"Compare the scale and magnifcence of Versailles with St James's - the brick-built hovel in which the 18th-century kings of England lived. What was then the most powerful monarchy in the world housed its sovereigns in a converted leper hospital, yet, at the same time, parliament provided the magnificent palaces of Chelsea and Greenwich as hospitals for retired soldiers and sailors."

-- David Starkey

#Kings Quotes #Powerful Quotes #History Quotes

“A consumer is not a moron. She's your wife. Don't insult her intelligence, and don't shock her.”
“If we look honestly at our relationships, we can see so much about how we have created them”
“I'm saying to be a hero it means you step accross the line and are willing to make a sacrifice, so heroes always are making a sacrifice. Heroes always take a risk. Heroes always deviant. Heroes always doing something that most people don't and we want to change - I want to democratise heroism to say any of us can be a hero.”
“It is a tricky business to know when you should set goals and objectives in order to achieve a focus, and when you would be better off dealing with the acceptance and management of your current reality so you can later step into new directions and responsibilities with greater stability and clarity. Only you will know the answer to that, and only in the moment.”
“A poem's life and death dependeth still Not on the poet's wits, but reader's will.”
“Savor the imminent weirdness of the day.”

Source : Charles Baxter (2011). “Gryphon: New and Selected Stories”, p.169, Vintage
“The scum of the earth... but what fine soldiers we have made them.”
“The morality of compromise' sounds contradictory. Compromise is usually a sign of weakness, or an admission of defeat. Strong men don't compromise, it is said, and principles should never be compromised. I shall argue that strong men, conversely, know when to compromise and that all principles can be compromised to serve a greater principle.”

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