The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations Preface

Ô saisons, ô châteaux!
Quelle âme est sans dèfauts?
O seasons, O castles! What soul is without fault?
‘Ô saisons, ô châteaux’
A noir, E blanc, I rouge, U vert, O bleu: voyelles,
Je dirais quelque jour vos naissances latentes...
I, pourpres, sang crachè, rire des lévres belles
Dans la colére ou les ivresses pènitentes.
A black, E white, I red, U green, O blue: vowels, some day I will tell of the births that may be
yours. I, purples, coughed-up blood, laughter of beautiful lips in anger or penitent drunkennesses.
‘Voyelles’
6.51 Hal Riney 1932—
It’s morning again in America.
Slogan for Ronald Reagan’s election campaign, 1984, in ‘Newsweek’ 6 August 1984
6.52 Cèsar Ritz 1850-1918
Le client n’a jamais tort.
The customer is never wrong.
In R. Nevill and C. E. Jerningham ‘Piccadilly to Pall Mall’ (1908) p. 94
6.53 Antoine de Rivarol 1753-1801
Ce qui n’est pas clair n’est pas français.
What is not clear is not French.
‘Discours sur l’Universalitè de la Langue Française’ (1784)
6.54 Joan Riviere 1883—
Civilization and its discontents.
Title given to her translation of Sigmund Freud’s ‘Das Unbehagen in der Kultur’ (1930)
6.55 Lord Robbins (Lionel Charles Robbins, Baron Robbins) 1898-1984
Economics is the science which studies human behaviour as a relationship between ends and
scarce means which have alternative uses.
‘Essay on the Nature and Significance of Economic Science’ (1932) ch. 1, sect. 3
6.56 Maximilien Robespierre 1758-94
Toute loi qui viole les droits imprescriptibles de l’homme, est essentiellement injuste et
tyrannique; elle n’est point une loi.
Any law which violates the indefeasible rights of man is essentially unjust and tyrannical; it is
not a law at all.