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The Ballad of the White Horse

The Ballad of the White Horse (1911) by G. K. Chesterton is an account in verse of the career of Alfred the Great, King of Wessex, and often considered to have been the first "King of England." Segments of the epic have been selected to convey a general idea of the account it gives of the historical and legendary events. Chesterton interweaves historical information with references to a great deal of mythical and religious lore. The title refers to the White Horse of Uffington a huge stylized image of a white horse that has existed in the hills of southern England since ancient times, maintained by a periodic scouring of the ground to expose the underlying chalk stone beneath.
 * The full text of the epic is available at Wikisource: The Ballad of the White Horse and at Project Gutenberg: The Ballad of the White Horse.

Dedication

 * Of great limbs gone to chaos, A great face turned to night — Why bend above a shapeless shroud Seeking in such archaic cloud Sight of strong lords and light?

 * In cloud of clay so cast to heaven What shape shall man discern? These lords may light the mystery Of mastery or victory, And these ride high in history, But these shall not return.

 * Yet Alfred is no fairy tale; His days as our days ran, He also looked forth for an hour On peopled plains and skies that lower, From those few windows in the tower That is the head of a man.

 * Lady, by one light only We look from Alfred's eyes, We know he saw athwart the wreck The sign that hangs about your neck, Where One more than Melchizedek Is dead and never dies.

 * Therefore I bring these rhymes to you Who brought the cross to me, Since on you flaming without flaw I saw the sign that Guthrum saw When he let break his ships of awe, And laid peace on the sea.

 * "I will go with you, As man with God has gone, And wander with a wandering star, The wandering heart of things that are, The fiery cross of love and war That like yourself, goes on."

 * Up through an empty house of stars, Being what heart you are, Up the inhuman steeps of space As on a staircase go in grace, Carrying the firelight on your face Beyond the loneliest star.

Book I : The Vision of the King

 * English forces face defeat after defeat, and Alfred barely mantains any territory save on a river island. Alfred has a vision of Mary which though bleak, inspires him to action.

 * "Before the gods that made the gods Had seen their sunrise pass, The White Horse of the White Horse Vale Was cut out of the grass. Before the gods that made the gods Had drunk at dawn their fill, The White Horse of the White Horse Vale Was hoary on the hill.  Age beyond age on British land, Aeons on aeons gone, Was peace and war in western hills, And the White Horse looked on."

 * "For the White Horse knew England When there was none to know; He saw the first oar break or bend, He saw heaven fall and the world end, O God, how long ago. For the end of the world was long ago, And all we dwell to-day As children of some second birth, Like a strange people left on earth After a judgment day."

 * "For the end of the world was long ago, When the ends of the world waxed free, When Rome was sunk in a waste of slaves, And the sun drowned in the sea. When Caesar's sun fell out of the sky And whoso hearkened right Could only hear the plunging Of the nations in the night."

 * A sea-folk blinder than the sea Broke all about his land, But Alfred up against them bare And gripped the ground and grasped the air, Staggered, and strove to stand.

 * He broke them with a broken sword A little towards the sea, And for one hour of panting peace, Ringed with a roar that would not cease, With golden crown and girded fleece Made laws under a tree.

 * There was not English armour left, Nor any English thing, When Alfred came to Athelney To be an English king.

 * And the great kings of Wessex Wearied and sank in gore, And even their ghosts in that great stress Grew greyer and greyer, less and less, With the lords that died in Lyonesse And the king that comes no more.

 * And naught was left King Alfred But shameful tears of rage, In the island in the river In the end of all his age.

 * And he saw in a little picture, Tiny and far away, His mother sitting in Egbert's hall, And a book she showed him, very small, Where a sapphire Mary sat in stall With a golden Christ at play.

 * "Mother of God," the wanderer said, "I am but a common king, Nor will I ask what saints may ask, To see a secret thing.

 * "The gates of heaven are fearful gates Worse than the gates of hell; Not I would break the splendours barred Or seek to know the thing they guard, Which is too good to tell.

 * "The gates of heaven are lightly locked, We do not guard our gain, The heaviest hind may easily Come silently and suddenly Upon me in a lane.

 * "And any little maid that walks In good thoughts apart, May break the guard of the Three Kings And see the dear and dreadful things I hid within my heart.

 * "The gates of heaven are lightly locked, We do not guard our gold, Men may uproot where worlds begin, Or read the name of the nameless sin; But if he fail or if he win To no good man is told.

 * "But you and all the kind of Christ Are ignorant and brave, And you have wars you hardly win And souls you hardly save. "I tell you naught for your comfort, Yea, naught for your desire, Save that the sky grows darker yet And the sea rises higher."  "Night shall be thrice night over you, And heaven an iron cope. Do you have joy without a cause, Yea, faith without a hope?"

Book II : The Gathering Of The Chiefs

 * Alfred gathers allies to fight against the Danish invaders

 * Up across windy wastes and up Went Alfred over the shaws, Shaken of the joy of giants, The joy without a cause.

 * Why should my harmless hinds be slain Because the chiefs cry once again, As in all fights, that we shall gain, And in all fights we fail? "Your scalds still thunder and prophesy That crown that never comes; Friend, I will watch the certain things, Swine, and slow moons like silver rings, And the ripening of the plums."

 * And Alfred answered, drinking, And gravely, without blame, "Nor bear I boast of scald or king, The thing I bear is a lesser thing, But comes in a better name. "Out of the mouth of the Mother of God, More than the doors of doom, I call the muster of Wessex men From grassy hamlet or ditch or den, To break and be broken, God knows when, But I have seen for whom.  Out of the mouth of the Mother of God Like a little word come I; For I go gathering Christian men From sunken paving and ford and fen, To die in a battle, God knows when, By God, but I know why.  And this is the word of Mary, The word of the world's desire No more of comfort shall ye get, Save that the sky grows darker yet And the sea rises higher."

 * "I am that oft-defeated King Whose failure fills the land, Who fled before the Danes of old, Who chaffered with the Danes with gold, Who now upon the Wessex wold Hardly has feet to stand. "But out of the mouth of the Mother of God I have seen the truth like fire, This—that the sky grows darker yet And the sea rises higher."

 * "If each man on the Judgment Day Meet God on a plain alone," Said Alfred, "I will speak for you As for myself, and call it true That you brought all fighting folk you knew Lined under Egbert's Stone.

 * His harp was carved and cunning, As the Celtic craftsman makes, Graven all over with twisting shapes Like many headless snakes. His harp was carved and cunning, His sword prompt and sharp, And he was gay when he held the sword, Sad when he held the harp.  For the great Gaels of Ireland Are the men that God made mad, For all their wars are merry, And all their songs are sad.

 * He made the sign of the cross of God, He knew the Roman prayer, But he had unreason in his heart Because of the gods that were. Even they that walked on the high cliffs, High as the clouds were then, Gods of unbearable beauty, That broke the hearts of men.

 * Lifting the great green ivy And the great spear lowering, One said, "I am Alfred of Wessex, And I am a conquered king." And the man of the cave made answer, And his eyes were stars of scorn, "And better kings were conquered Or ever your sires were born.  "What goddess was your mother, What fay your breed begot, That you should not die with Uther And Arthur and Lancelot?

 * "Seek ye a fable More dizzy and more dread Than all your mad barbarian tales Where the sky stands on its head ? "A tale where a man looks down on the sky That has long looked down on him; A tale where a man can swallow a sea That might swallow the seraphim.  "Bring to the hut by Egbert's Stone All bills and bows ye have." And Alfred strode off rapidly, And Colan of the Sacred Tree Went slowly to his cave.

Book III : The Harp of Alfred

 * Alfred, incognito, sings among the Danes and prophecies an end of their rule.

 * By the yawning tree in the twilight The King unbound his sword, Severed the harp of all his goods, And there in the cool and soundless woods Sounded a single chord. Then laughed; and watched the finches flash, The sullen flies in swarm, And went unarmed over the hills, With the harp upon his arm,  Until he came to the White Horse Vale.

 * And as he went by White Horse Vale He saw lie wan and wide The old horse graven, God knows when, By gods or beasts or what things then Walked a new world instead of men And scrawled on the hill-side. And when he came to White Horse Down The great White Horse was grey, For it was ill scoured of the weed, And lichen and thorn could crawl and feed, Since the foes of settled house and creed Had swept old works away.

 * "Doubtless your sires were sword-swingers When they waded fresh from foam, Before they were turned to women By the god of the nails from Rome; "But since you bent to the shaven men, Who neither lust nor smite, Thunder of Thor, we hunt you A hare on the mountain height."

 * The mighty people, womanlike, That have pleasure in their pain As he sang of Balder beautiful, Whom the heavens loved in vain. As he sang of Balder beautiful, Whom the heavens could not save, Till the world was like a sea of tears And every soul a wave.  There is always a thing forgotten When all the world goes well; A thing forgotten, as long ago, When the gods forgot the mistletoe, And soundless as an arrow of snow The arrow of anguish fell. The thing on the blind side of the heart, On the wrong side of the door, The green plant groweth, menacing Almighty lovers in the spring; There is always a forgotten thing, And love is not secure.

 * You sing of the young gods easily In the days when you are young; But I go smelling yew and sods, And I know there are gods behind the gods, Gods that are best unsung.

 * And in the last eclipse the sea Shall stand up like a tower, Above all moons made dark and riven, Hold up its foaming head in heaven, And laugh, knowing its hour.

 * He said, "I am older than you, Ogier; Not all things would I rend, For whether life be bad or good It is best to abide the end."

 * For he sang of a wheel returning, And the mire trod back to mire, And how red hells and golden heavens Are castles in the fire. "It is good to sit where the good tales go, To sit as our fathers sat; But the hour shall come after his youth, When a man shall know not tales but truth, And his heart fail thereat.  When he shall read what is written So plain in clouds and clods, When he shall hunger without hope Even for evil gods.   For this is a heavy matter, And the truth is cold to tell; Do we not know, have we not heard, The soul is like a lost bird, The body a broken shell.

 * When shrieking souls as shafts go by And many have died and all may die; Though this word be a mystery, Death is most distant then.

 * On you is fallen the shadow, And not upon the Name; That though we scatter and though we fly, And you hang over us like the sky, You are more tired of victory, Than we are tired of shame. "That though you hunt the Christian man Like a hare on the hill-side, The hare has still more heart to run Than you have heart to ride.  "That though all lances split on you, All swords be heaved in vain, We have more lust again to lose Than you to win again.

 * All things achieved and chosen pass, As the White Horse fades in the grass, No work of Christian men. Ere the sad gods that made your gods Saw their sad sunrise pass, The White Horse of the White Horse Vale, That you have left to darken and fail, Was cut out of the grass.  Therefore your end is on you, Is on you and your kings, Not for a fire in Ely fen, Not that your gods are nine or ten, But because it is only Christian men Guard even heathen things.  For our God hath blessed creation, Calling it good. I know What spirit with whom you blindly band Hath blessed destruction with his hand; Yet by God's death the stars shall stand And the small apples grow.

 * And the King, with harp on shoulder, Stood up and ceased his song; And the owls moaned from the mighty trees, And the Danes laughed loud and long.

Book IV : The Woman In The Forest

 * Alfred travelling as a common vagabond sympathises with the plight of the poor, and is humbled for his neglect of a menial task.

 * Alfred, bowing heavily, Sat down the fire to stir, And even as the woman pitied him So did he pity her. Saying, "O great heart in the night, O best cast forth for worst, Twilight shall melt and morning stir, And no kind thing shall come to her, Till God shall turn the world over And all the last are first.  "And well may God with the serving-folk Cast in His dreadful lot; Is not He too a servant, And is not He forgot?

 * "Did not a great grey servant Of all my sires and me, Build this pavilion of the pines, And herd the fowls and fill the vines, And labour and pass and leave no signs Save mercy and mystery?"

 * "On things half sprung from sleeping, All sleepy suns have shone, They stretch stiff arms, the yawning trees, The beasts blink upon hands and knees, Man is awake and does and sees— But Heaven has done and gone. For who shall guess the good riddle Or speak of the Holiest, Save in faint figures and failing words, Who loves, yet laughs among the swords, Labours, and is at rest?  "But some see God like Guthrum, Crowned, with a great beard curled, But I see God like a good giant, That, labouring, lifts the world.  "Wherefore was God in Golgotha, Slain as a serf is slain; And hate He had of prince and peer, And love He had and made good cheer, Of them that, like this woman here, Go powerfully in pain.  "But in this grey morn of man's life, Cometh sometime to the mind A little light that leaps and flies, Like a star blown on the wind.  "A star of nowhere, a nameless star, A light that spins and swirls, And cries that even in hedge and hill, Even on earth, it may go ill At last with the evil earls.  "A dancing sparkle, a doubtful star, On the waste wind whirled and driven; But it seems to sing of a wilder worth, A time discrowned of doom and birth, And the kingdom of the poor on earth Come, as it is in heaven.

 * "But even though such days endure, How shall it profit her? Who shall go groaning to the grave, With many a meek and mighty slave, Field-breaker and fisher on the wave, And woodman and waggoner. "Bake ye the big world all again A cake with kinder leaven; Yet these are sorry evermore— Unless there be a little door, A little door in heaven."  And as he wept for the woman He let her business be, And like his royal oath and rash The good food fell upon the ash And blackened instantly.  Screaming, the woman caught a cake Yet burning from the bar, And struck him suddenly on the face, Leaving a scarlet scar.  King Alfred stood up wordless, A man dead with surprise, And torture stood and the evil things That are in the childish hearts of kings An instant in his eyes.

 * Then Alfred laughed out suddenly, Like thunder in the spring, Till shook aloud the lintel-beams, And the squirrels stirred in dusty dreams, And the startled birds went up in streams, For the laughter of the King. And the beasts of the earth and the birds looked down, In a wild solemnity, On a stranger sight than a sylph or elf, On one man laughing at himself Under the greenwood tree—  The giant laughter of Christian men That roars through a thousand tales, Where greed is an ape and pride is an ass, And Jack's away with his master's lass, And the miser is banged with all his brass, The farmer with all his flails;  Tales that tumble and tales that trick, Yet end not all in scorning— Of kings and clowns in a merry plight, And the clock gone wrong and the world gone right, That the mummers sing upon Christmas night And Christmas Day in the morning.  "Now here is a good warrant," Cried Alfred, "by my sword; For he that is struck for an ill servant Should be a kind lord.   "He that has been a servant Knows more than priests and kings, But he that has been an ill servant, He knows all earthly things.   "Pride flings frail palaces at the sky, As a man flings up sand, But the firm feet of humility Take hold of heavy land.  "Pride juggles with her toppling towers, They strike the sun and cease, But the firm feet of humility They grip the ground like trees.  "He that hath failed in a little thing Hath a sign upon the brow; And the Earls of the Great Army Have no such seal to show.

 * "Follow a light that leaps and spins, Follow the fire unfurled! For riseth up against realm and rod, A thing forgotten, a thing downtrod, The last lost giant, even God, Is risen against the world."

Book V : Ethandune: The First Stroke

 * The Battle of Ethandun begins

 * King Guthrum was a war-chief, A wise man in the field, And though he prospered well, and knew How Alfred's folk were sad and few, Not less with weighty care he drew Long lines for pike and shield.

 * The live wood came at Guthrum, On foot and claw and wing, The nests were noisy overhead, For Alfred and the star of red, All life went forth, and the forest fled Before the face of the King. But halted in the woodways Christ's few were grim and grey, And each with a small, far, bird-like sight Saw the high folly of the fight; And though strange joys had grown in the night, Despair grew with the day.

 * "People, if you have any prayers, Say prayers for me: And lay me under a Christian stone In that lost land I thought my own, To wait till the holy horn is blown, And all poor men are free."

 * "I was a fool and wasted ale— My slaves found it sweet; I was a fool and wasted bread, And the birds had bread to eat. "The kings go up and the kings go down, And who knows who shall rule; Next night a king may starve or sleep, But men and birds and beasts shall weep At the burial of a fool.  "O, drunkards in my cellar, Boys in my apple tree, The world grows stern and strange and new, And wise men shall govern you, And you shall weep for me.  "But yoke me my own oxen, Down to my own farm; My own dog will whine for me, My own friends will bend the knee, And the foes I slew openly Have never wished me harm."

 * And all were moved a little, But Colan stood apart, Having first pity, and after Hearing, like rat in rafter, That little worm of laughter That eats the Irish heart. And his grey-green eyes were cruel, And the smile of his mouth waxed hard, And he said, "And when did Britain Become your burying-yard?

 * "Before the Romans lit the land, When schools and monks were none, We reared such stones to the sun-god As might put out the sun. "The tall trees of Britain We worshipped and were wise, But you shall raid the whole land through And never a tree shall talk to you, Though every leaf is a tongue taught true And the forest is full of eyes.

 * "Yet I could lie and listen With a cross upon my clay, And hear unhurt for ever What the trees of Britain say." A proud man was the Roman, His speech a single one, But his eyes were like an eagle's eyes That is staring at the sun. 'Dig for me where I die,' he said 'If first or last I fall - Dead on the fell at the first charge Or dead by Wantage wall;' 'Lift not my head from bloody ground, Bear not my body home, for all the earth is Roman earth and I shall die in Rome.'"

 * Then Alfred, King of England, Bade blow the horns of war, And fling the Golden Dragon out, With crackle and acclaim and shout, Scrolled and aflame and far. And under the Golden Dragon Went Wessex all along, Past the sharp point of the cloven ways, Out from the black wood into the blaze Of sun and steel and song.  And when they came to the open land They wheeled, deployed and stood; Midmost were Marcus and the King, And Eldred on the right-hand wing, And leftwards Colan darkling, In the last shade of the wood.

 * Far to the King's left Elf the bard Led on the eastern wing With songs and spells that change the blood; And on the King's right Harold stood, The kinsman of the King Young Harold, coarse, with colours gay, Smoking with oil and musk, And the pleasant violence of the young, Pushed through his people, giving tongue Foewards, where, grey as cobwebs hung, The banners of the Usk.  But as he came before his line A little space along, His beardless face broke into mirth, And he cried: "What broken bits of earth Are here? For what their clothes are worth I would sell them for a song."  For Colan was hung with raiment Tattered like autumn leaves, And his men were all as thin as saints, And all as poor as thieves.  No bows nor slings nor bolts they bore, But bills and pikes ill-made; And none but Colan bore a sword, And rusty was its blade.  And Colan's eyes with mystery And iron laughter stirred, And he spoke aloud, but lightly Not labouring to be heard.  "Oh, truly we be broken hearts, For that cause, it is said, We light our candles to that Lord That broke Himself for bread.  "But though we hold but bitterly What land the Saxon leaves, Though Ireland be but a land of saints, And Wales a land of thieves,  "I say you yet shall weary Of the working of your word, That stricken spirits never strike Nor lean hands hold a sword.  "And if ever ye ride in Ireland, The jest may yet be said, There is the land of broken hearts, And the land of broken heads."  Not less barbarian laughter Choked Harold like a flood, "And shall I fight with scarecrows That am of Guthrum's blood?  "Meeting may be of war-men, Where the best war-man wins; But all this carrion a man shoots Before the fight begins."  And stopping in his onward strides, He snatched a bow in scorn From some mean slave, and bent it on Colan, whose doom grew dark; and shone Stars evil over Caerleon, In the place where he was born.  For Colan had not bow nor sling, On a lonely sword leaned he, Like Arthur on Excalibur In the battle by the sea.  To his great gold ear-ring Harold Tugged back the feathered tail, And swift had sprung the arrow, But swifter sprang the Gael.  Whirling the one sword round his head, A great wheel in the sun, He sent it splendid through the sky, Flying before the shaft could fly— It smote Earl Harold over the eye, And blood began to run.  Colan stood bare and weaponless, Earl Harold, as in pain, Strove for a smile, put hand to head, Stumbled and suddenly fell dead; And the small white daisies all waxed red With blood out of his brain.  And all at that marvel of the sword, Cast like a stone to slay, Cried out. Said Alfred: "Who would see Signs, must give all things. Verily Man shall not taste of victory Till he throws his sword away."  Then Alfred, prince of England, And all the Christian earls, Unhooked their swords and held them up, Each offered to Colan, like a cup Of chrysolite and pearls.  And the King said, "Do thou take my sword Who have done this deed of fire, For this is the manner of Christian men, Whether of steel or priestly pen, That they cast their hearts out of their ken To get their heart's desire.

 * "And whether ye swear a hive of monks, Or one fair wife to friend, This is the manner of Christian men, That their oath endures the end. "Love with the shield of the Broken Heart Ever his bow doth bend, With a single shaft for a single prize, And the ultimate bolt that parts and flies Comes with a thunder of split skies, And a sound of souls that rend.  "So shall you earn a king's sword, Who cast your sword away." And the King took, with a random eye, A rude axe from a hind hard by And turned him to the fray.  For the swords of the Earls of Daneland Flamed round the fallen lord. The first blood woke the trumpet-tune, As in monk's rhyme or wizard's rune, Beginneth the battle of Ethandune With the throwing of the sword.

Book VI : Ethandune: The Slaying Of The Chiefs

 * An account of the Battle of Ethandun

 * Thrice drowned was Elf the minstrel, And washed as dead on sand; And the third time men found him The spear was in his hand. Seven spears went about Eldred, Like stays about a mast; But there was sorrow by the sea For the driving of the last.  Six spears thrust upon Eldred Were splintered while he laughed; One spear thrust into Eldred, Three feet of blade and shaft.  And from the great heart grievously Came forth the shaft and blade, And he stood with the face of a dead man, Stood a little, and swayed—  Then fell, as falls a battle-tower, On smashed and struggling spears. Cast down from some unconquered town That, rushing earthward, carries down Loads of live men of all renown— Archers and engineers.  And a great clamour of Christian men Went up in agony, Crying, "Fallen is the tower of Wessex That stood beside the sea."

 * "Stand like an oak," cried Marcus, "Stand like a Roman wall! Eldred the Good is fallen— Are you too good to fall?

 * "Spears at the charge!" yelled Mark amain. "Death on the gods of death! Over the thrones of doom and blood Goeth God that is a craftsman good, And gold and iron, earth and wood, Loveth and laboureth. "The fruits leap up in all your farms, The lamps in each abode; God of all good things done on earth, All wheels or webs of any worth, The God that makes the roof, Gurth, The God that makes the road.

 * "No more shall the white towns of the south, Where Tiber and Nilus run, Sitting around a secret sea Worship a secret sun.

Book VII : Ethandune: The Last Charge

 * An account of the turn of the tide in the Battle of Ethandun

 * Away in the waste of White Horse Down An idle child alone Played some small game through hours that pass, And patiently would pluck the grass, Patiently push the stone. On the lean, green edge for ever, Where the blank chalk touched the turf, The child played on, alone, divine, As a child plays on the last line That sunders sand and surf.  For he dwelleth in high divisions Too simple to understand, Seeing on what morn of mystery The Uncreated rent the sea With roarings, from the land.

 * The child whom Time can never tire, Sings over White Horse Down. And this was the might of Alfred, At the ending of the way; That of such smiters, wise or wild, He was least distant from the child, Piling the stones all day.

 * Mark forgotten, That was wise with his tongue and brave; And the cairn over Colan crumbled, And the cross on Eldred's grave. Their great souls went on a wind away, And they have not tale or tomb; And Alfred born in Wantage Rules England till the doom.  Because in the forest of all fears Like a strange fresh gust from sea, Struck him that ancient innocence That is more than mastery.

 * "Brothers at arms," said Alfred, "On this side lies the foe; Are slavery and starvation flowers, That you should pluck them so? "For whether is it better To be prodded with Danish poles, Having hewn a chamber in a ditch, And hounded like a howling witch, Or smoked to death in holes?  "Or that before the red cock crow All we, a thousand strong, Go down the dark road to God's house, Singing a Wessex song?

 * "Though dead are all the paladins Whom glory had in ken, Though all your thunder-sworded thanes With proud hearts died among the Danes, While a man remains, great war remains: Now is a war of men. "The men that tear the furrows, The men that fell the trees, When all their lords be lost and dead The bondsmen of the earth shall tread The tyrants of the seas.

 * When Alfred's word was ended Stood firm that feeble line, Each in his place with club or spear, And fury deeper than deep fear, And smiles as sour as brine.

 * "And now I blow the hunting sign, Charge some by rule and rod; But when I blow the battle sign, Charge all and go to God." Wild stared the Danes at the double ways Where they loitered, all at large, As that dark line for the last time Doubled the knee to charge—  And caught their weapons clumsily, And marvelled how and why— In such degree, by rule and rod, The people of the peace of God Went roaring down to die.

 * Barriers go backwards, banners rend, Great shields groan like a gong— Horses like horns of nightmare Neigh horribly and long. Horses ramp high and rock and boil And break their golden reins, And slide on carnage clamorously, Down where the bitter blood doth lie, Where Ogier went on foot to die, In the old way of the Danes.  "The high tide!" King Alfred cried. "The high tide and the turn! As a tide turns on the tall grey seas, See how they waver in the trees, How stray their spears, how knock their knees, How wild their watchfires burn!

 * "The Mother of God goes over them, Walking on wind and flame, And the storm-cloud drifts from city and dale, And the White Horse stamps in the White Horse Vale, And we all shall yet drink Christian ale In the village of our name.

 * For back indeed disorderly The Danes went clamouring, Too worn to take anew the tale, Or dazed with insolence and ale, Or stunned of heaven, or stricken pale Before the face of the King. For dire was Alfred in his hour The pale scribe witnesseth, More mighty in defeat was he Than all men else in victory, And behind, his men came murderously, Dry-throated, drinking death.

 * And highest sang the slaughter, And fastest fell the slain, When from the wood-road's blackening throat A crowning and crashing wonder smote The rear-guard of the Dane. For the dregs of Colan's company— Lost down the other road— Had gathered and grown and heard the din, And with wild yells came pouring in, Naked as their old British kin, And bright with blood for woad.  And bare and bloody and aloft They bore before their band The body of the mighty lord, Colan of Caerleon and its horde, That bore King Alfred's battle-sword Broken in his left hand.  And a strange music went with him, Loud and yet strangely far; The wild pipes of the western land, Too keen for the ear to understand, Sang high and deathly on each hand When the dead man went to war.  Blocked between ghost and buccaneer, Brave men have dropped and died; And the wild sea-lords well might quail As the ghastly war-pipes of the Gael Called to the horns of White Horse Vale, And all the horns replied.

 * Not till the floor of the skies is split, And hell-fire shines through the sea, Or the stars look up through the rent earth's knees, Cometh such rending of certainties, As when one wise man truly sees What is more wise than he.

 * Far out to the winding river The blood ran down for days, When we put the cross on Guthrum In the parting of the ways.

Book VIII : The Scouring Of The Horse

 * The Reign of Alfred, an honoring of past traditions, anticipation of times when ways of honor shall diminish, and the taking of London.

 * Wonder smote the pirate king, And brought him to his christening And the end of all his raids. (For not till the night's blue slate is wiped Of its last star utterly, And fierce new signs writ there to read, Shall eyes with such amazement heed, As when a great man knows indeed A greater thing than he.)

 * He gat good laws of the ancient kings, Like treasure out of the tombs; And many a thief in thorny nook, Or noble in sea-stained turret shook, For the opening of his iron book, And the gathering of the dooms. Then men would come from the ends of the earth, Whom the King sat welcoming, And men would go to the ends of the earth Because of the word of the King.

 * Alfred in the orchard, Among apples green and red, With the little book in his bosom, Looked at green leaves and said: "When all philosophies shall fail, This word alone shall fit; That a sage feels too small for life, And a fool too large for it."  "Asia and all imperial plains Are too little for a fool; But for one man whose eyes can see The little island of Athelney Is too large a land to rule.

 * Then Alfred smiled. And the smile of him Was like the sun for power. But he only pointed: bade them heed Those peasants of the Berkshire breed, Who plucked the old Horse of the weed As they pluck it to this hour.

 * "Will ye part with the weeds for ever? Or show daisies to the door? Or will you bid the bold grass Go, and return no more?

 * "And though skies alter and empires melt, This word shall still be true: If we would have the horse of old, Scour ye the horse anew.

 * I have a vision, and I know The heathen shall return. "They shall not come with warships, They shall not waste with brands, But books be all their eating, And ink be on their hands.  "Not with the humour of hunters Or savage skill in war, But ordering all things with dead words, Strings shall they make of beasts and birds, And wheels of wind and star.

 * "They shall come mild as monkish clerks, With many a scroll and pen; And backward shall ye turn and gaze, Desiring one of Alfred's days, When pagans still were men.

 * "The dear sun dwarfed of dreadful suns, Like fiercer flowers on stalk, Earth lost and little like a pea In high heaven's towering forestry, —These be the small weeds ye shall see Crawl, covering the chalk.

 * "But though they bridge St. Mary's sea, Or steal St. Michael's wing— Though they rear marvels over us, Greater than great Vergilius Wrought for the Roman king; By this sign you shall know them, The breaking of the sword, And man no more a free knight, That loves or hates his lord.

 * "Yea, this shall be the sign of them, The sign of the dying fire; And Man made like a half-wit, That knows not of his sire.

 * "What though they come with scroll and pen, And grave as a shaven clerk, By this sign you shall know them, That they ruin and make dark"

 * "By all men bond to Nothing, Being slaves without a lord, By one blind idiot world obeyed, Too blind to be abhorred"

 * "By God and man dishonoured, By death and life made vain, Know ye the old barbarian, The barbarian come again— "When is great talk of trend and tide, And wisdom and destiny, Hail that undying heathen That is sadder than the sea.  "In what wise men shall smite him, Or the Cross stand up again, Or charity or chivalry, My vision saith not; and I see No more; but now ride doubtfully To the battle of the plain."

 * In mighty and doubtful fragments, Like faint or fabled wars, Climbed the old hills of his renown, Where the bald brow of White Horse Down Is close to the cold stars.

 * Loud was the war on London wall, And loud in London gates, And loud the sea-kings in the cloud Broke through their dreaming gods, and loud Cried on their dreadful Fates. And all the while on White Horse Hill The horse lay long and wan, The turf crawled and the fungus crept, And the little sorrel, while all men slept, Unwrought the work of man.  With velvet finger, velvet foot, The fierce soft mosses then Crept on the large white commonweal All folk had striven to strip and peel, And the grass, like a great green witch's wheel, Unwound the toils of men.  And clover and silent thistle throve, And buds burst silently, With little care for the Thames Valley Or what things there might be—  That away on the widening river, In the eastern plains for crown Stood up in the pale purple sky One turret of smoke like ivory; And the smoke changed and the wind went by, And the King took London Town.

Quotes about The Ballad of the White Horse

The major theme of both works is the war and eventual victory, despite all odds, of an alliance of good folk against vastly more powerful forces of evil, and the return of a king to his rightful state. Like Lord of the Rings, Chesterton's poem is set in a heroic society after the decay of a highly civilized imperial power — in England, that is to say, in the aftermath of the Roman Empire. (Tolkien's Minas Tirith, built on seven levels, greatly resembles a medieval idealization of Rome.) King Alfred, its hero, is fighting a losing war to save his kingdom from complete conquest by the Danes. As one would expect with Chesterton, it is a war of white against black, of Christianity against a diabolical paganism that has defeated Rome and is now trying to make all good men its slaves. … The enemy is not simply Danes, or barbarians in general, but a wholly malignant and almost irresistible force that stands behind all the enemies of Christianity: This power blights everything it touches — there are repeated references to its distorting effects even on the natural world — and the men who serve it become like Tolkien's Orcs. … To fight against this menace, Alfred, hiding in exile, summons three kindreds of free, Christian peoples as allies. '''Alfred himself, like Tolkien's Aragorn, is an idealized heroic figure who roams around in humble disguise and is sometimes mistreated by the ignorant. Instead of Dwarves, Elves, and Men of Numenorean descent, he leads an alliance of Saxons, Celts, and Romans.'''
 * In its fundamental conception, as well as in many of the significant details of its working out, Lord of the Rings is heavily indebted to G. K. Chesterton's now little read poem of 1911, The Ballad of the White Horse.
 * Cristopher Clausen, in "The Lord of the Rings and The Ballad of the White Horse" in South Atlantic Bulletin 39.2 (May 1974)

 * Several books I purchased on my trip, among them G. K. Chesterton's The Ballad of the White Horse. Ever read it? It's great.
 * Robert E. Howard, in a letter to his friend Tevis Clyde Smith (c. September 1927)

title: The Ballad of the White Horse


text:
User:Penboy07~enwikiquote

Hello, I am user Penboy07.

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: User:Penboy07~enwikiquote


text:
Harvey (film)

Harvey is a 1950 film about Elwood P. Dowd, a mild-mannered, pleasant man, who claims as his best friend a Pooka, in the form of an invisible 6-foot, 3-and-a-half-inch tall rabbit (6-foot, 1-and-a-half-inch tall white rabbit in the play).
 * Directed by Henry Koster. Written by Mary Chase, based on her stage play, which was first produced on November 1, 1944.

The Wonderful Pulitzer Prize Winning Play... becomes one of the Great Motion Pictures of our Time!

Elwood P. Dowd

 * Here, let me give you one of my cards. Now if you should want to call me, use this number. That — that's the old one. If you happen to lose the card, don't worry — I — have plenty more.
 * Well, I've wrestled with reality for 35 years, Doctor, and I'm happy to state I finally won out over it.
 * I always have a wonderful time, wherever I am, whoever I'm with.
 * Years ago my mother used to say to me, she'd say, "In this world, Elwood, you must be," — she always called me Elwood — "In this world, you must be oh so smart, or oh so pleasant." Well, for years I was smart. I recommend pleasant. You may quote me.
 * Wouldn't that get a little monotonous, just Akron, cold beer and "poor, poor thing" for two weeks?
 * Harvey and I have things to do... we sit in the bars... have a drink or two... play the juke box. Very soon the faces of all the other people turn towards me and they smile. They say: "We don't know your name, mister, but you're a very nice fellow." Harvey and I warm ourselves in these golden moments. We came as strangers — soon we have friends. They come over. They sit with us. They drink with us. They talk to us. They tell us about the great big terrible things they've done and the great big wonderful things they're going to do. Their hopes, their regrets. Their loves, their hates. All very large, because nobody ever brings anything small into a bar. Then I introduce them to Harvey, and he's bigger and grander than anything they can offer me. And when they leave, they leave impressed. The same people seldom come back, but that's — that's envy, my dear. There's a little bit of envy in the best of us. That's too bad, isn't it?
 * I'd just helped Ed Hickey into a taxi. Ed had been mixing his rye with his gin, and I felt he needed conveying. I started to walk down the street when I heard a voice saying: "Good evening, Mr. Dowd". I turned, and there was this big white rabbit leaning against a lamp-post. Well, I thought nothing of that, because when you've lived in a town as long as I've lived in this one, you get used to the fact that everybody knows your name. And naturally, I went over to chat with him.
 * We talked like that for a while and then I said to him, "You have the advantage on me. You know my name and I don't know yours." And right back at me he said, "What name do you like?" Well, I didn't even have to think twice about that. Harvey's always been my favorite name. So I said to him, I said, "Harvey." And, this — this is the interesting thing about the whole thing. He said, "What a coincidence. My name happens to be Harvey."
 * Oh, yes! Yes. Yes — these things always work out just the way Harvey says they will. He is very, very versatile. Did I tell you he could stop clocks? Well, you've heard the expression 'His face would stop a clock'? Well, Harvey can look at your clock and stop it. And you can go anywhere you like — with anyone you like — and stay as long as you like. And when you get back, not one minute will have ticked by. ... You see, science has overcome time and space. Well, Harvey has overcome not only time and space — but any objections.
 * I plan to leave. You want me to stay. Well, an element of conflict in any discussion's a very good thing. It means everybody is taking part and nobody is left out.

Veta Louise Simmons

 * Myrtle Mae, you have a lot to learn, and I hope you never learn it.
 * Oh, Myrtle, don't be didactic. It's not becoming in a young girl. Besides, men loathe it.
 * As I was going down to the taxi cab to get Elwood's things, this awful man stepped out. He was a white slaver, I know he was. He was wearing one of those white suits, that's how they advertise.
 * I took a course in art last winter. I learnt the difference between a fine oil painting, and a mechanical thing, like a photograph. The photograph shows only the reality. The painting shows not only the reality, but the dream behind it. It's our dreams, doctor, that carry us on. They separate us from the beasts. I wouldn't want to go on living if I thought it was all just eating, and sleeping, and taking my clothes off, I mean putting them on...

Others

 * Mrs. Ethel Chauvenet: Is, is that Mrs. Frank Cummings? Doesn't she look ghastly, I thought she was dead. I must get a closer look.
 * The Taxi Driver: ...I've been driving this route for 15 years. I've brought them out here to get that stuff, and I've drove them home after they had it. It changes them... On they way out here, they sit back and enjoy the ride. They talk to me, some times we stop and watch the sunset, and look at the birds fly. And sometimes we stop and watch the birds when there ain't no birds. And look at the sunset when its raining. We have a swell time. And I always get a big tip. But afterwards, uh oh! ...They crab, crab, crab. They yell at me. Watch the lights. Watch the brakes, Watch the intersection. They scream at me to hurry. They got no faith in me, or my buggy. Yet, it's the same cab, the same driver. And we're going back over the very same road. It's no fun. And no tips... After this he'll be a perfectly normal human being and you know what stinkers they are.
 * Myrtle Mae Simmons: Oh, mother, people get run over by trucks every day. Why can't something like that happen to Uncle Elwood?
 * Dr. Chumley: So, you gave him a pass, Dr. Sanderson?! Perhaps they neglected to tell you at medical school that a rabbit has large pointed ears!?! Do you know what you've done? You've allowed a psychopathic case to walk out of here and roam around with an overgrown white rabbit! You've laid me open to a lawsuit! I shall have to do something I haven't done for fifteen years! I'll have to go after this man, Dowd, and bring him back! But when I do, Dr. Sanderson, your connection with this institution will have ended — as of that moment!
 * Dr. Chumley: I'm going over to get your brother and bring him back and take him to the sanitarium where he belongs. I want to observe the expression on his face when he talks to this rabbit. He does talk to the rabbit, you say?
 * Marvin Wilson, sanitarium orderly: [Reading from a dictionary] "P-O-O-K-A. Pooka. From old Celtic mythology, a fairy spirit in animal form, always very large. The pooka appears here and there, now and then, to this one and that one. A benign but mischievous creature. Very fond of rumpots, crackpots, and how are you, Mr. Wilson?" [Inverts and shakes the dictionary] "How are you, Mr. Wilson?" Who in the encyclopedia wants to know?

Dialogue

 * Mailman: Beautiful day, isn't it?
 * Elwood P. Dowd: Every day is a beautiful day.

 * Dr. Sanderson: Think carefully, Dowd. Didn't you know somebody, sometime, someplace with the name of Harvey? Didn't you ever know anybody by that name?
 * Elwood P. Dowd: No, no, not one, Doctor. Maybe that's why I always had such hopes for it.

 * Veta Louise Simmons: Judge Gaffney, is that all those doctors do in places like that — think about sex?
 * Judge Gaffney: I don't know.
 * Veta Louise Simmons: Because if it is they ought to be ashamed of themselves. It's all in their heads anyway. Why don't they get out and take long walks in the fresh air? Judge Gaffney walked everywhere for years, didn't you, Judge?

 * Wilson: Who's Harvey?
 * Miss Kelly: A white rabbit, six feet tall.
 * Wilson: Six feet?
 * Elwood P. Dowd: Six feet three and a half inches. Now let's stick to the facts.

 * Mr. Cracker: What can I do for you, Mr. Dowd?
 * Elwood P. Dowd: What did you have in mind?

 * [Elwood bumps into an old friend he hasn't seen for some time]
 * Elwood P. Dowd: You've been away.
 * Mr. Miggles: For 90 days. Been doin' a job for the state. Makin' license plates.
 * Elwood P. Dowd: Oh, is that so? Interesting work?
 * Mr. Miggles: I can take it or leave it alone.
 * Elwood P. Dowd: Oh, I see.
 * Mr. Miggles: I did a job for 'em last year too. Helpin' 'em build a road.

 * Mrs. Ethel Chauvenet: Does Elwood see anybody these days?
 * Veta Louise Simmons: Oh, yes, Aunt Ethel, Elwood sees somebody.

 * Dr. Sanderson: I want you to telephone this Elwood P. Dowd right away. His sister's condition is serious.
 * Miss Kelly: Uh — but, Doctor, I —
 * Dr. Sanderson: He'll have to sign these commitment papers for her.
 * Miss Kelly: But I didn't know the woman needed the treatment! She said it was her brother!
 * Dr. Sanderson: Of course she did! That's the oldest dodge in the world. Always used by a cunning type of psychopath. She knew her brother was about to commit her so she came down here to discredit him. Get him on the phone, please.
 * Miss Kelly: But, Doctor, I thought the woman was all right, so I had Wilson take the brother up to Number Twenty-four — South Wing, G. He's there now.
 * Dr. Sanderson: You had Wilson take the brother in?! Come on, Miss Kelly, no gags, please! You're not serious, are you?
 * Miss Kelly: Oh, I did, Doctor, I — I did. Doctor, I'm terribly sorry.
 * Dr. Sanderson: Oh, you're terribly sorry! Well, that's fine! That — that fixes everything! That's just wonderful! No — oh, no! Kelly! Kelly, do you realize what you've done? This man Dowd can sue us for false commitment! He can own the whole sanitarium — and I'll be kicked out of here faster than you can say stupid, incompetent and inefficient!
 * Miss Kelly: Oh, I'll tell Dr. Chumley you had nothing to do with it — it was all my fault! You're the last person in the world I'd ever want anything like this to happen to. You know that, don't you, Dr. Sanderson?
 * Dr. Sanderson: Miss Kelly, this is hardly the time or place to go into the balcony scene from Romeo and Juliet!
 * Miss Kelly: Lately, Doctor, there's never any time or place!
 * Dr. Sanderson: Jeepers! They may be putting him in the hydro room right now! Get up there quick and see if you can get him down here! I'll break the news gently to Dr. Chumley. He may want to handle this himself.
 * Miss Kelly: Well what shall I say to Mr. Dowd? What do I do? He'll probably be so furious he'll refuse to come down here.
 * Dr. Sanderson: Look, Miss Kelly. He's probably fit to be tied, but he's a man, isn't he?
 * Miss Kelly: I guess so. His name's Mister!
 * Dr. Sanderson: Well, then, go into your old routine. You know, the eyes, the swish, the works. I'm immune to it, but I've seen it work on some people, some of the patients out here. Now, you get him down here, Kelly, if you have to do a striptease!
 * Dr. Sanderson: Well, then, go into your old routine. You know, the eyes, the swish, the works. I'm immune to it, but I've seen it work on some people, some of the patients out here. Now, you get him down here, Kelly, if you have to do a striptease!

 * Dr. Sanderson: Dr. Chumley, I'm afraid there's been a serious error —
 * Dr. Chumley: Dr. Sanderson, we don't permit errors in this institution.

 * Wilson: I'll tell you something, Myrts.
 * Myrtle Mae Simmons: Yeah?
 * Wilson: You know, you not only got a nice build, but you got something else, too.
 * Myrtle Mae Simmons: Really? What?
 * Wilson: You got the screwiest uncle that ever stuck his puss inside our nuthouse.

 * Dr. Chumley: I'm Dr. Chumley. You're Mrs. Simmons, of course.
 * Veta Louise Simmons: Yes, well, I'm glad to know you, Dr. Chumley. Would you mind asking Judge Gaffney to come back here?
 * Dr. Chumley: Why, certainly, certainly.
 * Veta Louise Simmons: I want to tell him to sue you for $100,000. I don't think $50,000 is enough.

 * Dr. Sanderson: It sounds funny, but I'll miss this place. I guess I'll miss a lot of things around here.
 * Miss Kelly: You will?
 * Dr. Sanderson: You won't laugh?
 * Miss Kelly: Of course not.
 * Dr. Sanderson: You know how it is working around people all day. You sort of get attached to them.
 * Miss Kelly: I know, Limon.
 * Dr. Sanderson: It may be ridiculous, but I'm gonna miss every one of the psychos, neuros, and schizos in the place.
 * Miss Kelly: Well, you can miss your psychos and your schizos, Dr. Sanderson, and you can miss whomever you please. But after you leave here I won't miss a thing — not a single solitary thing.
 * Dr. Sanderson: Now what's wrong?
 * Miss Kelly: Nothing — I — I came down here to say good-bye to you, so good-bye, good luck and good riddance.
 * Dr. Sanderson: Why, you can't even say good-bye without putting it on a personal basis.
 * Miss Kelly: Oh, don't flatter yourself, doctor. There's nothing personal about this.
 * Dr. Sanderson: I think you've been working too hard, Kelly. You're getting neurotic.
 * Miss Kelly: Now don't start analyzing me. Save your psychiatry for your next job.
 * Dr. Sanderson: I'm not using psychiatry, Miss Kelly — and let me give you a little friendly advice — that chip on your shoulder stems from a persecution complex that undoubtedly goes back to childhood.
 * Miss Kelly: Well, thanks so much for the case history, doctor. Now could you tell me what an over-inflated ego stems from?
 * Dr. Sanderson: Now listen here!
 * Dr. Sanderson: Now listen here!

 * Elwood P. Dowd: You see, science has overcome time and space. Harvey has overcome not only time and space but also any objections.
 * Dr. Chumley: Fly specks, fly specks! I've been spending my life among fly specks while miracles have been leaning on lampposts at 18th and Fairfax!

 * Dr. Chumley: This sister of yours is at the bottom of a conspiracy against you. She's trying to persuade me to lock you up. Today, she had commitment papers drawn up. She has your power of attorney and the key to your safety box, and she brought you here!
 * Elwood P. Dowd: She did all that in one afternoon. That Veta certainly is a whirlwind, isn't she?

Cast

 * Jimmy Stewart - Elwood P. Dowd
 * Josephine Hull - Veta Louise Simmons
 * Peggy Dow - Miss Kelly
 * Charles Drake - Dr. Sanderson
 * Cecil Kellaway - Dr. Chumley
 * Victoria Horne - Myrtle Mae Simmons
 * Jesse White - Marvin Wilson
 * William Lynn - Judge Gaffney
 * Wallace Ford - Taxi driver
 * Grace Mills - Aunt Ethel

Quotes about Harvey
As a matter of fact, we'll even wager that, if you're not in a mood for all of these, an hour and three-quarters with Harvey will do you a world of good.
 * Of course, it depends a great deal upon what you have in mind in the way of entertainment by which you would be amused. But if you're for warm and gentle whimsey, for a charmingly fanciful farce and for a little touch of pathos anent the fateful evanescence of man's dreams, then the movie version of Harvey is definitely for you.
 * Bosley Crowther, in "The Screen in Review: A Fine Production of 'Harvey,' With Josephine Hull and James Stewart, at Astor", The New York Times (22 December 1950)]
 * As Elwood P. Dowd, the rabbit fancier — Harvey's companion in killing time — Mr. Stewart is utterly beguiling and disarming of all annoyance. A faint touch of seeming imbecility, which is somewhat distasteful at the start, is quickly dispelled as Mr. Stewart makes Elwood a man to be admired.
 * Bosley Crowther, in The New York Times (22 December 1950)

 * John Nash: Have you met Harvey? [points to an empty seat Sol is about to sit in]

 * Sol: [startled, and worried] John, there's no...

 * John: Relax, it's okay. [letting him know he was joking] There's no point being nuts if you can't have a little fun.

 * Sol: Jesus Christ. I should have known...
 * Akiva Goldsman, in A Beautiful Mind (2001)

It would not be stretching things to suggest that Harvey symbolizes spirituality, and some things, the film seems to say, just have to be taken on faith. Self-importance, snobbery, and the profession of psychiatry are among Harvey's targets, but this is no Swiftian satire. This film does not intend to cause harm or discomfort but to tease and needle its targets.
 * Though at times slow and obvious, the film allows humor to emerge ever so gently at the expense of its targets. Elwood may be a drunk (or not — does he ever actually take a drink?), and he may be delusional, but he is also happier, less neurotic, and more content than the so-called normal people who surround him and claim to be looking out for his best interests. By the film's end, Harvey and Elwood appear to be working their magic on everyone around them, as the world begins to share their delusion.
 * Dan Jardine, in Cinemania (26 December 2014)
 * What makes Harvey great is the fact that it's equally enjoyable as a piece of comedic fluff and as slyly intelligent social commentary.
 * Brian Webster, in Apollo Guide (16 March 2004)

title: Harvey (film)


text:
Condoleezza Rice

Condoleezza Rice (born November 14, 1954) is an American political scientist and diplomat. She served as the 66th United States Secretary of State in the administration of President George W. Bush. Rice was President Bush's National Security Advisor during his first term, making her the first woman to serve in that position. Before joining the Bush administration, she was a professor of political science at Stanford University where she served as Provost from 1993 to 1999.

Quotes

 * The growth of entrepreneurial classes throughout the world is an asset in the promotion of human rights and individual liberty, and it should be understood and used as such. Yet peace is the first and most important condition for continued prosperity and freedom. America's military power must be secure because the United States is the only guarantor of global peace and stability. The current neglect of America's armed forces threatens its ability to maintain peace.
 * Foreign Affairs, January/February 2000.

 * But in terms of Saddam Hussein being there, let's remember that his country is divided, in effect. He does not control the northern part of his country. We are able to keep arms from him. His military forces have not been rebuilt.
 * CNN Late Edition With Wolf Blitzer, July 29, 2001.

 * If you have any doubt about the degree with which this is self-defense, just look at those pictures from September 11th.
 * Interview by Wolf Blitzer on CNN, September 24, 2001.

 * I don't think that anybody could have predicted that these people would take an airplane and slam it into the World Trade Center, take another one and slam it into the Pentagon, that they would try to use an airplane as a missile
 * Press conference, May 16, 2002.

 * This is your baby. Go do it.
 * Regarding directives to the CIA on which torture techniques should be used. Summer 2002.

 * In light of 50 years of bondage of Eastern Europe, [invading the Soviet Union in 1948 to prevent it from acquiring nuclear weapons] was probably a reasonable thing to do.
 * Time, October 2002.

 * Punish France, ignore Germany, and forgive Russia.
 * Washington Post, April 13, 2003.

 * "Protests are a part of our democratic heritage and our democratic privilege ... [US and British efforts in Afghanistan and Iraq] are finally getting those countries to the place that actually people might have the same privilege of protest". The Guardian, 2003-11-15

 * Oh, indeed there is a tie between Iraq and what happened on 9/11. It's not that Saddam Hussein was somehow himself and his regime involved in 9/11, but, if you think about what caused 9/11, it is the rise of ideologies of hatred that lead people to drive airplanes into buildings in New York.
 * CBS News, November 28, 2003.

 * ...it is a longstanding principle that sitting national security advisers do not testify before the Congress.
 * 60 Minutes, March 28, 2004.

 * As I was telling my husb— As I was telling President Bush.
 * Newsweek, May 3, 2004.

 * We are at war, and our security as a nation depends on winning that war.
 * opening statement to 9/11 Commission, May 19, 2004.

Richard Ben-Veniste: Isn't it a fact, Dr. Rice, that the August 6 PDB [Presidential Daily Briefing] warned against possible attacks in this country? And I ask you whether you recall the title of that PDB? Condoleezza Rice: I believe the title was, Bin Laden Determined to Attack Inside the United States.
 * Condoleezza Rice: But I don't remember the al‐Qaeda cells as being something that we were told we needed to do something about.
 * testimony before the 9/11 Commission, describing the August 6 PDB, May 19, 2004.

 * People may oppose you, but when they realize you can hurt them, they'll join your side.
 * Advice given to her protégée, Kiron Skinner, while serving as Provost at Stanford University; quoted in James Mann, Rise of the Vulcans (Penguin Books, New York: 2004, ISBN 0-143-03489-8, p. 227.

 * The United States doesn't and can't condone torture. And I want to make very clear that that's the view and the policy of the administration, the policy of the president, and that he's made very clear to American personnel that we will not condone torture....Senator, under no circumstances should we or have we condoned torture. And the president has been very clear that he expects everyone to live up to our international obligations and to American law.
 * Secretary of State confirmation hearing, January 18, 2005.

 * Senator, I'm happy to continue the discussion, but I really hope that you will not imply that I take the truth lightly.
 * Secretary of State confirmation hearing, January 19, 2005.

 * You see, this war came to us, not the other way around.
 * Remarks at the U.S. embassy in Baghdad, Iraq, May 15, 2005.

 * And so the administration, I think, has said to the American people that it is a generational commitment to Iraq.
 * FOX News Sunday, June 19, 2005.

 * When are we going to stop making excuses for the terrorists and saying that somebody is making them do it? No, these are simply evil people who want to kill.
 * PBS, July 28, 2005.

 * I have no doubt that as the Iraqi security forces get better, and they are getting better and they are holding territory and they are doing these things with minimal help, that we are going to be able to bring down the levels of our forces. And I have no doubt that that's going to happen in a reasonable time frame.
 * Senate Foreign Relations Committee Hearing On U.S Foreign Policy in Iraq, October 19, 2005.

 * I think the word of the United States has been as good as gold in its international dealings and its agreements.
 * News conference in Ottawa, Canada, October 26, 2005.

 * Well, that's not how I read the statement ... After all, do Iraqis really want to -- any Iraqi, sitting around that table, want to suggest that killing an innocent Iraqi child standing at a bus stop is legitimate? Or that killing Iraqi soldiers who are lining up at recruitment centers is legitimate? Or even that multinational forces -- who by the way are there under a UN mandate -- are somehow legitimate targets?
 * Interview on CNN with John King, November 22, 2005.

 * The United States government does not authorise or condone torture of detainees. Torture, and conspiracy to commit torture, are crimes under US law, wherever they may occur in the world.
 * In response to the allegation that the U.S. has operated secret CIA prisons in Eastern Europe, December 5, 2005.

 * These people are making a choice for peace and that means that the time is coming in which this insurgency will have no foothold, in which it will be defeated, defeated by Iraqis and in which we can fully come home.
 * Interview on ABC Good Morning America, December 16, 2005.

 * Sometimes people decide to write reports even though they haven't been to Guantanamo. And so I would just suggest that people look at some of the work that's been done by people who have been there. But that's not to say that we will not be very glad at the day that conditions permit the closure of Guantanamo and the trying of its inhabitants or for their release.
 * Remarks With British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw At Blackburn Town Hall, April 1, 2006.

 * You are a good friend and we welcome you.
 * Remarks With Equatorial Guinean President [[w:Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogol|Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogol] April 12, 2006.

 * You see, education is transformational. It literally changes lives. That is why people work so hard to become educated and that is why education has always been the key to the American Dream, the force that erases arbitrary divisions of race and class and culture and unlocks every person's God-given potential.

 * We have had some bad incidents and there continue to be allegations of others which will be investigated; but overwhelmingly American forces there, putting their lives on the line every day, protecting Iraqis, helping to liberate them, that is appreciated by the Iraqi people and by the Prime Minister.
 * Interview on Fox News Sunday, June 4, 2006.

 * I don't know anyone who is more admired and respected in the international community than President Karzai, for his strength, for his wisdom and for his courage to lead this country, first in defeat of the Taliban and now a democratic and unified Afghanistan. And I can tell you I am with foreign ministers and with heads of state all over the world. I sit in the councils of NATO. I sit with the EU. I sit with people all over the world and there is great admiration for your president and also for what the Afghan people are doing here.
 * Remarks With Afghan President Hamid Karzai After Their Meeting, June 28, 2006.

 * ...those hostilities were not very well contained, as we found out on September 11th, and so the notion that somehow policies that finally confront extremism are actually causing extremism I find grotesque.
 * Interview on ABC This Week, July 16, 2006.

 * The United States has been very clear that we did have to have some political basis to make clear that that cessation of hostilities was not going to countenance a return to the status quo ante. This resolution does that. And now we're going to see who is for peace and who isn't.
 * Press Briefing, August 6, 2006.

 * ...there have been plenty of markers that show that this is a country that is worth the investment because once it emerges as a country that is a stabilizing factor, you'll have a very different kind of Middle East. And I know that from the point of view of not just monetary costs, but the sacrifice of American lives, a lot has been sacrificed for Iraq, a lot has been invested in Iraq.
 * Interview by Anne Gearan of the Associated Press, December 21, 2006.

 * It's bad policy to speculate on what you'll do if a plan fails, when you're trying to make a plan work.
 * Testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, January 11, 2007.

 * My Fox guys, I love every single one of them.
 * Comments overheard on an open microphone between morning television interviews, January 11, 2007.

 * Ron Paul: We are escalating our sharp rhetoric toward Iran, We're deploying additonal carrier group and Patriot missiles to the region. And, although Iran has approached the United States to establish serious dialog two times since 9/11, they have been rebuffed both times... Condelezza Rice: ...When we have a carrier strike group into the gulf, or provide PAC-3, which is a defensive system, it's simply to demonstrate that the United States remains determined to defend its interests in the gulf, and the interests of its allies. And that, congressman, is a position that has been held by American presidents going back for nearly 60 years. I would just note that these are discrete responses to Iranian activities that are really deeply concerning, not just for us, but for the rest of the world as well. Now as to Tehran, and whether we can talk to them. I offered in May to reverse 27 years of American policy, and to meet my counterpart any place, any time, to talk about any set of issues that Iran wishes to talk about, if they would just do one thing. And that is, adhere to the demand that the international community is making, that they stop enrichment and reprocessing, so that we that while we're talking, they're not improving their capability to get a nuclear weapon. So I think, congressman, the question isn't why won't we talk to Tehran, the question is why won't they talk to us.
 * State Department annual budget request, Foreign Affairs Committee, February 2, 2007.

 * I do believe that the president of Venezuela is really, really destroying his own country, economically, politically.
 * Congressional hearing, February 7, 2007.

 * ...the consolidation of a stable and democratic Iraq after the overthrow of Saddam Hussein is a part of what America owes to the Iraqi people, owes to the region, and owes to ourselves so that our own security is there. Chris, it would be like saying that after Adolf Hitler was overthrown, we needed to change then the resolution that allowed the United States to do that so that we could deal with creating a stable environment in Europe after he was overthrown.
 * Interview on Fox News Sunday, February 25, 2007.

 * Condoleezza Rice: I think that these historical circumstances require a very detailed and sober look from historians and what we've encouraged the Turks and the Armenians to do is to have joint historical commissions that can look at this, to have efforts to examine their past and, in examining their past, to get over their past. Adam Schiff: ...you come out of academia... is there any reputable historian you're aware of that takes issue with the fact that the murder of 1.5 million Armenians constituted genocide? Condoleezza Rice: Congressman, I come out of academia, but I'm secretary of state now and I think that the best way to have this proceed is for the United States not to be in the position of making this judgment, but rather for the Turks and the Armenians to come to their own terms about this. Adam Schiff: ...Why is it only this genocide? Is it because Turkey is a strong ally?  Is that an ethical and moral reason to ignore the murder of 1.5 million people?  Why is it we don't say, "Let's relegate the Holocaust to historians" or "relegate the Cambodian genocide or Rwandan genocide ?"  Why is it only this genocide that we should let the Turks acknowledge or not acknowledge? Condoleezza Rice: Congressman, we have recognized and the president recognizes every year in a resolution that he himself issues the historical circumstances and the tragedy that befell the Armenian people at that time... Adam Schiff: ...You recognize more than anyone, as a diplomat, the power of words. And I'm sure you supported the recognition of genocide in Darfur, not calling it tragedy, not calling it atrocity, not calling it anything else, but the power and significance of calling it genocide. Why is that less important in the case of the Armenian genocide? Condoleezza Rice: Congressman, the power here is in helping these people to move forward... And, yes, Turkey is a good ally and that is important.  But more important is that like many historical tragedies, like many historical circumstances of this kind, people need to come to terms with it and they need to move on. Adam Schiff: ...Iran hosts conferences of historians on the Holocaust. I don't think we want to get in the business of encouraging conferences of historians on the undeniable facts of the Armenian genocide.
 * Appropriations hearing before the Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs, March 21, 2007.

 * I'm very glad that there was, in fact, a consequence. I think that this kind of coarse language doesn't belong anywhere in reasonable dialogue between reasonable people. ... It gets ruined by this disgusting -- and I'll use the word 'disgusting' -- comment which doesn't belong in any polite company and certainly doesn't belong on any radio station that I would listen to.
 * Interview by Michael Medved, April 13, 2007.

 * Now, six years ago, al-Qaeda was planning to attack the Twin Towers. It wasn't a very nice world. And I think that if you think about six years ago, al-Qaida was preparing to attack the Twin Towers, Pakistan was allied with the Taliban, Afghanistan was the base from which al-Qaida was going to operate; the Israelis and the Palestinians had given up on a chance for -- or let me put it, the Palestinians had walked away from a chance for a Palestinian state, launched the second intifada, elected Ariel Sharon who basically said there would never be a Palestinian state and there will be a greater Israel; the North Korean were cheating on a deal that they had just signed; China and others were indifferent to that because it was a U.S.-North Korea bilateral deal; Iran was cheating on the IAEA out of sight. I could go on and on and on. That was the world in 2000 and 2001. And there is no doubt that by confronting -- oh, by the way, and Saddam Hussein was shooting at our pilots regularly in the no-fly zone and making a mockery of the Oil-for-Peace -- Oil-for-Food program and corruption was running rampant in that program. So, a worse world? I think so.
 * Interview With the Associated Press Editorial Board, June 8, 2007.

 * I'm a terrible long-term planner.
 * Interview by Maria Bartiromo in Business Week, 23 July, 2007.

 * This test has much in common with the other great challenges that are defining this young century -- from weapons proliferation, to the spread of disease, to transnational terrorism. These are truly global problems, and no one nation, no matter how much power or political will it possesses, can succeed alone. We all need partners, and we all need to work in concert.
 * US Department of State, September 28, 2007.

 * In any country, if you don't have countervailing institutions, the power of any one president is problematic for democratic development.
 * Speaking of Russian President Vladimir Putin; Moscow, 13 October 2007

 * At no time did I intend to, or do I believe that I did put forward false information to the American people.
 * Congressional hearing, February 13, 2008.

 * ...I am proud of the decision of this Administration to overthrow Saddam Hussein. I am proud of the liberation of 25 million Iraqis. And I'm proud to see an Iraq that is now emerging with a stronger government, a truly multiethnic, multi-sectarian government that's about to have its second set of elections, that's inviting private investment into Iraq, and that is making peace with its Arab neighbors.
 * Interview With Judy Woodruff of Bloomberg TV, July 1, 2008.

 * This is not 1968 and the invasion of Czechoslovakia, where Russia can threaten its neighbors, occupy a capital, overthrow a government, and get away with it. Things have changed.
 * Press briefing, August 13, 2008.

 * In terms of the enhanced interrogation and so forth, anything that was legal and was going to make this country safer, the president wanted to do. Nothing that was illegal. And nothing that was going to make the country less safe. Unless you were there, in a position of responsibility after September 11th, you cannot possibly imagine the dilemmas that you faced in trying to protect Americans. You were determined to do anything that you could that was legal to prevent that from happening again... We were told, nothing that violates our obligations under the Convention Against Torture. And so, by definition, if it was authorized by the president, it did not violate our obligations under the Conventions Against Torture.
 * Quoted in Glenn Kessler, "Rice Defends Enhanced Interrogations," Washington Post (2009-04-30).

 * There’s no greater challenge and there is no greater honor than to be in public service.

 * In response to a question about what "keeps her up at night", I worry about the fact that in K-12 education I can look at your zip code and tell whether or not you're going to get a good education.
 * Interview by Donna Shalala C-Span Video Library No Higher Honor University of Miami, School of Business Administration, November 3, 2011.

 * The essence of America – that which really unites us — is not ethnicity, or nationality or religion – it is an idea — and what an idea it is: That you can come from humble circumstances and do great things. That it doesn’t matter where you came from but where you are going.

Quotes about Condoleezza Rice

 * In February 2005 the American secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice, came to Paris to consolidate the improvement in relations between the White House and the Élysée a er the crisis over Iraq. Speaking at the Institut d'études politiques, in the heart of the Saint-Germain-des Prés quarter of Paris, she referred to the mission of the democracies, which is to spread freedom and bring down tyrannies: “We know,” she said, “that we have deal with the world as it is, but we do not have to accept the world as it is.” The French press was astonished and suggested that she had gotten carried away, gone to extremes. This was a strange amnesia, since with these simple words Rice reminded the French, who had forgotten it, of the message of the Revolution of 1789. In this sense, America, although we constantly demonize it, still defends the democratic treasure that we have repressed or relativized.
 * Pascal Bruckner, The Tyranny of Guilt: An Essay on Western Masochism (2005), Oxford University Press transl. Steven Rendall, pp. 199-200

 * Hi Condoleezza, how are you? You've forgotten about me, my little girl.
 * Hugo Chávez, as quoted in "US gringos go to hell, says Chavez." The Sydney Morning Herald, January 11, 2007

 * Yes, Leezza, Leezza, Leezza... I love her very much.
 * Muammar Gaddafi, as quoted by Juli Wenner in More Horrendously Creepy Details About Quadaffi's Condoleeza Rice Obsession VanityFair.com, Oct 21, 2011.

 * Conflict of interest? Not to the Bush White House, where it was business as usual...Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice served on the board of Chevron for a decade. She has the distinction of being the only cabinet member to have had an oil tanker named after her.
 * Amy Goodman Standing Up to the Madness: Ordinary Heroes in Extraordinary Times (2008)

 * ...the idea that she belongs in front of a war tribunal is not something I can dignify with a response. Miss Rice presides over a wide range of choices, a wide range of policies. She's handled that vast duty with dignity, with honor.
 * Marc Landy, May 10, 2006.

 * There are two things people really want to know about the cartoonist Aaron McGruder. The first is precisely what he said to Condoleezza Rice, the US Secretary of State, at an awards ceremony three years ago. Rice and McGruder, 32, were both being given an award by the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People, the oldest civil rights organisation in the country. Beforehand, McGruder had told anyone who would listen that Rice was a mass murderer (it was not long after the invasion of Afghanistan) and that he would have no qualms about telling her so to her face. With McGruder's help, rumours about their subsequent exchange became legend. "I was never as cavalier with her as I sounded," he says now. "I had a brief encounter with her and I knew I had to say something. I said something like: 'I don't want you guys to kill me so I'm just going to mind my own business.' I was eminently aware when I met Condi that she could make my whole family disappear. I have never been fearless. I've always had a healthy fear of this government."
 * Aaron McGruder in "Strip Tease" by Gary Younge, The Guardian, (21 Dec 2005).

 * Rice remained pretty embarrassed – in the end she didn't end up voting in favor of a resolution she organized.
 * Ehud Olmert, January 12, 2009.

 * Condoleezza Rice serves an administration that has trashed the basic values of academia: reason, science, expertise, and honesty. Stanford should not welcome her back.
 * Don Ornstein, The Daily Stanford, Letter to the Editor, May 31, 2007

 * They are welcome to all the money I have in America. Rice should take half of it to improve the way she looks. She should have her teeth straightened and her face fixed, and should make herself look nice. I donate what is left to George Bush, because I know he will soon be admitted to a mental asylum because of his policies.
 * Wiam Wahhab, November 7, 2007.

title: Condoleezza Rice


text:
Bernard Baruch

Bernard Mannes Baruch (19 August 1870 – 20 June 1965) was an American financier, stock market speculator, statesman, and presidential advisor. After his success in business, he devoted his time toward advising Democratic presidents Woodrow Wilson and Franklin D. Roosevelt on economic matters.

Quotes

 * America has never forgotten — and never will forget — the nobler things that brought her into being and that light her path — the path that was entered upon only one hundred and fifty years ago … How young she is! It will be centuries before she will adopt that maturity of custom — the clothing of the grave — that some people believe she is already fitted for.
 * Address on accepting The Churchman Award, New York (23 May 1944)

 * Behind the black portent of the new atomic age lies a hope which, seized upon with faith, can work out salvation … Let us not deceive ourselves: we must elect world peace or world destruction.
 * Address to the United Nations Atomic Energy Commission (14 June 1946)

 * Peace is never long preserved by weight of metal or by an armament race. Peace can be made tranquil and secure only by understanding and agreement fortified by sanctions. We must embrace international cooperation or international disintegration. Science has taught us how to put the atom to work. But to make it work for good instead of for evil lies in the domain dealing with the principles of human dignity. We are now facing a problem more of ethics than of physics.
 * Address to the United Nations Atomic Energy Commission (14 June 1946)

 * Let us not be deceived — we are today in the midst of a cold war. Our enemies are to be found abroad and at home. Let us never forget this: Our unrest is the heart of their success. The peace of the world is the hope and the goal of our political system; it is the despair and defeat of those who stand against us. We can depend only on ourselves.
 * Speech to the South Carolina Legislature, Columbia, SC (April 16, 1947); reported in Journal of the House of Representatives of the First Session of the 87th General Assembly of the State of South Carolina, p. 1085. Baruch said that the phrase "cold war" was suggested to him by H. B. Swope, editor of the New York World; the term had earlier been used by George Orwell (1945). Also quoted in: History.com (April 14, 2020): This Day in History: April 16, 1947. Bernard Baruch coins the term “Cold War". Publisher: A&E Television Networks. Archived from the original on August 12, 2021.

 * Although the shooting war is over, we are in the midst of a cold war which is getting warmer.
 * Speech before the Senate’s Special Committee Investigating the National Defense Program (1948)

 * Those who matter don't mind, and those who mind don't matter.
 * Often quoted response to Igor Cassini, a popular society columnist for the New York Journal American, when asked how he handled the seating arrangements for all those who attended his dinner parties, as quoted in Shake Well Before Using: A New Collection of Impressions and Anecdotes Mostly Humorous (1948) by Bennett Cerf, p. 249; the full response was "I never bother about that. Those who matter don't mind, and those who mind don't matter." This anecdote is also [quoted online at [[w:Chiasmus|Chiasmus]] and has also become part of a larger expression, which has been commonly attributed to Dr. Seuss, even in print, but without citation of a specific work : "Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind."

 * Every man has a right to his own opinion, but no man has a right to be wrong in his facts.
 * Deming Headlight (New Mexico), 6 January 1950, as cited in the Yale Book of Modern Proverbs and at There Are Opinions, And Then There Are Facts; Freakonomics blog post by Fred R. Shapiro (18 August 2011)

 * There are no such things as incurable, there are only things for which man has not found a cure.
 * Speech (30 April 1954)
 * To me, old age is always fifteen years older than I am.
 * On his 85th birthday, as quoted in The Observer [London] (21 August 1955)

 * I am quite sure that in the hereafter she will take me by the hand and lead me to my proper seat.
 * Regarding a childhood teacher, as quoted in News summaries (29 August 1955)

 * I am interested in physical medicine because my father was. I am interested in medical research because I believe in it. I am interested in arthritis because I have it.
 * As quoted in The New York Post (1 May 1959)

 * Vote for the man who promises least; he'll be the least disappointing.
 * As quoted in Meyer Berger’s New York (1960)

 * A political leader must keep looking over his shoulder all the time to see if the boys are still there. If they aren’t still there, he’s no longer a political leader.
 * As quoted in his obituary, New York Times (21 June 1965)

 * I'm not smart. I try to observe. Millions saw the apple fall but Newton was the one who asked why.
 * New York Post (24 June 1965)

 * A speculator is a man who observes the future, and acts before it occurs.
 * 20,000 Quotes and Quips by Evan Esar (1968) original quote in Baruch, Bernard, The Public Years. NY, Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1960, p.31.

Quotes about Baruch

 * In the Baruch proposal our government suggested the creation of the International Authority by the United Nations to which would be given a complete monopoly of all atomic installations, materials and stockpiles. This authority should be given power of inspection and power to call for the punishment of violators.
 * Kirby Page, What Does God Want Us to Do About Russia? (1948)

Disputed

 * If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.
 * Called "Baruch's Observation" in The Complete Murphy's Law : A Definitive Collection (1991) by Arthur Bloch, such statements have also attributed to, Michael Polanyi, and Mark Twain; see the Wiktionary page for this statement for more details.
 * Variant: I suppose it is tempting, if the only tool you have is a hammer, to treat everything as if it were a nail.
 * Abraham Maslow, The Psychology of Science : A Reconnaissance (1966), Ch. 2, p. 15.

Misattributed

 * Anyone taken as an individual is tolerably sensible—as a member of a crowd, he at once becomes a blockhead.
 * Friedrich Schiller. As quoted by Baruch in his Foreword to the 1932 edition of Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds (1841), by Charles Mackay.

 * It will fluctuate.
 * Sometimes attributed as a response by Baruch, when asked what the market would do, this is more often attributed to J. P. Morgan.

title: Bernard Baruch


text:
Birthday

A birthday is an annual celebration of the date on which a person was born.

See also Growing old.

Quotes

 * All the world's a birthday cake, / So take a piece but not too much.
 * George Harrison lyric from the song It's All Too Much on the Yellow Submarine album (1969)
 * Birthdays weigh heavily on one's self-esteem. Early in the morning especially.
 * Erich Maria Remarque in Three Comrades, 1936

Hoyt's New Cyclopedia Of Practical Quotations

 * Quotes reported in Hoyt's New Cyclopedia Of Practical Quotations (1922), p. 70.

 * A birthday:—and now a day that rose With much of hope, with meaning rife— A thoughtful day from dawn to close:  The middle day of human life.
 * Jean Ingelow, A Birthday Walk.

 * As this auspicious day began the race Of ev'ry virtue join'd with ev'ry grace; May you, who own them, welcome its return, Till excellence, like yours, again is born. The years we wish, will half your charms impair; The years we wish, the better half will spare; The victims of your eyes will bleed no more, But all the beauties of your mind adore.
 * Jeffrey, Miscellanies, To a Lady on her Birthday.

 * Believing hear, what you deserve to hear: Your birthday as my own to me is dear. Blest and distinguished days! which we should prize The first, the kindest bounty of the skies. But yours gives most; for mine did only lend Me to the world; yours gave to me a friend.
 * Martial, Epigrams (c. 80-104 AD), Book IX, Epistle 53.

 * My birthday!—what a different sound That word had in my youthful ears; And how each time the day comes round,  Less and less white its mark appears.
 * Thomas Moore, My Birthday.

 * Whatever with the past has gone the best is always yet to come.
 * Lucy Larcom, (1824-1893).

 * Is that a birthday? 'tis, alas! too clear; 'Tis but the funeral of the former year.
 * Alexander Pope, To Mrs. M. B, line 9.

title: Birthday


text:
Marie Anne de Vichy-Chamrond, marquise du Deffand

Marie Anne de Vichy-Chamrond, marquise du Deffand (1697 – September 23, 1780) was a French hostess and patron of the arts.

Quotes

 * La distance n'y fait rien; il n'y a que le premier pas qui coûte.
 * The distance is nothing; it is only the first step that is difficult.
 * Comment on the legend told by the Cardinal de Polignac that St. Denis, carrying his head in his hands, walked two leagues. Letter to Jean Le Rond d'Alembert (1763-07-07). Voltaire wrote to Madame du Deffand (January 1764) that one of her bon-mots was quoted in the notes of La Pucelle, canto 1: "Il n'y a que le premier pas qui coûte.".

 * Il a inventé l'histoire.
 * He has invented history.
 * Referring to Voltaire; quoted in Édouard Fournier, L'esprit dans l'histoire: Recherches et curiosités sur les mots historiques, third edition (1879), ch. XLVII (p. 306).