Quotes by Winston Churchill
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The statesman who yields to war fever must realise that once the signal is given, he is no longer the master of policy but the slave of unforeseeable and uncontrollable events.

Never believe any war will be smooth and easy, or that anyone who embarks on the strange voyage can measure the tides and hurricanes he will encounter.

Free speech carries with it the evil of all foolish, unpleasant venomous things that are said but, on the whole, we would rather lump them than do away with them.

Decided only to be undecided, resolved to be irresolute, adamant for drift, solid for fluidity, all-powerful to be impotent.

No one saves us but ourselves. No one can and no one may. We ourselves must walk the path. Some of us think holding on makes us strong; but sometimes it is letting go. Continuous effort -- not strength or intelligence -- is the key to unlocking our potential.

The spacious philanthropy which President Woodrow Wilson exhaled upon Europe stopped quite sharply at the coasts of his own country.

I would say to the House, as I said to those who have joined this government: I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat.

It is a curious fact about British Islanders, who hate drill and have not been invaded for nearly a thousand years, that as danger comes nearer and grows they become progressively less nervous; when it is imminent the are fierce, when it is mortal they are fearless.

I feel like an aeroplane at the end of its flight, in the dusk, with the petrol running out, in search of a safe landing.

If you are going to go through hell, keep going.

Haven't you learned yet that I put something more than whisky into my speeches.

The tank was originally invented to clear a way for the infantry in the teeth of machine-gun fire. Now it is the infantry who will have to clear a way for the tanks.

Just to paint is great fun. The colours are lovely to look at and delicious to squeeze out. Matching them, however crudely, with what you see is fascinating and absolutely absorbing.

Let us set up a standard around which the brave and the loyal can rally.

The Fascists of the future will be the anti-fascists.

There is no time for ease and comfort. It is the time to dare and endure.

Before you can inspire with emotion, you must be swamped with it yourself. Before you can move their tears, your own must flow. To convince them, you must yourself, believe.

Sometimes doing your best is not good enough. Sometimes you must do what is required.

I never worry about action, but only about inaction.

Never let a good crisis go to waste.

My tastes are simple: I am easily satisfied with the best.

Sunshine is my quest.

Anyone can rat, but it takes a certain amount of ingenuity to re-rat.

There was a man who sold a hyena skin while the beast still lived and who was killed in hunting it.

I cannot forecast to you the action of Russia. It is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma: but perhaps there is a key. That key is Russian national interest.

You must put your head into the lion's mouth if the performance is to be a success.

Schools have not necessarily much to do with education...they are mainly institutions of control where certain basic habits must be inculcated in the young. Education is quite different and has little place in school.

When you are on a great horse, you have the best seat you will ever have.

All men make mistakes, but only wise men learn from their mistakes.

Every garden presents innumerable fascinating problems.

We shall never surrender.

When you are winning a war almost everything that happens can be claimed to be right and wise.

Indomitable in retreat, invincible in advance; insufferable in victory.

Arm yourselves, and be ye men of valor, and be in readiness for the conflict; for it is better for us to perish in battle than to look upon the outrage of our nation and our altar.

There is at least one thing worse than fighting with allies -- And that is to fight without them.

Always remember, a cat looks down on man, a dog looks up to man, but a pig will look man right in the eye and see his equal.

You may have to fight when there is no hope of victory, because it is better to perish than live as slaves.

Broadly speaking, human beings may be divided into three classes: those who are billed to death, those who are worried to death, and those who are bored to death.

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.'

The water was not fit to drink. To make it palatable, we had to add whisky. By diligent effort, I learned to like it.

By swallowing evil words unsaid, no one has ever harmed his stomach.

Painting came to my rescue in a most trying time.

A gentleman is a man who is only rude when he intends to be.

If one has to submit, it is wasteful not to do so with the best grace possible.

Here is the answer which I will give to President Roosevelt. Give us the tools, and we will finish the job.

A joke is a very serious thing.

Without victory there is no survival!

The V sign is the symbol of the unconquerable will of the occupied territories, and a portent of the fate awaiting the Nazi tyranny.

Victory is the beautiful, bright-colored flower. Transport is the stem without which it could never have blossomed.

A modest little person, with much to be modest about.

There but for the grace of God, goes God.

Make for the children an evening of happiness in a world of storm. Let the children have their night of fun and laughter... resolved that by our daring, these same children shall not be denied their right to live in a free and decent world.

The great defence against aerial menace is to attack the enemy's aircraft as near as possible to their point of departure.

Here life itself, life at its best and healthiest, awaits the caprice of the bullet. Let us see the development of the day. All else may stand over, perhaps forever. Existence is never so sweet as when it is at hazard.

We are still masters of our fate. We are still captains of our souls.

No hour of life is wasted that is spent in the saddle.

They say that nobody is perfect. Then they tell you practice makes perfect. I wish they'd make up their minds.

These are great days.

Canada is the linchpin of the English-speaking world.

Remember gentleman, it's not just France we're fighting for, it's Champagne!

If we could get out of this jam by giving up Malta and Gibraltar and some African colonies I would jump at it. But the only safe way is to convince Hitler that he cannot beat us.

Some people did not like this ceremonious style. But after all when you have to kill a man it costs nothing to be polite.

You ought to let the Jews have Jerusalem; it is they who made it famous.

Only changes in mindsets can extend the frontiers of the possible.

Don't talk to me about naval tradition. It's nothing but rum, sodomy, and the lash.

Study history, study history. In history lie all the secrets of statecraft.

Gentleman, I am hardening on this enterprise. I repeat, I am now hardening towards this enterprise.

There is nothing wrong with change, if it is in the right direction.

A vocabulary of truth and simplicity will be of service throughout your life.

It is my belief, you cannot deal with the most serious things in the world unless you understand the most amusing.

Courage is rightly considered the foremost of the virtues, for upon it all others depend.

I am quite sure, that if we open a quarrel between the past and the present, we shall find that we have lost the future.

You create your own universe as you go along.

The loyalties which center upon number one are enormous. If he trips, he must be sustained. If he make mistakes, they must be covered. If he sleeps, he must not be wantonly disturbed. If he is no good, he must be pole-axed.

Never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy.

In war it does not matter who is right, but who is left.

Politics are almost as exciting as war, and quite as dangerous. In war you can only be killed once, but in politics many times.

Never give in. Never, never, never.

Mountaintops inspire leaders but valleys mature them.

Criticism may not be agreeable, but it is necessary. It fulfills the same function as pain in the human body. It calls attention to an unhealthy state of things.

Kites rise highest against the wind -- not with it.

I am ready to meet my Maker. Whether my Maker is prepared for the great ordeal of meeting me is another matter.

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.

The truth is incontrovertible, malice may attack it, ignorance may deride it, but in the end; there it is.

The length of this document defends it well against the risk of its being read.

We are stripped bare by the curse of plenty.

I always avoid prophesying beforehand, because it is a much better policy to prophesy after the event has already taken place.

Do not let spacious plans for a new world divert your energies from saving what is left of the old.

Eating words has never given me indigestion.

If you go on with this nuclear arms race, all you are going to do is make the rubble bounce.

Most people stumble over the truth, now and then, but they usually manage to pick themselves up and go on, anyway.

It is a fine game to play -- the game of politics -- and it is well worth waiting for a good hand before really plunging.

If the human race wishes to have a prolonged and indefinite period of material prosperity, they have only got to behave in a peaceful and helpful way toward one another.

I always seem to get inspiration and renewed vitality by contact with this great novel land of yours which sticks up out of the Atlantic.

It is a fine thing to be honest, but it is also very important to be right.

Meeting Franklin Roosevelt was like opening your first bottle of champagne; knowing him was like drinking it.