Quotes Archive

We have stood alone in that which is called isolation—our splendid isolation, as one of our Colonial friends was good enough to call it. Lord Goschen, speech at Lewes (Feb. 26, 1896). Favorite0

They [the English] amuse themselves sadly as is the custom of their country. [Ils s’amusaient tristement selon la coutume de leur pays.] Attributed to Froissart. Not found in his works. Same in Duc de Sully’s Memoirs (1630). (“l’usage” instead of “coutume.”) See Emerson—English Traits, Chapter VIII. Hazlitt—Sketches and Essays. Merry England. (“se

In England there are sixty different religions, and only one sauce. [Il y a en Angleterre soizante sectes religieuses différentes, et une seule sauce.] Marquis Caraccioli Favorite0

It was part of war; men died, more would die, that was past, and what mattered now was the business in hand; those who lived would get on with it. Whatever sorrow was felt, there was no point in talking or brooding about it, much less in making, for form’s sake, a

Depression is not sobbing and crying and giving vent, it is plain and simple reduction of feeling… People who keep stiff upper lips find that it’s damn hard to smile. Judith Guest Favorite0

Deploring change is the unchangeable habit of an Englishman. Raymond Postgate Favorite0

First note. I had better let the cat out of the bag at once and record my opinion that the character of the English is essentially middle class. There is a sound historical reason for this, for, since the end of the eighteenth century, the middle classes have been the dominant force

Do not be misled by memories of your youth when, on the Continent, wanting to describe someone as exceptionally dull, you remarked: ‘He is the type who would discuss the weather with you.’ In England this is an ever-interesting, even thrilling topic, and you must be good at discussing the weather. George

You often hear that the English climate has had a profound effect upon the English temperament. I don’t believe it. I believe they were always like that. Will Cuppy in W.C. Sellar and R.J. Yeatman, Garden Rubbish and Other Country Bumps (New York: Farrar and Rinehart, 1937) Favorite0

England is a paradise for women, and hell for horses: Italy is a paradise for horses, hell for women. Robert Burton, The Anatomy of Melancholy (1621), Part III, Section III. Memb. 1. Subsect. 2. Favorite0