The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations Preface

‘Olympian Odes’ bk. 2, l. 150
My soul, do not seek immortal life, but exhaust the realm of the possible.
‘Pythian Odes’ bk. 3, l. 109
Creatures of a day, what is a man? What is he not? Mankind is a dream of a shadow. But when
a god-given brightness comes, a radiant light rests on men, and a gentle life.
‘Pythian Odes’ bk. 8, l. 135
4.61 Harold Pinter 1930—
I said to this monk, here, I said, look here, mister...you haven’t got a pair of shoes, have you, a
pair of shoes, I said, enough to help me on my way. Look at these, they’re nearly out, I said,
they’re no good to me. I heard you got a stock of shoes here. Piss off, he said to me.
‘The Caretaker’ (1960) act 1
Them bastards at the monastery let me down again.
‘The Caretaker’ (1960) act 1
If only I could get down to Sidcup! I’ve been waiting for the weather to break. He’s got my
papers, this man I left them with, it’s got it all down there, I could prove everything.
‘The Caretaker’ (1960) act 1
Apart from the known and the unknown, what else is there?
‘The Homecoming’ (1965) act 2
The weasel under the cocktail cabinet.
When asked what his plays were about, in J. Russell Taylor ‘Anger and After’ (1962) p. 231
4.62 Luigi Pirandello 1867-1936
Sei personaggi in cerca d’autore.
Six characters in search of an author.
Title of play (1921)
4.63 Robert M. Pirsig 1928—
Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance.
Title of book (1974)
That’s the classical mind at work, runs fine inside but looks dingy on the surface.
‘Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance’ (1974) pt. 3, ch. 25
4.64 William Pitt, Earl of Chatham 1708-78
The atrocious crime of being a young man...I shall neither attempt to palliate nor deny.
House of Commons, 27 January 1741
Confidence is a plant of slow growth in an aged bosom: youth is the season of credulity.
Speech in ‘Hansard’ 14 January 1766, col. 97
Unlimited power is apt to corrupt the minds of those who possess it.
Speech in ‘Hansard’, House of Lords, 9 January 1770, col. 665.