A lot of what the 'Culture' is about is a reaction to all the science fiction I was reading in my very early teens.

Something in your voice tells me we approach the question of remuneration.

Empathize with stupidity and you're halfway to thinking like an idiot.

Mr Blawke always reminded me of a heron; I'm not sure why. Something to do with a sense of rapacious stillness, perhaps, and also the aura of one who knows time is on his side.

There's an old Sysan saying that the soup of life is salty enough without adding tears to it.

Torture is such a slippery slope; as soon as you allow a society or any legal system to do that, almost instantly you get a situation where people are being tortured for very trivial reasons.

My point has always been that, ever since the Industrial Revolution, science fiction has been the most important genre there is.

I remember being shocked when I discovered some of my school pals didn't have books in their homes. I thought it was like not having oxygen, or hot water.

I am, as I have always been, of the opinion that while the niceties of normal moral constraints should be our guides, they must not be our masters.

I've always loved Scotland, and I'm not a huge fan of big cities, to be honest. I like them to dip into for a bit, but I'm not sure I would want to live in one again.

In theory, I work an eight-hour day and a five-day week which means I can socialise with my pals who mostly have normal jobs like teaching and computer programming.

A sacrifice ever remembered.Never forgotten.Another day we live.A sacrifice for you. Only for you. And so shall it be, For evermore.Paviamma

God sees us perfect in His Son while He disciplines and chastens and purges us that we may be partakers of His holiness.

For some reason, I struggle seeing myself as a leading man.

We have to be honest about the fact that not everyone who seeks to join our country will be able to successfully assimilate. Sometimes it's just not going to work out.

It must have been the lack of nutrients that gave my father his temper. He is not a sweet man despite a very sweet tooth.

Thou art Justice ne'er for gold May thy righteous laws be sold As laws are in England thou Shield'st alike the high and low.

Dialogue is the fundamental unfolding of a gift of oneself to another.

Our nation has kept faith with its veterans. Funding for veterans healthcare and benefits is strong, and has increased more than 75 percent in the last decade.

The only way you find what your limits are is by pushing them.

The opposite of security is insecurity, and the only way to overcome insecurity is to take risks.