The man who is not afraid of danger is not a hero, but a psychopath.

A couple from Sydney or Melbourne might leave on the same day for their holiday: the wife might go sun-bathing at Surfers Paradise, in Queensland, the husband ski-ing in the Snowy Mountains. A lucky country.

In England only uneducated people show off their knowledge; nobody quotes Latin or Greek authors in the course of conversation, unless he has never read them.

The Americans are extremely gadget minded people and American gadgets have a peculiar characteristic: they work.

Was he joking? Was he being sarcastic? Aggressive? Impertinent? Or just courteous? There was no telling from his impassive face. What a country, he thought despairingly. In Russia you always knew. If a man made a stern face he was threatening; if he was laughing uproariously, he was joking.

A dog will flatter you but you have to flatter the cat.

The Japanese are human beings like the rest of us, but they will strongly resent this insinuation.