Quotes from Michael Dobbs

Why be so bloody miserable when you can pick up a good book or watch a great television drama?

Politics requires sacrifice. The sacrifice of others, of course.

His deepest need was that people should like him. An admirable trait that; in a spaniel. Or a whore.

You might very well think that - I couldn't possibly comment.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Truth lies in the hands of its editor.

It's not respect but fear that motivates a man; that's how empires are built and revolutions begin. It is the secret of great men. When a man is afraid you will crush him, utterly destroy him, his respect will always follow. Base fear is intoxicating, overwhelming, liberating. Always stronger than respect. Always.

Politics. The word is taken from the Ancient Greek. "Poly" means "many." And ticks are tiny, bloodsucking insects.

Some people come to the edge of the cliff and they look over, then run away in fear. They never realize it's possible to fly, to soar, to be free. They spend their lives crawling along cliff tops without finding the courage.

Why waste a life in search of an epitaph? 'Fondly Remembered'. Who other than a halfwit has that chiselled above his head?

Nothing lasts, not forever. Not laughter, not lust, not even life itself. Not forever. Which is why we make the most of what we have.

Morality, Sir, is the monologue of the unexcited and the unexcitable, the revenge of the unsuccessful, the punishment of those who tried and failed, or who never had the courage to try at all.

Since he was much weaker than his enemy, he could afford to display no weakness at all.

He talked about the future with such certainty, he might have been talking about the past.

Loyalty may be good news, but it is rarely good advice.

It's not respect but fear that motivates a man; that's how empires are built and revolutions begin. It is the secret of great men.

I knew what was waiting out there for me," he said. "Terrifying things. There were German patrol boats, mine fields, and nearly a thousand miles of stormy seas." "So why did you do it?" "Because also waiting for me was the most terrifying and wonderful thing of all. The future.

All members of a Cabinet are referred to as Right. Honorable Gentlemen. There are only three things wrong with such a title ...

The higher up the tree a cat climbs, the farther it will fall. It's the same for politicians, except politicians don't bounce.

This will not be easy,' he said. 'Neither is failure.

Loyalty is like the Doctrine of Celibacy—easy to proclaim but damned difficult to live by.

Democracy is like a great play. It lasts more than one act. You must be patient

Nothing lasts, not forever. Not laughter, not lust, not even life itself. Not forever. Which is why we make the most of what we have. Why

She went up on tiptoes, just so she could look down on him.

Politicians are much like aging authors and older women. The dangerous phase in their lives is when they are no longer content with the respect of friends but demand the adulation of an audience.