“He was about six feet tall, slim and fit-looking. The eyes in the lean, slightly tanned face were a very clear gray-blue and as they observed the men they were cold and watchful. The narrowed watchful eyes gave his good looks the dangerous, almost cruel quality that had frightened me when I had first set eyes on him.”
Ian Fleming
Vivienne Michel’s description of James Bond in the novel.
The Spy Who Loved Me (Primary source)
The Spy Who Loved Me is the tenth novel in Ian Fleming’s James Bond series, distinguished by its unconventional narrative structure and intimate, first-person perspective.
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“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“He did not care for the lying at first. He hated it. Then later he had come to like it. It was part of being an insider but it was a very corrupting business.”
— Ernest Hemingway Primary source“Good criticism is very rare, and always precious.”
— Ralph Waldo Emerson Primary source“Observe all men; thyself most.”
— Benjamin Franklin Primary source“You will be careful, if you are wise; how you touch men's religion, or credit, or eyes.”
— Benjamin Franklin Primary source