Quotes Library

January 18, 2025

To succeed pre-eminently in English public life it is necessary to conform either to the popular image of a bookie or of a clergyman; Churchill being a perfect example of the former, [Lord] Halifax of the latter.

Malcolm Muggeridge, (1903-1990), British journalist, The Infernal Grove (1973), Jay p.268

Is it a surprise then that Boris Johnson always sought to portray himself as a super-street-smart Churchillian?

This makes for a half-decent parlour game that can be enjoyed around the world—identifying the bookies and clergymen (and other categories) in the political classes of other countries, particularly former British dominions such as the USA, Canada, Australia, and so on…


More Quotes

June 17, 2025
As a feast to which all the guests contribute is better than a banquet furnished by a single man
April 20, 2025
The secret of the demagogue is to make himself as stupid as his audience so that they believe they are as clever as he.
April 12, 2025
A riot is at bottom the language of the unheard.
Page 9 of 63