Always remember that the crowd that applauds your coronation is the same crowd that will applaud your beheading. People like a show.

Most species do their own evolving, making it up as they go along, which is the way Nature intended. And this is all very natural and organic and in tune with mysterious cycles of the cosmos, which believes that there's nothing like millions of years of really frustrating trial and error to give a species moral fiber and, in some cases, backbone.

Modesty is only arrogance by stealth.

These people were not only cheering, they were throwing flowers and hats. The hats were made of stone, but the thought was there.

The pen is mightier than the sword ... if the sword is very short, and the pen is very sharp.

I'm interested in mythology generally, but India has no special place in my heart - although Hindu gods seem a lot more fun.

It's tough at the top. It's tough at the bottom. But in between you could use them for horse-shoes.