grows cold, grows small, and expires—and expires, too soon, too soon—before life itself.
‘Youth’ (1902) p. 41
3.162 Shirley Conran 1932—
Life is too short to stuff a mushroom.
‘Superwoman’ (1975) p. 15
3.163 Henry Constable 1562-1613
Diaphenia, like the daffadowndilly, White as the sun, fair as the lily.
‘Diaphenia’
3.164 John Constable 1776-1837
The sound of water escaping from mill-dams, etc., willows, old rotten planks, slimy posts, and brickwork...those scenes made me a painter and I am grateful.
Letter to John Fisher, 23 October 1821, in C. R. Leslie ‘Memoirs of the Life of John Constable’ (1843) ch. 5
There is nothing ugly; I never saw an ugly thing in my life: for let the form of an object be what it may,—light, shade, and perspective will always make it beautiful.
In C. R. Leslie ‘Memoirs of the Life of John Constable’ (1843) ch. 17
In Claude’s landscape all is lovely—all amiable—all is amenity and repose;—the calm sunshine of the heart.
Lecture 2, 2 June 1836, of a course of lectures to the Royal Institution, in C. R. Leslie ‘Memoirs of the Life of John Constable’ (1843) ch. 18
3.165 Benjamin Constant (Henri Benjamin Constant de Rebecque) 1767-1834
L’art pour l’art, sans but, car tout but dènature l’art. Mais l’art atteint au but qu’il n’a pas.
Art for art’s sake, with no purpose, for any purpose perverts art. But art achieves a purpose
which is not its own.
‘Journal intime’ 11 February 1804, in ‘Revue Internationale’ 10 January 1887 p. 96 (describing a conversation with Crabb Robinson about the latter’s work on Kant’s aesthetics).
3.166 Constantine I, the Great (Flavius Valerius Constantinus Augustus) c.288-337
In hoc signo vinces.
In this sign shalt thou conquer.
Traditional form of words of Constantine’s vision (312), reported in Greek—Eusebius ‘Life of Constantine’ bk. 1, ch. 28
3.167 A. J. Cook 1885-1931
Not a penny off the pay, not a second on the day.
Referring to the miners’ slogan in speech at York, 3 April 1926: ‘The Times’ 5 April 1926
3.168 Dan Cook
The opera ain’t over ’til the fat lady sings.
In ‘Washington Post’ 3 June 1978. ‘Concise Oxford Dictionary of Proverbs’
3.169 Eliza Cook 1818-89
Better build schoolrooms for ‘the boy’, Than cells and gibbets for ‘the man’.
‘A Song for the Ragged Schools’
3.170 Calvin Coolidge 1872-1933
Civilization and profits go hand in hand.
Speech in New York, 27 November 1920, in ‘New York Times’ 28 November 1920, p. 20
The chief business of the American people is business.
Speech in Washington, 17 January 1925, in ‘New York Times’ 18 January 1925, p. 19
They hired the money, didn’t they?
On the subject of war debts incurred by England and others (1925) in John H. McKee ‘Coolidge: Wit and Wisdom’ (1933) p. 118
3.171 Duff Cooper (Viscount Norwich) 1890-1954
Small, but perfectly formed.
Describing himself (October 1914) in a letter to Lady Diana Manners (later his wife): Artemis Cooper ‘Durable Fire’ (1983) p. 17
3.172 Wendy Cope 1945—
It’s nice to meet serious people And hear them explain their views:
Your concern for the rights of women Is especially welcome news.
I’m sure you’d never exploit one; I expect you’d rather be dead; I’m thoroughly convinced of it—
Now can we go to bed?
‘From June to December’ (1986)
3.173 Richard Corbet 1582-1635
Farewell, rewards and Fairies, Good housewives now may say, For now foul sluts in dairies Do fare as well as they.
‘The Fairies’ Farewell’
Who of late for cleanliness, Finds sixpence in her shoe?
‘The Fairies’ Farewell’
By which we note the Fairies Were of the old profession; Their songs were Ave Marys, Their dances were procession.
‘The Fairies’ Farewell’
I wish thee all thy mother’s graces, Thy father’s fortunes, and his places. I wish thee friends, and one at Court, Not to build on, but support;
To keep thee, not in doing many Oppressions, but from suffering any.
‘To his Son, Vincent Corbet’
3.174 Pierre Corneille 1606-84
A vaincre sans pèril, on triomphe sans gloire.
When there is no peril in the fight, there is no glory in the triumph.
‘Le Cid’ (1637) act 2, sc. 2
Faites votre devoir et laissez faire aux dieux.
Do your duty, and leave the outcome to the Gods.
‘Horace’ (1640) act 2, sc. 8
Un premier mouvement ne fut jamais un crime.
A first impulse was never a crime.
‘Horace’ (1640) act 5, sc. 3.
3.175 Bernard Cornfeld 1927—
Do you sincerely want to be rich?
Cornfeld’s stock question to salesmen, in Charles Raw et al. ‘Do You Sincerely Want to be Rich?’ (1971) p. 67
3.176 Frances Cornford 1886-1960
Whoso maintains that I am humbled now (Who wait the Awful Day) is still a liar; I hope to meet my Maker brow to brow And find my own the higher.
‘Epitaph for a Reviewer’ (1954)
How long ago Hector took off his plume, Not wanting that his little son should cry, Then kissed his sad Andromache goodbye— And now we three in Euston waiting-room.
‘Parting in Wartime’ (1948)
O why do you walk through the fields in gloves, Missing so much and so much?
O fat white woman whom nobody loves, Why do you walk through the fields in gloves, When the grass is soft as the breast of doves
And shivering-sweet to the touch?
O why do you walk through the fields in gloves, Missing so much and so much?
‘To a Fat Lady seen from the Train’ (1910).
A young Apollo, golden-haired, Stands dreaming on the verge of strife, Magnificently unprepared
For the long littleness of life.
‘Youth’ (1910) (on Rupert Brooke)
3.177 Francis Macdonald Cornford 1874-1943
Every public action, which is not customary, either is wrong, or, if it is right, is a dangerous precedent. It follows that nothing should ever be done for the first time.
‘Microcosmographia Academica’ (1908) p. 28
3.178 Mme Cornuel 1605-94
Il n’y a point de hèros pour son valet de chambre.
No man is a hero to his valet.
In ‘Lettres de Mlle Aïssè á Madame C’ (1787) letter 13 ‘De Paris, 1728’
3.179 Coronation Service
We present you with this Book, the most valuable thing that this world affords. Here is wisdom; this is the royal Law; these are the lively Oracles of God.
The Presenting of the Holy Bible. L. G. Wickham Legge ‘English Coronation Records’ (1901) p. 334
3.180 Correggio (Antonio Allegri Correggio) c.1489-1534
Anch’io sono pittore!
I, too, am a painter!
On seeing Raphael’s ‘St Cecilia’ at Bologna, c.1525
3.181 William Cory (William Johnson, later Cory) 1823-92
Jolly boating weather, And a hay harvest breeze, Blade on the feather, Shade off the trees Swing, swing together
With your body between your knees.
‘Eton Boating Song’ in ‘Eton Scrap Book’ (1865). E. Parker ‘Floreat’ (1923) p. 109
Nothing in life shall sever
The chain that is round us now.
‘Eton Boating Song’ in ‘Eton Scrap Book’ (1865). E. Parker ‘Floreat’ (1923) p. 109
They told me, Heraclitus, they told me you were dead, They brought me bitter news to hear and bitter tears to shed. I wept as I remembered how often you and I
Had tired the sun with talking and sent him down the sky.
‘Heraclitus’; translation of Callimachus ‘Epigram 2’ in R. Pfeiffer (ed.) ‘Callimachus’ (1949-53)
You promise heavens free from strife, Pure truth, and perfect change of will; But sweet, sweet is this human life, So sweet, I fain would breathe it still; Your chilly stars I can forgo,
This warm kind world is all I know.
‘Mimnermus in Church’
All beauteous things for which we live By laws of space and time decay.
But Oh, the very reason why
I clasp them, is because they die.
‘Mimnermus in Church’
3.182 Charles Cotton 1630-87
The shadows now so long do grow, That brambles like tall cedars show, Molehills seem mountains, and the ant Appears a monstrous elephant.
‘Evening Quatrains’ (1689) st. 3
3.183 Baron Pierre de Coubertin 1863-1937
L’important dans la vie ce n’est point le triomphe mais le combat; l’essentiel ce n’est pas d’avoir vaincu mais de s’être bien battu.
The important thing in life is not the victory but the contest; the essential thing is not to have
won but to be well beaten.
Speech at government banquet in London, 24 July 1908, in T. A. Cook ‘Fourth Olympiad’ (1909) p. 793
3.184 Èmile Couè 1857-1926
Tous les jours, á tous points de vue, je vais de mieux en mieux.
Every day, in every way, I am getting better and better.
To be repeated 15 to 20 times, morning and evening, in ‘De la suggestion et de ses applications’ (1915) p. 17
3.185 Victor Cousin 1792-1867
Il faut de la religion pour la religion, de la morale pour la morale, comme de l’art pour l’art...le
beau ne peut être la voie ni de l’utile, ni du bien, ni du saint; il ne conduit qu’á lui-même.
We must have religion for religion’s sake, morality for morality’s sake, as with art for art’s sake...the beautiful cannot be the way to what is useful, or to what is good, or to what is holy; it
leads only to itself.
‘Du vrai, du beau, et du bien’ (Sorbonne lecture, 1818).
3.186 Thomas Coventry (first Baron Coventry) 1578-1640
The dominion of the sea, as it is an ancient and undoubted right of the crown of England, so it is the best security of the land. The wooden walls are the best walls of this kingdom.
Speech to the Judges, 17 June 1635, in J. Rushworth ‘Historical Collections’ (1680) vol. 2, p. 297. Wooden walls refers to ships; see Herodotus ‘Histories’ bk. 7, ch. 141-3
3.187 Noël Coward 1899-1973
Dance, dance, dance, little lady! Leave tomorrow behind.
‘Dance, Little Lady’ (1928 song)
Don’t let’s be beastly to the Germans When our Victory is ultimately won.
‘Don’t Let’s Be Beastly to the Germans’ (1943 song)
There’s sand in the porridge and sand in the bed, And if this is pleasure we’d rather be dead.
‘The English Lido’
I believe that since my life began The most I’ve had is just
A talent to amuse. Heigho, if love were all!
‘If Love Were All’ (1929 song)
I’ll see you again,
Whenever Spring breaks through again.
‘I’ll See You Again’ (1929 song)
Mad about the boy,
It’s pretty funny but I’m mad about the boy. He has a gay appeal
That makes me feel
There may be something sad about the boy.
‘Mad about the Boy’ (1932 song)
Mad dogs and Englishmen Go out in the midday sun. The Japanese don’t care to, The Chinese wouldn’t dare to,
The Hindus and Argentines sleep firmly from twelve to one, But Englishmen detest a siesta.
In the Philippines, there are lovely screens To protect you from the glare;
In the Malay states, they have hats like plates Which the Britishers won’t wear.
At twelve noon, the natives swoon, And no further work is done;
But mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun.
‘Mad Dogs and Englishmen’ (1931 song)
Don’t put your daughter on the stage, Mrs Worthington, Don’t put your daughter on the stage.
‘Mrs Worthington’ (1935 song)
Poor little rich girl You’re a bewitched girl, Better beware!
‘Poor Little Rich Girl’ (1925 song)
Someday I’ll find you, Moonlight behind you,
True to the dream I am dreaming.
‘Someday I’ll Find You’ (1930 song)
The Stately Homes of England, How beautiful they stand,
To prove the upper classes Have still the upper hand.
‘The Stately Homes of England’ (1938 song).
Never mind, dear, we’re all made the same, though some more than others.
‘The Cafè de la Paix’
Very flat, Norfolk.
‘Private Lives’ (1930) act 1
Extraordinary how potent cheap music is.
‘Private Lives’ (1930) act 1
Certain women should be struck regularly, like gongs.
‘Private Lives’ (1930) act 3
3.188 Abraham Cowley 1618-67
The thirsty earth soaks up the rain, And drinks, and gapes for drink again. The plants suck in the earth, and are With constant drinking fresh and fair.
‘Drinking’ (1656)
Fill all the glasses there, for why Should every creature drink but I, Why, man of morals, tell me why?
‘Drinking’ (1656)
God the first garden made, and the first city Cain.
‘Essays, in Verse and Prose’ (1668) ‘The Garden’.
Hence, ye profane; I hate ye all; Both the great vulgar, and the small.
‘Essays, in Verse and Prose’ ‘Of Greatness’; translation of Horace ‘Odes’ bk. 3, no. 1.
This only grant me, that my means may lie Too low for envy, for contempt too high.
‘Essays, in Verse and Prose’ (1668) ‘Of Myself’
Acquaintance I would have, but when’t depends Not on the number, but the choice of friends.
‘Essays, in Verse and Prose’ (1668) ‘Of Myself’
Love in her sunny eyes does basking play; Love walks the pleasant mazes of her hair; Love does on both her lips for ever stray; And sows and reaps a thousand kisses there. In all her outward parts Love’s always seen; But, oh, he never went within.
‘The Mistress: or...Love Verses’ (1647) ‘The Change’
The world’s a scene of changes, and to be Constant, in Nature were inconstancy.
‘The Mistress: or...Love Verses’ (1647) ‘Inconstancy’
Lukewarmness I account a sin As great in love as in religion.
‘The Mistress: or...Love Verses’ ‘The Request’
Well then; I now do plainly see
This busy world and I shall ne’er agree; The very honey of all earthly joy
Does of all meats the soonest cloy, And they (methinks) deserve my pity, Who for it can endure the stings, The crowd, and buz, and murmurings Of this great hive, the city.
‘The Mistress: or...Love Verses’ (1647) ‘The Wish’
Nothing so soon the drooping spirits can raise As praises from the men, whom all men praise.