I went into journalism in a grandiose way. I thought maybe I'd do a little journalism whilst I write the great novel of all time you see -- one has to keep oneself afloat.

To be defeated, but not to give in, is victory.

Who invented political tolerance? The English invented it, it's something which has taken roots with some difficulty in Scottish politics.

I'm always interested in debunking myths if they are untrue. But it's also important to identify myths and how they function, what value they may have.

I am always fascinated when people talk about 'the forging of a nation'. Most nations are forgeries, perpetrated in the last century or so.

Darwinism did not strip meaning from the world but intensified it, 'by identifying it in as many aspects of life as possible'.

I think England has been in the long-term damaged by Britishness.

On the Black Sea, my father saw it begin. And on the Black Sea, seventy years on, I saw the beginning of its end.

To be defeated, but not to give in, is victory.- Jósef Piłsudski

Real education must ultimately be limited to men who insist on knowing. The rest is mere sheep herding.

Whatever is what you are creating is what creates you.

As a young man on the streets of Derry, I saw Ian Paisley as an immortal opponent of everything to do with equality, justice, fairness, and respect for Irishness.

The unbelieving mind would not be convinced by any proof, and the worshiping heart needs none.

John Travolta said he sometimes lets his friends take control of his airplane even though they don't know what they're doing. Then Travolta said he often does the same thing with his career.

Hope is not just one single quality or promise. Hope has to do with believing beyond today— knowing there’s a garden of beauty that awaits me.

I don'’t think there was one. I can'’t name one. Not because I had a lot of great feuds, but it would be hard to say the defining feud.

If a man loves the labour of his trade, apart from any question of success or fame, the gods have called him.

The violence at the end is about personal torture.

For kindness begets kindness evermore, But he from whose mind fades the memory Of benefits, noble is he no more.