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| Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill born 30 November 1874 died 24 January 1965 was Prime Minister of the U.K. from 1940 to 1945 and 1951 to 1955 |
Quotes by Winston Churchill
All the great things are simple, and many can be expressed in a single word: freedom, justice, honor, duty, hope, mercy.A fanatic is one who can’t change his mind and won’t change the subject.
There is not one single social or economic principle or concept in the philosophy of the Russian Bolshevik which has not been realized, carried into action, and enshrined in immutable laws a million years ago by the white ant.
Everyone is in favor of free speech. Hardly a day passes without its being extolled, but some people’s idea of it is that they are free to say what they like, but if anyone says anything back, that is an outrage.
It may well be that we shall by a process of sublime irony have reached a state in this story where safety will be the sturdy child of terror, and survival the twin brother of annihilation.
A medal glitters but also casts a shadow.
A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.
I have always noticed that whenever a radical takes to Imperialism, he catches it in a very acute form.
I told my doctor I got all the exercise I needed being a pallbearer for all my friends who run and do exercises.
You ask what our aim is. I can answer in one word: victory. Victory at all costs, victory in spite of terror, victory however long and hard the road may be: for without victory there is no survival.
Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of them pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing had happened.
Politics is the ability to foretell what is going to happen tomorrow, next week, next month and next year, and to have the ability afterwards to explain why it didn’t happen.
Nothing in life is so exhilarating as to be shot at without result.
We shape our buildings; thereafter they shape us.
The water was not fit to drink. To make it palatable, we had to add whiskey. By diligent effort, I learned to like it.
We shall not fail or falter; we shall not weaken or tire. Give us the tools and we will finish the job.
It is no use saying, we are doing our best. You have got to succeed in doing what is necessary.
Politics are almost as exciting as war, and quite as dangerous. In war, you can only be killed once.
When I look back on all my worries, I remember the story of the old man who said on his deathbed that he had had a lot of trouble in his life, most of which never happened.
I do not resent criticism, even when for the sake of emphasis; it parts for the time with reality.
Feed the soldiers on their way to battle, and then let them be hungry, for they will fight for their next meal and the spoils of war.
In defeat, unbeatable; in victory, unbearable.
(The nation of Poland) There are few virtues that the Poles do not possess, and there are few mistakes they have ever avoided.
When you have to kill a man it costs nothing to be polite.
With the end of the Victorian era, we passed into what I feel I must call the terrible 20th century.
There are a lot of lies going around, and half of them are true.
We are all worms. But I do believe I am a glowworm.
The members of the Chamberlain government are decided only to be undecided, resolved to be irresolute, adamant for drift, all-powerful for impotency. (Note (Neville Chamberlain was Prime Minister 28 May 1937 to 10 May 1940 and preceded Winston Churchill)
The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of blessings; the inherent virtue of socialism is the equal sharing of misery.
The Almighty in his infinite wisdom did not see fit to create Frenchmen in the image of Englishmen.
MacDonald has the gift on compressing the largest amount of words into the smallest amount of thoughts. (Note (James Ramsay MacDonald, born 12 October 1866 died 9 November 1937 was the first Labour Party Prime Minister)
The price of greatness is responsibility.
Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.
Lady Nancy Astor was giving a costume ball and Winston Churchill asked her what disguise she would recommend for him. She replied, “Why don’t you come sober, Mr. Prime Minister?”
Lady Nancy Astor: “Winston, if you were my husband, I’d put poison in your coffee.” Winston Churchill: “Nancy, if you were my wife, I’d drink it.” (Note (Lady Nancy Astor born 19 May 1879 died 2 May 1964 was the first woman to become a UK Member of Parliament in 1919)
In those days he was wiser than he is now; he used to frequently take my advice.
Courage is the first of human qualities because it is the quality which guarantees all the others.
A prisoner of war is a man who tries to kill you and fails, and then asks you not to kill him.
An appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile, hoping that it will eat him last.
The best argument against democracy is a five minute conversation with the average voter.
There is something going on in time and space, and beyond time and space, which, whether we like it or not, spells duty.
An efficient and a successful administration manifests itself equally in small as in great matters.
Man will occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of the time he will pick himself up and continue on.
Democracy is the worst form of government except all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.
During a visit to America, Winston Churchill was invited to a buffet luncheon at which cold fried chicken was served. Returning for a second helping, he asked politely, “May I have some breast?”
”Mr. Churchill,” replied the hostess, “in this country we ask for white meat or dark meat.” Churchill apologized profusely. The following morning, the lady received a magnificent orchid from her guest of honor. The accompanying card read: “I would be most obliged if you would pin this on your white meat.”
If you go on with this nuclear arms race, all you are going to do is make the rubble bounce.
It would be a great reform in politics if perception could be made to spread as easily and as rapidly as foolishness.
Indomitable in retreat; invincible in advance; insufferable in victory.
The man who stands firm in order to protect a sand-castle can never be relied upon; for he has given away his common sense.
Kites rise highest against the wind and not with it.
George Bernard Shaw once sent two tickets to the opening night of one of his plays to Winston Churchill with the following note:
“Bring a friend, if you have one.”
Churchill wrote back, returning the two tickets and excused himself as he had a previous engagement. He also attached the following:
“Please send me two tickets for the next night, if there is one.”
In war the latest refinements of science are linked with the cruelties of the Stone Age.
Someone new to an endeavor often does well; the true test is the effort made when the novelty has faded.
I am so conceited I do not believe the Gods would create so potent a being as myself for so prosaic an ending.
I am an optimist. It does not seem too much use being anything else.
It is a mistake to try to look too far ahead. The chain of destiny can only be grasped one link at a time.
I am ready to meet my Maker. Whether my Maker is prepared for the great ordeal of meeting me is another matter.
I had a feeling once about mathematics; that I saw it all. Depth beyond depth was revealed to me; the Byss and the Abyss. I saw as one might see the transit of Venus or even the Lord Mayor’s Show; a quantity passing through infinity and changing its sign from plus to minus. I saw exactly why it happened and why tergiversation was inevitable; but it was after dinner and I let it go.
Ethics evolve naturally, and we trample upon them with laws created by reason and experience.
Human beings are of two classes: those whose work is work and whose pleasure is pleasure; and those whose work and pleasure are one.
End
