Quote of the Day (Jonathan Franzen, on ‘The Dream of Limitless Freedom’)

“The personality susceptible to the dream of limitless freedom is a personality also prone, should the dream ever sour, to misanthropy and rage.” —American novelist Jonathan Franzen, Freedom: A Novel (2010)

Song Lyric of the Day (W. S. Gilbert, in the Voice of a ‘Disagreeable Man’)

“I’m sure I’m no ascetic: I’m as pleasant as can be;

You’ll always find me ready with a crushing repartee;

I’ve an irritating chuckle; I’ve a celebrated sneer;

I’ve an entertaining snigger; I’ve a fascinating leer;

To everybody’s prejudice I know a thing or two;

I can tell a woman’s age in half a minute–and I do–

But although I try to make myself as pleasant as I can,

Yet everybody says I’m such a disagreeable man!

And I can’t think why!”— King Gama in “The Disagreeable Man,” from the operetta Princess Ida (1884), lyrics by W. S. Gilbert (1836–1911), music by Arthur Sullivan (1842-1900)

The photo accompanying this post shows actor John Reed, in costume as King Gama, in a 1965 D'Oyly Carte Opera Company production of Princess Ida.