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.

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.

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.

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

Be yourself. Don't worry about what other people are thinking of you, because they're probably feeling the same kind of scared, horrible feelings that everyone does.

The good will of the governed will be starved if not fed by the good deeds of the governors.

The world belongs to those who set out to conquer it armed with self confidence and good humour.

Life is too short, the world is too big and God's love is too great to live ordinary.

You pay to have a good time, you don't always want to pay to be schooled or sad or reminded how bad you got it. To me a movie theater ain't always the place for that.

Science is not about what's true or what might be true, science is about what people with originally diverse viewpoints can be forced to believe by the weight of public evidence.

When you're an actor, you're very much exposed, but in a strange way you're totally protected behind a character, behind a script, behind a director.

Wasting time is something that people do or feel all over the world, not just in Italy.

Well, then, do it then, boy.

People accuse me of being arrogant all the time. I'm not arrogant, I'm focused.