Allan Massie Quotes
All a writer's characters are imaginary, no matter whether they are based on real people or not. They are people as one imagines them to be.

Quotes to Explore
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I think that I could be an example to young people, and they know that dreams come true.
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Watching a whole cluster of friends, and my own mother, die over quite a short space of time convinced me that purely materialist 'explanations' for our mysterious human existence simply won't do - on an intellectual level.
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I've always loved to dress up a bit and show off.
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You are important enough to ask and you are blessed enough to receive back.
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Seriously, 'Honey Boo Boo' is the decay of Western civilization. Just because so many people watch the show doesn't mean it's good.
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Ancient Egyptians went to great lengths to avoid change; they couldn't entirely do so, of course, but did preserve a cultural continuity for almost four thousand years.
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Some people are used to having things done for them by her parents, I am not. I can do it myself.
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When I am cast in a movie where I feel that the woman's part is more interesting, I usually start thinking about Spencer Tracy and Fred Astaire. They seem to be the most clear actors when working with women.
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Have you learned the lessons only of those who admired you, and were tender with you, and stood aside for you? Have you not learned great lessons from those who braced themselves against you, and disputed passage with you?
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When it comes to power, God Himself is the power. God often uses foolish things to confound the wise. That is why people like me will ever be grateful to God. In terms of knowledge, education and name, I am nowhere - a neglected stone.
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You have to find something there that relates to the characters and reality on some level.
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They didn't accept me theory - not a theory, but just a thought I had about this character. I noticed that this man only exists when the boy comes into the grocery.
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There are lots of reasons for that gap between men's and women's wages but to me, the big one is the work-family issue. Trying to juggle children and a job is tough under any circumstances, but especially if you're shooting for the kind of career that involves long hours at work and being on call 24-7.
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I have managed to infuriate the bank bosses; acquire a fatwa from the revolutionary guards of the trades union movement; frighten the 'Daily Telegraph' with a progressive graduate payment; and upset very rich people who are trying to dodge British taxes. I must be doing something right.
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I had rather have a plain, russet-coated Captain, that knows what he fights for, and loves what he knows, than that which you call a Gentle-man and is nothing else.
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The highest percentage of African Americans own their own homes today than ever in our nation's history.
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It's important to be able to keep things fresh, no matter what age you are, or how many years you've been in the industry.
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I swear to the Lord, I still can't see, why Democracy means, everybody but me.
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Capitalism is using its money; we socialists throw it away.
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Applause that comes thundering with such force you might think the audience merely suffers the music as an excuse for its ovations.
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Voltaire once said: 'Not to be occupied and not to exist are one and the same thing for a man.' With those few words he captured the essence of a purpose in life: to work, to create, to excel, and to be concerned about the world and its affairs.
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Any kind of grieving that is not allowed causes a break. In our culture, grieving in public is not encouraged, but in other cultures, it is done publicly. Some cultures have walls where people can cry. We don't have that. We have theatre where there's always the chance for you to face things within yourself.
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But why should I read what somebody else thinks of my life when I know the real story?
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All a writer's characters are imaginary, no matter whether they are based on real people or not. They are people as one imagines them to be.