But in the dying world I come from quotation is a national vice. No one would think of making an after-dinner speech without the help of poetry. It used to be the classics, now it’s lyric verse. – Evelyn Waugh, The Loved One: An Anglo-American Tragedy, 1948
I am fully conscious of the fact, that aphorisms are like wandering Gypsies. They must always be published without guarantee of the authenticity. – Erkki Melartin
I am reminded of the professor who, in his declining hours, was asked by his devoted pupils for his final counsel. He replied, Verify your quotations. – Sir Winston Churchill
You swallow hard, thinking to yourself, ‘It must be all right, thousands of people have done it before.’ Then… ‘But this time it’s me — that’s the difference!’ – Charles Shea-Simonds, Sport Parachuting, 1971
Some years ago there was a study to discover the most stressful occupation. It turned out not to be the head of a large business, football manager or prime minister, but rather: bus driver. – Jonathan Sacks
