Oxford Dictionary of Quotations

As Emerson once said, "By necessity, by proclivity--and by delight, we all quote." We quote from the Bible and from Shakespeare, from Churchill and Will Rogers, we quote to amuse our friends, to spice our conversation or our writing, to lend authority to what we say. We even quote without knowing whom we quote, saying "love conquers all" (Virgil, The Aeneid) or "damn with faint praise" (Pope, Epistle to Dr. Arbuthnot). In the Fourth Edition of The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations, you can find (and verify) classic quotes and little-known gems--the words of the famous and the notorious, the witty and the wise--in a collection of over 20,000 quotations from more than 3,000 authors. Almost forty percent of the material is new since the third edition, including thousands of twentieth-century quotations, from Virginia Woolf to John Lennon. As in earlier editions, the new Oxford Dictionary of Quotations is a literary banquet, a feast of the finest excerpts of poets and novelists, essayists and historians. From Yeats ("A terrible beauty is born") to Orwell ("At 50, everyone has the face he deserves"), from the King James Bible ("Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall") to Marx ("From each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs"), this volume brims with essential quotes. Here too are the notable political figures of history, including Napoleon ("An army marches on its stomach"), Queen Elizabeth I ("I will make you shorter by a head"), and Harry Truman ("If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen"). Coming right up to the present-day world of international mass media and entertainment, the new Dictionary even includes the immortal words of the Monty Python comedy troupe: "And now for something completely different." This new edition also features a helpful organization and indexing system. The entries are arranged alphabetically by author, with full attributions and explanatory notes, and the index offers easy access to individual quotations through thousands of keywords. In addition, the Dictionary offers thorough foreign language coverage, from Aristotle to Moliere to Schiller, with quotations provided in both the original and in English translation. Like the acclaimed Third Edition of the Oxford Dictionary of Quotations, this volume provides an ideal reference for any home or office library--a constant source of entertainment and inspiration for public speakers, writers, and anyone else who enjoys a sparkling line or a spirited reply.Partington, Angela is the author of 'Oxford Dictionary of Quotations' with ISBN 9780198661856 and ISBN 0198661851.