The very first thing the President [Truman] did was to show me the new Presidential Seal, which he had just redesigned. He explained, 'The seal has to go everywhere the President goes. It must be displayed upon the lectern when he speaks. The eagle used to face the arrows but I have re-designed it so that it now faces the olive branches ... what do you think?' I said, 'Mr. President, with the greatest respect, I would prefer the American eagle's neck to be on a swivel so that it could face the olive branches or the arrows, as the occasion might demand.'

Those who plan do better than those who do not plan, even should they rarely stick to their plan.

Never hold discussions with the monkey when the organ grinder is in the room.

How I hated schools, and what a life of anxiety I lived there. I counted the hours to the end of every term, when I should return home.

They [the Labour Party] are not fit to manage a whelk stall.

I am always ready to learn although I do not always like being taught.

The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of blessings; the inherent virtue of socialism is the equal sharing of miseries.