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Thursday, April 21, 2022

Winston Churchill - Quotes


I have decided to step out of the comfort of American quotes and bring a few from across the pond. Winston Churchill may well be one of the most quotable speakers of his age. I do try and make sure that the quotes I list have been verified as being spoken by Churchill, just like I did with Mark Twain and John Adams There are lots of quotes out there attributable to famous individuals that have been twisted or just plain made up.

A few shorter quotes from Mr. Churchill

"Nothing in life is so exhilarating as to be shot at without result." 1898

"I object on principle to doing by legislation what properly belongs to human good feeling and charity." 1902

"The nose of the bulldog has been slanted backwards so that he can breathe without letting go." 1905

"The usefulness of a naval invention ceases when it is enjoyed by everyone else." 1913

"At the beginning of this war, megalomania was the only form of sanity." 1915

"Nothing makes a man more reverent than a library." 1921

"He spoke without a note and almost without a point." 1931

"France, though armed to the teeth, is pacifist to the core." 1932

"Never...was so much owed by so many to so few." 1940

"If we win, nobody will care. If we lose, there will be nobody to care." 1941

"We must beware of needless innovation, especially when guided by logic." 1942

"The English never draw a line without blurring it." 1948

"If you destroy a free market you create a black market." 1949

"Nationalization of industry is the doom of trade unionism." 1950

And a few longer ones to feed the beast:

"The era of procrastination, of half-measures, of soothing and baffling expedients, of delays is coming o a close. In its place we are entering a period of consequences."

"United wishes and good will cannot overcome brute facts. Truth is incontrovertible. Panic may resent it. Ignorance may deride it. Malice may distort it. But there it is."

"In the twinkling of an eye, I found myself without an office, without a seat, without a party, and without and appendix."

"The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of blessings. The inherent virtue of Socialism is the equal sharing of miseries."

"Danger gathers upon our path. We cannot afford - we have no right - to look back. We must look forward"

"We shall go on to the end, 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. June 4, 1940

Some of those should get the blood flowing!

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