Ernest Bramah Quotations

At the mention of the name and offence of this degraded being a great sound went up from the entire multitude - a universal cry of execration, not greatly dissimilar from that which may be frequently heard in the crowded Temple of Impartiality when the one whose duty it is to take up, at a venture, the folded papers, announces that the sublime Emperor, or some mandarin of exalted rank, has been so fortunate as to hold the winning number in the Annual State Lottery.

Before hastening to secure a possible reward of five taels by dragging an unobservant person away from a falling building, examine well his features lest you find, when too late, that it is one to whom you are indebted for double that amount.

Should a person on returning from the city discover his house to be in flames, let him examine well the change which he has received from the chair-carrier before it is too late; for evil never travels alone.

Alas! It is well written, The road to eminence lies through the cheap and exceedingly uninviting eating-houses.

Do not adjust your sandals while passing through a melon-field, nor yet arrange your hat beneath an orange-tree.

The one-legged never stumble.

However deep you dig a well it affords no refuge in the time of flood.

Although there exist many thousand subjects for elegant conversation, there are persons who cannot meet a cripple without talking about feet.

Eat in the dark the bargain that you purchased in the dusk.

Where the road bends abruptly, take short steps.