The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations Preface

Let us return to our sheep.
‘Maistre Pierre Pathelin’ l. 1191 (meaning ‘Let us get back to the subject’); often quoted as ‘Retournons á nos
moutons’
Si le Roi m’avait donnè,
Paris, sa grand’ville,
Et qu’il me fallût quitter
L’amour de ma mie,
Je dirais au roi Henri:
‘Reprenez votre Paris:
J’aime mieux ma mie, au guè,
J’aime mieux ma mie.’
If the king had given me Paris, his great city, and if I were required to give up my darling’s
love, I would say to King Henry: ‘Take your Paris back; I prefer my darling, by the ford, I prefer
my darling.’
Popular song, attributed to Antoine de Bourbon (1518-62), father of Henri IV. Ampére ‘Instructions relatives
aux poèsies populaires de la France’, and quoted in this form by Moliére in ‘Le Misanthrope’ act 1, sc. 2
Taisez-vous! Mèfiez-vous! Les oreilles ennemies vous ècoutent.
Keep your mouth shut! Be on your guard! Enemy ears are listening to you.
Official Notice in France, 1915
Toujours perdrix!
Always partridge!
Said to originate in a story of Henri IV having ordered that nothing but partridge be served to his confessor,
who had rebuked the king for his sexual liasons.
Tout passe, tout casse, tout lasse.
Everything passes, everything perishes, everything palls.
Cahier ‘Quelques six mille proverbes’
1.68.3 German
Arbeit macht frei.
Work liberates.
Words inscribed on the gates of Dachau concentration camp, 1933
Ein Reich, ein Volk, ein Führer.
One realm, one people, one leader.
Nazi Party slogan, early 1930s
Vorsprung durch Technik.
Progress through technology.
Advertising slogan for Audi cars, from 1986
1.68.4 Greek