Politics is more dangerous than war for in war you are only killed once.

The positive thinker sees the invisible, feels the intangible, and achieves the impossible.

The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees opportunity in every difficulty.

Diplomacy is the art of telling people to go to hell in such a way that they ask for directions.

There is nothing government can give you that it hasn't taken from you in the first place.

Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery.

You will never reach your destination if you stop and throw stones at every dog that barks.

Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.

Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.

Fear is a reaction. Courage is a decision.

A nation that forgets its past has no future.

Let's life bring a joy, and let's realise that this now is a lie and to make a truth. To make a real life!

The trick is learning to frame your new ideas as tweaks of old ideas, to mix a little fluency with a little disfluency—to make your audience see the familiarity behind the surprise.

I found that the same softness which once made me a target now compelled people to trust me with their stories.

How often things occur by mere chance which we dared not even hope for.

It seems farther away now because there are no rockets getting there. Nobody is going.

I can't be anonymous by reason of your confounded photographs. (To Julia Margaret Cameron)

It was here in Edinburgh that in the 1980s I joined with many others to protest against Margaret Thatcher as she arrived to address the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland.

Life is fragile and absurd.

End your day by privately looking directly into your eyes in the mirror and saying, 'I love you'. Do this for thirty days and watch how you transform.

I couldn't live my reputation down - all right then, I'd live up to it.