Winston Churchill Quotes

Diplomacy is the art of telling plain truths without giving offense.

There is no limit to the ingenuity of man if it is properly and vigorously applied under conditions of peace and justice.

The power of an air force is terrific when there is nothing to oppose it.

[There are dangers in] the disposition to hunt down rich men as if they were noxious beasts.

The only thing wrong with Christianity is the lack of suffering.

The test of real character is what a man does when he is tired.

I'm bored with it all. Before slipping into a coma. He died 9 days later.

I was not the lion, but it fell to me to give the lion's roar.

I do not agree that the dog in a manger has the final right to the manger even though he may have lain there for a very long time. I do not admit that right. I do not admit for instance, that a great wrong has been done to the Red Indians of America or the black people of Australia. I do not admit that a wrong has been done to these people by the fact that a stronger race, a higher-grade race, a more worldly wise race to put it that way, has come in and taken their place.

Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.

The United States invariably does the right thing, after having exhausted every other alternative.

Indomitable in retreat, invincible in advance; insufferable in victory.

Do what you like, but like what you do.

If you're not a liberal at twenty you have no heart, if you're not a conservative at forty, you have no brain.

Life is fraught with opportunities to keep your mouth shut.

This war proceeds along its terrible path by the slaughter of infantry...I say to myself every day. What is going on while we sit here, while we go away to dinner or home to bed? Nearly, 1000 - Englishmen, Britishers, and the other is America...Everything else is swept away.

Americans always do the right thing, once they have exhausted all other possibilities.

There is no surer method of economizing and saving money than in the reduction of the number of officials.

Books, in all their variety, offer the human intellect the means whereby civilisation may be carried triumphantly forward.

Science bestowed immense new powers on man, and at the same time, created conditions which were largely beyond his comprehension.

The great defence against aerial menace is to attack the enemy's aircraft as near as possible to their point of departure.

An old battleax of a woman said to Winston Churchill, "If you were my husband I would put poison in your tea." Churchill's response, "Ma'am if you were my wife I would drink it.

It is a great mistake to suppose that thrift is caused only by fear; it springs from hope as well as from fear; where there is no hope, be sure there will be no thrift.

Beware of driving men to desperation. Even a cornered rat is dangerous.

A world united is better than a world divided, but a world divided is better than a world destroyed.

I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat.

If one has to submit, it is wasteful not to do so with the best grace possible.

On 17th July there came to us at Potsdam the eagerly-awaited news of the trial of the atomic bomb in the [New] Mexican desert. Success beyond all dreams crowded this sombre, magnificent venture of our American allies. The detailed reports ... could leave no doubt in the minds of the very few who were informed, that we were in the presence of a new factor in human affairs, and possessed of powers which were irresistible.

The malice of the wicked was reinforced by the weakness of the virtuous.

We should lay aside every hindrance and endeavour by uniting the whole force and spirit of our people to raise again a great British nation standing up before all the world; for such a nation, rising in its ancient vigour, can even at this hour save civilization.

Unless some effective world supergovernment for the purpose of preventing war can be set up ... the prospects for peace and human progress are dark ....If .... it is found possible to build a world organization of irresistible force and inviolable authority for the purpose of securing peace, there are no limits to the blessings which all men enjoy and share.

It is wonderful how well men can keep secrets they have not been told.

My tastes are simple. I like only the very best.

Without ships, we cannot live.

One cannot leap a chasm in two jumps.

The way to achieve happiness is to try for perfection that is impossible to achieve, and spend the rest of your life trying to achieve it.

These are great days.

I am writing in one of the Keepers' Lodges to wh I have returned after stalking & where I am waiting for the Prince of Wales. Quite the best day's sport I have had in this country - 4 good stags & home early!

Indeed I do not think we should be justified in using any but the more sombre tones and colours while our people, our Empire, and indeed the whole English-speaking world are passing through a dark and deadly valley.

It is a good thing to stand away from the canvas from time to time and take a full view of the picture.

Most people hate the taste of beer - to begin with. It is, however, a prejudice that many people have been able to overcome.

I let the argument rip healthily between the departments. This is a very good way to finding out the truth.

All this contains much that is obviously true, and much that is relevant; unfortunately, what is obviously true is not relevant, and what is relevant is not obviously true.

The first quality that is needed is audacity.

Never believe any war will be smooth and easy, or that anyone who embarks on the strange voyage can measure the tides and hurricanes he will encounter.

Lady Nancy Astor: Winston, if you were my husband, I'd poison your tea. Churchill: Nancy, if I were your husband, I'd drink it.

When you're 20 you care what everyone thinks, when you're 40 you stop caring what everyone thinks, when you're 60 you realize no one was ever thinking about you in the first place. You have enemies? Good. That means you've stood up for something, sometime in your life.

Curse ruthless time! Curse our mortality. How cruelly short is the allotted span for all we must cram into it!