The whole history of civilization is strewn with creeds and institutions which were invaluable at first, and deadly afterwards

A great pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do.

You may talk of the tyranny of Nero and Tiberius; but the real tyranny is the tyranny of your next-door neighbor.

A severe though not unfriendly critic of our institutions said that the cure for admiring the House of Lords was to go and look at it.

The best reason why Monarchy is a strong government is, that it is an intelligible government. The mass of mankind understand it, and they hardly anywhere in the world understand any other.

Progress would not have been the rarity it is if the early food had not been the late poison.

Royalty is a government in which the attention of the nation is concentrated on one person doing interesting actions.

Nothing is more unpleasant than a virtuous person with a mean mind.

One of the greatest pains to human nature is the pain of a new idea.

It is often said that men are ruled by their imaginations; but it would be truer to say they are governed by the weakness of their imaginations.

A Parliament is nothing less than a big meeting of more or less idle people.

I was fifteen years old when I understood how it is that things break down: people can't imagine someone else's point of view.

Denial is a very effective human trick. People often tell how a situation was "unbearable, " though, clearly, they have borne it. Lived to tell, so to speak.

It's the ordinary things that seem important to me.

You know, I was at CBS News for 28 years. I may have run an unidentified source. Frankly, I don't remember.

My best evenings are at home with my lady.

In doing that which we most enjoy, we will probably make our most significant contribution to society, and the contribution we make to society determines our rewards.

Today...the bluebirds, old and young, have revisited their box, as if they would fain repeat the summer without intervention of winter, if Nature would let them.

I've accomplished a lot, but I still have more dreams that I want to achieve.

All I want is a gentleman. I'm sick to bloody death of bastards.

You know, party every day until 6 a.m. and then sleep during the day.