- Intellect alone is a dry and rattling thing. – Ilka Chase, American author, actress, humorist (1905-1978)
- During times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act. – George Orwell, writer (1903-1950)
- Whenever ‘A’ attempts by law to impose his moral standards upon ‘B’, ‘A’ is most likely a scoundrel. – H.L. Mencken, writer, editor, and critic (1880-1956)
- History is the record of an encounter between character and circumstances. – Donald Creighton, Canadian historian (1902-1979)
- We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. – The Declaration of Independence, 4 July 1776
- The Labour Party is a moral crusade or it is nothing. – Harold Wilson, British Prime Minister, 1964
- He could not see a belt without hitting below it. – Margot Asquith on David Lloyd George
- One fifth of the people are against everything all the time. – Robert Kennedy
- I’m not a crook. – President Richard Nixon
- Democracy means government by discussion, but it is only effective if you can stop people talking. – Clement Attlee
- History teaches us to beware of demagogues who wrap themselves in the flag in an attempt to appeal to the worst aspects of nationalism. – Judge Alistair Nicholson on Pauline Hanson
- He has not a single redeeming defect. – Benjamin Disraeli on W.E. Gladstone
- A Conservative government is an organised hypocrisy. – Benjamin Disraeli
- John Major, Norman Lamont: I wouldn’t spit in their mouths if their teeth were on fire. – Rodney Bickerstaffe (1993)
- John Major is what he is: a man from nowhere, going nowhere, heading for a well-merited obscurity as fast as his mediocre talents can carry him. – Paul Johnson (March 1993)
- A State without the means of some change is without the means of its conservation. – Edmund Burke
- All political parties die at last of swallowing their own lies. – John Arbuthnot
- Politics is the art of putting people under obligation to you. – Jacob L. Arvey
- Venal prick. – Sen. Robert Ray on Sen. Mal Colston (Sunday Age, 13 April 1997)
- Those who insist on the dignity of their office show they have not deserved it. – Baltasar Gracian, philosopher and writer (1601-1658)
