Deliberation is the work of many men. Action, of one alone.

Patriotism is when love of your own people comes first; nationalism, when hate for people other than your own comes first.

How can anyone govern a nation that has two hundred and forty-six different kinds of cheese?

Always choose the hardest way, on it you will not find opponents

I have come to the conclusion that politics are too serious a matter to be left to the politicians.

Silence is the ultimate weapon of power.

In politics it is necessary either to betray one's country or the electorate. I prefer to betray the electorate.

The graveyards are full of indispensable men.

You have to be fast on your feet and adaptive or else a strategy is useless.

He who laughs last didn't get the joke.

Belgium is a country invented by the British to annoy the French.

When a woman becomes her own best friend life is easier.

He only profits from praise who values criticism.

America may be unique in being a country which has leapt from barbarism to decadence without touching civilization.

I work three days at home, and two days in the British Library or the London Library, just to get out of the house and hide from the children.

Bette Davis taught Hollywood to follow an actress instead of the actress following the camera, and she's probably the best movie actress there's ever been.

Make me the the master of education, and I will undertake to change the world.

Fast food is hugely important in the life of a comedy writer. All we do is order in, and what we're going to eat is hotly debated.

I kept starting 'Anansi Boys' as a movie and stopping, and eventually wrote the novel and was happy.

I am not a person who I am thinking about what I achieved or what I don't achieve. I am a person who try to enjoy the moment. That's what I do.

A cat won't curry favor even if it's in their best interests to do so. A cat can't be a hypocrite. If more preachers were like cats, this would be a more religious country.