The Secret Intelligence Service I knew occupied dusky suites of little rooms opposite St James's Park Tube station in London.

In itself, the practice of deception is not particularly exacting; it is a matter of experience, of professional expertise, it is a facility most of us can acquire.

A good man knows when to sacrifice himself, a bad man survives but loses his soul.

If you see the world as gloomily as I see it, the only thing to do is laugh or shoot yourself.

All power corrupts but some must govern.

I don't know whether it's age or maturity, but I certainly find myself committed more and more to the looser forms of Western democracy at any price.

Without a pen in my hand I can't think.