Soviet author Quotes

“I wouldn't be worth my salt if I weren't attracting some controversy and criticism. Everyone in the world who has done something in life has attracted criticism.”

“Nothing is more obstinate than a fashionable consensus.”

“We are a British nation with British characteristics. Every country can take some small minorities and in many ways they add to the richness and variety of this country. The moment the minority threatens to become a big one, people get frightened.”

“There are always dangers about. Therefore you must always keep your defences strong.”

“We should not underestimate the enormity of the task which lies ahead. But little can be achieved without sound money. It is the bedrock of sound government.”

“I'm not a good butcher but I've had to learn to carve the joint. People expect a new look.”

“The Government wants a peaceful settlement. But we totally reject a peaceful sell-out.”

“It is no exaggeration to describe plain English as a fundamental tool of government.”

“To cure the British disease with socialism was like trying to cure leukaemia with leeches.”

“It pays to know the enemy - not least because at some time you may have the opportunity to turn him into a friend.”

“I've got my teeth into him, and I'm not going to let go.”

“Freedom is not synonymous with an easy life. ... There are many difficult things about freedom: It does not give you safety, it creates moral dilemmas for you; it requires self-discipline; it imposes great responsibilities; but such is the nature of Man and in such consists his glory and salvation.”

“I started out in life with two great advantages: No money and good parents.”

“I don't want to fight any wars; if you can get them off before we get there, you do it, but off they go.”

“If you set out to be liked, you would be prepared to compromise on anything at any time, and you would achieve nothing.”

“Most women defend themselves. It is the female of the species-it is the tigress and lioness in you which tends to defend when attacked.”

“The real case against socialism is not its economic inefficiency, though on all sides there is evidence of that. Much more fundamental is its basic immorality.”

“All attempts to destroy democracy by terrorism will fail. It must be business as usual.”

“I believe that the royal family are a focus of patriotism, of loyalty, of affection and of esteem. That is a rare combination, and we should value it highly.”

“Whoever sides with the revolutionary people is a revolutionary. Whoever sides with imperialism, feudalism and bureaucrat-capitalism is a counter-revolutionary. Whomever sides with the revolutionary people in words only but acts otherwise is a revolutionary in speech. Whoever sides with the revolutionary people in deed as well as in word is a revolutionary in the full sense.”

“Don't wait untill problems pile up and cause a lot of trouble before trying to solve them. Leaders must march ahead the movement, not lag behind it.”

“Take the ideas of the masses (scattered and unsystematic ideas) and concentrate them (through study turn them into concentrated and systematic ideas), then go to the masses and propagate and explain these ideas until the masses embrace them as their own”

“The Long March The Red Army is not afraid of hardship on the march, the long march. Ten thousand waters and a thousand mountains are nothing. The Five Sierras meander like small waves, the summits of Wumeng pour on the plain like balls of clay. Cliffs under clouds are warm and washed below by the River Gold Sand. Iron chains are cold, reaching over the Tatu River. The far snows of Minshan only make us happy and when the army pushes through, we all laugh. October 1935”

“Civilize the mind but make savage the body.”

“As for people who are politically backward, Communists should not slight or despise them, but should befriend them, unite with them, convince them and encourage them to go forward.”