C. L. R. James Quotes

If venereal delight and the power of propagating the species were permitted only to the virtuous, it would make the world very good.

We had some port, and drank damnation to the play and eternal remorse to the author.

When we know exactly all a man's views and how he comes to speak and act so and so, we lose any respect for him, though we may love and admire him.

I suppose no person ever enjoyed with more relish the infusion of that fragrant leaf than Johnson.

The Federal Government is exploiting public fear to redefine the relationship between the rulers and the American people.

The more government dependents, the more likely that democracy will become a conspiracy against self-reliance.

Liberty is a political firewall that limits the damage government can do to the individual.

If so many Americans are looking for the government to save them, then it is hard to have a dignified search for a shepherd in chief.

The words walked right out of my mouth.

One very clear impression I had of all the Beautiful People was their prudence. It may be that they paid for their own airline tickets, but they paid for little else.

What am I that I am called upon to have prejudices concerning the universe?

I do that which I do in every place. Here also, at the gateway of that garden into which time has not entered, I fight with time my ever-losing battle, because to do that diverts me.

I am willing to taste any drink once.

Whatever pretended pessimists in search of notoriety may say, most people are naturally kind, at heart.

I was raised in a family where no one had a serious bone in their body and every answer was a riddle, a joke, or a prank.

Everything is Song. Everything is Silence. Since it all turns out to be illusion, perfectly being what it is, having nothing to do with good or bad, you are free to die laughing.

My films are an extension of my poetry, using the white screen like the white page to be filled with images.

The quietest poetry can be an explosion of joy.

In the world of poetry there are would-be poets, workshop poets, promising poets, lovesick poets, university poets, and a few real poets.

I never wanted to dilute my private passion for the art by airing and arguing it in public.

Dance, vaudeville, drama, movies - as a child I loved everything that went on in a theater.

Takes a man or a woman to say I'm sorry, and it takes a fool to walk away.

What everybody's looking for today, they're looking for escape-ism.

I'd rather be Jack be smart, than Jack be quick. Watch out for the man with the big fat licking stick.

I've been held responsible for taxes I know nothing about.

Take those kids and raise them up, teach them how to drink out of a righteous cup.

When we pray for the Spirit, we are not praying for an answer; we are praying for God to enter us, to fill us with his presence, his thoughts, and his words.

There is only one proved method of assisting the advancement of pure science-that of picking men of genius, backing them heavily, and leaving them to direct themselves.

Some of mankind's most terrible misdeeds have been committed under the spell of certain magic words or phrases.

The dignity of man is vindicated as much by the thinker and poet as by the statesman and soldier.

Even the development of the steam engine owed but little to the advancement of science.

Life is too short for reading inferior books.

Profits in business always depend on the rate of interest: the higher the interest, the higher the rate of profit required.

All UK nuclear power stations should be shut down without delay.

The world survived the fall of the Roman empire and will no doubt outlast our own so much more splendid civilisation.

Good is the enemy of great.. The vast majority of good companies remain just that - good, but not great.

Those who build and perpetuate mediocrity...are motivated more by the fear of being left behind.

Genuine confidence is what launches you out of bed in the morning, and through your day with a spring in your step.

It's what you do before you are in trouble, so that you can be strong when people most need you.

Creative leadership impact increases in your 50's. When I turn 50 I want to say, "Nice start!"

The secret to a successful retirement is to find your retirement sweet spot. The sweet spot is where your passions, what you do best, and what people will pay you to do overlap.

Those fortunate enough to find or create a practical intersection of the three circles have the basis for a great work life.

Get keep right people.

In a world of injustice there's going to be dreams of justice.

Finally I decided that since peasants were the largest segment of the world's population, it would be an honorable and worthy career to devote my life to the study of peasants and agriculture.

I'll see a beautiful girl walking up to me and I'll think, Oh, my God, I can't believe my good luck. But then she'll say, 'Where's your son?' or 'My mother loves you'.

You have to be very careful when you let someone win.

What I do quite honestly and seriously and not in any way being humble is not as important as what the garbage collector does. People make actors important.

My kid was a great baseball player. I thought I had it made. Front-row seats at Yankee Stadium. Then he turned sixteen and wanted to be a rapper.

You never reach the promised land. You can march towards it