“Loneliness becomes a lover, solitude a darling sin.”
Ian Fleming
The quote is by Vivienne Michel, not 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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Storms don’t frighten me, and although the nearest living soul, as far as I knew, was ten miles away up the not very good secondary road to Lake George, the thought of the pines that would soon be thrashing outside, the thunder and lightning and rain, made me already feel snug and warm and protected in anticipation. And alone! But above all alone! ‘Loneliness becomes a lover, solitude a darling sin.’ Where had I read that? Who had written it? It was so exactly the way I felt, the way that, as a child, I had always felt until I had forced myself to ‘get into the swim,’ ‘be one of the crowd’—a good sort, on the ball, hep.” Ian Fleming
“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“Surround yourself with human beings, my dear James. They are easier to fight for than principles.”
— Ian Fleming Primary source“Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. The third time it’s enemy action.”
— Ian Fleming Primary source“It’s never too early to start winning.”
— Ian Fleming Primary source“Just as animals flourish in niches, people who specialize in the business world—and get very good because they specialize—frequently find good economics that they wouldn’t get any other way.”
— Charlie Munger Primary source“The difference between a good software person and a great software person is fifty to one, twenty-five to fifty to one, huge dynamic range.”
— Steve Jobs Primary source“I don’t drink tea. I hate it. It’s mud. Moreover it’s one of the main reasons for the downfall of the British Empire. Be a good girl and make me some coffee.”
— Ian Fleming Primary source“Oh, darling, you will be good to me, won’t you? Because we’re going to have a strange life.”
— Ernest Hemingway Primary source