Winston Churchill quotes

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

— Winston Churchill

“We shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender.”

— Winston Churchill

“If you have an important point to make, don't try to be subtle or clever. Use a pile driver. Hit the point once. Then come back and hit it again. Then hit it a third time - a tremendous whack. ”

— Winston Churchill

“My rule of life prescribed as an absolutely sacred rite smoking cigars and also the drinking of alcohol before, after and if need be during all meals and in the intervals between them. ”

— Winston Churchill

“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. ”

— Winston Churchill

“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. ”

— Winston Churchill

“One ought never to turn one's back on a threatened danger and try to run away from it. If you do that, you will double the danger. But if you meet it promptly and without flinching, you will reduce the danger by half. Never run away from anything. Never! ”

— Winston Churchill

“Politics is the ability to foretell what is going to happen tomorrow, next week, next month and next year. And to have the ability afterwards to explain why it didn't happen. ”

— Winston Churchill

“For my part, I consider that it will be found much better by all parties to leave the past to history, especially as I propose to write that history myself. ”

— Winston Churchill

“There are two things that are more difficult than making an after-dinner speech: climbing a wall which is leaning toward you and kissing a girl who is leaning away from you. ”

— Winston Churchill

“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? ”

— Winston Churchill

“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.”

— Winston Churchill

“I was only the servant of my country and had I, at any moment, failed to express her unflinching resolve to fight and conquer, I should at once have been rightly cast aside”

— Winston Churchill

“The reserve of modern assertions is sometimes pushed to extremes, in which the fear of being contradicted leads the writer to strip himself of almost all sense and meaning. ”

— Winston Churchill

“Some people regard private enterprise as a predatory tiger to be shot. Others look on it as a cow they can milk. Not enough people see it as a healthy horse, pulling a sturdy wagon. ”

— Winston Churchill

“Victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory however long and hard the road may be; for without victory, there is no survival. ”

— Winston Churchill

“If the human race wishes to have a prolonged and indefinite period of material prosperity, they have only got to behave in a peaceful and helpful way toward one another. ”

— Winston Churchill

“For good or for ill, air mastery is today the supreme expression of military power and fleets and armies, however vital and important, must accept a subordinate rank. ”

— Winston Churchill

“Those who can win a war well can rarely make a good peace and those who could make a good peace would never have won the war. ”

— Winston Churchill

“The British nation is unique in this respect. They are the only people who like to be told how bad things are, who like to be told the worst. ”

— Winston Churchill

“Nothing can be more abhorrent to democracy than to imprison a person or keep him in prison because he is unpopular. This is really the test of civilization. ”

— Winston Churchill

“In war as in life, it is often necessary when some cherished scheme has failed, to take up the best alternative open, and if so, it is folly not to work for it with all your might. ”

— Winston Churchill

“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. ”

— Winston Churchill

“My wife and I tried two or three times in the last 40 years to have breakfast together, but it was so disagreeable we had to stop. ”

— Winston Churchill

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

— Winston Churchill

“Although personally I am quite content with existing explosives, I feel we must not stand in the path of improvement. ”

— Winston Churchill

“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.”

— Winston Churchill

“Criticism may not be agreeable, but it is necessary. It fulfils the same function as pain in the human body. It calls attention to an unhealthy state of things. ”

— Winston Churchill

“Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of them pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing had happened. ”

— Winston Churchill

“I am prepared to meet my Maker. Whether my Maker is prepared for the great ordeal of meeting me is another matter. ”

— Winston Churchill