FAUSTUS: No, Faustus, curse thyself, curse Lucifer,
That hath deprived thee of the joys of heaven.
(The clock striketh twelve.)
O, it strikes, it strikes! Now, body, turn to air,
Or Lucifer will bear thee quick to hell.
(Thunder and lightning.)
O soul, be changed into little water drops,
And fall into the ocean, ne’er be found!
My God, my God, look not so fierce on me!
(Enter Devils.)
Adders, and serpents, let me breathe a while!
Ugly hell, gape not. Come not Lucifer!
I’ll burn my books! Ah, Mephistophilis!
(Exeunt Devils with Faustus.) Christopher "Kit" Marlowe (1564-1593) English dramatist and poet
The Tragicall History of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus, Act 5, sc. 2 (sc. 19), l. 1498ff (1594; 1604 “A” text)
(Source)
The B-Text (1594; 1616), l. 2081ff, is largely the same, with minor punctuation changes, except that rather than cry "My God, my God," Faustus cries "O mercy, heaven!"
Quotations about:
deadline
Note not all quotations have been tagged, so Search may find additional quotes on this topic.
A book is never finished, it is abandoned.
Gene Fowler (1890-1960) American journalist, author, and dramatist. [b. Eugene Devlan]
Quoted in H. Allen Smith, The Life and Legend of Gene Fowler, ch. 27 (1977)
(Source)
If it weren’t for the last minute, nothing would get done.
A deadline is negative inspiration. Still, it’s better than no inspiration at all.
Rita Mae Brown (b. 1944) American author, playwright
Starting from Scratch: A Different Kind of Writers’ Manual, Part 4 (1988)
(Source)
Depend upon it, Sir, when a man knows he is to be hanged in a fortnight, it concentrates his mind wonderfully.
Samuel Johnson (1709-1784) English writer, lexicographer, critic
Comment (1777-09-19)
(Source)
In James Boswell, The Life of Samuel Johnson (1791)
HOBBES: Have you an idea for your story yet?
CALVIN: No, I’m waiting for inspiration. You can’t just turn on creativity like a faucet. You have to be in the right mood.
HOBBES: What mood is that?
CALVIN: Last-minute panic.
I love deadlines. I love the whooshing noise they make as they go by.
Douglas Adams (1952-2001) English author, humorist, screenwriter
Attributed in Richard Dawkins, “A Lament for Douglas Adams,” The Guardian (2001-05-13)
(Source)
Memorial to his friend, Adams; later collected in The Salmon of Doubt, Part 4 "Epilogue" (2002) [ed. Peter Guzzardi]. Many variants exist, e.g., "What I love the most about deadlines is the whooshing sound they make as they go by."
