Ernest Bramah (March 20, 1868 – June 27, 1942), born Ernest Brammah Smith, was an English author of 21 books and numerous short stories and features. His humorous works were ranked with Jerome K Jerome, and W.W. Jacobs; his detective stories with Conan Doyle; his politico-science fiction with H.G. Wells; and his supernatural stories with Algernon Blackwood. George Orwell acknowledged that Bramah's book What Might Have Been influenced his Nineteen Eighty-Four. (Click here for full Wikipedia article)
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A reputation for a thousand years may depend upon the conduct of a single moment.
Although there exist many thousand subjects for elegant conversation, there are persons who cannot meet a cripple without talking about feet.
Do not adjust your sandals while passing through a melon-field, nor yet arrange your hat beneath an orange-tree.
Eat in the dark the bargain that you purchased in the dusk.
He who has failed three times sets up as an instructor.
However deep you dig a well it affords no refuge in the time of flood.
It is proverbial that from a hungry tiger and an affectionate woman there is no escape.
One learns to itch where one can scratch.
One may ride upon a tiger's back but it is fatal to dismount.
The one-legged never stumble.
The road to eminence lies through the cheap and exceedingly uninviting eating-houses.
The wiser the sage, the more profound the folly.
There are few situations in life that cannot be honourably settled, and without loss of time, either by suicide, a bag of gold, or by thrusting a despised antagonist over the edge of a precipice upon a dark night.
When an alluring woman comes in at the door, discretion may be found up the chimney.
When struck by a thunderbolt it is unnecessary to consult the Book of Dates as to the precise meaning of the omen.
Where the road bends abruptly, take short steps.
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(March 20 is also the birthday of Henrik Ibsen and Ovid.)
Categories: Ernest Bramah, Quotes of the day
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