Augustine Birrell Quotes
Quotes to Explore
-
I teach my children that in life, there is no control of what tomorrow is going to bring. There really isn't. But in whatever it brings, we have choices, and I'm glad because I made more right choices than wrong, but in the wrong choices, there are lessons to be learned.
-
Orchestra had a little brass ensemble on two tracks as well, but the rest was me. I knew I couldn't continue in this direction, even if people liked it, because I can only duplicate myself.
-
One of the great upsides to a national book tour is the chance to break out of television's cocoon and interact directly with the American people.
-
Renouncement: the heroism of mediocrity.
-
When friends ask for a second cup they are open to conversation.
-
We know the threats - from global terrorist networks to the spread of deadly weapons. Yet we also know that embedded in this time of danger is the promise of a new day, if we have the courage and commitment to work together.
-
I left Beijing in 1987, shortly before my books were banned there, but have returned continually.
-
I don't go on lunch dates with friends. I hear about people having dinner parties, but I never do that. I'm not really human.
-
I love thinking about the film, the project and committing myself as much as possible.
-
Using a forecasting company is like going to a fortune-teller. If you believe the company and the color does not sell, who do you blame? The forecasters? No, you blame yourself.
-
For me, growing up in a ridiculously poor family living in dead-end neighborhoods, Superman was a deeply personal icon, one that said you can do anything if you put your mind to it. What he stood for formed the core of who I wanted to be as I grew up, and informed how I view the world and my responsibilities to other people.
-
Comedy is a way to make sense of chaos. It's a way of dealing with things that are overwhelming, that threaten you; it's a way to survive and get closer to the truth.
-
We have real enemies in the world. These enemies must be found. They must be pursued and they must be defeated.
-
In the Senate, there is a wide spectrum of views on foreign policy.
-
At the end of the day we want to bring stability and hope to Iraq. That's the only way to defeat terrorism.
-
Anyone who is afraid to lose isn't ready to win.
-
I think God's wrath and purgatory are the only things keeping me on the straight and narrow. I like the idea of purgatory. It's like a cosmic do-over.
-
I never worry about being driven to drink; I just worry about being driven home.
-
Immigrants provide skills that we simply cannot afford to do without. They have contributed hugely to Britain's success.
-
Our species is on the verge of changes that will fundamentally alter what it means to be human... and we are the people driving that change.
-
I learned from a longtime farmer that pigs enjoy soothing music.
-
I'm terrible in the mornings, but I'm always at my desk by 10 A.M.
-
...girls who had read Wittgenstein as high school baby-sitters were rejected because the school’s quota of abnormally intelligent students had already been filled that year.
-
Personally, I am dead against the burning of books.
