Winston Churchill’s 80 Best Quotes
Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (1874 – 1965), known simply as Winston Churchill , was undoubtedly one of the most famous English politicians of all time, as the role he played during the Second World War was decisive in making it develop the way it did.
His character and temperament made Churchill a man with great admirers and detractors wherever he was.
Famous quotes from Winston Churchill
The position Churchill held was undoubtedly highly relevant as the British Prime Minister, but what many of us do not know about this great man is how he showed himself in his most private life.
For all those who want to know more about this relevant figure of the 20th century, below we present the 80 best phrases of Winston Churchill .
1. Politics is almost as exciting as war and almost as dangerous. In war you can only be killed once, but in politics many times.
Churchill was undoubtedly a very skilled politician, he showed this to the great public throughout his career.
2. If you go through hell, keep going.
When we go through difficult times in life, we must stay strong and look to the future.
3. There is no point in saying “We are doing our best”. You have to do what it takes to succeed.
Sometimes all that matters is our actions, words take second place.
4. The price of greatness is responsibility.
When we reach a relevant burden in life, the responsibilities that come with it are usually very numerous.
5. Success consists of going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm.
We may fail again and again, but if we don’t give up we will never be defeated.
6. My tastes are simple. I am satisfied with the best things.
Churchill was always a sybarite, he knew how to enjoy the little luxuries he had at his disposal.
7. You will never reach your destination if you stop to throw stones at any barking dog.
We must know how to value the situations we encounter and only pay our attention to those that really deserve it.
8. I may be drunk, miss, but in the morning I’ll be sober and you’ll still be ugly.
Churchill was a well-known alcoholic and left us phrases as controversial as this one, no doubt he also had defects in his personality. This is one of Winston Churchill’s most famous phrases.
9. Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.
This quote speaks very well of the fact that sometimes we must also listen to the opinions of others.
10. I’m an optimist. There’s not much point in being anything else.
We must be positive in order to overcome the obstacles that life puts in our way.
11. The best argument against democracy is five minutes of conversation with the average voter.
Churchill tells us in this quote how he disagreed with the ideas of a large number of his voters.
12. My most brilliant achievement was my ability to be able to persuade my wife to marry me.
For Churchill, his wife was always a mainstay in his life, becoming the person he was in part because of her.
13. In war, resolution. In defeat, defiance. In victory, magnanimity. In peace, goodwill.
In this quote, Churchill told us of his goodwill regarding the war, it was a situation he never wanted.
14. Continuous effort, not force or intelligence, is the key to unlocking our potential.
Showing our perseverance will lead us to overcome any challenge we face.
15. Kites fly higher upwind, not downwind.
When we overcome obstacles we become much stronger.
16. We must defend our island, whatever the cost, we must fight on the beaches, on the landing fields, on the streets, on the hills, we must never give up.
Churchill encouraged his fellow citizens to fight to the bitter end.
17. If we open a dispute between past and present, we will find that we have lost the future.
We must always look ahead in life and learn that there are things that are better not to be remembered.
18. A man does what he must, in spite of personal consequences, in spite of obstacles, dangers and pressures, and that is the basis of human morality.
In this quotation Churchill appealed to the morale of the English to find the strength to fight in their daily lives.
19. It is always wise to look ahead, but difficult to look beyond what you can.
Knowing how to see beyond what we can see is something that some of us sometimes have to do.
20. As beautiful as the strategy is, you should occasionally see the results.
When a strategy is positive it should give us signs of improvement during its application.
21. I’m ready to meet my maker. Whether my creator is ready for the great test of knowing me is another matter.
Churchill’s temperament was manifest in him to the end of his days.
22. I am easily satisfied with the best.
Churchill knew how to enjoy everything life had to offer, he enjoyed it all along.
23. We’ve always found the Irish a little strange. They refuse to be English.
In this quote Churchill tells us how he saw the Irish problem, they were reluctant to be English.
24. Everyone has their day and some days last longer than others.
We must value all that life brings us on good days and bad days, so that we can learn from them all.
25. A prisoner of war is a man who tries to kill you and fails, then asks you not to kill him.
Prisoners of war have always been a very controversial subject, Churchill explains why in this quote.
26. Play for more than you can afford to lose, only then will you learn the game.
Taking certain risks is something that we all have to do in times of war, and this also teaches us to value life much more.
27. Meeting Franklin Roosevelt was like opening your first bottle of champagne.
Churchill and Roosevelt were possibly the two most important men for the Allied forces to defeat the axis of evil.
28. I never worry about action, but about inaction.
To overcome life’s obstacles we must fight against them, otherwise we will never overcome them.
29. In the course of my life, I have often had to eat my words, but I must confess that it is a healthy diet.
Knowing how to recognize our mistakes makes us great as a person, Churchill knew that very well.
30. History is written by the winners.
A great quote that holds a great truth, the winners are those who write history always from their own point of view.
31. It has all the virtues that I do not like and none of the vices that I admire.
People are imperfect and the defects we possess are what make us truly unique,
32. It’s good for an uneducated man to read dating books.
Churchill knew the power of quotes and how they give us a great deal of knowledge in brief.
33. No comment is a splendid expression. I use it again and again.
There are times when it is better not to show our opinion in a hurry.
34. I have nothing to offer but blood, effort, sweat and tears.
Churchill knew that his nation, the United Kingdom, was facing the greatest challenge it had ever faced.
35. Short words are better and old words are better.
When we express ourselves, if we do it briefly, our words gain more strength.
36. There are a terrible amount of lies about the world, and the worst thing is that half of them are true.
Ignorance is a very great source of obstacles for humanity.
37. I can’t appear to be impartial about the colors. I rejoice in the bright ones and feel sorry for the poor browns.
In this quote Churchill speaks subversively about his disagreement with fascist ideas.
38. We must show mercy but not ask for it.
When we fight we must show ourselves to be magnanimous and deserving of more respect than our opponents.
39. This report, by its very length, defends itself against the risk of being read.
The reports they submitted to Churchill may well be the longest to date.
40. It’s more pleasant to have the power to give than to receive.
When we have a dominant position we feel better than the other way around, Churchill knew very well that he was in a delicate position.
41. When you have to kill a man, it doesn’t cost anything to be polite.
We must show respect even in the most difficult moments of our lives.
42. War is above all a catalogue of blunders.
War is always an accumulation of errors from which we never extract anything positive.
43. You may have to fight when there is no hope of victory, because it is better to perish than to live as slaves.
As long as Churchill was alive he would never give up even if it meant death.
44. Diplomacy is the art of sending people to hell in such a way that they request directions.
Churchill knew very well that he was sending his soldiers into an uncertain future, but he also admired the courage they showed.
45. Fear is a reaction. Courage is a decision.
Fear is something we all suffer from innate, but we can choose to overcome it.
46. The fascists of the future will be the anti-fascists.
A quote that tells us how people can use discourses that are antagonistic to them, because they know that they are more attractive to the general public, even if their actions do not really communicate with such discourses.
47. Gin and tonic has saved more English lives and minds than all the doctors in the Empire.
Churchill was an avid consumer of gin and tonics, a well-known English drink which even the Queen Mother is said to drink.
48. A magnificent success is always accompanied by an enormous risk of failure.
To achieve the highest goals we must take the greatest risks.
49. Your greatest fears are created by your imagination. Do not give in to them.
Knowing how to overcome the fear we feel is something we must do in times of war.
50. Socialism is like a dream. Sooner or later it wakes up to reality.
Churchill did not agree with the socialist ideal, for he saw gaps in its execution.
51. From deep complexities, profound simplicities emerge.
In many cases the solution to a major problem is often the simplest.
52. The greatest lesson in life is to know that even fools are right sometimes.
We must listen to the opinion of others, because they can give us a different point of view.
53. The whole history of the world can be summed up in the fact that when nations are strong, they are not always just, and when they wish to be just, they are no longer strong.
Powerful nations often fall into the corruption of their powers, for the corrupt always crave the power of such societies.
54. Sometimes men stumble upon the truth, but most get up and run away as if nothing had happened.
The truth can be painful to face and that is why we rarely fight it face to face.
55. It is not enough to do our best. Sometimes, we must do what is required.
There are times when to overcome an obstacle we must do our best.
56. A joke is a very serious thing.
Humor was something really characteristic of this great man of the 20th century.
57. I like pigs. The dogs look at us with admiration. Cats look down on us. Pigs treat us as equals.
Churchill’s somewhat eccentric personality is clearly represented in this quote.
58. He was given the choice between war and dishonor. You chose dishonor and you will have war.
In situations like the one Churchill was involved in, people cannot choose the side they are on.
59. All men make mistakes, but only the wise learn from their mistakes.
Learning from the mistakes we make is something very necessary in order to prosper in life.
60. When we run out of money, we have to start thinking.
It is in difficult economic situations that we must sharpen our wits.
61. There is a forgotten, almost forbidden word, which means more to me than any other. That word is England.
Churchill was always a patriot and defended his nation with everything he could.
62. He who is not liberal when he is young has no heart. Who is not conservative when he is old, has no brain.
Churchill knew very well the power of speeches and how they can manipulate people’s minds.
63. I hate Indians. They’re a filthy people with a filthy religion.
Churchill shows us his displeasure with the Indian people and what they represented.
64. The optimist sees the invisible, feels the intangible, and achieves the impossible.
The power of optimism seen from the point of view of the great Winston Churchill.
65. Lady Nancy Astor: Winston, if you were my husband, I would poison your tea. Churchill: Nancy, if it were your husband, I’d drink it.
Churchill was a lover of his wife, for whom he had only eyes.
66. No government can give something away that didn’t take it from you in the first place.
Governments are merely managers of the power that the population brings to them.
67. A nation that forgets its past has no future.
We must remember the mistakes we have made so that we do not make them again.
68. You can always count on Americans to do the right thing, after you’ve tried everything else.
A quote from Churchill talking about his American allies, about whom he had reservations.
69. Without execution, thought is mere idleness.
When the time comes, action becomes absolutely necessary.
70. India is a geographical term. It is no more a nation than the equator.
Churchill tells us about his idea of the Indian nation and how he did not recognize it as such.
71. The first quality needed is boldness.
Boldness is a quality Churchill always admired in his soldiers and tried to encourage.
72. The great and good man are rarely the same.
Important men are often not good people.
73. These are not dark days; these are great days, the greatest our country has ever experienced.
Churchill knew very well the challenge England faced and was willing to meet it.
74. I’m preparing my impromptu remarks.
The power of observation is something that Churchill knew very well, for without it it is impossible to correctly manage a situation as complex as the one in which he found himself.
75. My wife and I have tried to have breakfast together for the past 40 years, but it was so unpleasant that we had to stop.
Churchill’s character was shown in every aspect of his life.
76. I have never developed indigestion from eating my words.
Churchill knew very well he had to acknowledge his own mistakes.
77. The real genius lies in the ability to evaluate uncertain, conflicting and dangerous information.
Analyzing the information we receive and knowing how to give it the value it contains is something very important in anyone’s life.
78. I like the man who smiles when he fights.
Churchill was an old-fashioned defender of manhood, a tough man with no fear of death.
79. Nothing is as exciting in life as being shot at with no result.
Churchill made a mockery of the complicated situations in which he was involved, he was a man of the cloth.
80. I’m certainly not the kind of guy who needs to be pushed. In fact, if anything, I’m the one who pushes.
Churchill’s attitude was something that accompanied him throughout his life, a man often loved and sometimes detested.