“Does it really matter what these affectionate people do — so long as they don’t do it in the streets and frighten the horses!”

— Mrs Patrick Campbell

Reply to a young actress who asserted that an older actor in a production showed too much affection for the leading man (c. 1910); as reported by Alan Dent in Mrs. Patrick Campbell, p. 78 (1961).
[horses]Variants: "My dear, I don't care what they do, so long as they don't do it in the street and frighten the horses."
"I don’t mind where people make love, so long as they don't do it in the street and frighten the horses."
"It doesn't make any difference what you do in the bedroom as long as you don't do it in the street and frighten the horses."
"Does it really matter what these affectionate people do, so long as they don't do it on the street and frighten the horses?"
On the internet, a similar comment regarding politicians has been widely attributed to Victor Hugo, but without any definite sources. It appears to be a modern satirical invention, derived from Mrs. Campbell's statements.

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

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Mrs Patrick Campbell 5

British stage actress 1895–1940

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Victor Hugo (1802–1885) French poet, novelist, and dramatist

Though research done for Wikiquote indicates that the attribution of this remark to Hugo seems extensive on the internet, no source has been identified. It seems to be a statement a modern satirist might make, derived from one made circa 1910 by Mrs Patrick Campbell regarding homosexuals: "Does it really matter what these affectionate people do — so long as they don’t do it in the streets and frighten the horses?"
Disputed

“I have no objection to anyone’s sex life as long as they don’t practice it in the street and frighten the horses.”

Oscar Wilde (1854–1900) Irish writer and poet

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Albert Schweitzer (1875–1965) French-German physician, theologian, musician and philosopher

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Context: I do not want to frighten you by telling you about the temptations life will bring. Anyone who is healthy in spirit will overcome them. But there is something I want you to realize. It does not matter so much what you do. What matters is whether your soul is harmed by what you do. If your soul is harmed, something irreparable happens, the extent of which you won't realize until it will be too late.

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The cat asked, “Where do you want to go?”

“I don’t know,” Alice answered.

“Then,” said the cat, “it really doesn’t matter, does it?”

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Variant: One day Alice came to a fork in the road and saw a Cheshire cat in a tree. ‘Which road do I take?’ she asked. ‘Where do you want to go?’ was his response. ‘I don’t know,’ Alice answered. ‘Then,’ said the cat, ‘it doesn’t matter.
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ContraPoints, Miscellaneous, Contrapoints Is De-Radicalizing Young, Right-Wing Men https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Nrz4-FZx6k (Vice News, 2019)

“Does it really matter what these affectionate people do — so long as they don’t do it in the streets and frighten the horses!”

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Mrs Patrick Campbell 5

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