The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations Preface

Imprisoned in every fat man a thin one is wildly signalling to be let out.
‘The Unquiet Grave’ (1944) pt. 2.
The true index of a man’s character is the health of his wife.
‘The Unquiet Grave’ (1944) pt. 2
We are all serving a life-sentence in the dungeon of self.
‘The Unquiet Grave’ (1944) pt. 2
Peeling off the kilometres to the tune of ‘Blue Skies’, sizzling down the long black liquid
reaches of Nationale Sept, the plane trees going sha-sha-sha through the open window, the
windscreen yellowing with crushed midges, she with the Michelin beside me, a handkerchief
binding her hair.
‘The Unquiet Grave’ (1944) pt. 3
Our memories are card-indexes consulted, and then put back in disorder by authorities whom
we do not control.
‘The Unquiet Grave’ (1944) pt. 3
Destroy him as you will, the bourgeois always bounces up—execute him, expropriate him,
starve him out en masse, and he reappears in your children.
In ‘Observer’ 7 March 1937
Perfect fear casteth out love.
In ‘Observer’ 1 December 1974, obituary notice by Philip Toynbee, to whom Connolly addressed the remark
during the Blitz
3.160 James Connolly 1868-1916
The worker is the slave of capitalist society, the female worker is the slave of that slave.
‘The Re-conquest of Ireland’ (1915) p. 38
3.161 Joseph Conrad (Teodor Josef Konrad Korzeniowski) 1857-1924
In plucking the fruit of memory one runs the risk of spoiling its bloom.
‘The Arrow of Gold’ (author’s note, 1920, to 1924 Uniform Edition) p. viii
The conquest of the earth, which mostly means the taking it away from those who have a
different complexion or slightly flatter noses than ourselves, is not a pretty thing when you look
into it.
‘Heart of Darkness’ (1902) ch. 1
We live, as we dream—alone.
‘Heart of Darkness’ (1902) ch. 1
Exterminate all the brutes!
‘Heart of Darkness’ (1902) ch. 2
The horror! The horror!
‘Heart of Darkness’ (1902) ch. 3
Mistah Kurtz—he dead.
‘Heart of Darkness’ (1902) ch. 3