Quotes from Nevil Shute

Without work men are utterly undone

You cannot argue stupidity, you just have to accept it patiently as one of those things.

It's not the end of the world at all," he said. "It's only the end for us. The world will go on just the same, only we shan't be in it. I dare say it will get along all right without us.

She looked at him in wonder. "Do people think of me like that? I only did what anybody could have done." "That's as it may be," he replied. "The fact is, that you did it.

I know you've taken risks to do these things. Do Please be careful." "Don't worry about me," he said. "You've got enough troubles on your own plate, my word. But we'll come out all right, so long as we just keep alive, that's all we got to do. Just keep alive another two years, till the war's over.

Without work men are utterly undone.

I'm glad we haven't got newspapers now. It's been much nicer without them.

It's no good going on living in the ashes of a dead happiness.

Some games are fun even when you lose. Even when you know you're going to lose before you start. It's fun just playing them.

Maybe we've been too silly to deserve a world like this.

If what they say is right we're none of us going to have time to do all that we planned to do. But we can keep on doing it as long as we can.

There's no dignity, no decency, or health today for men that haven't got a job. All other things depend on work today.

Security was now a thing of the past though it took a conscious effort to remember it; with no enemy in all the world there was little but the force of habit in it.

She lived in the dream world of unreality, or else she would not admit reality; he did not know. In any case, he loved her as she was. It might never be used, but it would give her pleasure to have it.

The news did not trouble her particularly; all news was bad, like wage demands, strikes, or war, and the wise person paid no attention to it. What was important was that it was a bright, sunny day; her first narcissi were in bloom, and the daffodils behind them were already showing flower buds.

But he got to his feet, his brows contacted in a frown. "You weren't speaking seriously?" I moved towards the door, "It doesn't pay to be serious," I said. "It only means that people laugh behind your back, instead of to your face.

The thing most worth doing in this modern world [is to] create jobs that men can work at, and be proud of, and make money by their work.

You can call a sunset by a filthy name, but you do not spoil its beauty, monsieur.

Half a thou too small," he said. "The difference between Right and Wrong. Half a thou bigger, and it'ld be Right. As it is, it's Wrong, and you can't cheat about it." He smiled again. "Too bad when God gives you the mind of an Inspector, isn't it?

Round the next corner and in the next street Adventure lies in wait for you. Oh, who can tell what you may meet Round the next corner and in the next street! Could life be anything but sweet When all is hazardous and new? Round the next corner and in the next street Adventure lies in wait for you. That

A gift by women, for women.

You can only do a thing for the first time once, and that goes for falling in love.

Then the patience borne of seventy years of disappointments came to his aid;

An American, a soldier of fortune by profession. Wherever there is trouble in the world the Dwights of all nations foregather. There are not very many of them, thirty or forty perhaps, and they are all supremely competent men because the others have been killed.