This quote by Benjamin Disraeli is a metaphor comparing London to the ancient city of Babylon. Disraeli is suggesting that London is a large, busy, and diverse city, much like Babylon was in its prime time. He is likewise implying that London is a place of excellent wealth and power, as Babylon was in its time. Disraeli is likely describing the fact that London is a significant monetary and political center, and is home to a wide variety of cultures and people. He is also most likely describing the fact that London is a place of excellent opportunity, where individuals from all walks of life can come to pursue their dreams. In other words, Disraeli is recommending that London is a modern variation of the ancient city of Babylon, a place of fantastic wealth, power, and opportunity.
"I started noticing how stained the pavements are in London. The pavements in Beverly Hills aren't used; in London, they're used for everything. It doesn't matter how much they're cleaned, they still reflect light"
"All over London as one walks, one everywhere, in the season, sees oranges to sell; and they are in general sold tolerably cheap, one and even sometimes two for a halfpenny; or, in our money, threepence"
"When I came back from filming 'Abduction', I told my agent: I'm staying in London now. If it takes doing children's theater from the back of a van in Kilburn, that's OK. I need to be with my family. My job is to keep the family together and provide for them"
"On the other hand in London you can get an audience that desires dance to go as far as it can go: they've seen the bricks of ideas built over a period so therefore there is an acceptance of what otherwise might seem out on a limb"
"On this basis, which was originally financial and goes back to George Peabody, there grew up in the twentieth century a power structure between London and New York which penetrated deeply into university life, the press, and the practice of foreign policy"