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Englishmen Quotes

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Englishmen Quotes

“Against the vast majority of my countrymen, even at this moment, in the name of humanity and civilization, I protest against our share in the destruction of Germany. A month ago Europe was a peaceful comity of nations; if an Englishman killed a German, he was hanged. Now, if an Englishman kills a German, or if a German kills an Englishman, he is a patriot, who has deserved well of his country.”

IfsWellsWarCountryMomentsHumanityNamesNationsShareMonthsCivilizationEuropeDestructionMajorityPeacefulGermanyProtestPatriotEnglishmenGreat WarCountrymen
Book:Prophecy and Dissent, 1914-16
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“Englishmen hate Liberty and Equality too much to understand them. But every Englishman loves a pedigree.”

LoveHateLibertyToo MuchRebelliousEnglishmenAncestryPedigreeLiberty And Equality
Book:The Collected Works of George Bernard Shaw: Plays, Novels, Articles, Letters and Essays: Pygmalion, Mrs. Warren’s Profession, Candida, Arms and The Man, Man and Superman, Caesar and Cleopatra, Androcles And The Lion, The New York Times Articles on War, Memories of Oscar Wilde and more
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“When I wrote the song, I had the sea near Bombay in mind. We stayed at a hotel by the sea, and the fishermen come up at five in the morning and they were all chanting. And we went on the beach and we got chased by a mad dog-big as a donkey. ... I think that songwriting changed when groups started spending more time in the studio. ... I've written so many songs about Englishmen, I have to go elsewhere. ... Our repertoire consisted of rhythm and blues, sort of country rhythm and blues, Sonny Terry things.”

ThinkingMindCountryBigsSongMorningFiveWrittenGroupsSeaDogChangedMadCome UpStudiosSpendingRhythmBeachHotelSongwritingMore TimeElsewhereEnglishmenFishermanDonkeyChantingBombayMad DogsRhythm And Blues
Author:Ray Davies
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“Propose to an Englishman any principle, or any instrument, however admirable, and you will observe that the whole effort of the English mind is directed to find a difficulty, a defect, or an impossibility in it. If you speak to him of a machine for peeling a potato, he will pronounce it impossible: if you peel a potato with it before his eyes, he will declare it useless, because it will not slice a pineapple.”

IfsMindWholeEyeSpeakEffortPrinciplesImpossibleMachinesDifficultyInstrumentsUselessHis EyesDefectsImpossibilityPotatoesProposeEnglishmenAdmirablePeelingPineapples
Book:Scientific and Miscellaneous Papers
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“I heard an Englishman, who had been long resident in America, declare that in following, in meeting, or in overtaking, in the street, on the road, or in the field, at the theatre, the coffee-house, or at home, he had never overheard Americans conversing without the word DOLLAR being pronounced between them. Such unity of purpose ... can ... be found nowhere else, except... in an ant's nest.”

LongHomeAmericaPurposeFoundHouseHeardStreetsFieldsDollarsMeetingsUnityFollowingTheatreCoffeeAntsNestsEnglishmenInsultingResidentsOvertakingCoffee HousesUnity Of Purpose
Author:Frances Trollope
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“The depressing thing about an Englishman's traditional love of animals is the dishonesty thereof ... Get a barbed hook into the upper lip of a salmon, drag him endlessly around the water until he loses his strength, pull him to the bank, hit him on the head with a stone, and you may well become fisherman of the year. Shoot.the salmon and you'll never be asked again.”

YearsWellsMayWaterLosesAnimalStonesEnglandLipsTraditionalDragDepressingHookDishonestyEnglishmenInsultingFishermanSalmon
Author:Clement Freud
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“About one thing the Englishman has a particularly strict code. If a bird says Cluk bik bik bik bik and caw you may kill it, eat it or ask Fortnums to pickle it in Napoleon brandy with wild strawberries. If it says tweet it is a dear and precious friend and you'd better lay off it if you want to remain a member of Boodles.”

IfsWantMayAsksOne ThingMembersBirdEnglandLaysDearCodeStrictEnglishmenInsultingTweetStrawberriesPicklesBrandyPrecious FriendsWild Strawberries
Author:Clement Freud
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“I do no think human beings ever came through such a month as we have…We are weak, writing is difficult, but for my own sake I do not regret this journey, which has shown that Englishmen can endure hardships, help one another, and meet death with as great a fortitude as ever in the past.”

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Book:Scott's Last Expedition ...: Vol. I. Being the Journals of Captain R. F. Scott, R. N., C. V. O. Vol II. Being the Reports of the Journeys and the Scientific Work Undertaken by Dr. E. A. Wilson and the Surviving Members of the Expedition, Arranged by Leonard Huxley; with a Preface by Sir Clements R. Markham ... With Photogravure Frontispieces, 6 Original Sketches in Photogravure by Dr. E. A. Wilson, 18 Coloured Plates (16 from Drawings by Dr. Wilson), 260 Full Page and Smaller Illustrations from Photographs Taken by Herbert C. Ponting and Other Members of the Expedition, Panoramas and Maps ...
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“For us, sons of France, political sentiment is a passion; while, for the Englishmen, politics are a question of business.”

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Book:Wilfrid Laurier on the Platform: Collection of the Principal Speeches Made in Parliament Or Before the People, by the Honorable Wilfrid Laurier ... Member for Quebec-East in the Commons, Since His Entry Into Active Politics in 1871
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“In other words, the problem of empire-building is essentially mystical. It must somehow foster the impression that a man is great in the degree that his nation is great; that a German as such is superior to a Belgian as such; an Englishman, to an Irishman; an American, to a Mexican: merely because the first-named countries are in each case more powerful than their comparatives. And people who have no individual stature whatever are willing to accept this poisonous nonsense because it gives them a sense of importance without the trouble of any personal effort.”

PeopleMenGivingFirstsCountryProblemIndividualNationsPowerfulEffortAcceptingCasesTroubleBuildingWillingDegreesImportanceImpressionSuperiorsNonsenseEmpiresMysticalMexicanEnglishmenStaturePoisonousIrishmenBelgians
Author:Felix Morley
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