The Cyclopedia of Practical Quotations

Every quotation a nineteenth-century speaker or writer might want, grouped under its subject, with the author, the date and the source given as exactly as Hoyt could manage.

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Abdication: Quotations from Cyclopedia of Practical Quotations

He was utterly without ambition [Chas. II.]. He detested business, and would sooner have abdicated his crown than have undergone the trouble of really directing the administration.— MACAULAY — History of England.
(Character of Charles II.). Vol. I. Ch. II. To see her abdicate this majesty to play at precedence with her next door neighbor.— RUSKIN — Sesame and Lilies. Of Queen's
Gardens. P. 92. (J. B. A., '85.) I give this heavy weight from off my head, And this unwieldy sceptre from my hand, The pride of kingly sway from out my heart; With mine own tears I wash away my value, With mine own hands I give away my crown, With mine own tongue deny my sacred state, With mine own breath release all duteous oaths. C.— Shakespeare — Richard II. Act IV. Sc. 1. L. 204.

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