Explore a collection of the most beloved and motivational quotes and sayings about Chiefly. Share these powerful messages with your loved ones on social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, or on your personal blog, and inspire the world with their wisdom. We've compiled the Top 100 Chiefly Quotes and Sayings from 86 influential authors, including Edgar Allan Poe,Robert Louis Stevenson,Paul Meyer,Soren Kierkegaard,Herman Melville, for you to enjoy and share.

In one case out of a hundred a point is excessively discussed because it is obscure; in the ninety-nine remaining it is obscure because it is excessively discussed. By Edgar Allan Poe Excessively Discussed Obscure Case Hundred

As a monarch who should care more for the outlying colonies he knows on the map or through the report of his vicegerents, than for the trunk of his empire under his eyes at home, are we not more concerned about the shadowy life that we have in the hearts of others, and that portion in their thoughts and fancies which, in a certain far-away sense, belongs to us, than about the real knot of our identity - that central metropolis of self, of which alone we are immediately aware - or the diligent service of arteries and veins and infinitesimal activity of ganglia, which we know (as we know a proposition in Euclid) to be the source and substance of the whole? By Robert Louis Stevenson Euclid Vicegerents Home Sense Belongs

Yet I have a clever touch and pander to your vices. While looking on in exultation. And so I play my game, with the exuberance of experience, the strange and terribly subtle final aims of my Asiatic Blood that remain a mystery to you. By Paul Meyer Vices Clever Touch Pander Exultation

It is perhaps the misfortune of my life that I am interested in far too much but not decisively in any one thing; all my interests are not subordinated in one but stand on an equal footing. By Soren Kierkegaard Thing Footing Misfortune Life Interested

Sweet are the oases in Sahara; charming the isle-groves of August prairies; delectable pure faith amidst a thousand perfidies; but sweeter, still more charming, most delectable, the dreamy Paradise of Bachelors, found in the stony heart of stunning London.In mild meditation pace the cloisters; take your pleasure, sip your leisure, in the garden waterward; go linger in the ancient library; go worship in the scultured chapel; but little have you seen, just nothing do you know, not the sweet kernel have you tasted, till you dine among the banded Bachelors, and see their convivial eyes and glasses sparkle. Not dine in bustling commons, during term time, in the hall; but tranquilly, by private hint, at a private table; some fine Templar's hospitably invited guest. By Herman Melville Bachelors Sweet Charming Delectable Sahara

Often sweeps Death. The houses of living, A menial task, That brings into her fair, dark eyes. A sparkle of joy. At the little things she finds there. By Greg Keyes Death Sweeps Living Task Fair

So, Mr. Mandrake, what is it you plan to do with me this evening?" I asked haughtily. "I presume," he said, playing along, "that I will start with feeding you proper and then proceed with more ... pestiferous acts."I smiled through the confusion. I'd have to look up that word later. By Brandi Salazar Mandrake Evening Plan Haughtily Asked

The labour of diggingand watering, the anxious zeal with which Ipounced on weeds, the poring over gardeningbooks, the plans made as I sat on the little seatin the middle gazing admiringly and with theeye of faith on the trim surface so soon to begemmed with a thousand flowers, the recklessexpenditure of pfennings^ the humiliation of myposition in regard to Fraulein Wundermacher,all, all had been in vain. By Elisabeth Von Arnim Wundermacherall Ipounced Fraulein Watering Weeds

shall." I think I finally guessed then what By Robin Hobb Finally Guessed

Hastings sat down and braced his arm along the back of the chaise, quite effectively letting it be known he did not want anyone else to join them. "You look frustrated, Miss Fitzhugh." He lowered his voice. "Has your bed been empty of late?" He knew very well she'd been watched more closely than prices on the stock exchange. She couldn't smuggle a hamster into her bed, let alone a man. "You look anemic, Hastings," she said. "Have you been leaving the belles of England breathlessly unsatisfied again?" He grinned. "Ah, so you know what it is like to be breathlessly unsatisfied. I expected as little from Andrew Martin." Her tone was pointed. "As little as you expect from yourself, no doubt." He sighed exaggeratedly. "Miss Fitzhugh, you disparage me so, when I've only ever sung your praises." "Well, we all do what we must," she said with sweet venom. He didn't reply - not in words, at least. By Sherry Thomas Miss Fitzhugh Chaise Hastings Sat

Thanks are due in three quarters. To the Public, for the indulgent ear it has inclined to a plain tale with By Charlotte Bronte Quarters Public Due Indulgent Ear

A good turnout at church today. It had nothing to do with the mild weather and a desire to gossip and everything to do with my oratory skills, I am perfectly convinced. Indeed, if not for Mrs Attwood's new bonnet, I would have had the ladies' undivided attention. The gentlemen I was more certain of. They had no interest in bonnets, new or otherwise, and listened in pleasing silence, broken only by an occasional snore. By Amanda Grange Today Good Turnout Church Mrs

Do you know what Aunt Marmoset told me once? She compared you to a spice drop. Overpowering and hard at first, but all sweetness at the center. I'll admit, I've been desperate to try an experiment." She gave him a teasing look. "How many times do you suppose I could lick you before you crack?" His every muscle tightened. Smiling, she tucked her face into the curve of his neck and ran her tongue seductively over his skin. "There's one." "Katie." The word was a low, throaty warning. It made her toes curl. She nuzzled at the notch of his open shirt, pushing the fabric aside. The familiar musk of his skin stirred her in deep places. With a teasing swirl of her tongue, she tasted the notch at the base of his throat. "Two ... " "Finn," he called in a booming voice, lifting his head. "Send for the vicar." She pulled back, shocked. "Two? That's all, truly? Two? I'm not sure whether to feel proud or disappointed. By Tessa Dare Aunt Marmoset Told Teasing Skin

Implacable November weather. As much mud in the streets, as if the waters had but newly retired from the face of the earth, and it would not be wonderful to meet a Megalosaurus, forty feet long or so, waddling like an elephantine lizard up Holborn Hill. Smoke lowering down from chimney-pots, making a soft black drizzle, with flakes of soot in it as big as full-grown snow-flakes - gone into mourning, one might imagine, for the death of the sun. Dogs, undistinguishable in mire. Horses, scarcely better; splashed to their very blinkers. Foot passengers, jostling one another's umbrellas, in a general infection of ill-temper, and losing their foot-hold at street-corners, where tens of thousands of other foot passengers have been slipping and sliding since the day broke (if the day ever broke), adding new deposits to the crust upon crust of mud, sticking at those points tenaciously to the pavement, and accumulating at compound interest. By Charles Dickens November Implacable Weather Megalosaurus Hill

( ... ) The new nine muses, Commerce, Operatic Music, Amor, Publicity, Manufacture, Liberty of Specch, Plural Voting, Gastronomy, Private Hygiene, Seaside Concert Entertainments, Painless Obstetrics and Astronomy for the People. By James Joyce Commerce Amor Publicity Manufacture Gastronomy

I should tell you that honestly, on my honour of a Nearwicked, I always think in a wordworth's of that primed favourite continental poet, Daunty, Gouty and Shopkeeper, A.G., whom the generality admoyers in this that is and that this is to come. By James Joyce Daunty Nearwicked Gouty Shopkeeper Honestly

Thane had security covering nearly every inch of his house, but Emerson couldn't help but follow her nose down to the kitchens, dodging around the busy staff he'd hired for the occasion to find the creamy, rich, sugary smell of wonderfulness that had lured her from his bedroom. She'd left him in a naked, facedown sprawl, dead center on the bed, his bare feet and shins hanging off the end. But for all his efforts - and they were godlike - she wasn't quite sated. By Jennifer Ashley Emerson Rich Thane House Kitchens

There are subjects for which I have more than ordinary affection because they are associated in my mind with kindly and understanding men orwomensculptors who left even upon such impliant clay as mine the delicate chiseling of refined genius, who gave unwittingly something of their final character to most unpromising material. By Loren Eiseley Genius Material Subjects Ordinary Affection

Whether to the average person, applying contemporary community standards, the dominant theme of the material taken as a whole appeals to prurient interest. By William J. Brennan Person Applying Standards Interest Average

Most thoughtful,"...[he said] politely. This cheerfulness was ambiguous, Had she determined to ignore ...[the] coup entirely--an established tactic, most irritating to the innovator but hard to sustain over long periods of time--or had she already evolved her counter-strategy? By Tom Holt Politely Thoughtful Ambiguous Ignore Coup

Bonjour, Monsieur Fraser. She inclined her veil gracefully, more to hide the broad smile on her face than in greeting, I thought. I see you have made the acquaintance of Bouton. Are you perhaps in search of your wife? This seeming to be my cue, I sidled out of the office door behind her. My devoted spouse glanced from Bouton to the office door, plainly drawing conclusions. And just how long have ye been standin' there,Sassenach? he asked dryly. Long enough, I said, with the smug self-assurance of one in Bouton's good books. By Diana Gabaldon Monsieur Fraser Bonjour Bouton Office

The old marchioness had him tracing down bed hangings and carpets for her. Send that. Be here. To her, all the world was a menial. If she wanted a lobster or a sturgeon, she ordered it up, and if she wanted good taste she ordered it in the same way. The marchioness would run her hand over Florentine silks, making little squeaks of pleasure. "You bought it, Master Cromwell," she would say. "And very beautiful it is. Your next task is to work out how we pay for it. By Hilary Mantel Tracing Bed Hangings Carpets Ordered

I endeavoured to consult the simplicity of your taste, but By Jane Austen Taste Endeavoured Consult Simplicity

But there she was, standing next to his mother, so beautiful, so radiant that he could not see anyone else. Suddenly the rest of the world seemed like such a chore. He didn't want to be here at this dance, with people he didn't want to talk to and messages he didn't particularly wish to deliver. He didn't want to dance with young ladies he didn't know, and he didn't want to make polite conversation with people he did. He just wanted Billie, and he wanted her all to himself. He forgot about Tallywhite. He forgot about pease, porridge, and pudding, and he stalked across the room with such single-minded purpose that the crowds seemed to melt from his path. And somehow, amazingly, the rest of the world had not yet noticed her. She was so beautiful, so uncommonly alive and real in this room full of waxen dolls. She would not go undiscovered for long. But not yet. Soon he would have to fight the throngs of eager young gentlemen, but for now, she was still his alone. By Julia Quinn Standing Mother Radiant People Beautiful

embodied in the remark that dear far-away Ruth's intentions were doubtless good. She and Kent are even yet looking for another prop, but no one presents a true sphere of usefulness. They complain that people are self-sufficing. With Saltram the fine type of the child of adoption was scattered, the grander, the elder style. They've got their carriage back, but what's an empty carriage? In short I think we were all happier as well as poorer before; even including George Gravener, who by the deaths of his brother and his nephew has lately become Lord Maddock. His wife, whose fortune clears the property, is criminally dull; he hates being in the Upper By Henry James Ruth Embodied Good Remark Dear

Geillis Duncan had always had a voluptuous abundance of creamy bosom and a generous swell of rounded hip. While still creamy-skinned, she was considerably more abundant and generous, in every dimension visible. She wore a loose muslin gown, under which the soft, thick flesh wobbled and swayed as she moved. The delicate bones of her face had long since been submerged in swelling plumpness, but the brilliant green eyes were the same, filled with malice and humor. I By Diana Gabaldon Duncan Geillis Hip Generous Voluptuous

I confess that I have as vast contemplative ends, as I have moderate civil ends: for I have taken all knowledge to be my province. By Francis Bacon Ends Province Confess Vast Contemplative

The community of Partageuse had drifted together like so much dust in a breeze, settling in this spot where two oceans met, because there was fresh water and a natural harbor and good soil. Its port was no rival to Albany, but convenient for locals shipping timber or sandalwood or beef. Little businesses had sprung up and clung on like lichen on a rock face, and the town had accumulated a school, a variety of churches with different hymns and architectures, a good few brick and stone houses and a lot more built of weatherboard and tin. It gradually produced various shops, a town hall, even a Dalgety's stock and station agency. And pubs. Many pubs. By M.l. Stedman Partageuse Breeze Settling Met Soil

I'm fond of her."Oh yeah? Fond are you? I've heard of fond. I expect old erection here" - she pointed to the tube of DNA - "was fond of his victim. Fond is a prude's word, Ben. You fancy her. That's what you say. You fancy Miss Library something painful. And who knows?" She grinned, gap-toothed, like the Wife of Bath. "Maybe she fancies you. By Simon Mawer Fond Her Yeah Ben Fancy

Full many a lady I have eyed with best regard, and many a time Th' harmony of their tongues hath into bondage Brought my too diligent ear; for several virtues Have I liked several women; never any With so full soul but some defect in her Did quarrel with the noblest grace she owed, And put it to the foil. By William Shakespeare Brought Full Regard Harmony Ear

The even mead, that erst brought sweetly forth The freckled cowslip, burnet, and green clover, Wanting the scythe, all uncorrected, rank, Conceives by idleness, and nothing teems But hateful docks, rough thistles, kecksies, burrs, Losing both beauty and utility. By William Shakespeare Burnet Rank Kecksies Burrs Wanting

... some bits of Dickens-books with which latter I am long familiar and long enamored for the restful falseness of their sentiment and the pungent appetizing charm of their villains. By Mary Maclane Long Dickensbooks Villains Bits Familiar

Little minds are interested in the extraordinary; great minds in the commonplace. By Elbert Hubbard Extraordinary Great Commonplace Minds Interested

An irresistible glimpse into his complex and often By Walter Isaacson Irresistible Glimpse Complex

Perhaps," Mg. Katter cut in, "she's finally gotten smart. In and out, job done."Mg. Hughes said, "No. Not her." He paused. "She knows Emery is critical to the syndicate, they all do. He's personally invested in it. That, and she's always kept a . . . keen . . . interest in him. By Charlie N. Holmberg Katter Smart Emery Cut Finally

The reader will pardon us another little digression; foreign to the object of this book but characteristic and useful ... By Victor Hugo Digression Foreign Reader Pardon Object

Sybil entered, with a plate."You're not eating enough, Sam," she announced. "And the canteen here is a disgrace. It's all grease and garbage!""That's what the men like, I'm afraid," said Vimes guiltily."I've cleaned out the tar in the tea urn, at least," Sybil went on, with satisfaction."You cleaned out the tar urn?" said Vimes in a hollow voice. It was like being told that someone had wiped the patina off a fine old work of art."Yes, it was like tar in there. There really wasn't much proper food in the store, but I managed to make you a bacon, lettuce, and tomato sandwich.""Thank you, dear." Vimes cautiously lifted a corner of the bread with his broken pencil. There seemed to be too much lettuce, which is to say, there was some lettuce. By Terry Pratchett Sam Sybil Vimes Tar Lettuce

Why does it feel as if I've barely closed my eyes?""Possibly because you just have, my insatiable young minx. I should have remembered what effect Archibald's company had on your tolerance for wine.""It was not the wine that kept me awake, sir. It was the brandy."He glanced up from tucking his shirttails into his breeches and grinned wolfishly. "Perhaps next time we should try drinking it out of glasses.""Perverted and lustful,"she grumbled crossly. "That's what you are. And far too knowledgeable of things decent men and women would never dream of going in their most wicked fantasies.""Is that a complaint? By Marsha Canham Possibly Eyes Minx Feel Barely

which were necessities. By Michael Connelly Necessities

Elementary, my dear fucksticks By Stephen King Elementary Fucksticks Dear

We now concern ourselves with a labor less spectacular but nevertheless not unrewarding: that of making the terrain for these majestic moral edifices level and firm enough to be built upon; for under this ground there are all sorts of passageways, such as moles might have dug, left over from reason's vain but confident treasure hunting, that make every building insecure. (A319/B377) By Immanuel Kant Unrewarding Passageways Dug Left Hunting

Indignation caused Mercedes to puff out her cheeks temporarily, causing her narrow face to resemble a set of inflated fireplace bellows. "You don't like Mr. Swift any more than I do," she retorted. "No," Lillian said frankly. "But much as I hate to admit it, that puts us in a minority. Swift is liked by everyone in the northern hemisphere, including Westcliff and his friends, my friends, the servants, the neighbors - " "You are exaggerating - " " - children, animals and the higher order of plants," Lillian finished sardonically. "If root vegetables could talk, I've no doubt they would say they like him, too." Daisy, who was sitting by the window with a book, looked up with a sudden grin. "His charm doesn't extend to poultry," she said. By Lisa Kleypas Mercedes Lillian Indignation Temporarily Causing

Not that I am totally obsessed with merchantry!" said Glasswort Groof as she led them in an artful circle round the Market. "Goblins are well-rounded, though you'd never think it from the dastard tales folk tell of us. For example, I enjoy stamp collecting as well as haggling. The stamps that pay our letters' way Above are works of art, practically bigger than the envelope! I've an early Mallow three-kisser with a rampant rhinocentaur on it in pewter paint. Pride of my collection. And it goes without saying I'm quite the gardener. Goblin vegetables pack twice the punch of fruit with half the delicacy of a simpering little apricot. Soon turnips will be all the rage! By Catherynne M Valente Market Glasswort Groof Merchantry Totally

Anytime we make secondary things to become primary, we are in error. By Sunday Adelaja Anytime Primary Error Make Secondary

And you, Lord Bridgerton," she replied in a tone that could have frozen champagne, "are almost as handsome as your brother."Colin snorted again, only this time it sounded as if he were being strangled."Are you all right?" Miss Sheffield asked."He's fine," Anthony barked.She ignored him, keeping her attention on Colin. "Are you certain?"Colin nodded furiously. 'Tickle in my throat.""Or perhaps a guilty conscience?" Anthony suggested.Colin turned deliberately from his brother to Kate. "I think I might need another glass of lemonade," he gasped."Or maybe," said Anthony, "something stronger. Hemlock, perhaps? By Julia Quinn Lord Bridgerton Colin Champagne Brother

Whatever amuses, serves to kill time, to lull the faculties, and to banish reflection. Whatever entertains, usually awakens the understanding or gratifies the fancy. Whatever diverts, is lively in its nature, and sometimes tumultuous in its effects. By George Crabbe Amuses Serves Time Faculties Reflection

Shallan, weren't you supposed to be reading?""I ... had trouble concentrating.""So you came up on deck," Jasnah said, "to sketch pictures of young men working without their shirts on. You expected this to help your concentration? By Brandon Sanderson Shallan Reading Supposed Jasnah Concentrating

Why are our people going out there," said Mr. Boggis of the Thieves' Guild."Because they are showing a brisk pioneering spirit and seeking wealth and ... additional wealth in a new land," said Lord Vetinari."What's in it for the Klatchians?" said Lord Downey."Oh, they've gone out there because they are a bunch of unprincipled opportunists always ready to grab something for northern," said Lord Vetinari."A mastery summation, if I may say so, my lord," said Mr. Burleigh. The Patrician looked down again at his notes. "Oh, I do beg your pardon, I seem to have read those last to sentences in the wrong order ... By Terry Pratchett Lord Guild Vetinari Boggis Thieves

Desire, loneliness, wind in the flowering almondsurely these are the great, the inexhaustible subjectsto which my predecessors apprenticed themselves.I hear them echo in my own heart, disguised as convention. By Louise Gluck Desire Loneliness Wind Great Heart

I revere the memory of Mr. F. as an estimable man and most indulgent husband, only necessary to mention Asparagus and it appeared or to hint at any little delicate thing to drink and it came like magic in a pint bottle; it was not ecstasy but it was comfort. By Charles Dickens Asparagus Husband Bottle Comfort Revere

Prettier musings of high-wrought love and eternal constancy could never have passed along the streets of Bath, than Anne was sporting with from Camden-place to Westgate-buildings. It was almost enough to spread purification and perfume all the way. By Jane Austen Bath Westgatebuildings Anne Camdenplace Prettier

Yet the Narrator's quest is not only for his own identity and vocation. He seeks an understanding of art, sexuality and worldly and political affairs: he is a snoop and a voyeur; he comments and classifies; his taxonomic impulse makes the novel appear to be a vast compendium, replete with burrowing wasps and bedsteads, military strategies, stereoscopes, asparagus and aeroplanes. By Adam A. Watt Narrator Vocation Quest Identity Stereoscopes

A certain excessiveness seems a necessary element in all greatness. By Harvey Cushing Greatness Excessiveness Element

The immense profundity of thought in vulgar locutions, like holes dug by generations of ants. By Charles Baudelaire Locutions Ants Immense Profundity Thought

These are the sights, Harriet, to do one good. How trifling they make every thing else appear!I feel now as if I could think of nothing but these poor creatures all the rest of the day; and yet, who can say how soon it may all vanish from my mind? By Jane Austen Harriet Sights Good Day Mind

An eye-jangling assortment of spurious clan tartans, adorning every conceivable object made of fabric, from caps, neckties, and serviettes down to a particularly horrid yellow "Buchanan" sett used to make men's nylon Y-front underpants. By Diana Gabaldon Buchanan Neckties Yfront Tartans Adorning

I thought of many an autumn I had known: Seemly autumns approaching deliberately, with amplitude. I thought of wild asters, Michaelmas daisies, mushrooms, leaves idling down the air, two or three at a time, warblers twittering and glittering in every bush ('Confusing fall warblers,' Peterson calls them, and how right he is): the lingering yellow jackets feeding on broken apples; crickets; amber-dappled light; great geese barking down from the north; the seesaw noise that blue jays seem to make more often in the fall. Hoarfrost in the morning, cold stars at night. But slow; the whole thing coming slowly. The way it should be. By Elizabeth Enright Seemly Thought Autumn Autumns Deliberately

In sum, all actions and habits are to be esteemed good or evil by their causes and usefulness in reference to the commonwealth, and not by their mediocrity, nor by their being commended. For several men praise several customs, and, contrarily, what one calls vice, another calls virtue, as their present affections lead them. By Thomas Hobbes Sum Commonwealth Mediocrity Commended Actions

Giant sunflowers, like junkie scarecrows on the nod dozed in one spot with their dry heads dropped upon their breastbones. Their lives extended another day, flies buzzed everything within their range, monotonously eulogizing themselves, like the patriots who persist in praising the glory of a culture long after it is decadent and doomed. By Tom Robbins Giant Sunflowers Breastbones Junkie Scarecrows

MOS: And besides, sir, You are not like a thresher that doth stand With a huge flail, watching a heap of corn, And, hungry, dares not taste the smallest grain, But feeds on mallows, and such bitter herbs; Nor like the merchant, who hath fill'd his vaults With Romagnia, and rich Candian wines, Yet drinks the lees of Lombard's vinegar: You will not lie in straw, whilst moths and worms Feed on your sumptuous hangings and soft beds; You know the use of riches, and dare give now From that bright heap, to me, your poor observer, Or to your dwarf, or your hermaphrodite, Your eunuch, or what other household-trifle Your pleasure allows maintenance. By Ben Jonson Mos Romagnia Heap Candian Lombard

It had ended with a battle; Azalea raked the front page, and then the one's after, searching for any familiar names among the wounded."Anyone we know?" said Bramble. "Anyone ... at all?""No," said Azalea, relief sweeping over her. "No."Everyone exhaled."Not that we cared, naturally," said Bramble."Naturally," said Delphinium."I mean, I certainly don't.""Neither do I. By Heather Dixon Bramble Naturally Azalea Battle Page

As this is one of those deep observations which very few readers can be supposed capable of making themselves, I have thought proper to lend them my assistance; but this is a favour rarely to be expected in the course of my work. Indeed, I shall seldom or never so indulge him, unless in such instances as this, where nothing but the inspiration with which we writers are gifted can possibly enable anyone to make the discovery. By Henry Fielding Assistance Work Deep Observations Readers

Where on earth have you got to, man?" "In here," Alfred replied from the sanctuary of the foliage. "I think I've found it. Yes, there it is. Bloody good luck. I thank you for your help, Seton. You need not detain yourselves further." "At least join us for a late supper, Weston," Lord Seton pressed, peering into the By Michelle Mcmaster Man Alfred Earth Seton Weston

When the girl returned, some hours later, she carried a tray, with a cup of fragrant tea steaming on it; and a plate piled up with very hot buttered toast, cut thick, very brown on both sides, with the butter running through the holes in great golden drops, like honey from the honeycomb. The smell of that buttered toast simply talked to Toad, and with no uncertain voice; talked of warm kitchens, of breakfasts on bright frosty mornings, of cosy parlour firesides on winter evenings, when one's ramble was over and slippered feet were propped on the fender, of the purring of contented cats, and the twitter of sleepy canaries. By Kenneth Grahame Buttered Toast Returned Tray Cut

In reading some books we occupy ourselves chiefly with the thoughts of the author; in perusing others, exclusively with our own. By Edgar Allan Poe Author Exclusively Reading Books Occupy

A concentrated phenomenon based on vague motives. By Haruki Murakami Motives Concentrated Phenomenon Based Vague

Wolfe was going on. "I didn't have a client this morning, or even an hour ago, but now I have. Mr. Rowcliff's ferocious spasms, countenanced by you gentlemen, have made the challenge ineluctable. When Mr. Goodwin said that I was not concerned in this matter and that he was acting solely in his own personal interest, he was telling the truth. As you may know, he is not indifferent to those attributes of young women that constitute the chief reliance of our race in our gallant struggle against the menace of the insects. He is especially vulnerable to young women who possess not only those more obvious charms but also have a knack of stimulating his love of chivalry and adventure and his preoccupation with the picturesque and the passionate. By Rex Stout Wolfe Young Women Rowcliff Goodwin

Linton did not appear to remember what she talked of and he had evidently great difficulty in sustaining any kind of conversation. His lack of interest in the subjects she started, and his equal incapacity to contribute to her entertainment, were so obvious that she could not conceal her disappointment. An indefinite alteration had come over his whole person and manner. The pettishness that might be caressed into fondness, had yielded to a listless apathy; there was less of the peevish temper of a child which frets and teases on purpose to be soothed, and more of the self-absorbed moroseness of a confirmed invalid, repelling consolation, and ready to regard the good-humoured mirth of others as an insult. Catherine perceived, as well as I did, that he held it rather a punishment, than a gratification, to endure our company. By Emily Bronte Linton Conversation Remember Talked Evidently

APPENDIX A PREFACE TO THE CHEAP EDITION (1858) By Charles Dickens Appendix Edition Preface Cheap

Talleyrand said that two things are essential in life: to give good dinners and to keep on fair terms with women. As the years pass and fires cool, it can become unimportant to stay always on fair terms either with women or one's fellows, but a wide and sensitive appreciation of fine flavours can still abide with us, to warm our hearts. By M.f.k. Fisher Fair Talleyrand Life Terms Women

Our grandfathers were less well-housed, well-fed, well-clothed than we are. The strivings by which they bettered their lot are also those which deprived us of [Passenger] pigeons. Perhaps we now grieve because we are not sure, in our hearts, that we have gained by the exchange. The gadgets of industry bring us more comforts than the pigeons did, but do they add as much to the glory of the spring? By Aldo Leopold Wellfed Wellhoused Wellclothed Passenger Grandfathers

A nation or an individual, will do wisely to direct consumption chiefly to those articles, that are longest time in wearing out, and the most frequently in use. By Jean-Baptiste Say Individual Articles Nation Wisely Direct

Dammit, Billy. You had one job. One. Job.I moved my glare to my brother. "May I have a word?""Now?" he asked, looking and sounding almost delighted. Of note, delighted for Billy was imperturbably stoic for everyone else."Yes. Now." I bared my teeth in a grin.Billy's eyes moved between mine and I cursed his fastidious grooming. He'd taken extra care with the beard trimmer this afternoon. He also smelled like a profligate, cologne, and unrequited infatuation.My older brother turned and whispered something into Jennifer's ear. I stiffened, barely restraining the urge to grab him by his shirt collar and yank him down the hall.But I didn't. Instead I made a list of all his most treasured possessions for . . . reasons. By Penny Reid Dammit Billy Delighted Moved Brother

Final DispositionOthers divided closets full of mother's things.From the earth, I took her poppies.I wanted those fandango foldsof red and black chiffon she doted on,loving the wild and Moorish music of them,coating her tongue with the thin skinof their crimson petals.Snapping her fingers, flamenco dancer,she'd mock the clack of castanetsin answer to their gypsy cadence.She would crouch toward the flounce of flowers,twirl, stamp her foot, then kick it outas if to lift the ruffles, scarletalong the hemline of her yard.And so, I dug up, soil and all,the thistle-toothed and gray-green clumpsof leaves, the testicle seedpods and hairy stemsboth out of season, to transplant them in my less-exotic garden. There, they bloomher blood's abandon, year after year,roots holding, their poppy heads noddinga carefree, opium-ecstatic, possibly forever sleep. By Jane Glazer Moorish Flamenco Final Earth Fingers

Lou took a deep breath, inhaling the scent of just-cut flowers, fresh tamales from the food stands, and sunshine. She preferred the West Allis farmers' market to all others in the area, with its open sides, wide walkways, and rows of stalls. More recently, small tents serving hot sandwiches and fresh Mexican food had popped up outside the brick walls. It all looked so good, she'd learned long ago to come with limited funds or she would buy more produce than she could possibly use. She relished talking to the farmers, learning about what they grew and where. She liked to search for farmers growing something new and interesting she could use at Luella's.But today's visit was personal, not business. Sue had dragged her out to West Allis for a little lunch and some girl time with fall squash and Honeycrisp apples. By Amy E. Reichert Lou Breath Inhaling Flowers Stands

A village in a country which is taking pains to become altogether standardized and pure, which aspires to succeed Victorian England as the chief mediocrity of the world, is no longer merely provincial, no longer downy and restful in its leaf-shadowed ignorance. It is a force seeking to conquer the earth ... Sure of itself, it bullies other civilizations, as a traveling salesman in a brown derby conquers the wisdom of China and tacks advertisements of cigarettes over arches for centuries dedicated to the sayings of Confucius. By Sinclair Lewis Longer Victorian England Pure World

Sulfuric ether was sweet and hot, pungent and burning to the palate. It did not smell the least, to Nardi, of turpentine, but rather of large, white, oversweet flowers, fat, fleshy, prehistoric in their size and substance. He thought of these flowers as fringed, mouthed, and pistiled with sticky aroma, with pink-tipped, translucent styles and stigmas that moved in flower throats like beckoning fingers. Lush, languorously heavy, meltingly ephemeral, an indulgence to the New World tropics or an Old World greenhouse - something akin to night-blooming cereus. Ether, to him, was the nectar of such flowers, gathered and carried in the mouths of foot-long bumblebees, its aroma as old as Egypt, as modern as white walled hospitals, as personal and familiar as his own vague euphoric befuddlement. By Judy Cuevas Sulfuric Hot Pungent Palate Flowers

Every flower seems to burn by itself, softly, purely in the misty beds; and how she loved the grey-white moths spinning in and out, over the cherry pie, over the evening primroses! By Virginia Woolf Softly Purely Beds Pie Primroses

For all the prizes, recitals and honours that grace Gordon Walker's glittering career, he still likes nothing more than coming home back to play. "I do like my Burns Suppers in Ayrshire. I've piped in the haggis, addressed it and then piped it back out again. By Fergus Muirhead Gordon Walker Prizes Recitals Career

Pestom madam.""Yes, Floote, that! Brilliant. Full of garlic." To illustrate her point, she took another mouthful before continuing. "Seems they put garlic in positively everything here. Absolutely fantastic. By Gail Carriger Floote Pestom Madam Brilliant Garlic

And from the phlox and mignonette Rich attars drift on every hand; And when star-vestured twilight comes The pale moths weave a saraband. And crickets in the aisles of grass With their clear fifing pierce the hush; And somewhere you many hear anear The passion of the hermit thrush. By Clinton Scollard Rich Hand Saraband Phlox Mignonette

In East Sussex, let us say, an old farm sleeps in sun-dapple, its oast-house with its cowls echoing the distant steeple of SS Andrew and Mary, Fletching, where de Montfort had prayed and Gibbon now sleeps out a sceptic's eternity. The Sussex Weald is quiet now, its bows and bowmen that did affright the air at Agincourt long dust. A Chalk Hill Blue spreads peaceable wings upon the hedge. Easter is long sped, yet yellow and lavender yet ornament the land, in betony and dyer's greenweed and mallows. An inquisitive whitethroat, rejoicing in man's long opening of the Wealden country, trills jauntily from atop a wall. By G.m.w. Wemyss Fletching Mary Sleeps East Andrew

Drink a health to the wonders of the western world, the pirates, preachers, poteen-makers, with the jobbing jockies; parching peelers, and the juries fill their stomachs selling judgments of the English law. By John Millington Synge Preachers Poteenmakers English Drink World

Men like Carew, he knows, tend to blame him, Cromwell, for Anne's rise in the world; he facilitated it, he broke the old marriage and let in the new. He does not expect them to soften to him, to include him in their companionship; he only wants them not to spit in his dinner. By Hilary Mantel Cromwell Carew Anne Men Tend

an incantation of hatred. By William Golding Hatred Incantation

she had always considered that, far from the world of Ealing and its county councillors who over-ate and neighed like stallions, there were bright colonies of beings, chaste, beautiful in thought, altruist and circumspect. And, till that moment, she had imagined By Ford Madox Ford Chaste Ealing Stallions Beautiful Thought

They set great store by their gardens ... Their studie and deligence herein commeth not only of pleasure, but also of a certain strife and contention ... concerning the trimming, husbanding, and furnishing of their gardens; everye man or his owne parte. By Thomas More Gardens Set Great Store Husbanding

I am sticking as closely to my subject as I can; for my subject is precisely this, that it is the masses, the majority By Henrik Ibsen Subject Masses Majority Sticking Closely

Perhaps there can be too much making of cups of tea, I thought, as I watched Miss Statham filling the heavy teapot. Did we really need a cup of tea? I even said as much to Miss Statham and she looked at me with a hurt, almost angry look, 'Do we need tea? she echoed. 'But Miss Lathbury ... ' She sounded puzzled and distressed and I began to realise that my question had struck at something deep and fundamental. It was the kind of question that starts a landslide in the mind. I mumbled something about making a joke and that of course one needed tea always, at every hour of the day or night. By Barbara Pym Miss Statham Tea Thought Teapot

Zenia," he said, "I'm not good at it - tea and cakes. I have no patience with it." She looked directly at him. "I suppose you would prefer to eat on the ground with your fingers?" Her dry remark seemed to take him aback. He looked at her with a faint frown. "Shall I sprinkle some sand on the butter," she asked, "to put you more at ease?"He tilted up one corner of his mouth. "No." He lifted his cup, extending his little finger with an exaggerated delicacy. "I can play, if I must. How does your dear aunt do, Lady Winter? I hear she has the vapors once an hour. I have a receipt for a rhubarb plaster - most efficacious! Of course, if you prefer a more permanent cure, nothing can surpass a fatal dose of arsenic. By Laura Kinsale Zenia Tea Cakes Good Looked

Without feeling abashed by my ignorance, I confess that I am absolutely unable to say. In the absence of an appearance of learning, my answer has at least one merit, that of perfect sincerity. By Jean-Henri Fabre Ignorance Feeling Abashed Confess Absolutely

These notes, and that the reader who seeks primarily the pleasures By Alison Croggon Notes Pleasures Reader Seeks Primarily

The Challenge is to pry Bertie loose from Dain and his circle of oafish dengenerates," Jessica said severely. "It would be far more profitable to pry Dain loose for yourself," said her grandmother. "He is very wealthy, his lineage is excellent, he is young, strong, and healthy, and you feel a powerful attraction." "He isn't husband material." "What I have described is perfect husband material." said her grandmother. "I don't want a husband." "Jessica, no woman does who can regard men objectively. And you have always been magnificently objective. By Loretta Chase Challenge Bertie Dain Jessica Pry

CHAPTER XIV THE WINDING-UP By Charlotte Bronte Chapter Xiv Windingup

Ladislaw lingering behind while Naumann had gone into the Hall of Statues where he again saw Dorothea, and saw her in that brooding abstraction which made her pose remarkable. She did not really see the streak of sunlight on the floor more than she saw the statues: she was inwardly seeing the light of years to come in her own home and over the English fields and elms and hedge-bordered highroads; and feeling that the way in which they might be filled with joyful devotedness was not so clear to her as it had been. But in Dorothea's mind there was a current into which all thought and feeling were apt sooner or later to flow - the reaching forward of the whole consciousness towards the fullest truth, the least partial good. There was clearly something better than anger and despondency. By George Eliot Naumann Hall Statues Dorothea Ladislaw

What neat repast shall feast us, light and choice, Of Attic taste? By John Milton Attic Light Choice Taste Neat

Hearing often-times the still, sad music of humanity, nor harsh nor grating, though of ample power to chasten and subdue. By William Wordsworth Hearing Sad Humanity Grating Subdue

[H]is first purpose was to explain himself, and before they reached Mr. Allen's grounds he had done it so well that Catherine did not think it could ever be repeated too often. She was assured of his affection; and that heart in return was solicited, which, perhaps, they pretty equally knew was already entirely his own; for, though Henry was now sincerely attached to her, though he felt and delighted in all the excellencies of her character and truly loved her society, I must confess that his affection originated in nothing better than gratitude, or, in other words, that a persuasion of her partiality for him had been the only cause of giving her a serious thought. It is a new circumstance in romance, I acknowledge, and dreadfully derogatory of an heroine's dignity; but if it be as new in common life, the credit of a wild imagination will at least be all my own. By Jane Austen Allen Catherine Purpose Explain Reached

Mr Wingham has the advantage of being on the premises. He and the young lady play duets after dinner, which acts as a bond. Mr Little on these occasions, I understand, prowls about in the road, chafing visibly. By P.g. Wodehouse Wingham Premises Advantage Dinner Bond

The total person is first disclosed ... in areas of life that are lived frivolously. By Georges Bataille Disclosed Total Person Frivolously Areas