An important art of politicians is to find new names for institutions which under old names have become odious to the public.

Black as the devil, hot as hell, pure as an angel, sweet as love.

Espresso is to Italy, what champagne is to France.

A woman will sometimes forgive the man who tries to seduce her, but never the man who misses an opportunity when offered.

Society is divided into two classes: the shearers and the shorn. We should always be with the former against the latter.

Never speak ill of yourself, your friends will always say enough on that subject.

What clever man has ever needed to commit a crime? Crime is the last resort of political half-wits.

Since the masses are always eager to believe something, for their benefit nothing is so easy to arrange as facts.

I found there a country with thirty-two religions and only one sauce.

The art of putting the right men in the right places is first in the science of government; but that of finding places for the discontented is the most difficult.

Only a man who has loved a woman of genius can appreciate what happiness there is in loving a fool.

Our rest is formed by our waking life and our waking life is formed by our sorrows.

You only live once, buy Picassos whenever possible.

Flatter not thyself in thy faith in God if thou hast not charity for thy neighbor.

I am of Virginia and all my professional life I have studied of Lee and Jackson

Books can be misleading...

China has always maintained that all countries, big or small, rich or poor, strong or weak, are equal members of the international community and they should stand and speak in the world as such.

The hardest part about directing is getting everyone on the same page.

TV feels quite constipated, and the thing I find particularly difficult is the branding of the channels where it's not 'Is it a good script?' but 'Is it a BBC2 script?'

It's easy to gain weight when you're in the studio.

Men's gender problems cause them a lot of suffering. There is a massive spiking suicide rate in middle age for men and a cultural attitude to male friendship that is destructive.