Many people were richer, there can have been few who were idler

I was born on July 13th, 1903, at 32 Gosvenor Square, a space now occupied by the American Embassy. My parents belonged to a section of society known as 'the idle rich', and although in that golden age, many people were richer, there can have been few who were idler. They took no part in public affairs, do not read the newspapers, and where almost entirely without the old upper-class feeling of responsibility for their tenants.

K. Clark, Another part of the wood (1974), 1

Measurement, like speech and play, is the cornerstone of cognition

Measurement, like speech and play, is the cornerstone of cognition. It encourages us to pay attention to the boundaries of the world, to notice where the line ends up and the scales tip. It requires that we compare one portion of reality to another and describe the differences, creating a scaffolding of knowledge. … If we could not measure, then we could not observe the world around us; could not experiment and learn. Measurement allows us to record the past and by doing so uncover patterns that help predict the future

J. Vincent, Beyond measure (2022), 1

An arcane world - a world of averages, aggregates and algorithms - suddenly became accessible

When Romeo laid eyes on Juliet he gushed: "I ne'er saw true beauty till this night." A million cricket nuts felt much the same way the first time they logged on to StatsGuru on CricInfo. Hearts skipped. Pulses danced. Minds boggled. An arcane world  - a world of averages, aggregates and algorithms - suddenly became accessible. The impossible was possible.

C. Ryan, 'No anorak required', T. de Lisle (ed.), Wisden Cricketers' Almanack (2003), 60

The past is a foreign country: they do things differently there

The past is a foreign country: they do things differently there

L.P. Hartley, The Go between (1953), 1

Two points:
1. I hadn't ever realised this was from a novel as recent as the 50s, but have now discovered it. It's a great line, one every historian who is asked to demonstrate relevance of their work would do well to reply with.
2. Reading the book, it astonished me how many people commented on the Yellow Pages advert that refers to J.R. Hartley. That ad was first shown in 1983! Extraordinary.

It was the afternoon of my eighty-first birthday

It was the afternoon of my eighty-first birthday, and I was in bed with my catamite when Ali announced that the archbishop had come to see me.

A. Burgess, Earthly Powers (1980), 1