His head was boiled, impaled upon a pole and raised above London Bridge. So ended the life of Thomas More, one of the few Londoners upon whom sainthood has been conferred and the first English layman to be beatified as a martyr.
English writing tends to fall into two categories - the big, baggy epic novel or the fairly controlled, tidy novel. For a long time, I was a fan of the big, baggy novel, but there's definitely an advantage to having a little bit more control.
When I began to travel around the country, I would notice in places like Los Angeles, Chicago, Phoenix and even Texas that Latinos didn't want to speak Spanish. You would ask a question, only to be answered in English.
John Robie: I only regret one thing. Danielle Foussard: That you never asked me to marry you? John Robie: No, that I never taught you better English.
John Milton: [chanting in Latin] Diaboli virtus in lumbis est. Diaboli virtus in lumbis est. [continues chant in English] John Milton: The virtue of the devil is in his loins.
Dr. King Schultz: I wish to parlez with you. Dicky Speck: Speak English. Dr. King Schultz: Oh, I'm sorry, please forgive me. it *is* a second language.
English: Sometimes I think that's all this place is. One... long... count. The prisoners count the hours, the bulls count the prisoners and the king bulls count the counts.
Capt. Bart Mancuso: You, you speak English? Red October Officer: Yes, sir. Capt. Bart Mancuso: Get your butt over here!
Sushi Bar Assistant: [in Japanese] I'm not bald, okay? I shaved my head. Sushi Bar Assistant: [in English] Understand?
Prince Feisal: To be great again, it seems that we need the english... or... T.E. Lawrence: Or? Prince Feisal: What no man can provide, Mr. Lawrence. We need a miracle.
[neither understands the other's language] Jamie: [in English] It's my favorite time of day, driving you. Aurelia: [in Portuguese] It's the saddest part of my day, leaving you.
[after arriving in the deserted concentration camp in a tank, trying to speak to an Italian boy in English] U.S. Tank Soldier: You have no idea what I'm saying, do you?
Miss Froy: I never think you should judge any country by its politics. After all, we English are quite honest by nature, aren't we?
[after hearing of his father's death] Gareth Peirce: [With tears in her eyes] Well, I think they ought to take the word 'compassion' out of the English dictionary.
Jules: I don't know why, I just thought he'd be European or something because he... Vincent: Yeah, man, he's about as European as fuckin' English Bob.
Tracy Lord: English history has always facinated me. Cromwell, Robin Hood, Jack the Ripper. Where did he teach? You're father, I mean.
Sophie: [in broken English] I am six months in the... in here, in U.S., and so I eat more good now than in my life.
Bullet Tooth Tony: A bookie's got blagged last night. Avi: Blagged? Speak English to me, Tony. I thought this country spawned the fucking language, and so far nobody seems to speak it.
Little Bill Daggett: [talking to English Bob, and refering to a book] That you here, Bob, on the cover? "The Duck of Death?" W.W. Beauchamp: Duke. It's the Duke. "Duke of Death."
The old process of social assimilation used to be mainly about English new money - generated in London, the mucky, brassy North or the colonies - buying those houses and restoring them, and doing the three-generation thing, mouldering into the landsc...
I studied French in high school and German in college and I once took a 24-hour Italian crash course. English has by far the most words in it of any other language. Our money might not be worth anything anymore, but the language is.
