Great Throughts Treasury

"Any man who says he is not afraid of death is a liar."

"Censure is often useful, praise often deceitful."

"A fanatic is one who can't change his mind and won't change the subject."

"Courage is rightly esteemed the first of human qualities because, as has been said, it is the quality which guarantees all others."

"I contend that for a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle."

"However beautiful the strategy, you should occasionally look at the results."

"It has been said that Democracy is the worst form of government except all those other forms that have been tried from time to time."

"In war, as in life, it is often necessary, when some cherished scheme has failed, to take up the best alternative open, and if so, it is folly not to work for it with all your might."

"It is no use saying, "We are doing our best." You have got to succeed in doing what is necessary."

"It is a mistake to look too far ahead. Only one link in the chain of destiny can be handled at a time."

"Only faith in a life after death in a brighter world where dear ones will meet again - only that and the measured tramp of time can give consolation."

"Men stumble over the truth from time to time, but most pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing happened."

"Moral force is, unhappily, no substitute for armed force, but it is a very great reinforcement."

"So long as I am acting from duty and conviction, I am indifferent to taunts and jeers. I think they will probably do me more good than harm."

"The empires of the future are the empires of the mind."

"Out of intense complexities intense simplicities emerge."

"The best argument against democracy is a five minute conversation with the average voter."

"The glory of human nature lies in our seeming capacity to exercise conscious control of our own destiny."

"The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of the blessings. The inherent blessing of socialism is the equal sharing of misery."

"The power of man has grown in every sphere, except over himself."

"The greatest lesson in life is to know that even fools are right sometimes."

"We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give."

"The whole history of the world is summed up in the fact that, when nations are strong, they are not always just, and when they wish to be just, they are no longer strong."

"To build may have to be the slow and laborious task of years. To destroy can be the thoughtless act of a single day."

"The price of greatness is responsibility."

"We shape our buildings; thereafter they shape us."

"When great causes are on the move in the world, stirring all men’s souls, drawing them from their firesides, casting aside comfort, wealth and the pursuit of happiness in response to impulses at once awe-striking and irresistible, we learn that we are spirits, not animals."

"When asked what are the desirable qualifications for any young person who wishes to become a politician, Churchill replied: It 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."

"When I look back on all these worries I remember the story of the old man who said on his deathbed that he had had a lot of trouble in this life, most of which never happened."

"Without a measureless and perpetual uncertainty, the drama of human life would be destroyed."

"Without freedom there is no foundation for our Empire; without Empire there is no safeguard for our freedom."

"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."

"All the great things are simple, and many can be expressed in a single word: freedom, justice, honor, duty, mercy, hope."

"Continuous effort - not strength or intelligence - is the key to unlocking our potential."

"If you can start your day without caffeine, If you can always be cheerful and ignore aches and pains, If you can resist the claims and not to bore people with your problems, if you can eat the same food every day and be thankful for it, if you can understand a loved one, when it is not enough for you. time, if you can skip past the ears of the allegations made ​​by a loved one, when everything goes wrong is not your fault, if you can safely take criticism, if you can relate to my poor friend as well as the rich, if you can do without lies and deceit, If you can deal with stress without medication, If you can relax without liquor, If you can sleep without pills, If you can honestly say that you have no prejudice against color, religion, sexual orientation or policy means that you have reached the level of your dog. "

"A communist is like a crocodile: when it opens its mouth you cannot tell whether it is trying to smile or preparing to eat you up."

"A baboon in a forest is a matter of legitimate speculation; a baboon in a zoo is an object of public curiosity; but a baboon in your wife?s bed is a cause of the gravest concern."

"A cat will look down to a man. A dog will look up to a man. But a pig will look you straight in the eye and see his equal."

"A curious mixture of geniality and venom. [on Herbert Morrison]"

"A change is as good as a rest."

"A group of pagan ruffians and pirates had gained possession of an effective military and naval machine, but they faced a mass of formidable veterans whom they had to feed and manage, and for whom they must provide killings. Such men make plans, and certainly their descent upon England was one of the most carefully considered and elaborately prepared villainies of that dark time."

"A good speech should be like a woman's skirt; long enough to cover the subject and short enough to create interest."

"A hard-boiled egg of a man - at once a callous, a crafty and an ill-formed man."

"A heightened sense of the observation of nature is one of the chief delights that have come to me through trying to paint."

"A hopeful disposition is not the sole qualification to be a prophet."

"A joke is a very serious thing"

"A kite flies against the wind, not with it."

"A lady came up to me one day and said 'Sir! You are drunk', to which I replied 'I am drunk today madam, and tomorrow I shall be sober but you will still be ugly."

"A little mouse of thought appears in the room, and even the mightiest potentates are thrown into panic. They make frantic efforts to bar our thoughts and words; they are afraid of the workings of the human mind."

"A lie gets half way around the world before the truth has a chance to put its pants on."