Society and the World

London is a riddle. Paris is an explanation.

THE LOWEST AND VILEST ALLEYS IN LONDON DO NOT PRESENT A MORE DREADFUL RECORD OF SIN THAN DOES THE SMILING AND BEAUTIFUL COUNTRYSIDE.

THE LOWEST AND VILEST ALLEYS IN LONDON DO NOT PRESENT A MORE DREADFUL RECORD OF SIN THAN DOES THE SMILING AND BEAUTIFUL COUNTRYSIDE.

We do not look in great cities for our best morality.

We do not look in great cities for our best morality.

The city is recruited from the country.

A large city cannot be experientially known; its life is too manifold for any individual to be able to participate in it.

A large city cannot be experientially known; its life is too manifold for any individual to be able to participate in it.

City life is millions of people being lonesome together.

A SMALL COUNTRY TOWN IS NOT THE PLACE IN WHICH ONE WOULD CHOOSE TO QUARREL WITH A WIFE; EVERY HUMAN BEING IN SUCH PLACES IS A SPY.

PARIS IS A WOMAN BUT LONDON IS AN INDEPENDENT MAN PUFFING HIS PIPE IN A PUB.

I have never understood why anybody agreed to go on being a rustic after about 1400.

Of course I have played outdoor games. I once played dominoes in an open-air cafe in Paris.

THE FASCINATION OF SHOOTING AS A SPORT DEPENDS ALMOST WHOLLY ON WHETHER YOU ARE AT THE RIGHT OR WRONG END OF THE GUN.

The profession of book writing makes horse racing seem like a solid, stable business.

GOLF IS A DAY SPENT IN A ROUND OF STRENUOUS IDLENESS.

Serious sport has nothing to do with fair play. It is bound up with hatred, jealousy, boastfulness, disregard of all rules and sadistic pleasure in witnessing violence: in other words, it is war minus the shooting.

It is foolish and quite unfitting for an educated man to spend all his time on acquiring bulging muscles, a thick neck and mighty thighs. The large amounts they are compelled to eat make them dull-witted.

SUDDEN SUCCESS IN GOLF IS LIKE THE SUDDEN ACQUISITION OF WEALTH. IT IS APT TO UNSETTLE AND DETERIORATE THE CHARACTER.

If all the year were playing holidays, To sport would be as tedious as to work.

There are only three sports: bullfighting, motor racing, and mountaineering; all the rest are merely games.

HOW LITTLE OUR CAREERS EXPRESS WHAT LIES IN US, AND YET HOW MUCH TIME THEY TAKE UP. IT’S SAD, REALLY.

ANY DAMN FOOL CAN BEG UP SOME KIND OF JOB; IT TAKES A WISE MAN TO MAKE IT WITHOUT WORKING.

If at first you don’t succeed, failure may be your style.