'Nothing, like something, happens anywhere.'
Phillip Larkin, from his poem I Remember, I Remember
"It was a bright, cold day in April and all the clocks were striking thirteen."
George Orwell, from his novel 1984
"My father was a mulatto, my grandfather was a Negro, and my great-grandfather a monkey. You see, Sir, my family starts where yours ends."
Alexandre Dumas, on the subject of his mixed-racial background.
"The only difference between our Churches in their opinions of the certainty of their doctrines is, the Church of Rome is infallible and the Church of England is never in the wrong."
Benjamin Franklin, from his speech on the U.S. Constitution
"I can never remember whether it snowed for six days and six nights when I was twelve or whether it snowed for twelve days and twelve nights when I was six."
Dylan Thomas, A Child's Christmas In Wales