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The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations Preface

The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations Preface

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7.62 Thomas Shadwell c.1642-92<br />

Words may be false and full <strong>of</strong> art,<br />

Sighs are the natural language <strong>of</strong> the heart.<br />

‘Psyche’ (1675) act 3<br />

And wit’s the noblest frailty <strong>of</strong> the mind.<br />

‘A True Widow’ (1679) act 2, sc. 1.<br />

<strong>The</strong> haste <strong>of</strong> a fool is the slowest thing in the world.<br />

‘A True Widow’ (1679) act 3, sc. 1<br />

Every man loves what he is good at.<br />

‘A True Widow’ (1679) act 5, sc. 1<br />

Instantly, in the twinkling <strong>of</strong> a bed-staff.<br />

‘<strong>The</strong> Virtuoso’ (1676) act 1, sc. 1<br />

7.63 Peter Shaffer 1926—<br />

All my wife has ever taken from the Mediterranean—from that whole vast intuitive culture—<br />

are four bottles <strong>of</strong> Chianti to make into lamps.<br />

‘Equus’ (1973) act 1, sc. 18<br />

<strong>The</strong> Normal is the good smile in a child’s eyes—all right. It is also the dead stare in a million<br />

adults. It both sustains and kills—like a God. It is the Ordinary made beautiful; it is also the<br />

Average made lethal.<br />

‘Equus’ (1973) act 1, sc. 19<br />

Passion, you see, can be destroyed by a doctor. It cannot be created.<br />

‘Equus’ (1973) act 2, sc. 35<br />

7.64 Anthony Ashley Cooper, first Earl <strong>of</strong> Shaftesbury 1621-83<br />

‘People differ in their discourse and pr<strong>of</strong>ession about these matters, but men <strong>of</strong> sense are really<br />

but <strong>of</strong> one religion.’...’Pray, my lord, what religion is that which men <strong>of</strong> sense agree in?’<br />

‘Madam,’ says the earl immediately, ‘men <strong>of</strong> sense never tell it.’<br />

In Bishop Gilbert Burnet ‘<strong>The</strong> History <strong>of</strong> My Own Time’ vol. 1 (1724) bk. 2, ch. 1, note by Onslow<br />

7.65 Anthony Ashley Cooper, 3rd Earl <strong>of</strong> Shaftesbury 1671-1713<br />

Truth, ’tis supposed, may bear all lights; and one <strong>of</strong> those principal lights or natural mediums<br />

by which things are to be viewed in order to a thorough recognition is ridicule itself.<br />

‘Essay on the Freedom <strong>of</strong> Wit and Humour’ (1709) pt. 1, sect. 1.<br />

How comes it to pass, then, that we appear such cowards in reasoning, and are so afraid to<br />

stand the test <strong>of</strong> ridicule?<br />

‘A Letter Concerning Enthusiasm’ (1708) sect. 2<br />

7.66 William Shakespeare 1564-1616<br />

<strong>The</strong> line number is given without brackets where the scene is all verse up to the quotation and

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