Robert Asprin. Epigraps for Myth series
I. Another Fine Myth
1. "There are things on heaven and earth,
Horatio, Man was not meant to know"
-Hamlet 2. "Things are not always as they seem"
-Mandrake 3. "The only thing more reliable than magik is
one's friends!"
-Macbeth 4. "Careful planning is the key to safe and
swift travel"
-Ulysses 5. "Only constant and conscientious practice
in the Martial Arts will ensure a long and
happy life"
-B. Lee 6. "Attention to detail is the watchword for
gleaning information from an unsuspecting
witness"
-Insp. Clouseau 7. "Is there anything in the universe more
beautiful and protective than the simple
complexity of a spider's web?"
-Charlotte 8. "In times of crisis, it is of utmost impor-
tance not to lose one's head"
-M. Antoinette 9. "To function efficiently, any group of
people or employees must have faith in
their leader"
-Capt. Bligh (ret.) 10. "Man shall never reach his full capacity
while chained to the earth. We must take
wing and conquer the heavens"
-Icarus 11. "One of the joys of travel is visiting new
towns and meeting new people"
-G. Khan 12. "First impressions are of major importance
in business matters"
-J. Pierpoint Finch 13. "The secret to winning the support of large
groups of people is positive thinking"
-N. Bonaparte 14. "A little help at the right time is better than
a lot of help at the wrong time"
-Tevye 15. "Anyone who uses the phrase 'easy as
taking candy from a baby' has never tried
taking candy from a baby"
-R. Hood 16. "Just because something doesn't do what
you planned it to do doesn't mean it's use-
less"
-T. Edison 17. "The wonders of the ages assembled for
your edification, education, and enjoy-
ment - for a price"
-P.T. Barnum 18. "No matter what the product or service
might be, you can find it somewhere else
cheaper!"
-E. Scrooge 19. "By persevering over all obstacles and
distractions, one may unfailingly arrive at
his chosen goal or destination"
-C. Columbus 20. "With the proper consideration in choice of
allies, victory may be guaranteed in any
conflict"
-B. Arnold 21. "One must deal openly and fairly with one's
forces if maximum effectiveness is to be
achieved"
-D. Vader 22. "This is another fine myth you've gotten me
into!"
-Lor L. and Har D.
23. "Since prehistoric man, no battle has ever
gone as planned"
-D. Graeme 24. "Ya gotta be subtle!"
-M. Hammer 25. "Just because you've beaten a sorcerer,
doesn't mean you've beaten a sorcerer"
-Toth-Amon 26. "A woman, like a good piece of music,
should have a solid end"
-F. Schubert
II. Myth Conceptions
1. "Life is a series of rude awakenings"
-R.V. Winkle 2. "First impressions, being the longest
lasting, are of utmost importance"
-J. Carter 3. "Ninety percent of any business trans-
action is selling yourself to the client"
-X. Hollander 4. "If the proper preparations have been
made and the necessary precautions
taken, any staged event is guaranteed
success"
-Ethelred the Unready 5. "...Eye of newt, toe of frog..."
-Believed to be the first recipe
for an explosive mixture...
The forerunner of gunpowder 6. "That's entertainment!"
-Vlad the Impaler 7. "Numerical superiority is of no conse-
quence. In battle, victory will go to the
best tactician"
-G.A. Custer 8. "Anything worth doing, is worth doing
for a profit"
-Teresias 9. "There is more at stake here than our
lives"
-Col. Travis
Alamo Pep Talk 10. "One need not fear superior numbers if
the opposing force has been properly
scouted and appraised"
-S. Bull 11. "Should old acquaintance be forgot..."
-Count of Monte Cristo 12. "This is no game for old men! Send in
the boys!"
-W. Hays 13. "Hold the pickles, hold the lettuce"
-Henry VIII 14. "We're looking for a few good men"
-B. Cassidy 15. "I'll worry about it tomorrow"
-S. O'Hara 16. "Myth-conceptions are the major cause
of wars!"
-A. Hitler 17. "Diplomacy is the delicate weapon of the
civilized warrior"
-Hun, A.T.
18. "Just before the battle, Mother, I was
thinking mos of you..."
-Sonny Barker 19. "What if they gave a war and only one
side came-"
-Lucifer 20. "Chain of command is the backbone of
military structure and must be strictly
obeyed"
-F. Christian 21. "It takes a giant to fight a giant"
-H. Prym 22. "Hell hath no fury like a demon scorched"
-C. Mather 23. "What is this, a Chinese fire drill?"
-Sun Tzu 24. "...and then I said to myself, 'Why
should I split it two ways-'"
-G. Mouser 25. "Is everybody happy?"
-Machiavelli 26. "All's well that ends well"
-E.A. Poe
III. Myth Directions
1. "Dragons and Demons and Kings,
Oh my!"
-The Cowardly Klahd 2. "When old friends get together,
everything else pales to insignificance"
-War, Famine, Pestilence
and Death 3. "That's funny, I never have any
trouble with sevice when I'm shopping"
-K. Kong 4. "'Weird' is a relative, not an absolute
term"
-Baron Frank N. Further 5. "Nothing is impossible. Anything can
be accomplished with proper prepa-
rations and planning"
-Ponce de Leon 6. "Now you see it, now you don't"
-H. Shadowspawn 7. "A friend in need is a pest"
-Fafhrd 8. "Once more into the breach..."
-Zarna, the Human Cannonball 9. "War may be Hell... but it's good for
business!"
-The Association for
Merchants, Manufacturers,
and Morticians 10. "Old heroes never die; they reappear
in sequels"
-M. Moorcock 11. "What do you mean, 'You've got a
little job for me'?"
-Hercules 12. "Out of the frying pan, into der fire"
-The Swedish Chief 13. "If you can't dazzle them with dex-
terity, baffle them with bullshit!"
-Prof. H. Hill 14. "As any magician will tell you - Myth
Directions is the secret of a suc-
cessful steal"
-D. Henning 15. "-Or was it unlock the safe then
swim to the surface?"
-H. Houdini 16. "...and then the fun began"
-N. Bonaparte 17. "I'm sure we can talk things out like
civilized people"
-J. Wayne 18. "What's the point-spread on World
War III?"
-R. Reagan 19. "Why should I pay a troll just
to cross a bridge?"
-B.G. Gruff 20. "What are friends for?"
-R.M. Nixon 21. "We've got an unbeatable team!"
-Sauron 22. "No matter what the game, no matter
what the rules, the same rules apply
to both sides!"
-Hoyle's Law 23. "Life is full of little surprises"
-Pandora 24. "This contest has to be the dumbest
thing I've ever seen"
-H. Cosell 25. "If you can't win fair, just win!"
-U.S. Grant 26. "Winning isn't the most important
thing; it's the only thing!"
-J. Caesar 27. "Ask not for whom the bell tolls-"
-M. Ali
IV. Hit or Myth
1. "There's something to be said for relatives
...it has to be said because it's unprint-
able!"
-A. Einstein 2. "When things are blackest, I just tell myself
'cheer up, things could be worse!' And
sure enough, they get worse!"
-Skeeve 3. "Once a knight, always a knight,
But once a King is once too often!"
-Sir Bella of Eastmarch 4. "Duty: a fee paid for transacting in
good(s)"
-U.S. Dept. of Commerce 5. "The only thing worse that a sorcerer is a
sorcerer's apprentice"
-M. Mouse 6. "Good information is hard to get. Doing
anything with it is even harder!"
-L. Skywalker 7. "There is no counter for a spirited woman
except spirited drink"
-R. Butler 8. "Choose your friends carefully. Your ene-
mies will choose you!"
-Y. Arafat 9. "I don't know why anyone would be nerv-
ous about going to see royalty"
-P. in Boots 10. "Superior firepower is an invaluable tool
when entering into negotiations"
-G. Patton 11. "Tell you what. Let me sweeten the deal a
bit for you..."
-Beelzebub 12. "I'm making this up as I go along!"
-I. Jones 13. "Marriage, being a lifelong venture, must be
approached with care and caution"
-Bluebeard 14. "Some farewells are easier than others"
-P. Marlowe 15. "In a war against organized crime, survival
is a hit or myth proposition"
-M. Bolan 16. "It's always easier to destroy than to
create"
-Any general, any army, any age 17. "The best laid plans often go fowl"
-Wile E. Coyote 18. "Life can be profitable, if you know the
odds"
-Ripley 19. "These blokes need to be taught to respect
their superiors"
-Gen. Cornwallis 20. "Figure the last thing you would expect
the enemy to do, then count on him doing
precisely that!"
-Richelieu 21. "Stayin' alive! Stayin' alive!"
-V. Dracula
VII. M.Y.T.H. Inc. Link
1. "Petty crime is the scourge of business today"
-D. Lorean 2. "It all hinges on your definition of 'a good time'!"
-L. Borgia 3. "It's all a matter of taste"
-B. Midler 4. "If you're too busy to help your friends, you're
too busy!"
-L. Iacocca 5. "What fools these mortals be"
-Smaug 6. "Not everything in life is funny"
-R.L. Asprin
VIII. Myth-Nomers and Im-pervections
1. "Nobody's seen it all!"
-Marco Polo 2. "They don't make 'em like they used to!"
-H. Ford 3. "It's not even a nice place to visit!"
-Fodor's Guide To Perv 4. "Taxis are water soluble"
-G. Kelly 5. "I just need to pick up a few things"
-I. Marcos 6. "There's no place like home!"
-H. Johnson 7. "...On the street where you live"
-Quote from an anonymous extortion note 8. "There's never a cop around when you need
one!"
-A. Capone 9. "...You gotta start somewhere"
-S. McDuck 10. "All financiers are not created equal!"
-R. Corman 11. "How come I get all the hard questions?"
-O. North 12. "HOLY BATSHIT, FATMAN! I mean..."
-Robin 13. "Who? Me, Officer?"
-J. Dillinger 14. "Parting is such sweet sorrow"
-Figaro 15. "Easy credit terms available..."
-Satan 16. "You can judge the success of a man by his
bodyguards!"
-Prince 17. "Bibbity... bobbity..."
-S. Strange, M.D.
18. "'M' is for many things she taught me..."
-Oedipus 19. "I am not a crook!"
-Any crook 20. "Were you looking for me?"
-Dr. Livingstone
IX. M.Y.T.H. Inc. In Action
0. "What am I doing here?"
-Any recruit, any army 1. "What do you mean
my characters talk funny?"
-D. Runyon 2. "We want to make you
feel at home!"
-L. Borgia 3. "Just a little off the top!"
-A. Boleyn 4. "Squeeze, don't jerk, the trigger"
-R. Rogers 5. "When I travel, nobody knows me...
and I like it that way!"
-S. King 6. "Boards don't hit back!"
-B. Lee 7. "To Serve and Protect..."
-Traditional motto of
protection rackets 8. "It takes one to know one!"
-Jack D. Ripper 9. "Manners are acquired, not inherited!"
-S. Penn 10. "Now, here's my plan!"
-R. Burns 11. "That's why the lady is a tramp!"
-B. Midler 12. "It sure looks to me like a big night
tonight!"
-Arthur, Rex 13. "Weren't you expecting me?"
-J. Rambo 14. "You countermanded me on whose
authority?"
-Pope John 15. "An army travels on its paperwork!"
-J. Carlson 16. "So what's wrong with following
established procedures?"
-M. Gorbachev 17. "Ya gotta speak the language"
-N. Webster 18. "Has anybody got a plan?"
-G.A. Custer 19. "We must hurry... It's almost over!"
-P. Fogg 20. "I want a rematch!"
-M. Tyson