Winston Churchill Quotes

The first quality that is needed is audacity.

We are masters of the unsaid words, but slaves of those we let slip out.

A prisoner of war is a man who tries to kill you and fails, and then asks you not to kill him.

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

When you have to kill a man, it costs nothing to be polite.

In wartime, truth is so precious that she should always be attended by a bodyguard of lies.

Too often the strong, silent man is silent only because he does not know what to say, and is reputed strong only because he has remained silent.

It was the nation and the race dwelling all round the globe that had the lion's heart. I had the luck to be called upon to give the roar.

Most people stumble over the truth, now and then, but they usually manage to pick themselves up and go on, anyway.

A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.

Really I feel less keen about the Army every day. I think the Church would suit me better.

War is a game that is played with a smile. If you can't smile, grin. If you can't grin, keep out of the way till you can.

We occasionally stumble over the truth but most of us pick ourselves up and hurry off as if nothing had happened.

I never worry about action, but only inaction.

The short words are best, and the old words are the best of all.

Healthy citizens are the greatest asset any country can have.

Politics is almost as exciting as war, and quite as dangerous. In war you can only be killed once, but in politics many times.

Everyone has his day and some days last longer than others.

The empires of the future are the empires of the mind.

To improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often.

When I am abroad, I always make it a rule never to criticize or attack the government of my own country. I make up for lost time when I come home.

We shall show mercy, but we shall not ask for it.

No idea is so outlandish that it should not be considered with a searching but at the same time a steady eye.

It is a fine game to play - the game of politics - and it is well worth waiting for a good hand before really plunging.

No part of the education of a politician is more indispensable than the fighting of elections.

History will be kind to me for I intend to write it.

The truth is incontrovertible, malice may attack it, ignorance may deride it, but in the end; there it is.

I am an optimist. It does not seem too much use being anything else.

History is written by the victors.

I am easily satisfied with the very best.

If the Almighty were to rebuild the world and asked me for advice, I would have English Channels round every country. And the atmosphere would be such that anything which attempted to fly would be set on fire.

It has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all the others that have been tried.

Man will occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of the time he will pick himself up and continue on.

Battles are won by slaughter and maneuver. The greater the general, the more he contributes in maneuver, the less he demands in slaughter.

I am never going to have anything more to do with politics or politicians. When this war is over I shall confine myself entirely to writing and painting.

If you have ten thousand regulations you destroy all respect for the law.

He has all of the virtues I dislike and none of the vices I admire.

Russia is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma.

Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.

In those days he was wiser than he is now; he used to frequently take my advice.

A man does what he must - in spite of personal consequences, in spite of obstacles and dangers and pressures - and that is the basis of all human morality.

It is no use saying, 'We are doing our best.' You have got to succeed in doing what is necessary.

Short words are best and the old words when short are best of all.

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

If we open a quarrel between past and present, we shall find that we have lost the future.

It is always wise to look ahead, but difficult to look further than you can see.

Study history, study history. In history lies all the secrets of statecraft.

Nothing in life is so exhilarating as to be shot at without result.

Perhaps it is better to be irresponsible and right, than to be responsible and wrong.

What kind of people do they think we are? Is it possible they do not realize that we shall never cease to persevere against them until they have been taught a lesson which they and the world will never forget?