W. S. Gilbert Quotes
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Who knows but we may count among our intellectual chickens
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I am the Captain of the Pinafore ; And a right good captain too! . . . . And I'm never, never sick at sea! What, never? No, never! What never? Hardly ever! He's hardly ever sick at sea! Then give three cheers, and one cheer more, For the hardy Captain of the Pinafore!
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When the enterprising burglar isn't burgling; When the cut-throat isn't occupied in crime; He loves to hear the little brook a-gurgling; And listen to the merry village chime.
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Things are seldom what they seem.
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Oh! a private buffoon is a light-hearted loon,
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It's true I've got no shirts to wear;
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I've an irritating chuckle, I've a celebrated sneer,
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If your master is surly, from getting up early
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Strike the concertina's melancholy string!
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A popular speaker, however unpopular and insignificant, has only to wind up his speech with half-a-dozen lines of Shakespeare (and to make it clearly understood that they are Shakespeare's) and he will sit down amid thunders of applause.
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Bless your heart, they don't mind--they're exceedingly
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As is gloriously sung in the Gilbert and Sullivan operetta "H.M.S. Pinafore," in the words of W. S. Gilbert: "Things are seldom as they seem, Skim milk masquerades as cream."
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I am the very model of a modern Major-General, I've information vegetable, animal, and mineral, I know the kings of England, and I quote the fights historical, From Marathon to Waterloo, in order categorical.
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On my face extended flat
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Saturday afternoon, although occurring at regular and well-foreseen intervals, always takes this railway by surprise.
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A man is but an ass
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When Wellington thrashed Bonaparte,
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He led his regiment from behind. He found it less exciting.
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After many unhappy experiments in the direction of an ideal Republic, it was found that what may be described as a Despotism tempered by Dynamite provides, on the whole, the most satisfactory description of ruler - an autocrat who dares not abuse his autocratic power.
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My family pride is something inconceivable. I can't help it. I was born sneering.
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Roll on, thou ball, roll on!
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He did nothing in particular, and did it very well.
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Deerstalking would be a very fine sport if only the deer had guns.
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No good play is a success; fine writing and high morals are useless on the stage. I have been scribbling twaddle for thirty-five years to suit the public taste, and I should know.