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Winston Churchill Quotes and Quotations
I am easily satisfied with the very best. We shape our buildings; thereafter they shape us. That long (Canadian) frontier from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean, guarded only by neighbourly respect and honourable obligations, as an example to every country and a pattern for the future of the world. Courage is rightly esteemed the first of human qualities because it is the quality which guarantees all others. 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. The English never draw a line without blurring it. It is a mistake to look too far ahead. Only one link in the chain of destiny can be handled at a time. When I am abroad, I always make it a rule never to criticize or attack the government of my own country. I make up for lost time when I come home. We are all worms, but I do believe that I am a glow-worm. Dictators ride to and fro on tigers from which they dare not dismount. And the tigers are getting hungry. An appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile - hoping it will eat him last. 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. I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat. I have never accepted what many people have kindly said, namely that I have inspired the nation. It was the nation and the race dwelling all around the globe that had the lion heart. I had the luck to be called upon to give the roar. Without a measureless and perpetual uncertainty, the drama of human life would be destroyed. Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few. Out of intense complexities intense simplicities emerge. I cannot pretend to feel impartial about colours. I rejoice with the brilliant ones and am genuinely sorry for the poor browns. Politics is more dangerous than war, for in war you are only killed once. India is a geographical term. It is no more a United Nation than the Equator. He has all of the virtues I dislike and none of the vices I admire. Solitary trees, if they grow at all, grow strong. Say what you have to say and the first time you come to a sentence with a grammatical ending - sit down. If you have an important point to make, don't try to be subtle or clever. Use a pile-driver. Hit the point once. Then come back and hit it again. Then hit it a third time - a tremendous whack! It is no use saying 'we are doing our best.' You have got to succeed in doing what is necessary. Never give in, never give in, never, never, never, never - in nothing great or small, large or petty - never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense. There are few virtues which the Poles do not possess and there are few errors they have ever avoided. Do not let us speak of darker days; let us speak rather of sterner days. These are not dark days: these are great days - the greatest days our country has ever lived. Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties, and so bear ourselves that, if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will still say: "This was their finest hour." We shall not flag or fail. We shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender. War is mainly a catalogue of blunders. No one can guarantee success in war, but only deserve it. 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. We must have a better word than "prefabricated", why not "ready-made"? The English know how to make the best of things. Their so-called muddling through is simply skill at dealing with the inevitable. If one has to submit, it is wasteful not to do so with the best grace possible. All the great things are simple, and many can be expressed in a single word: freedom; justice; honor; duty; mercy; hope. Curse ruthless time! Curse our mortality. How cruelly short is the allotted span for all we must cram into it! If we open a quarrel between the past and the present, we shall find we have lost the future. It is a mistake to look too far ahead. Only one link in the chain of destiny can be handled at a time. Success is going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm. We must beware of needless innovations, especially when guided by logic. A fanatic is one who can't change his mind and won't change the subject. I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears, and sweat. One ought never to turn one's back on a threatened danger and try to run away from it. If you do that, you will double the danger. But if you meet it promptly and without flinching, you will reduce the danger by half. Never run away from anything. Never! 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. Courage is the first of the human qualities because it is the quality which guarantees all the others. Without courage, all other virtues lose their meaning. Success is never found. Failure is never fatal. Courage is the only thing. We shall draw from the heart of suffering itself the means of inspiration and survival. Success is going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm. It is no use saying "we are doing our best." You have got to succeed in doing what is necessary. Continuous effort-not strength or intelligence-is the key to unlocking our potential. The problems of victory are more agreeable than those of defeat, but they are no less difficult. Victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory however long and hard the hard may be; for without victory there is no survival. Victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory however long and hard the road may be; for without victory there is no survival. The maxim "Nothing avails but perfection" may be spelled "Paralysis." Continuous efforts-not strength or intelligence-is the key to unlocking our potential. Never give in! Never give in! Never, never, never, never.... In nothing great or small, large or petty, never give in except to convictions or honor and good sense! We shall go on to the end. We shall fight in France, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be. We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields, and in the streets, we shall fight in the halls. We shall never surrender. Success is going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm. Where does the family start? It starts with a young man falling in love with a girl - no superior alternative has yet been found. My most brilliant achievement was my ability to be able to persuade my wife to marry me. Most people hate the taste of beer to begin with. It is, however, a prejudice that many people have been able to overcome. Mr. Attlee is a very modest man. But then he has much to be modest about. I am prepared to meet my Maker. Whether my Maker is prepared for the ordeal of meeting me is another matter. I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat. Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties, and so -bear ourselves that, if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will still say, "This was their finest hour." Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few. Terminological inexactitude The English never draw a line without blurring it. Never give in, never give in, never, never, never, never - in nothing great or small, large or petty - never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense. |