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Yet the first bringer of unwelcome news
Hath but a losing office, and his tongue
Sounds ever after as a sullen bell
Remembered tolling a departing friend.

William Shakespeare

Henry IV, Part 2

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Topic

Bearer of bad news Bad news

Speaker

Northumberland

Author

William Shakespeare

Source

Henry IV, Part 2

Medium

Play

Genre

History (play)

Language

English

Time

1597 1590s 16th century

Era

European Renaissance

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Shakespeare, William. Henry IV, Part 2. The Lord Chamberlain's Men, c. 1597, The Theatre, London, England, UK, act 1, sc. 1.

Current Citation

Shakespeare, William. "The Second Part of Henry the Fourth." The Norton Shakespeare, edited by Stephen Greenblatt, et al., 3rd ed., W. W. Norton & Company, 2015, act 1, sc. 1.

Now my love is thawed,
Which like a waxen image ’gainst a fire
Bears no impression of the thing it was.

William Shakespeare

The Two Gentlemen of Verona

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Topic

Fading love Love

Speaker

Proteus

Author

William Shakespeare

Source

The Two Gentlemen of Verona

Medium

Play

Genre

Comedy (play)

Statement Type

Metaphor, analogy and simile

Language

English

Time

1616 1610s 17th century

Era

European Renaissance

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Shakespeare, William. "The Two Gentlemen of Verona." Mr. William Shakespeare's Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies. London: Edward Blount and William and Isaac Jaggard, 1623, act 2, sc. 4.

Current Citation

Shakespeare, William. "The Two Gentlemen of Verona." The Norton Shakespeare, edited by Stephen Greenblatt, et al., 3rd ed., W. W. Norton & Company, 2015, act 2, sc. 4.

Ay, but to die, and go we know not where,
To lie in cold obstruction and to rot,
This sensible warm motion to become
A kneaded clod; and the delighted spirit
To bathe in fiery floods, or to reside
In thrilling region of thick-ribbed ice.

William Shakespeare

Measure for Measure

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Topic

The afterlife

Speaker

Claudio

Author

William Shakespeare

Source

Measure for Measure

Medium

Play

Genre

Comedy (play)

Language

English

Time

1616 1610s 17th century

Era

European Renaissance

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Shakespeare, William. "Measure for Measure." Mr. William Shakespeare's Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies. London: Edward Blount and William and Isaac Jaggard, 1623, act 3, sc. 1.

Current Citation

Shakespeare, William. "Measure for Measure." The Norton Shakespeare, edited by Stephen Greenblatt, et al., 3rd ed., W. W. Norton & Company, 2015, act 3, sc. 1.

The sense of death is most in apprehension,
And the poor beetle that we tread upon
In corporal sufferance finds a pang as great
As when a giant dies.

William Shakespeare

Measure for Measure

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Topic

Fear of death Death Man and animals

Speaker

Isabella

Author

William Shakespeare

Source

Measure for Measure

Medium

Play

Genre

Comedy (play)

Language

English

Time

1616 1610s 17th century

Era

European Renaissance

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Shakespeare, William. "Measure for Measure." Mr. William Shakespeare's Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies. London: Edward Blount and William and Isaac Jaggard, 1623, act 3, sc. 1.

Current Citation

Shakespeare, William. "Measure for Measure." The Norton Shakespeare, edited by Stephen Greenblatt, et al., 3rd ed., W. W. Norton & Company, 2015, act 3, sc. 1.

Thus sometimes hath the brightest day a cloud,
And after summer evermore succeeds
Barren winter, with his wrathful nipping cold;
So cares and joys abound, as seasons fleet.

William Shakespeare

Henry VI, Part 2

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Topic

Yin and yang

Speaker

Gloucester

Author

William Shakespeare

Source

Henry VI, Part 2

Medium

Play

Genre

History (play)

Language

English

Time

1594 1590s 16th century

Era

European Renaissance

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Shakespeare, William. Henry VI, Part 2. London: Thomas Millington, 1594, act 2, sc. 4.

Current Citation

Shakespeare, William. "The Second Part of Henry the Sixth." The Norton Shakespeare, edited by Stephen Greenblatt, et al., 3rd ed., W. W. Norton & Company, 2015, act 2, sc. 4.

Till society is very differently constituted, parents, I fear, will still insist on being obeyed, because they will be obeyed, because they will be obeyed, and constantly endeavor to settle that power on a Divine right which will not bear the investigation of reason.

Mary Wollstonecraft

A Vindiction of the Rights of Woman

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Topic

Parenting Parents and children

Author

Mary Wollstonecraft

Source

A Vindiction of the Rights of Woman

Genre

Political literature Feminist literature

Language

English

Time

1792 1790s 18th century

Authentication Score 3

Original Citation

Wollstonecraft, Mary. A Vindication of the Rights of Woman: with Strictures on Political and Moral Subjects. Boston: Thomas and Andrews/London: J. Johnson, 1792, ch. 11.

Current Citation

Wollstonecraft, Mary. "A Vindication of the Rights of Women." A Vindication of the Rights of Women and A Vindication of the Rights of Men, edited by Janet Todd. Oxford University Press, 2009, ch. 11.

In my lifetime, all the problems have come mainland Europe, and all the solutions have come from the English-speaking nations across the world.

Margaret Thatcher

More information about this quote

Topic

Anglosphere

Speaker

Margaret Thatcher

Medium

Speech

Genre

Political speech

Language

English

Time

1999 1990s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Thatcher, Margaret. Speech to Scottish Tories. Conservative Party conference. 5 Oct. 1999, Blackpool, England, UK.

Virtue itself turns vice, being misapplied,
And vice sometime by action dignified.

William Shakespeare

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Topic

Virtue and vice Moral relativism

Speaker

Friar Laurence

Author

William Shakespeare

Genre

Tragedy (play)

Language

English

Time

1597 1590s 16th century

Era

European Renaissance

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Shakespeare, William. Romeo and Juliet. London: John Danter, 1597, act 2, sc. 3.

Current Citation

Shakespeare, William. "Romeo and Juliet." The Norton Shakespeare, edited by Stephen Greenblatt, et al., 3rd ed., W. W. Norton & Company, 2015, act 2, sc. 3.

No one knows what it's like
To be the bad man
To be the sad man
Behind blue eyes.

The Who

Behind Blue Eyes

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Topic

Alienation

Speaker

The Who

Source

Behind Blue Eyes Who's Next

Medium

Song

Genre

Rock music

Language

English

Time

1971 1970s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Townshend, Peter. "Behind Blue Eyes." Performed by The Who. Who's Next. Track Records/Decca Records, 1971.

But for mine own part, it was Greek to me.

William Shakespeare

Julius Caesar

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Topic

Gibberish

Speaker

Casca

Author

William Shakespeare

Source

Julius Caesar

Medium

Play

Genre

History (play) Tragedy (play)

Language

English

Time

1599 1590s 16th century

Era

European Renaissance

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Shakespeare, William. Julius Caesar. The Lord Chamberlain's Men, 1599, Globe Theatre, London, England, UK, act 1, sc. 2.

Current Citation

Shakespeare, William. "Julius Caesar." The Norton Shakespeare, edited by Stephen Greenblatt, et al., 3rd ed., W. W. Norton & Company, 2015, act 1, sc. 2.

An honest man's the noblest work of God.

Alexander Pope

An Essay on Man

More information about this quote

Topic

Honesty Character

Author

Alexander Pope

Source

An Essay on Man

Medium

Poem

Language

English

Time

1733 1730s 18th century

Era

Age of Enlightenment

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Pope, Alexander. "An Essay on Man." London: J. Wilford, 1733, ep. 4, l. 248.

Current Citation

Pope, Alexander. "An Essay on Man." The Major Works, edited by Pat Rogers. Oxford University Press, 2009, ep. 4, I. 248.

Don't go into Mr. McGregor's garden: your father had an accident there, he was put into a pie by Mrs. McGregor.

Beatrix Potter

The Tale of Peter Rabbit

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Speaker

Mrs. Rabbit

Author

Beatrix Potter

Source

The Tale of Peter Rabbit

Genre

Children's literature

Statement Type

Warning

Language

English

Time

1902 1900s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Original Citation

Potter, Beatrix. The Tale of Peter Rabbit. Frederick Warne & Co., 1902.

Current Citation

Potter, Beatrix. The Tale of Peter Rabbit. Frederick Warne & Co., 2012.

Where are the songs of Spring? Ay, where are they?
Think not of them, thou hast thy music too.

John Keats

To Autumn

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Topic

Autumn

Author

John Keats

Source

To Autumn

Medium

Poem

Language

English

Time

1820 1820s 19th century

Authentication Score 3

Original Citation

Keats, John. "To Autumn." Lamia, Isabella, the Eve of St Agnes and Other Poems. London: Taylor and Hessey, 1820, I. 23.

Current Citation

Keats, John. "To Autumn." John Keats: Selected Poems, edited by John Barnard. Penguin Classics, 2007, I. 23.

Who ran to help me when I fell,
And would some pretty story tell,
Or kiss the place to make it well?
My mother.

Ann Taylor

My Mother

More information about this quote

Topic

Mothers and children

Author

Ann Taylor

Source

My Mother

Medium

Poem

Language

English

Time

1804 1800s 19th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Taylor, Ann. "My Mother." Original Poems, for Infant Minds. London: Darton and Harvey, 1804, I. 21.

Whatever is funny is subversive, every joke is ultimately a custard pie...A dirty joke is not, of course, a serious attack upon morality, but it is a sort of mental rebellion, a momentary wish that things were otherwise.

George Orwell

More information about this quote

Topic

Jokes

Author

George Orwell

Source

The Art of Donald McGill

Language

English

Time

1941 1940s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Original Citation

Orwell, George. "The Art of Donald McGill." Horizon, Sept. 1941.

Current Citation

Orwell, George. "The Art of Donald McGill." The Collected Essays, Journalism And Letters Of George Orwell, vol. 2: My Country Right or Left 1940-1943, edited by Sonia Orwell and Ian Angus. David R. Godine, 2007, no. 27, pt. 4.

Slow and steady wins the race.

Robert Lloyd

The Hare and Tortoise

More information about this quote

Topic

Persistence

Author

Robert Lloyd

Source

The Hare and Tortoise

Medium

Poem

Language

English

Time

1762 1760s 18th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Lloyd, Robert. "The Hare and Tortoise." Poems. London: T. Davies, 1762.

Depend upon it there comes a time when for every addition of knowledge you forget something that you knew before. It is of the highest importance, therefore, not to have useless facts elbowing out the useful ones.

Arthur Conan Doyle

A Study in Scarlet

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Topic

Facts What really matters

Speaker

Sherlock Holmes

Author

Arthur Conan Doyle

Source

A Study in Scarlet

Medium

Novel Magazine

Genre

Detective fiction

Language

English

Time

1887 1880s 19th century

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Doyle, Arthur Conan. "A Study in Scarlet." Beeton's Christmas Annual. London: Ward, Lock & Co., 1887.

Current Citation

Doyle, Arthur Conan. A Study in Scarlet. The Sherlock Holmes Collector's Library. Detective Fiction, 2012, pt. 1, ch. 2.

Christianity is completed Judaism, or it is nothing. Christianity is incomprehensible without Judaism, as Judaism is incomplete without Christianity.

Benjamin Disraeli

Sybil

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Topic

Christianity and Judaism

Author

Benjamin Disraeli

Source

Sybil

Medium

Novel

Language

English

Time

1845 1840s 19th century

Authentication Score 3

Original Citation

Disraeli, Benjamin. Sybil; or, The Two Nations. Vol. 1, London: Henry Colburn, 1845, bk. 2, ch. 12.

Current Citation

Disraeli, Benjamin. Sybil, edited by Sheila Smith. Oxford University Press, 2009, bk. 2, ch. 12.

What we anticipate seldom occurs; what we least expected generally happens.

Benjamin Disraeli

Henrietta Temple

More information about this quote

Topic

Nature of life

Author

Benjamin Disraeli

Source

Henrietta Temple

Medium

Novel

Language

English

Time

1837 1830s 19th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Disraeli, Benjamin. Henrietta Temple. London: Henry Colburn, 1837, bk. 2, ch. 4.

Now it is autumn and the falling fruit
and the long journey towards oblivion.

D.H. Lawrence

Last Poems

More information about this quote

Topic

Autumn

Author

D.H. Lawrence

Source

The Ship of Death Last Poems

Medium

Poem

Language

English

Time

1930 1930s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Lawrence, D.H. "The Ship of Death." Last Poems, edited by Richard Aldington and Giuseppe Orioli. The Viking Press, 1932, stanza 1.