Better a sovereign in squalor than a slave in splendor.

The ideal tyranny is that which is ignorantly self-administered by its victims. The most perfect slaves are, therefore, those which blissfully and unawaredly enslave themselves.

When a well-packaged web of lies has been sold gradually to the masses over generations, the truth will seem utterly preposterous and its speaker a raving lunatic.

That got me a look so intense I was unable to interpret it - like the way cats sometimes fix on you. What they mean by the look is completely beyond understanding; but it's meant for you, you alone.

At least half of my life's many mistakes can be safely put down to impetuosity: the other half derive from inertia.

The goal of tyrants is tyranny, and the goal of tyranny is tyranny.

Suddenly he knew joy and sorrow felted into one fabric. Courage and fear were one thing too.

We felt it was very important for an entity like CCTV to make its presence felt... To generate a space and to define a space, that is the main thing.

Any idiot can face a crisis - it's day to day living that wears you out.

In the end, I worry that my arrogance shall destroy us all.

Almost no one can take on an entire future in one step, much less while reeling emotionally.

God has never made a failure; that he gave birth to you means you are a success. Success is in your DNA.

Unnecessary noise is the most cruel abuse of care which can be inflicted on either the sick or the well.

If I cannot smoke in heaven, then I shall not go.

Genius is mainly an affair of energy, and poetry is mainly an affair of genius; therefore a nation whose spirit is characterized by energy may well be imminent in poetry - and we have Shakespeare.

I've got a different perception now and it's really enjoyable to be at this point in your life and be able to watch this.