I used to think it was clever to confuse comedy with tragedy. Now I wish I could distinguish them.

Power expands through the distribution of secrecy.

Agents of disruption, subversion, sabotage and disinformation tunnelers and smugglers, listeners and forgers, trainers and recruiters and talent spotters and couriers and watchers and seducers, assassins and balloonists, lip readers and disguise artists.

As our Governments spin, lie and lose their credibility, the electorate simply shrugs and looks the other way.

Smiley was soaked to the skin and God as a punishment had removed all taxis from the face of London.

Home's where you go when you run out of homes.

George Smiley: [quoting an old letter from Bill Haydon about Jim Prideaux] He has that heavy quiet that commands. He's my other half. Between us we'd make one marvelous man. He asks nothing better than to be in my company or that of my wicked, divine friends, and I'm vastly tickled by the compliment. He's virgin, about eight foot tall, and built by the same firm that did Stonehenge