Quotations, Reference 

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 this revised and expanded edition of the Concise 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 9,000 quotations from more than 2,000 authors. Offering all the authority and accuracy of the acclaimed Oxford Dictionary of Quotations, the Concise now includes recent quotes of the 1990s, as well as new appendices on Sayings of the Nineties, Slogans, and Popular Misquotations. This is a literary banquet, a feast of the finest excerpts of poets and novelists, essayists and historians. From Homer, Shakespeare, and the Bible to the sound-bites of today's politicians and pop stars, this indispensable guide is unceasingly entertaining for the general reader and a highly practical reference for study or speech-writing. Perhaps the most useful feature of this dictionary is a keyword index, for tracing half-remembered quotations to their authors, or finding quotations on a particular subject. An ideal reference for any home or office library, The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Quotations, Revised Edition is a constant source of entertainment and inspiration for public speakers, writers, or anyone else who enjoys a sparkling line or a spirited reply. - from Amzon