Give a man a car of his own and he leaves humility and common sense behind him in the garage.

A committee is an animal with four back legs.

I was quite able at the insignificant work I did in MI6, but absolutely dysfunctional in my domestic life. I had no experience of fatherhood. I had no example of marital bliss or the family unit.

A lot of people see doubt as legitimate philosophical posture. They think of themselves in the middle, whereas of course really, they're nowhere.

People who've had very unhappy childhoods are pretty good at inventing themselves. If nobody invents you for yourself, nothing is left but to invent yourself for others.

...also took for granted that secret services were the only real measure of a nations political health, the only real expression of its subconscious.

Unfortunately it is the weak who destroy the strong.