“Englishmen are so odd. They are like a nest of Chinese boxes. It takes a very long time to get to the centre of them. When one gets there the result is unrewarding, but the process is instructive and entertaining.”
Ian Fleming
The quote by Le Chiffre, not James Bond, in the novel.
Casino Royale (Primary source)
Casino Royale is the debut novel in Ian Fleming’s James Bond series, introducing the British secret agent as he embarks on a high-stakes mission to bankrupt a Soviet operative.
“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 sourceThis case isn’t ripe yet. Until it is, our policy with Mr Big is “live and let live”.
Bond looked quizzically at Captain Dexter.
“In my job,” he said, “when I come up against a man like this one, I have another motto. It’s ‘live and let die’.”
“It’s never too early to start winning.”
— Ian Fleming Primary source“Dying is only bad when it takes a long time and hurts so much that it humiliates you.”
— Ernest Hemingway Primary source“Are you a communist?”
“No, I am an anti-fascist.”
“For a long time?”
“Since I have understood fascism.”
“Every gift we accept is a tie. Sometimes, one pays most for the things one gets for nothing.”
— Albert Einstein Secondary source“Now is no time to think of what you do not have. Think of what you can do with what there is.”
— Ernest Hemingway Primary source