Darwinism did not strip meaning from the world but intensified it, 'by identifying it in as many aspects of life as possible'.

To be defeated, but not to give in, is victory.

I went into journalism in a grandiose way. I thought maybe I'd do a little journalism whilst I write the great novel of all time you see -- one has to keep oneself afloat.

Who invented political tolerance? The English invented it, it's something which has taken roots with some difficulty in Scottish politics.

I'm always interested in debunking myths if they are untrue. But it's also important to identify myths and how they function, what value they may have.

I am always fascinated when people talk about 'the forging of a nation'. Most nations are forgeries, perpetrated in the last century or so.

I think England has been in the long-term damaged by Britishness.

On the Black Sea, my father saw it begin. And on the Black Sea, seventy years on, I saw the beginning of its end.

To be defeated, but not to give in, is victory.- Jósef Piłsudski

Yes my lord, but questions are dangerous, for they have answers

Trials makes you to develop the qualities of a successful man

...the nostalgia for things that weren't yet lost.

People don't want the truth, ' he says, waving a hand at the streets around us. 'They want better-quality lies. High definition lies on fifty-inch screens.

Real tragedy is never resolved. It goes on hopelessly for ever.

I have not the least doubt that school developed in me nothing but what was evil and left the good untouched.

The writer can only explore the inner space of his characters by perceptively navigating his own.

One day, it was suddenly revealed to me that everything is pure spirit.

Life is too short to learn everything by personal experience.

We have a Bill of Rights, which protects each of us from a bullying society, but no Bill of Responsibilities, which would oblige us to answer to the needs of others.