The wisdom of the wise, and the experience of ages,
may be preserved by quotation. Benjamin Disraeli
Of course there are dictionaries of quotations. They can be interesting to flick through. Sometimes you don't need to read an entire book or witness an entire play or film. Truth or wisdom may be contained in a kernel, a smidgeon, a line.
Considering quotations is a different way of reading, a different way of thinking.
In the mid-seventies when I was at university, I produced a series of well-honed essays. They were mostly for English Literature or Education courses. I worked conscientiously on all of them for I took my university studies seriously and I was intellectually engaged by the academic tasks I faced.
I don't know how it happened but I picked up the habit of choosing epigraphs to precede each essay I wrote. An epigraph is "a short quotation or saying at the beginning of a book or chapter, intended to suggest its theme." There is an epigraph at the beginning of this blogpost.
I remember one lecturer being irritated by my epigraphs but I persisted with them in spite of his grumpy reaction. Another lecturer told me he liked them for they were like musical notes that echoed through the essays that followed them. You cannot please everyone.
I remember one lecturer being irritated by my epigraphs but I persisted with them in spite of his grumpy reaction. Another lecturer told me he liked them for they were like musical notes that echoed through the essays that followed them. You cannot please everyone.
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| A watercolour portrait of Robert Owen by Auguste Hervieu (1829) National Portrait Gallery, London |
I have several favourite quotations. There is one in the header of this blog. It has been there throughout the fourteen years of this blog's existence. And here's another that has always stuck in my mind:-
“All the world is queer save thee and me, and even thou art a little queer.”
It is attributed to Robert Owen (1771-1858). He was both a textile manufacturer and a social reformer during the early years of The Industrial Revolution. His life philosophy was about togetherness and social cohesion but in this quotation he appears to be saying that the bottom line is that the only human being you can depend upon is yourself. Everyone else's viewpoint and experience of life will be at odds with our own. At least that is how I interpret the quote.
I could ramble on and on with this blogpost, exploring quotation after quotation but I am going to cease my peregrination at this point and ask you if you have any "favourite" quotations that have for one reason or another stuck in your mind?
Tha thou's them as thou's thee fust, or nor at all. (Anon. possibly in response to Robert Owen).
ReplyDeleteI searched for that quotation via Google but could not find it. I suspect it was said or written by the notorious rampaging Roman centurion Taskus Dunhamus.
DeleteOr to get it right: Tha thou's them as thou's thee fust an' not afoo-er. It's 'ere now on thine blog foo-er all to google.
DeleteCan't think of a favourite quotation right now, but what I have learned some time ago is that many of them have in reality never been uttered (or written) by the person they are commonly attributed to.
ReplyDeleteYou make a good point Meike but did you write it yourself?
DeleteI am not made or unmade by the things which happen to me but by my reaction to them.
ReplyDeleteSt John of the Cross
Briony
x
That's a good one Briony. It reminds me of "One man's meat is another man's poison".
DeleteEat all, sup all, pay nowt. Hear all, see all, say nowt. And if ever tha does owt for nowt, do it for thi sen.
ReplyDeleteAnother one, just for fun, on successfully doing something that I've been unable to do, my husband always says "See. That's why I'm Batman and you're Robin"
I think it is illegal for Lancastrians to use that saying Christina so watch your back lass!
DeleteOne of my favourites is "We shall not cease from exploration, and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time." T.S. Eliot said it in his poem "Little Gidding".
ReplyDeleteT. S. Eliot
I should read "The Four Quartets" again. I think I was too young when I read it the first time round.
DeleteI had always heard that Ben Franklin was the author of the "All of the world is queer..." quote but I'm sure you're correct. We tend to attribute everything to Benjamin over here.
ReplyDeleteHere's a favorite quote of mine from Bob Dylan: "To live outside the law you must be honest."
I love the Dylan quote. Thank you for sharing that.
Delete“All the world is queer save thee and me, and even thou art a little queer.” was one of my Mother's favourite or oft used quotations. It was oft uttered by her Mother before her. I kept on using it until the word "queer" became unacceptable and I now generally use 'strange' in its place.
ReplyDeleteAS to my favourite quote I'm not certain but I would offer up:
Life is mostly froth and buggle
Two things stand like stone:
Kindness in another's trouble,
Courage in your own.
Adam Linsay Gordon (1833 - 1870)
Ye Wearie Wayfarer
The magnificent equality of death.
Alan Bennett "40 Years On".
Solitude is one of civilisation's greatest treasures but loneliness in one of its greatest evils.
And the spillchucker still got the better of me! "Froth and buggle"? What was wrong with "bubble"?
ReplyDeleteI like the word "buggle". I think it means "a bearded Liverpudlian who has found sanctuary on a Scottish island".
DeleteWhat a co-incidence that your mother was also fond of the quote by Robert Owen!
We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience.
ReplyDeletePierre Teilhard de Chardin
That's my favorite quote.
Thank you for sharing that Lily. I had not heard it before.
Delete"The abandonment of self-pity is the beginning of wisdom."
ReplyDelete"There is no mileage in self-pity" - Yorkshire Pudding
DeleteIf you judge people, you have no time to love them. Mother Teresa
ReplyDeleteShe was right. Judgmentalism seems to be the default position for very many people.
DeleteI never had a head for quotes, despite being a journalist!
ReplyDeleteWas that said by Bob Woodward?
DeleteI have standard sayings but they're not exactly quotes; they're more like proverbs or pithy bits of wisdom, such as "when in doubt, throw it out" (for food), "adversity builds character", "takes one to know one", etc. I do collect quotations, though, and look through them from time to time. Each one means something personal to me.
ReplyDeleteI think you found your voice at a young age, from the description of your college essays.
I was quite lazy and distracted in secondary school but in university I was a very good student.
DeleteWhen I was teaching I always had a quote of the day written on the chalk board. Sometimes it seemed like a waste of time but I was surprised how many kids reacted to it. I hope some of those kids still think about quotes. Okay , I don't have a favorite quote but I like to see a quote at the beginning of a blog. Some bloggers are very adept at finding great quotes to go along with their blog.
ReplyDelete"Red is the ultimate cure for sadness." - Bill Blass
DeleteI keep this taped to my computer screen:
ReplyDeleteI am here by some sad, cosmic mistake
And I am homesick.
Ernest Howard Crosby
1856 - 1907
Thank you sharing this Vivian. I never heard that before.
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ReplyDelete