81 quotes found
"Why should Cornishmen learn Cornish? There is no money in it, it serves no practical purpose, and the literature is scanty and of no great originality or value. The question is a fair one, the answer is simple. Because they are Cornish."
"There has never been a time when there has been no person in Cornwall without a knowledge of the Cornish language."
"He knows all the vulnerable spots of the human anatomy as well as the most erudite surgeon in the business and has a greater variety of effective blows than any fighter who ever lived."
"For courage, for power, for skill, for fighting will, there is nothing on record that holds a candle to Fitz."
"Play me no plays."
"Born in a cellar, and living in a garret."
"He made him a hut, wherein he did put The carcass of Robinson Crusoe. O poor Robinson Crusoe!"
"Foote," (said lord Sandwich) "I have often wondered what catastrophe would bring you to your end; but I think, that you must either die of the p-x, or the halter." "My lord," (replied Foote instantaneously) "that will depend upon one of two contingencies; — whether I embrace your lordship's mistress, or your lordship's principles."
"O pastoral heart of England! like a psalm Of green days telling with a quiet beat."
"Only the heel Of splendid steel Shall stand secure on sliding fate, When golden navies weep their freight."
"I could not find the way to God; There were too many flaming suns For signposts, and the fearful road Led over wastes where millions Of tangled comets hissed and burned— I was bewildered and I turned."
"Whenever you feel an impulse to perpetrate a piece of exceptionally fine writing, obey it—whole-heartedly—and delete it before sending your manuscript to press. Murder your darlings."
"All the old statues of Victory have wings: but Grief has no wings. She is the unwelcome lodger that squats on the hearthstone between us and the fire and will not move or be dislodged."
"And rather than make the book unwieldy I have eschewed notes—reluctantly when some obscure passage or allusion seemed to ask for a timely word; with more equanimity when the temptation was to criticize or 'appreciate.' For the function of the anthologist includes criticizing in silence."
"I am mistaken if a single epigram included fails to preserve at least some faint thrill of the emotion through which it had to pass before the Muse's lips let it fall, with however exquisite deliberation."
"The best is the best, though a hundred judges have declared it so; nor had it been any feat to search out and insert the second-rate merely because it happened to be recondite."
"And have they fixed the where and when? And shall Trelawney die? Here's twenty thousand Cornish men Shall know the reason why!"
"Corruption appears to be a universal phenomenon that lays its own imperious claims on the world, and therefore it is the duty of all nations to prepare themselves against its onslaught by taking proper precautions."
"Sometimes societies die and putrefy long before they are pronounced dead, and sometimes men die of corruption long before they have taken to their deathbeds."
"It is precisely when we help one another that we gain our victories over corruption, but the victory is assured only when we help one another with all our strength."
"A culture is not only the language and the arts of a people. It is all their history, all their hopes for the future."
"Conquest, tyranny, treachery, and the clash of cultures bring about corrupt societies, and so does old age. Sometimes the five faces of corruption are visible at the same time."
"At the heart of the mystery of corruption lies the desire of one man to impose his will on others to the largest possible extent."
"For domination has nothing whatsoever to do with good government, and power as an end in itself destroys good government."
"The United States is dangerously close to being a plutocracy. A third of the private wealth is owned by less than 5 percent of the population."
"The corrupt man is nearly always rootless, deeply aware of his rootlessness."
"The corrupt, when found out, become especially good moralists."
"The second corruption of the state is oligarchy (oligos = few), in which the military elite is narrowed down to a few ruling families of immense wealth and prestige, who now openly flaunt their wealth and possessions."
"Long before the empire had reached its greatest extent, the Romans were bored by it."
"Historically the first philosopher to enquire deeply into the nature of corruption in society was Ibn Khaldun (1322-1406), whose wandering life was largely spent in the northern littoral of Africa at a time when kingdoms and sultanates were crumbling."
"It is almost a general rule that nations do not decline gradually. Instead they fall abruptly from their greatest heights."
"Uncorrupted man, with God's blessing, advances across the fields of the universe as though he were walking down a country lane."
"Throughout the history of Christianity, there had been a core of belief that man was not doomed to be everlastingly corrupt."
"All is forgiven to kings and popes. History grants them immunity, even a full pardon, even when they admit their crimes and glory in them."
"Nietzsche's accomplishment is that he permits us to see corruption from the inside."
"A totalitarian dictatorship cannot explain; it can only suppress."
"Fragmentation occurs when a civilization is in decline."
"Naked power has its limitations, since power is a generator of corruption and corruption in its turn tends to dilute the effectiveness of power."
"Corrupt men are always liars. Lies are their instruments, their pleasure, their solace. In time they come to believe their lies, or rather to half-believe them."
"His worst crime was that he gave no hope to the young."
"Where there had been hope, there was now hopelessness. Where there had been courage, there was now cynicism. Where there had been life, there was a living death. During Nixon's reign, much of life was transformed into a nightmare."
"The game of power is played remorselessly by men who have not the slightest knowledge of, or interest in, the way ordinary people live, and the ordinary people are too terrified to protest."
"A nation's wealth is too serious a matter to be left to the wealthy. The riches of a nation belong to all, to be shared among all for the general welfare."
"It is no more rational to have lawyers in positions of power than it would be to have garbage collectors in positions of power. And in human terms garbage collectors would be preferable."
"In the Middle Ages the king offered protection to his subjects in return for their loyalty, and the subjects were doubly protected, for the church also sheltered them. The need for shelter - for a father image that cares and will hopefully provide and give some meaning to human lives - remains as real as it was in the Middle Ages, but modern technocracy has no place for either the father or the church and provides no substitute."
"I sing the goodly armes, and that Chieftaine Who great Sepulchre of our Lord did free. Much with his hande, much wrought he with his braine; Much in that glorious conquest suffred hee: And hell in vaine hitselfe opposde, in vaine The mixed troopes Asian and Libick flee To armes, for Heaven him favour'd, and he drew To sacred ensignes his straid mates anew."
"Now was it night, when in deepe rest enrol'd Are waves and windes, and mute the world doth show Weari'd the beasts, and those that bottome hold Of billow'd sea, and of moyst streames that flow, And who are lodged in cave, or pen'd in fold, And painted flyers in oblivion low, Under their secret horrours silenced, Stilled their cares, and their harts suppelled."
"Cornwall is a fantastic place to live and work and do business. I was speaking to some people about some of the opportunities which could be provided by Brexit. There are real opportunities for us that are not there while we are in the European Union."
"The work of setting up deals is well under way and there are deals being done around the world for when we leave, but the real challenge for us is that fishermen are understood and the way the government recognises that challenge and work in their interest. ... But it's not clear yet that the Government has the guts and the resolve to deliver for fishermen."
"For me, getting a good Brexit is about securing the freedoms and opportunities to plough our own furrow whilst enjoying a relationship of co-operation and trade with mainland Europe."
"If Jeremy Corbyn really recognised and honoured the referendum result, which they did put in their manifesto, then I think he would have done more to support the withdrawal agreement. All he says is ‘we need general election’, which is purely self serving. It is not in the interest of the country. I don’t know anybody who is saying to me let’s have another election."
"The First Past the Post voting system we use for general elections means that many voters do not feel they have a stake in our democracy."
"I am in support of all the demands they [climate strikers] are making and, having persistently lobbied Government for greater action with regard to climate change, was delighted to discuss a range of issues"
"Trust in politics has diminished, people want something to believe in and be part of. A leader who can grasp this climate change challenge, giving everyone a stake in how this great nation goes forward deserves my support, and will get it."
"We were invited to meet with Derek Thomas a couple of weeks ago. He told us to stop striking. He said the ‘novelty of missing school’ would wear off."
"Social media is becoming, amongst a certain group of people, a tool to use against MPs and Government. One of the things people don’t understand when they try to engage with me on social media, is when you’re an MP every communication is confidential."
"I have lost confidence in the Brexit policy of the Prime Minister and have therefore written to the Chairman of the 1922 Committee asking for a vote to take place over her Leadership."
"We could lead the world in environmentally-responsible exploitation of vital seabed minerals. We have the engineers, the marine scientists, the ecologists, the finance industry. We have the offshore oil and gas expertise. We have high, respected environmental standards. ... A little push now means vast rewards in a few years’ time."
"I am very happy to stand again and look at the area where people stood thousands of years ago. I congratulate those who made this excavation. It is a great work"
"One generation has set Cornish on its feet. It is now for another to make it walk."
"From the religious books of ancient Egypt we learn that the power possessed by a priest or man who was skilled in the knowledge and working of magic was believed to be almost boundless. By pronouncing certain words or names of power in the proper manner and in the proper tone of voice he could heal the sick, and cast out the evil spirits which caused pain and suffering in those who were diseased, and restore the dead to life, and bestow upon the dead man the power to transform the corruptible into an incorruptible body, wherein the soul might live to all eternity. His words enabled human beings to assume divers forms at will, and to project their souls into animals and other creatures; and in obedience to his commands, inanimate figures and pictures became living beings and things which hastened to perform his behests. The powers of nature acknowledged his might, and wind and rain, storm and tempest, river and sea, and disease and death worked evil and ruin upon his foes, and upon the enemies of those who were provided with the knowledge of the words which he had wrested from the gods of heaven, and earth, and the underworld."
"[T]o some degree I'm a jester, a licensed fool; under the guise of impartiality or academic dottiness, you're given a licence to say what other people won't say. I take the view that intellectuals tend not to be very good at politics. You need to be articulate, you need to be good at communication, you need to be able to construct a narrative and set out a vision; but you also need not to have self-doubt – and that's a crucial feature of academic life."
"But if the electorate said a firm "No" to the Conservatives on Thursday, the enthusiasm for Labour was muted. The party won just 35 per cent of the vote, less than Jeremy Corbyn in 2017 and less than Tony Blair achieved in his three election victories. Indeed, never before has a party been able to form a majority government on so low a share of the vote. In combination with the Conservatives' record low share, this meant that the share of the vote won by Labour and the Conservatives combined was the lowest since Labour first became the Conservatives' principal rivals in 1922."
"[H]aving entered the lists of Poetry, should I be foiled at the first onset, I may probably, like a true knight, who, as Cid Hamete's hero says, "though he be vanquished to-day, may conquer to-morrow," re-set my lance in rest, and venture another encounter."
"The angel, crossing heaven on wings of light, Stooped to admire, and paused upon his flight, As Woman rose in beauty on the plain, The last and loveliest link of Being's chain."
"How long will conquerors trample earth, And Strength prevail o'er Right and Worth? Gaze round the world—this truth confess, The powerful still the weak oppress; New empires spring o'er empires' graves, Some must be free, and some be slaves; Some spirits rise, some sink as deep, And these must smile and those must weep: Man, as he thinks and acts below, An equal lot can never know."
"Old scenes to visit, and old dreams to dream, Shall not to us a task of labour seem."
"In the of Linnæus mosses were placed among the . It is true that the various parts of their are so small as only to be fully examined by the help of a , but the flower and fruit as a whole may on most species be easily seen."
"In the order of the universe we find that the use of mosses is primarily to other and more . They are spread at the roots of trees, and by their depth keeps the warmth about them in winter, and the moisture in summer, which are necessary to their growth. But when they grow on their trunks and branches, mosses injure trees, by clogging their breathing pores. We next find that mosses are useful to the insect tribe, countless numbers of which find homes among their branches, and roam about in their shades as in mighty forests, and look with their thousand eyes upon the wonders of their gauzy leaves, and sun their wings of purple and gold, and burnish their shining armour upon the polished columns of their urns. Over her nest the constructs a dome of moss; and ascending higher yet, we find the bird's nest "built of wool and hay and moss.""
"We passed s and playing-grounds, and heard from open factory windows the magnified cheerfulness of ""."
"This was India, made for her amusement. Even the sun invited her to pour out her gladness, to soak up its immense generous heat and sweat out her salty thanks. Even the beggars pranced with hope."
"Supper was as convivial a meal as our picnic had been. They sang songs for us, sitting round the table, unaccompanied, Byelorussian and Ukrainian and Russian songs. And they asked me to sing, in return, an English song for them; but I sing , and couldn't."
"Our display is quickly over, since fireworks, we know, cost money, and we three children, from a very early age, are made aware that money is a commodity of which we have wretchedly little. We also know that we mustn't speak of this. Our poverty, like my fear of explosions, is something to be ashamed of, and so to be concealed from the world outside the family. One day my mother, throwing a handful of scrumpled-up rubbish on the fire, notices with horror that amongst the rubbish is a . Ten shillings is a fortune! Too late! It's gone for ever in a lick of flame. Kneeling on the hearthrug, she bursts into tears. This is the first, but not the last time I behold my mother weeping."
"We meet in Smith's idyllic little house bordering in . There are overgrown roses in the front garden and the shelves are crammed full of books, family photographs and a solitary carved wooden bear. An almost-completed crossword lies on a pile of paper next to her armchair. The whole thing is delightfully redolent of a slightly chaotic . As we sit down to talk, a man from pest control knocks on the door and removes a dead mouse from the kitchen. Smith is unperturbed."
"The opening volume of her childhood s, The Great Western Beach (2009), described the first 12 years of her family life in , where all was not well in her parents’ marriage; As Green as Grass begins when the family moves to a house called Melrose in the village of , , where all continues to be not well between Mummy and Daddy. ... What the book is really about is escape: from Melrose, from working as a local schoolteacher in Devon, from a grinding job as secretary in a stuffy hut in the grounds of . ... After the war Smith decides she would like to work in s, and the next thing she knows, she’s on a boat to India with as well as ‘ — Bunny’. She’s the junior, the dogsbody of the filming team, but adores it and, again, we luxuriate in this new escape. Ralph — Bunny wants her to be ‘his girl’, but she escapes from him, too, and marries a much nicer man, who dies six years later. And then, the long silence."
"O are you the boy Who would wait on the quay With the silver penny And the apricot tree?"
"Henry is thinking of his lute and of backgammon, Elizabeth follows the waving song, the mystery, Proud in her red wig and green jewelled favours; They sit in their white lawn sleeves, as cool as history."
"Timothy Winters comes to school With eyes as wide as a football-pool, Ears like bombs and teeth like splinters: A blitz of a boy is Timothy Winters."
"At Morning Prayers the Master helves For children less fortunate than ourselves, And the loudest response in the room is when Timothy Winters roars 'Amen!'So come one angel, come on ten: Timothy Winters says 'Amen Amen amen amen amen.' Timothy Winters, Lord. Amen."
"They are waiting for me somewhere beyond Eden Rock: My father, twenty-five, in the same suit Of Genuine Irish Tweed, his terrier Jack Still two years old and trembling at his feet.My mother, twenty-three, in a sprigged dress Drawn at the waist, ribbon in her straw hat, Has spread the stiff white cloth over the grass. Her hair, the colour of wheat, takes on the light."
"Leisurely,They beckon to me from the other bank. I hear them call, 'See where the stream-path is! Crossing is not as hard as you might think.'I had not thought that it would be like this."