Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties, and so bear ourselves that, if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will still say, ‘This was their finest hour.’ — Speech in the House of Commons, June 18, 1940

They are afraid of words and thoughts; words spoken abroad, thoughts stirring at home — all the more powerful because forbidden — terrify them. A little mouse of thought appears in the room, and even the mightiest potentates are thrown into panic. They make frantic efforts to bar our thoughts and words; they are afraid of the workings of the human mind. — “The Defence of Freedom and Peace (The Lights are Going Out)”, radio broadcast to the United States and to London (16 October 1938)

My Take – If you are afraid to let the truth see the light of day, you’re probably doing something either illegal or immoral.  Stop it, you might go blind.

Although always prepared for martyrdom, I preferred that it should be postponed. — My Early Life, A Roving Commission (1930)

If Hitler invaded Hell, I would make at least a favourable reference to the devil in the House of Commons. — To his personal secretary John Colville the evening before Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union.

My Take – Sometimes being a pragmatist is necessary, and it never hurts to be on the good side of the enemy of your enemy.

Still, if you will not fight for the right when you can easily win without bloodshed; if you will not fight when your victory will be sure and not too costly; you may come to the moment when you will have to fight with all the odds against you and only a precarious chance of survival. There may even be a worse case. You may have to fight when there is no hope of victory, because it is better to perish than to live as slaves.  — The Second World War, Volume I : The Gathering Storm (1948)

My Take – Putting off something that’s unpleasant, be it a war or confronting a personal problem, when you have a good chance of success is foolish.  Life has a way of making those things we put off much worse as time goes by.  Time does not heal all wounds; most of them just start to fester unless attended to properly.

The power of the Executive to cast a man in prison without formulating any charge known to the law, and particularly to deny him the judgement of his peers is in the highest degree odious and is the foundation of all totalitarian government, whether Nazi or Communist. — In a telegram (November 21, 1942)

My Take – NDAA, ‘nuf said.

We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our Island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender, and even if, which I do not for a moment believe, this Island or a large part of it were subjugated and starving, then our Empire beyond the seas, armed and guarded by the British Fleet, would carry on the struggle, until, in God’s good time, the New World, with all its power and might, steps forth to the rescue and the liberation of the Old. — Speech in the House of Commons (4 June 1940)

Where my reason, imagination or interest were not engaged, I would not or I could not learn.  — My Early Life, A Roving Commission (1930)

My Take – Turn learning into a game, and it’s easy.   I learned to love reading by being read to.  Math came from games of counting.  Ethics and values came from listening to and reading stories that told a lesson without laying it on too thick.  

When I am abroad I always make it a rule never to criticize or attack the Government of my country. I make up for lost time when I am at home.  — In the House of Commons (April 18, 1947)

My Take – Politics should stop at the shoreline.  I have no love for people who go abroad to complain about our country or our government, regardless of which party they’re criticizing.

Never give in — never, never, never, never, in nothing great or small, large or petty, never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense. — Speech given at Harrow School, Harrow, England, October 29, 1941

My Take – Rome didn’t win their empire because they always had the best soldiers, technology, or generals.  They lost a lot of battles.  They won because they never gave up.  We need to be prepared for long fights, both to keep our nation safe and to protect our rights.