“He knew how intelligent men could be broken by the stupidity of their superiors, how weeks of patient work night and day could be cast aside by such a man”

“Give a man a car of his own and he leaves humility and common sense behind him in the garage.”

“He had the nerve not to drink in a University where you proved your manhood by being drunk most of your first year.”

“one of those world builders who do othing but destroy,”

“Afterwards Smiley always thought of that interview as a fan dance; a calculated progression of disclosures, each revealing different parts of a mysterious entity. Finally Steed-Asprey, who seemed t...”

“But despite such energetic mental exercise, the ghosts of time present would intrude and drive his dreams away. It was Ann who had robbed him of his peace, Ann who had once made the present so impo...”

“Sometimes, insatiable curiosity and compassion are all that life requires of us.”

“Curiosity is the one thing invincible in Nature.”

“If spectacle is lacking in everyday life, it may be because we have forgotten where and how to look.”

“Gossip is just a tool to distract people who have nothing better to do from feeling jealous of those few of us still remaining with noble hearts.”

“If you haven't got anything nice to say about anybody come sit next to me.”

“Gossip, as usual, was one-third right and two-thirds wrong.”

“Time limits tend to turn everything predictable and mundane into a novelty.”

“Leave home, leave the country, leave the familiar. Only then can routine experiencebuying bread, eating vegetables, even saying hellobecome new all over again.”

“Progress in science and technology is real, but it builds on past truths without rejecting them. Computers dont have to be re-invented in order to keep getting better; innovations expand what they ...”