Temptations are manifold in this world, Regina. Henrik Ibsen, Ghosts, Engstrand
Your father is not a man of strong character, Miss Engstrand. ibid. Manders
I mean people in such independent and influential positions that one cannot help attaching some weight to their opinions. ibid.
Oh that that great, free, glorious life out there should be defiled in such a way! ibid. Oswald
It is the very mark of the spirit of rebellion to crave for happiness in this life. ibid. Manders to Mrs Alving
You have been all your life under the dominion of a pestilent spirit of self-will. ibid.
I am timid and faint-hearted because of the ghosts that hang about me, and I can never quite shake off. ibid.
Ghosts! When I heard Regina and Oswald in there, it was as though ghosts rose up before me. But I almost think we are all of us ghosts, Pastor Manders. It is not only what we have inherited from our father and mother that ‘walks’ in us. It is all sorts of dead ideas, and lifeless old beliefs, and so forth. They have no vitality, but they cling to us all the same, and we cannot shake them off. Whenever I take up a newspaper, I seem to see ghosts gliding between the lines. There must be ghosts all the country over, as thick as the sands of the sea And then we are, one and all, so pitifully afraid of the light. ibid. Mrs Alving
Mother, my mind is broken down – ruined – I shall never be able to work again. ibid. Oswald to Mrs Alving
A living death! Mother, can you imagine anything so horrible? ibid.
The Joy of Life? Can there be salvation in that? ibid. Mrs Alving
Here people are brought up to believe that work is a curse and a punishment for sin, and that life is something miserable, something it would be best to have done with, sooner or later. ibid. Oswald
Rozzer: How long were you married?
Phyllis Segal: Ten years. Too long. ITV Playhouse: Suspect, ITV 1969
We’re making enquiries into a little girl who’s gone missing. ibid. rozzer
At least one local person knows who the murderer is but simply can’t believe it. ibid. lead rozzer
She was sexually assaulted before death. ibid.
Julian Crawford? I don’t believe you … and you say they are blackmailing Crawford? Look, I don’t touch this sort of story any more. I used to. ITV Playhouse: Rumour, Sam to Lisa Curtis, ITV 1970
Lisa Curtis suggested there was some kind of organisation behind it. ibid. Sam to Mike
Rumours hurt people … Rumour is a lethal weapon. Unfortunately, Fleet Street and Westminster thrive on it. ibid. Mike
The nightmarish world Lisa moved in and the men she met there. ibid. Sam
Nobody cares. You’re all blind. ibid.
Is the boy likely to get a fair trial? ITV Playhouse: Justice is a Woman, Mr Berisford, ITV 1969
It reads like an open and shut case for the prosecution. ibid. Miss Stanford
Alan Harper, you have been found not guilty of the crime of murder. ibid. judge
She is to be commended. ibid.
You are totally disinterested – no humour and no warmth. ITV Playhouse: Mr Axelford’s Angel by Peter Whitbread, departing secretary, ITV 1974
It rained. The bottom of the bag got wet. ibid. Angel Roper arrives
I’m sorry I made a mess of it this morning. I’m naturally clumsy. ibid.
I think it would be a very good thing if you married me. ibid. Axelford over curry
When Miss Roper comes in tell her she’s fired. [enter Miss Roper] Cancel that. ibid.
It feels like emptiness, doesn’t it, with nothing to fill it. ibid. Angel Roper to Axelford
Axelford: There’s no dignity in love.
Angel Roper: What will you do when I’m gone? ibid.
I accept your offer. ibid. her to him
Are you the two lads that are always borrowing cars? ITV Playhouse: Last Summer, man with proposition, ITV 1977
If you were thinking of going to work again, give me a ring. ibid.
Three golden rules: use your loaf, never panic, and don’t drop your prices. ibid.
I know this doesn’t smell very nice but we must keep the bugs at bay. The Bank Manager’s Wife by Valerie Kershaw, Dorie talks to plants, ITV 1983
My husband doesn’t like change. An active man. He’s retiring from the bank in November. ibid. Dorie talks to new neighbour
We’ll have to pull our horns in and get properly organised. ibid. George to Dorie
You’ve been outside in your slippers. ibid.
I’m peculiar, that’s a fact. Maybe I’m dead. ibid. Dorie to self
I elicit from people of all kinds a common and constant level of indifference. Harold Pinter, No Man’s Land, Spooner; written 1974; viz Gielgud & Richard TV 1978
Do you often hang about Hampstead Heath? ibid.
I am too old for any kind of expectation. ibid.
I have never been loved: from this I derive my strength. ibid.
Too many glasses of ale followed by the great malt which wounds, which wounds. ibid.
Food? I never touch it. ibid.
You were no farmer, sir. A weekend wanker. ibid. Hirst
A young poet should travel and suffer. ibid. Spooner
You are no man’s land which never moves, which never changes, never grows older, which remains for ever icy and silent. ibid.
There’s an Inspector-General coming … I had a sort of presentiment of it: all last night I dreamt about a pair of monstrous rats. Nikolai Gogol, The Government Inspector, Governor; viz BBC 1957
Russia wants to make war, and the government has surreptitiously sent an official to see if there’s any dissatisfaction anywhere. ibid. Judge
I tell everyone plainly I take bribes, but what kind of bribes? Why, greyhound puppies. That’s a totally different matter. ibid.
Too much knowledge is worse than none at all. ibid. Judge
Well, I’m no coward, but I am just a little uncomfortable. ibid. Governor
The sick were ordered to have oatmeal porridge. Instead of that, there’s such a smell of cabbages in all my corridors that you are obliged to hold your nose. ibid. Charity Commissioner
But have the sick got well? There were no many of them it seemed. ibid. Khlestakov
Why tomorrow they’re going to make me a Field-Marshal. ibid.
You find it profitable, I dare say, being a judge? ibid. Khlestakov
I never accept bribes. But if you offered me a loan of say three hundred roubles, that would be another matter. ibid. Khlestakov
I’ll send your bill in about two weeks’ time. It’ll take that long to add up. Thirty-Minute Theatre: Mill Hill starring Peter Cook, writer John Mortimer, dentist, BBC 1972
Denise: Remember the first time we set eyes on each other?
Peter: Oh of course. When was it? ibid.
Peter: Have you browsed through at all any of the standard works on, on sexual deviation?
Denise: I was trained as a dental nurse. ibid.
Most the cheques are drawn by Mrs Bell … Don’t you think you ought to find out? Armchair Cinema: In Sickness and in Health, bank manager to Dr Bell, Thames TV 1975
I don’t like it here. I don’t like the squalor. ibid. wife Kate
Call yourself a respectable businessman? You’re the biggest crook of the lot. Armchair Cinema: Tully starring Anthony Valentine, old lag to Tully, Thames TV 1975
The Covent Garden Robbery. You stand to lose two million sterling. Well, your company, that is. And I stand to lose ten per cent. ibid. Tully to semi-naked lady
This was no fire. See you in court. ibid. Tully to antiques dealer
This is your afternoon off. And moreover, today is the day. Alan Bennett, Afternoon Office, waiter to Lee, LWT 1979
I want to meet young ladies. English young ladies. ibid. Lee
No sitting. I’ve told you once. ibid. art gallery bloke to Lee