“All the greatest men are maniacs. They are possessed by a mania which drives them forward towards their goal. The great scientists, the philosophers, the religious leaders—all maniacs. What else but a blind singleness of purpose could have given focus to their genius, would have kept them in the groove of their purpose? Mania, my dear Mister Bond, is as priceless as genius. Dissipation of energy, fragmentation of vision, loss of momentum, the lack of follow-through—these are the vices of the herd.”
Ian Fleming
The quote is by Dr. No, not James Bond, in the novel.
Dr. No (Primary source)
Dr. No is the sixth novel in Ian Fleming’s James Bond series, marking the first appearance of the eponymous villain and introducing the tropical exoticism that would become a hallmark of the franchise.
“Surround yourself with human beings, my dear James. They are easier to fight for than principles.”
— Ian Fleming Primary source“When the odds are hopeless, when all seems to be lost, then is the time to be calm, to make a show of authority—at least of indifference.”
— Ian Fleming Primary source“Because people are very careful with the secrets of their own business doesn’t mean that they’ll be careful with the secrets of yours.”
— Ian Fleming Primary source“Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. The third time it’s enemy action.”
— Ian Fleming Primary source“No catalogue of horrors ever kept men from war. Before the war you always think that it’s not you that dies. But you will die, brother, if you go to it long enough.”
— Ernest Hemingway Primary source“The ghostly winter silence had given way to the great spring murmur of awakening life.”
— Jack London Primary source“No, that is the great fallacy; the wisdom of old men. They do not grow wise. They grow careful.”
— Ernest Hemingway Primary source“And people with obsessions, reflected Bond, were blind to danger.”
— Ian Fleming Primary source