I then measured them by their prowess at sport or taste in Burgundy

We were the usual miscellaneous collection of brains and brawn, and though many of my contemporaries have become famous, illustrious in the Church, Politics and all the Arts, I then measured them by their prowess at sport or taste in Burgundy and remained unimpressed by their mental gymnastics 

A.C. de Wiart, Happy Odyssey (1950), 16

Most of these have now left most of us, thanks to antibiotics, plumbing, civilization, and money

Until a few decades ago, bacteria were a genuine household threat, and although most of us survived them, we were always aware of the nearness of death. We moved, with our families, in and out of death. We had lobar pneumonia, meningococcal meningitis, streptococcal infections, diphtheria, endocarditis, enteric fevers, various septicemias, syphilis, and, always, everywhere, tuberculosis. Most of these have now left most of us, thanks to antibiotics, plumbing, civilization, and money, but we remember.

L. Thomas, 'Germs', The Lives of a Cell (1974), 76

A typical scientific paper has never pretended to be more than another little piece in a larger jigsaw

A regular journal carries from one research worker to another the various... observations which are of common interest.... A typical scientific paper has never pretended to be more than another little piece in a larger jigsaw-not significant in itself but as an element in a grander scheme. This technique, of soliciting many modest contributions to the store of human knowledge, has been the secret of Western science since the seventeenth century, for it achieves a corporate, collective power that is far greater than one individual can exert

J.M. Ziman, cited in L. Thomas, 'On societies as organisms', The Lives of a Cell (1974), 15

Like most people of weak moral fibre he was thoroughly engaging

Most of all I enjoyed Steve's company. Like most people of weak moral fibre he was thoroughly engaging. It is a sad reflection that everyone admires people of strong moral fibre but nobody shows any inclination to stay with them for more than five minutes.

W. Cooper, Scenes from Provincial life (1950), 43

And to paint with passion, you must paint things that passionately interest you

And to paint with passion, you must paint things that passionately interest you, moving things, human things. Nobody, except a mystical pantheist, like Van Gogh, can seriously be as much interested in napkins, apples and bottles as in his lover's face, or the resurrection, or the destiny of man. Could Mantegna have devised his splendid compositions if he had painted arrangements of Chianti flasks and cheeses instead of Crucifixions, martyrs and triumphs of the great men? Nobody but a fool could believe it.

A. Huxley, Antic Hay (1923), 85

From the heyday of Waugh and Wodehouse, the brandy habit has declined amongst the British

From the heyday of Waugh and Wodehouse, the brandy habit has declined amongst the British but it's now massive amongst hip hop types in America. Courvoisier and Hennessy are the favoured brands. So successful has this unlikely collaboration been that Max Beaulieu, from cognac-expert.com, thinks their should be a statue of Busta Rhymes in Cognac. You should Google Beaulieu’s interview with the writer Nicholas Faith just to hear Faith reciting rap lyrics in his patrician English accent [it's from 13:05]. I was going to quote some but there is an awful lot of swearing.

It’s a long way from Wodehouse.

H. Jeffreys, Empire of Booze (2016), 169

In the Guardian article version of this chapter, he quotes Ja Rule’s (of whom I have never heard): “Feel the rage as it stirs behind me, I don’t give a fuck as they don’t give a fuck about me. I keep drinking Hennessy, bustin’ at my enemies.”

There was a very influential beer faction in the House of Lords that became known as the Beerage

There was a very influential beer faction in the House of Lords that became known as the Beerage. The Liberals blamed the loss of the 1874 General Election on the influence of the big brewers and distillers in the Conservative Party. Gladstone's Licensing Acts of 1870 had disturbed those vested interests. Gladstone wrote that "More immediately operative causes have determined the elections. I have no doubt what is the principal. We have been borne down in a torrent of gin and beer.

H. Jeffreys Empire of Booze (2016), 136