The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Quotations (323 page)
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Authors: Elizabeth Knowles
1930–
If what is called development is allowed to multiply at the present rate, then by the end of the century Great Britain will consist of isolated oases of preserved monuments in a desert of wire, concrete roads, cosy plots and bungalows…Upon this new Britain the
Review
bestows a name in the hope that it will stick—
subtopia
.
in
Architectural Review
June 1955
1888–1960
No number of atrocities however horrible can deprive a nation of its right to independence, nor justify its being put under the heel of its worst enemies and persecutors.
in 1919; Julia Namier
Lewis Namier
(1971)
1861–1930
Never stop because you are afraid—you are never so likely to be wrong. Never keep a line of retreat: it is a wretched invention. The difficult is what takes a little time; the impossible is what takes a little longer.
in
Listener
14 December 1939
1769–1821
Think of it, soldiers; from the summit of these pyramids, forty centuries look down upon you.
before the Battle of the Pyramids
speech to the Army of Egypt on 21 July 1798
It [the Channel] is a mere ditch, and will be crossed as soon as someone has the courage to attempt it.
letter to Consul Cambacérès, 16 November 1803
I want the whole of Europe to have one currency; it will make trading much easier.
letter to his brother Louis, 6 May 1807
There is only one step from the sublime to the ridiculous.
to De Pradt, Polish ambassador, after the retreat from Moscow in 1812
D. G. De Pradt
Histoire de l'Ambassade dans le grand-duché de Varsovie en 1812
(1815).
As to moral courage, I have very rarely met with two o'clock in the morning courage: I mean instantaneous courage.
E. A. de Las Cases
Mémorial de Ste-Hélène
(1823) vol. 1, pt. 2, 4–5 December 1815.
An army marches on its stomach.
attributed, but probably condensed from a long passage in E. A. de Las Cases
Mémorial de Ste-Hélène
(1823) vol. 4, 14 November 1816; also attributed to Frederick the Great
As though he had 200,000 men.
when asked how to deal with the Pope
J. M. Robinson
Cardinal Consalvi
(1987).
La carrière ouverte aux talents.The career open to the talents.
Barry E. O'Meara
Napoleon in Exile
(1822) vol. 1
England is a nation of shopkeepers.
Barry E. O'Meara
Napoleon in Exile
(1822) vol. 2
Not tonight, Josephine.
attributed, but probably apocryphal; the phrase does not appear in contemporary sources, but was current by the early twentieth century
1902–71
The turtle lives 'twixt plated decks
Which practically conceal its sex.
I think it clever of the turtle
In such a fix to be so fertile.
"Autres Bêtes, Autres Moeurs" (1931)
The cow is of the bovine ilk;
One end is moo, the other, milk.
"The Cow" (1931)
Beneath this slab
John Brown is stowed.
He watched the ads,
And not the road.
"Lather as You Go" (1942)
Candy
Is dandy
But liquor
Is quicker.
"Reflections on Ice-breaking" (1931)
I test my bath before I sit,
And I'm always moved to wonderment
That what chills the finger not a bit
Is so frigid upon the fundament.
"Samson Agonistes" (1942)
I think that I shall never see
A billboard lovely as a tree.
Perhaps, unless the billboards fall,
I'll never see a tree at all.
"Song of the Open Road" (1933).
Sure, deck your lower limbs in pants;
Yours are the limbs, my sweeting.
You look divine as you advance—
Have you seen yourself retreating?
"What's the Use?" (1940)