Beds

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (1893)

Beds are large pieces of furniture (or locations) used as a place to sleep, and as a primary place for relaxation. Most modern beds consist of a mattress on a bed frame, with the mattress resting either on a solid base, often wooden slats, or a sprung base.

Quotes

• 'Twas in the central chamber had been spread,
  For her, the bride divine, the nuptial bed;
  Of Indian ivory form'd, it shunned the eye,
  Veiled by its covering of the crimson dye.
  • Catullus, Carmina, 64 (tr. George Lamb)

• "Or he might say: 'Whereas some recluses and brahmins, while living on food offered by the faithful, enjoy the use of high and luxurious beds and seats, such as: spacious couches; thrones with animal figures carved on the supports; long-haired coverlets; multi-colored patchwork coverlets; white woollen coverlets; woollen coverlets embroidered with flowers; quilts stuffed with cotton; woollen coverlets embroidered with animal figures; woollen coverlets with hair on both sides or on one side; bedspreads embroidered with gems; silk coverlets; dance-hall carpets; elephant, horse or chariot rugs; rugs of antelope-skins; choice spreads made of kadali-deer hides; spreads with red awnings overhead; couches with red cushions for the head and feet — the recluse Gotama abstains from the use of such high and luxurious beds and seats.'
  • Gautama Buddha, Brahmajāla Sutta: The All-embracing Net of Views, translated by Bhikkhu Bodhi, (2010), Sutta 1, verse 1.16.

• People who think of beds only in terms of sexual exercise or sleep simply do not understand that a bed is the best of all places for a philosophical discussion, an argument, and if necessary a showdown. It was not by chance that so many kings of old administered justice from their beds, and even today there is something splendidly parliamentary about an assembly of concerned persons in a bed.
  • Robertson Davies, World of Wonders (1975; part of The Deptford Trilogy), "Le Lit de Justice", Section 1.

• I give men assertive training out of bed and they give me more assertive training in bed.
  • Suzy Chaffee, quoted in Machisma: Women and Daring by Grace Lichtenstein (1981)

• If it's softer than ground and has a roof over it, I call it a bed.
  • George R.R. Martin, A Clash of Kings, Jon (II))–Dolorous Edd

• The Erie railroad kills 23 to 46; the other 845 railroads kill an average of one-third of a man each; and the rest of that million, amounting in the aggregate to that appalling figure of 987,631 corpses, die naturally in their beds! You will excuse me from taking any more chances on those beds. The railroads are good enough for me.
  • Mark Twain, "The Danger of Lying in Bed", The Galaxy (February 1871), Volume 11, No. 2.

• It is amazing how few people are conscious of the importance of the art of lying in bed... I believe one of the greatest pleasures of life is to curl up one's legs in bed. The posture of the arms is also very important, in order to reach the greatest degree of aesthetic pleasure and mental power. I believe the best posture is not lying flat on the bed, but being upholstered with big soft pillows at an angle of thirty degrees with either one arm or both arms placed behind the back of one's head.
  • Lin Yutang, The Importance of Living (1937), Ch. 9: 'The Enjoyment of Living', I. 'On Lying in Bed', pp. 202–203

Hoyt's New Cyclopedia Of Practical Quotations

Quotes reported in Hoyt's New Cyclopedia Of Practical Quotations (1922), p. 63.

• Matthew, Mark, Luke and John,
  The bed be blest that I lye on.
  • Thomas Ady, A Cradle in the Dark, page 58 (London, 1656).

• Théâtre des ris et des pleurs
  Lit! où je nais, et où je meurs,
  Tu nous fais voir comment voisins
  Sont nos plaisirs et chagrins.
  • In bed we laugh, in bed we cry;
    And born in bed, in bed we die;
    The near approach a bed may show
    Of human bliss to human woe.
  • Isaac de Benserade, Dr. Johnson's translation.

• To rise with the lark, and go to bed with the lamb.
  • Nicholas Breton, Court and County (1618 reprint), pg. 183.

• Like feather-bed betwixt a wall
  And heavy brunt of cannon ball.
  • Samuel Butler, Hudibras, Part I (1663-64), Canto II, line 871.

• O bed! O bed! delicious bed!
  That heaven upon earth to the weary head.
  • Thomas Hood, Miss Kilmansegg, Her Dream.

• Rise with the lark and with the lark to bed.
  • James Hurdis, The Village Curate.

• Saturday morning, jumped out of bed and put on my best suit. Got in my car and raced like a jet, all the way to you.
  • MAGIC!, "Rude", Don't Kill the Magic (2013), New York: RCA Records

• The bed has become a place of luxury to me! I would not exchange it for all the thrones in the world.
  • Napoleon I.