Famous quotes containing the words tree and/or length:
“On a tree by a river a little tom-tit
Sang “Willow, titwillow, titwillow!”
And I said to him, “Dicky-bird, why do you sit
Singing, ‘Willow, titwillow, titwillow’?
Is it a weakness of intellect, birdie?” I cried,
“Or a rather tough worm in your little inside?””
—Sir William Schwenck Gilbert (1836–1911)
“An ... important antidote to American democracy is American gerontocracy. The positions of eminence and authority in Congress are allotted in accordance with length of service, regardless of quality. Superficial observers have long criticized the United States for making a fetish of youth. This is unfair. Uniquely among modern organs of public and private administration, its national legislature rewards senility.”
—John Kenneth Galbraith (b. 1908)