The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Quotations (372 page)

BOOK: The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Quotations
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Rossini, Gioacchino
1792–1868
1
Wagner has lovely moments but awful quarters of an hour.

to Emile Naumann, April 1867, in E. Naumann
Italienische Tondichter
(1883) vol. 4

Rostand, Edmond
1868–1918
1
A large nose is in fact the sign of an affable man, good, courteous, witty, liberal, courageous, such as I am.

Cyrano de Bergerac
(1897) act 1, sc. 1

2
There is, in spite of you, something which I shall take with me…and it's…My panache!

Cyrano de Bergerac
(1897) act 5, sc. 4

Rostand, Jean
1894–1977
1
The biologist passes, the frog remains.
sometimes quoted as "Theories pass. The frog remains"

Inquiétudes d'un biologiste
(1967)

2
Kill a man, and you are an assassin. Kill millions of men, and you are a conqueror. Kill everyone, and you are a god.

Pensées d'un biologiste
(1939) p. 116

Rosten, Leo
1908–97
1
Any man who hates dogs and babies can't be all bad.
of W. C. Fields, and often attributed to him

speech at Masquers' Club dinner, 16 February 1939

Roth, Philip
1933–
1
A Jewish man with parents alive is a fifteen-year-old boy, and will remain a fifteen-year-old boy until
they die
!

Portnoy's Complaint
(1967)

2
Doctor, my doctor, what do you say,
let's put the id back in yid!

Portnoy's Complaint
(1967)

Rothschild, Lord
1910–90
1
The promises and panaceas that gleam like false teeth in the party manifestoes.

Meditations of a Broomstick
(1977)

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