History Quotes / Britain

"England is my city"

->The members of the English Parliament are fond of comparing themselves to the old Romans...In my opinion, the majesty of the people of England has nothing in common with that of the people of Rome, much less is there any affinity between their Governments. There is in London a senate, some of the members whereof are accused (doubtless very unjustly) of selling their voices on certain occasions, as was done in Rome; this is the only resemblance. Besides, the two nations appear to me quite opposite in character, with regard both to good and evil. The Romans never knew the dreadful folly of religious wars, an abomination reserved for devout preachers of patience and humility...But here follows a more essential difference between Rome and England, which gives the advantage entirely to the latter...that [[UsefulNotes/TheRomanEmpire the civil wars of Rome ended in slavery]], and [[UsefulNotes/WarsOfTheRoses those]] [[UsefulNotes/EnglishCivilWar of]] [[UsefulNotes/HanoverStuartWars the English]] in liberty. The English are the only people upon earth who have been able to prescribe limits to the power of kings by resisting them; and who, by a series of struggles, have at last established that wise Government where [[Literature/ThePrince the Prince]] is all powerful to do good, [[PowerLimiter and, at the same time, is restrained]] from committing evil; where the nobles are great without insolence, though there are no vassals; and where the people share in the Government without confusion.

->During the LA riots English people were trying to sympathize with me. ''"Oh Bill, crime is horrible. If it's any consolation, crime is awful here, too."'' '''[[PretenderDiss SHUT UP.]]''' You gotta see English crime. It's hilarious. You don't know if you're reading the front page or the comic section over there. I swear to God. I read an article front page of the paper one day, in England: ''"Yesterday, some hooligans knocked over a dustbin in Shaftesbury."'' Ooooh yhe hooligans are loose! The hooligans are loose! What if they become ''ruffians?'' I would hate to be a dustbin in Shaftesbury tonight.

-> ''"Children in Britain are notoriously stupid and must attend schools."''

-> ''"That's what I love about the British. Your talent for {{Understatement}}... that, and [[Creator/MontyPython Python]]."''

->''"Fog in the Channel, Continent Cut Off."''

->''"I don't want to go back to England. I can't suffer through the London Olympics -- we're not prepared, Liz! Did you see the Beijing opening ceremonies? We don't have control over our people like that!"''

->''"Did your life flash before your eyes? 'Cuppa tea, cuppa tea, almost got shagged, cuppa tea'??"''

->''"The British are obsolete, like Fortran. I mean, the metric system? Don’t make me puke. Britain, ha ha! They measure things with rocks over there!"''

->''"What's Britain like? Uhh, s'alright... We've got, uh, Nectar Points. They're quite handy. Um... we've got {{understatement}}... We're tough on slogans, [[UsefulNotes/TonyBlair tough on the causes]] [[HypocriticalHumour of slogans]]... [[UsefulNotes/BritishWeather We have strong prevailing south-westerly winds...]] 52% of our days are [[GraveClouds overcast]], [[SophisticatedAsHell so as a nation we're infused with a wistful melancholy]], but we remain a [[StiffUpperLip relentlessly chipper population]] prone to [[BunnyEarsLawyer mild eccentricity]], [[TheAlcoholic binge drinking]] and [[ViolentGlaswegian casual violence]]. Breakfast is served 7 til 9."''

->''" Did your life flash before your eyes? 'Cuppa tea, cuppa tea, almost got shagged, cuppa tea'??"

-->--''LittleBritain''

-->--'''Alpha''', ''{{Dollhouse}}''

-->--A (possibly apocryphal) [[QueenVicky Victorian]] newspaper headline, neatly summing up Britain's view of the world.

->''"What's Britain like? Uhh, s'alright... We've got, uh, Nectar Points. They're quite handy. Um... we've got {{understatement}}... We're tough on slogans, [[TonyBlair tough on the causes]] [[HypocriticalHumour of slogans]]... [[UsefulNotes/BritishWeather We have strong prevailing south-westerly winds...]] 52% of our days are [[GraveClouds overcast]], [[SophisticatedAsHell so as a nation we're infused with a wistful melancholy]], but we remain a [[StiffUpperLip relentlessly chipper population]] prone to [[BunnyEarsLawyer mild eccentricity]], [[TheAlcoholic binge drinking]] and [[ViolentGlaswegian casual violence]]. Breakfast is served 7 til 9."''
-->--'''BillBailey''', ''Part Troll''

->''"What's Britain like? Uhh, s'alright... We've got, uh, Nectar Points. They're quite handy. Um... we've got {{understatement}}... We're tough on slogans, [[TonyBlair tough on the causes]] [[HypocriticalHumour of slogans]]... [[BritishWeather We have strong prevailing south-westerly winds...]] 52% of our days are [[GraveClouds overcast]], [[SophisticatedAsHell so as a nation we're infused with a wistful melancholy]], but we remain a [[StiffUpperLip relentlessly chipper population]] prone to [[BunnyEarsLawyer mild eccentricity]], [[TheAlcoholic binge drinking]] and [[ViolentGlaswegian casual violence]]. Breakfast is served 7 til 9."''

-> ''"That's what I love about the British. Your talent for {{Understatement}}... that, and [[MontyPython Python]]."''

-->--A (possibly apocryphal) [[QueenVicky Victorian]] newspaper headline, neatly summing up Britain's view of the world.

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-->-- '''Wesley''', ''ThirtyRock''

-> "Children in Britain are notoriously [[ViewersAreMorons stupid]] and must attend schools."

-> "That's what I love about the British. Your talent for {{Understatement}}... that, and [[MontyPython Python]]."
-->--Alpha, ''{{Dollhouse}}''

->"Fog in the Channel, Continent Cut Off."

->"I don't want to go back to England. I can't suffer through the London Olympics - we're not prepared, Liz! Did you see the Beijing opening ceremonies? We don't have control over our people like that!"
-->- '''Wesley''', ''ThirtyRock''

-->[-Visit unabridged version [[{{UsefulNotes/Britain}} HERE]]-]
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->"I don't want to go back to England. I can't suffer through the London Olympics - we're not prepared, Liz! Did you see the Beijing opening ceremony? We don't have control over our people like that!"

->"Fog in the Channel, Continent Isolated."