This land of such dear souls, this dear, dear land,
Dear for her reputation through the world,
Is now leased out, – I die pronouncing it, –
Like to a tenement or pelting farm:
England, bound in with the triumphant sea,
Whose rocky shore beats back the envious siege
Of watery Neptune, is now bound with shame,
With inky blots, and rotten parchment bonds:
That England, that was wont to conquer others,
Hath made a shameful conquest of itself. William Shakespeare, Richard II II i @40
This England never did, nor never shall,
Lie at the proud foot of a conqueror. William Shakespeare, King John V vii, Bastard to Prince Henry et al
A trick of our English nation when they have a good thing to make it too common. William Shakespeare, Henry IV II, Globe Theatre, Sky Arts 2012
Then you perceive the body of our kingdom,
How foul it is, what rank diseases grow,
And with what danger near the heart of it. William Shakespeare, II Henry IV III i 37-39, King Henry to Warwick
O England! model to thy inward greatness,
Like little body with a mighty heart,
What might’st thou do, that honour would thee do,
Were all thy children kind and natural!
But see thy fault! William Shakespeare, Henry V II chorus
Dieu de batailles! Where have they this mettle?
Is not their climate foggy, raw, and dull,
On whom as in despite the sun looks pale,
Killing their fruit with frowns? Can sodden water,
A drench for sur-reined jades – their barley-broth –
Decoct their blood to such valiant heat? ibid. III v 15-20, Constable to Dauphin, King Charles and court
That island of England breeds very valiant creatures. ibid. III vii 137-138, Rambures
The poor condemned English,
Like sacrifices, by their watchful fires
Sit patiently and inly ruminate
The morning's danger, and their gesture sad
Investing lank-lean; cheeks and war-worn coats
Presenteth them unto the gazing moon
So many horrid ghosts. ibid. IV prologue
He shall with speed to England,
For the demand of our neglected tribute. William Shakespeare, Hamlet III i 168-169, King
This royal throne of kings, this sceptred isle, this earth of majesty, this seat of Mars, this other Eden, demi-paradise, this fortress built by Nature for herself against infection and the hand of war, this happy breed of men, this little world, this precious stone set in the silver sea ... This blessed plot, this Earth, this realm, this England, the land of such dear souls, this dear dear land. The Hollow Crown: Richard II, BBC 2012, starring Ben Whishaw & Rory Kinnear & Patrick Stewart & David Suchet & David Morrissey & Lindsay Duncan & Tom Hughes & James Purefoy & Clemence Poesy & Ferdinand Kinsley et al, director Rupert Goold, John O’Gaunt
Thus comes the English with full power upon us. Henry V 1989 starring Kenneth Branagh & Brian Blessed & Charles Kay & Paul Scofield & Derek Jacobi & Christian Bale & Simon Shepherd & Alex McCowen & Judi Dench & John Sessions & Michael Maloney & Tom Whitehouse et al, director Kenneth Branagh, King of France
O now you noblest English. ibid. Henry
Harry, England and Saint George! ibid.
Is not their climate foggy, raw, dull. ibid.
Be England what she will,
With all her faults, she is my country still. Charles Churchill, 1731-64, The Candidate
England – a happy land we know
Where follies naturally grow. Charles Churchill, The Ghost
Let no-one sneer at the bruisers of England. George Borrow
England, ah faithless England, which the protection afforded by its seas rendered inaccessible to the Romans, the faith of the Saviour spread even there. Jacques-Benigne Bossuet
There is in the Englishman a combination of qualities, a modesty, an independence, a responsibility, a repose, combined with an absence of everything calculated to call a blush into the cheek of a young person, which one would seek in vain among the Nations of the Earth. Charles Dickens, Our Mutual Friend
England is a nation of shopkeepers. Napoleon Bonaparte, attributed
cf.
To found a great empire for the sole purpose of raising up a people of customers may at first sight appear a project fit only for a nation of shopkeepers. It is, however, a project altogether unfit for a nation of shopkeepers; but extremely fit for a nation whose government is influenced by shopkeepers. Adam Smith
The way she told it, the English counties are littered with ageing spinsters who accidentally displayed a spark of intelligence at a debutante dance and were banished forever from civilized society. Michelle Cooper, A Brief History of Montmaray
England and America owe their liberty to commerce, which created a new species of power to undermine the feudal system. But let them beware of the consequences: the tyranny of wealth is still more galling and debasing than that of rank. Mary Wollstonecraft
England! my country, great and free!
Heart of the world, I leap to thee! Philip James Bailey, Festus
Whenever I think of Hell I cannot visualise it as a place of eternal fire, but as one of your English industrial towns on a day when the rain is pattering on the slate roofs and the wind is moaning up the street; a place where the horizon is bounded by dark factory chimneys, with crowds of women muffled up in waterproofs slipping in the puddles in their galoshes, with red noses peering out of heavy mufflers. Colonel Bertolini, The Waveless Plain, 1938
The men of England – the men, I mean of light and leading in England. Edmund Burke, Reflections on the Revolution in France
Lords and Commons of England, consider what Nation it is whereof ye are, and whereof ye are the governors: a Nation not slow and dull, but of quick, ingenious, and piercing spirit, acute to invent, suttle and sinewy to discours, not beneath the reach of any point the highest that humane capacity can soar to. John Milton, Aeropagitica 1644
To be an Englishman is to belong to the most exclusive club there is. Ogden Nash, England Expects
England expects every man to do his duty. Lord Nelson, 1805
Saint George shalt called bee,
Saint George of mery England, the sign of victoree. Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene
We must recollect … what it is we have at stake, what it is we have to contend for. It is for our property, it is for our liberty, it is for our independence, nay, for our existence as a nation; it is for our character, it is for our very name as Englishmen, it is for everything dear and valuable to man on this side of the grave. William Pitt the younger, speech 22nd July 1803, re resumption of war with Napoleon
England has saved herself by her exertions, and will, as a I trust, save Europe by her example. William Pitt the younger
The real policy of England – apart from questions which involve her own particular interests – is to be the champion of justice and right; pursuing that course with moderation and prudence, not becoming the Quixote of the world, but giving the weight of her moral sanction and support wherever she thinks that justice is, and wherever she thinks that wrong has been done. Henry John Temple Lord Palmerston, speech House of Commons 1st March 1848
To me England means great courage, great standards and great wit. I could move to England in a second. Sigourney Weaver
Never was isle so little, never was sea so lone,
But over the scud and the palm-trees an English flag was flown. Rudyard Kipling, English Flag
Oh, Britannia the pride of the ocean
The home of the brave and the free,
The shrine of the sailor’s devotion,
No land can compare unto thee. Davis Taylor Shaw, Britannia
There is no land like England,
Where’er the light of day be;
There are no hearts like English hearts,
Such hearts of oak as they be;
There is no land like England,
Where’er the light of day be:
There are no men like Englishmen,
So tall and bold as they be!
And these will strike for England,
And man and maid be free
To foil and spoil the tyrant
Beneath the greenwood tree. Alfred Lord Tennyson, Foresters