Simon Raven

“The trouble with ideals is that they are so often ideals of other people.”

“Life, you see, is a question of taste.”

“A gentleman can see a joke, a bore cannot.”

“Life is a C-picture. I've been in it for a long time.”

“While there is life there is hope, and so it is that we are able to endure.”

“The prime function of a leader is to keep hope alive.”

“A gentleman is a man who is never unintentionally rude.”

“To be a gentleman is to be able to tell a lie and to know when you should.”

“One should never refuse an invitation.”

“What is required is not a moral system but a practical one.”

“There are only two motives for any human action: fear and greed.”

“He was one of those people who are never happy unless they are miserable.”

“Discipline, you see, is the key to all success.”