Ashore it’s wine, women, and song; aboard it’s rum, bum, and concertina.
—British naval saying, c. 1800
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Quotes
Fate leads the willing and drags along those who hang back.
—Cleanthes, c. 250 BCThe fact is certain because it is impossible.
—Tertullian, c. 200It is not right for a ruler who has the nation in his charge, a man with so much on his mind, to sleep all night.
—Homer, c. 750 BCAnimals are such agreeable friends—they ask no questions, they pass no criticisms.
—George Eliot, 1857One of the saddest things is that the only thing that a man can do for eight hours a day, day after day, is work. You can’t eat eight hours a day, nor drink for eight hours a day, nor make love for eight hours.
—William Faulkner, 1958Better free in a strange land than a slave at home.
—German proverbThe smell of rain is rich with life.
—Estela Portillo Trambley, 1975It would seem that in history it’s never a tooth for a tooth, but a thousand, a hundred thousand for one.
—Sybille Bedford, 1963Art, like morality, consists of drawing the line somewhere.
—G.K. Chesterton, 1928Do not do unto others as you would that they should do unto you. Their tastes may not be the same.
—George Bernard Shaw, 1903Revolutionaries are greater sticklers for formality than conservatives.
—Italo Calvino, 1957Lord, I do not ask that thou shouldst give me wealth; only show me where it is, and I will attend to the rest.
—Kate Douglas Wiggin, 1898