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[[File:Flag of the
United
Kingdom
.svg|thumb|London is a bad habit one hates to lose. ~ Anonymous]]
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[[File:Flag of the
City
of London
.svg|thumb|London is a bad habit one hates to lose. ~ Anonymous]]
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[[File:Coat of Arms of The City of London.svg|thumb|A huge, dun cupola, like a foolscap crown... On a fool's head—and there is London Town. ~ [[Lord Byron]]]]
[[File:London Skyline.jpg|thumb|London goes beyond any boundary or convention. It contains every wish or word ever spoken, every action or gesture ever made, every harsh or noble statement ever expressed. It is illimitable. It is Infinite London. ~ [[w:Peter Ackroyd|Peter Ackroyd]]]]
[[File:London Skyline.jpg|thumb|London goes beyond any boundary or convention. It contains every wish or word ever spoken, every action or gesture ever made, every harsh or noble statement ever expressed. It is illimitable. It is Infinite London. ~ [[w:Peter Ackroyd|Peter Ackroyd]]]]
[[File:Palace of Westminster - July 2008.jpg|thumb|Ah! my poor dear child, the truth is, that in London it is always a sickly season. Nobody is healthy in London, nobody can be. ~ [[Jane Austen]]]]
[[File:Palace of Westminster - July 2008.jpg|thumb|Ah! my poor dear child, the truth is, that in London it is always a sickly season. Nobody is healthy in London, nobody can be. ~ [[Jane Austen]]]]
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[[File:British Museum from NE 2.JPG|thumb|Sir, if you wish to have a just notion of the magnitude of this city, you must not be satisfied with seeing its great streets and squares, but must survey the innumerable little lanes and courts. It is not in the showy evolutions of buildings, but in the multiplicity of human habitations which are crowded together, that the wonderful immensity of London consists ~ [[Samuel Johnson]]]]
[[File:British Museum from NE 2.JPG|thumb|Sir, if you wish to have a just notion of the magnitude of this city, you must not be satisfied with seeing its great streets and squares, but must survey the innumerable little lanes and courts. It is not in the showy evolutions of buildings, but in the multiplicity of human habitations which are crowded together, that the wonderful immensity of London consists ~ [[Samuel Johnson]]]]
[[File:Trafalgar Square.jpg|thumb|London is the clearing-house of the world. ~ [[Joseph Chamberlain]]]]
[[File:Trafalgar Square.jpg|thumb|London is the clearing-house of the world. ~ [[Joseph Chamberlain]]]]
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===A===
* London goes beyond any boundary or convention. It contains every wish or word ever spoken, every action or gesture ever made, every harsh or noble statement ever expressed. It is illimitable. It is Infinite London.
* London goes beyond any boundary or convention. It contains every wish or word ever spoken, every action or gesture ever made, every harsh or noble statement ever expressed. It is illimitable. It is Infinite London.
** [[w:Peter Ackroyd|Peter Ackroyd]], ''London: The Biography'' (2000).
** [[w:Peter Ackroyd|Peter Ackroyd]], ''London: The Biography'' (2000).
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* London is a bad habit one hates to lose.
* London is a bad habit one hates to lose.
** Anonymous popular saying, as quoted by [[w:William Sansom|William Sasom]] in, ''Blue Skies, Brown Studies'', Hogarth press, (1961).
** Anonymous popular saying, as quoted by [[w:William Sansom|William Sasom]] in, ''Blue Skies, Brown Studies'', Hogarth press, (1961).
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===B===
* As I came down the Highgate Hill<br>I met the sun's bravado,<br>And saw below me, fold on fold,<br>Grey to pearl and pearl to gold,<br>This London like a land of old,<br>The land of Eldorado.
* As I came down the Highgate Hill<br>I met the sun's bravado,<br>And saw below me, fold on fold,<br>Grey to pearl and pearl to gold,<br>This London like a land of old,<br>The land of Eldorado.
** [[Henry Howarth Bashford]] (1880-1961), English physician and writer. ''London'', from ''Romances'' (1917).
** [[Henry Howarth Bashford]] (1880-1961), English physician and writer. ''London'', from ''Romances'' (1917).
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* A mighty mass of brick, and smoke, and shipping,<br> Dirty and dusty, but as wide as eye<br>Could reach, with here and there a sail just skipping<br> In sight, then lost amidst the forestry<br>Of masts; a wilderness of steeples peeping<br> On tiptoe through their sea-coal canopy;<br>A huge, dun cupola, like a foolscap crown<br>On a fool's head—and there is London Town.
* A mighty mass of brick, and smoke, and shipping,<br> Dirty and dusty, but as wide as eye<br>Could reach, with here and there a sail just skipping<br> In sight, then lost amidst the forestry<br>Of masts; a wilderness of steeples peeping<br> On tiptoe through their sea-coal canopy;<br>A huge, dun cupola, like a foolscap crown<br>On a fool's head—and there is London Town.
** [[Lord Byron]], ''[[Don Juan (Byron)|Don Juan]]'' (1818-24), Canto X, Stanza 82.
** [[Lord Byron]], ''[[Don Juan (Byron)|Don Juan]]'' (1818-24), Canto X, Stanza 82.
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===C===
* I don't know what London's coming to—the higher the buildings the lower the morals.
* I don't know what London's coming to—the higher the buildings the lower the morals.
** [[Noël Coward]] (1899-1973), English playwright and actor. 'Law and Order', ''Collected Sketches and Lyrics''.
** [[Noël Coward]] (1899-1973), English playwright and actor. 'Law and Order', ''Collected Sketches and Lyrics''.
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===D===
* London is a modern Babylon.
* London is a modern Babylon.
** [[Benjamin Disraeli]], ''Tancred'', Book V. Ch. V. (1847).
** [[Benjamin Disraeli]], ''Tancred'', Book V. Ch. V. (1847).
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* London, thou art the flour of cities all!
* London, thou art the flour of cities all!
** [[William Dunbar]] (1460?-1520?), ''London''.
** [[William Dunbar]] (1460?-1520?), ''London''.
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===G===
* London always reminds me of a brain. It is similarly convoluted and circuitous. A lot of cities, especially American ones like New York and Chicago, are laid out in straight lines. Like the circuits on computer chips, there are a lot of right angles in cities like this. But London is a glorious mess. It evolved from a score or so of distinct villages, that merged and meshed as their boundaries enlarged. As a result, London is a labyrinth, full of turnings and twistings just like a brain.
* London always reminds me of a brain. It is similarly convoluted and circuitous. A lot of cities, especially American ones like New York and Chicago, are laid out in straight lines. Like the circuits on computer chips, there are a lot of right angles in cities like this. But London is a glorious mess. It evolved from a score or so of distinct villages, that merged and meshed as their boundaries enlarged. As a result, London is a labyrinth, full of turnings and twistings just like a brain.
** [[w:James Geary|James Geary]], American journalist, author and aphorist. 'On London', All Aphorisms, All The Time. (James Geary website, 2009).
** [[w:James Geary|James Geary]], American journalist, author and aphorist. 'On London', All Aphorisms, All The Time. (James Geary website, 2009).
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* Maybe it's because I'm a Londoner,<br>That I love London so;<br>Maybe it's because I'm a Londoner,<br>That I think of her wherever I go.<br>I get a funny feeling inside of me,<br>Just walking up and down;<br>Maybe it's because I'm a Londoner,<br>That I love London town.
* Maybe it's because I'm a Londoner,<br>That I love London so;<br>Maybe it's because I'm a Londoner,<br>That I think of her wherever I go.<br>I get a funny feeling inside of me,<br>Just walking up and down;<br>Maybe it's because I'm a Londoner,<br>That I love London town.
** [[w:Hubert Gregg|Hubert Gregg]], "[http://web.archive.org/web/20031011213634/http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/biographies/biogs/radio2/hubertgregg.shtml Maybe it's because I'm a Londoner"] (1947).
** [[w:Hubert Gregg|Hubert Gregg]], "[http://web.archive.org/web/20031011213634/http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/biographies/biogs/radio2/hubertgregg.shtml Maybe it's because I'm a Londoner"] (1947).
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===J===
* London doesn't love the latent or the lurking, has neither time, nor taste, nor sense for anything less discernible than the red flag in front of the steam-roller. It wants cash over the counter and letters ten feet high.
* London doesn't love the latent or the lurking, has neither time, nor taste, nor sense for anything less discernible than the red flag in front of the steam-roller. It wants cash over the counter and letters ten feet high.
** [[Henry James]], ''The Awkward Age'' (1899), Book I, Ch. 2.
** [[Henry James]], ''The Awkward Age'' (1899), Book I, Ch. 2.
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* Sir, if you wish to have a just notion of the magnitude of this city, you must not be satisfied with seeing its great streets and squares, but must survey the innumerable little lanes and courts. It is not in the showy evolutions of buildings, but in the multiplicity of human habitations which are crowded together, that the wonderful immensity of London consists.
* Sir, if you wish to have a just notion of the magnitude of this city, you must not be satisfied with seeing its great streets and squares, but must survey the innumerable little lanes and courts. It is not in the showy evolutions of buildings, but in the multiplicity of human habitations which are crowded together, that the wonderful immensity of London consists.
** [[Samuel Johnson]], quoted (September 20, 1777) in ''The Life of Samuel Johnson, LL.D.'' (1791) by [[James Boswell]]
** [[Samuel Johnson]], quoted (September 20, 1777) in ''The Life of Samuel Johnson, LL.D.'' (1791) by [[James Boswell]]
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===L===
* Finally, I wish to speak directly to those who came to London today to take life. I know that you personally do not fear giving up your own life in order to take others – that is why you are so dangerous. But I know you fear that you may fail in your long-term objective to destroy our free society and I can show you why you will fail. In the days that follow, look at our airports, look at our sea ports and look at our railway stations and, even after your cowardly attack, you will see that people from the rest of Britain, people from around the world will arrive in London to become Londoners and to fulfil their dreams and achieve their potential. They choose to come to London, as so many have come before because they come to be free, they come to live the life they choose, they come to be able to be themselves. They flee you because you tell them how they should live. They don't want that and nothing you do, however many of us you kill, will stop that flight to our city where freedom is strong and where people can live in harmony with one another. Whatever you do, however many you kill, you will fail.
* Finally, I wish to speak directly to those who came to London today to take life. I know that you personally do not fear giving up your own life in order to take others – that is why you are so dangerous. But I know you fear that you may fail in your long-term objective to destroy our free society and I can show you why you will fail. In the days that follow, look at our airports, look at our sea ports and look at our railway stations and, even after your cowardly attack, you will see that people from the rest of Britain, people from around the world will arrive in London to become Londoners and to fulfil their dreams and achieve their potential. They choose to come to London, as so many have come before because they come to be free, they come to live the life they choose, they come to be able to be themselves. They flee you because you tell them how they should live. They don't want that and nothing you do, however many of us you kill, will stop that flight to our city where freedom is strong and where people can live in harmony with one another. Whatever you do, however many you kill, you will fail.
** [[Ken Livingstone]], [http://www.bbc.co.uk/london/content/articles/2005/07/08/livingstone_speech_feature.shtml speech in response to the London terrorist attacks on that same day] July 7, 2005
** [[Ken Livingstone]], [http://www.bbc.co.uk/london/content/articles/2005/07/08/livingstone_speech_feature.shtml speech in response to the London terrorist attacks on that same day] July 7, 2005
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===S===
* You are now </br>In London, that great sea, whose ebb and flow </br>At once is deaf and loud, and on the shore </br>Vomits its wrecks, and still howls on for more. </br>Yet in its depth what treasures!
* You are now </br>In London, that great sea, whose ebb and flow </br>At once is deaf and loud, and on the shore </br>Vomits its wrecks, and still howls on for more. </br>Yet in its depth what treasures!
** [[Percy Bysshe Shelley]] (1792–1822), British poet. From a letter to Maria Gisborne, 1820.
** [[Percy Bysshe Shelley]] (1792–1822), British poet. From a letter to Maria Gisborne, 1820.
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===W===
* You've got the temperament of a scholar, and you live on your own and write books. You don't have anything to do with civilization. You've been in London a few days and you can't wait to get back home. But how about the people who can't write books -- people there's no outlet for in this [[civilization]]? What about your new men who don't know what to do?
* You've got the temperament of a scholar, and you live on your own and write books. You don't have anything to do with civilization. You've been in London a few days and you can't wait to get back home. But how about the people who can't write books -- people there's no outlet for in this [[civilization]]? What about your new men who don't know what to do?
** [[Colin Wilson]] in ''The Glass cage'', p. 200 (1966)
** [[Colin Wilson]] in ''The Glass cage'', p. 200 (1966)
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===Z===
* I love this great polluted place<br/>Where popstars come to live their dreams<br/>Here ravers come for drum and bass<br/>And politicians plan their schemes<br/>The music of the world is here<br/>The city can play any song<br/>They came to here from everywhere<br/>'Tis they that made the city strong
* I love this great polluted place<br/>Where popstars come to live their dreams<br/>Here ravers come for drum and bass<br/>And politicians plan their schemes<br/>The music of the world is here<br/>The city can play any song<br/>They came to here from everywhere<br/>'Tis they that made the city strong
** Benjamin Zephaniah, ''The London Breed'' (1998).
** Benjamin Zephaniah, ''The London Breed'' (1998).