Quotessence
Home / Quotes / Quote by John le Carre

Quote by John le Carre

“Out of date, perhaps, but who wasn't these days? Out of date, but loyal to his own time. At a certain moment, after all, every man chooses: will he go forward, will he go back? There was nothing dishounorable in not being blown about by every little modern wind. Better to have worth, to entrench, to be an oak of one's own generation.”

Quote by John le Carre

Create image

Author

John le Carre
John le Carre

John le Carre, born David Cornwell, is a renowned British spy novel author. Born in October 1931, he is known for his profound insights into the world of espionage and his delicate portrayal of human nature. Le Carre's works are often set against the backdrop of the British intelligence agencies during the Cold War, revealing the complexity and moral dilemmas of espionage activities. more

You May Also Like

“The modern State exists not to protect our rights but to do us good or make us good - anyway, to do something to us or to make us something. Hence the new name 'leaders' for those who were once 'rulers'. We are less their subjects than their wards, pupils, or domestic animals. There is nothing left of which we can say to them, 'Mind your own business.' Our whole lives are their business.”

MindStatesWholeNamesLeftAnimalLeaderRightsModernSubjectsProtectWhole LifeRulersPupilsOwn BusinessMind Your Own BusinessMind Your Own
Author:C. S. Lewis
Create image

“I cannot speak so confidently about the fighting qualities of the Eastern men, or what are called Yankees - not knowing myself particularly to whom the appellation belongs - but this I do know - if the Southerners think that man for man they are better than our Illinois men, or western men generally, they will discover themselves in a grievous mistake.”

IfsThinkingKnowsMenFightingSpeakMistakeQualityKnowingWesternNot KnowingEasternYankeesIllinoisSouthernerKnowing Myself
Book:Conversations With Lincoln
Create image

“It has been said that the historian is the avenger, and that standing as a judge between the parties and rivalries and causes of bygone generations he can lift up the fallen and beat down the proud, and by his exposures and his verdicts, his satire and his moral indignation, can punish unrighteousness, avenge the injured or reward the innocent.”

Has BeensSaidCausesPartyMoralGenerationsJudgingProudBeatsStandingRewardsInnocentLiftsFallenSatireHistorianExposureInjuredRivalryIndignationVerdictAvengersMoral IndignationUnrighteousness
Author:Herbert Butterfield
Create image

“Philosophers, comedians, and tipsy birthday celebrants all have proposed theories about why time seems to move increasingly swiftly as we grow older. But the most disconcerting rationale is not a theory. It is the undeniable realization that every day we live constitutes a smaller percentage of the accrued experience with which we awaken each morning, and therefore seems proportionately a smidgen quicker and smaller than the day before.”

SeemsMovingGrowsMorningTheoryPhilosopherRealizationComedianPercentagesRationaleTipsy
Book:Apollo's Fire: A Journey Through the Extraordinary Wonders of an Ordinary Day
Create image