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Peter Ustinov
55 quotes
“Laughter would be bereaved if snobbery died.”
Peter Ustinov (1921–2004) first seen 1955 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in The Observer (13 March 1955)
“Politicians only get to the top because they have no qualifications to detain them at the bottom.”
Peter Ustinov (1921–2004) first seen 1959 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in International Celebrity Register (1959) Cleveland Amory
“I hate being moved. I hate that man who came in. So self-righteous, so cruel. He made fun of me, that's why I cried. You never did that. You led me into temptation by your — politeness.”
Peter Ustinov (1921–2004) first seen 1960 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The Loser : A Novel (1960)
“Irrespective of nationality, soldiers are always open to the same discomfort and to the same comradeship the world over. I'll make things easy for you if you make things easy for me. That is, after all the unwritten law of the barracks.”
Peter Ustinov (1921–2004) first seen 1960 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The Loser : A Novel (1960)
“If Botticelli were alive today he'd be working for Vogue.”
Peter Ustinov (1921–2004) first seen 1968 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in The Observer (21 October 1968); a punctuation variant occurs in some publications: "If Botticelli were alive today, he'd be working for Vogue.
“To be gentle, tolerant, wise and reasonable requires a goodly portion of toughness.”
Peter Ustinov (1921–2004) first seen 1984 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in Who Said That? (1984) by Renie Gee.
“By increasing the size of the keyhole, today's playwrights are in danger of doing away with the door.”
Peter Ustinov (1921–2004) first seen 1969 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in Contemporary Quotations (1969) by James Beasley Simpson
“I'm convinced there's a small room in the attic of the Foreign Office where future diplomats are taught to stammer.”
Peter Ustinov (1921–2004) first seen 1974 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in Words and Their Masters (1974) by Israel Shenker, p. 170
“Comedy is simply a funny way of being serious.”
Peter Ustinov (1921–2004) first seen 1982 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in Morrow's International Dictionary of Contemporary Quotations (1982) by Jonathon Green
“In America, through pressure of conformity, there is freedom of choice, but nothing to choose from.”
Peter Ustinov (1921–2004) first seen 1982 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in Morrow's International Dictionary of Contemporary Quotations (1982) by Jonathon Green
“Playwrights are like men who have been dining for a month in an Indian restaurant. After eating curry night after night, they deny the existence of asparagus.”
Peter Ustinov (1921–2004) first seen 1988 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in Contemporary Quotations (1988) by James Beasley Simpson
“Unfortunately, the balance of nature decrees that a superabundance of dreams is paid for by a growing potential for nightmares.”
Peter Ustinov (1921–2004) first seen 1989 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in The Independent (25 February 1989)
“The truth is really an ambition which is beyond us.”
Peter Ustinov (1921–2004) first seen 1990 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in International Herald Tribune (12 March 1990)
“There is no question but that if Jesus Christ, or a great prophet from another religion, were to come back today, he would find it virtually impossible to convince anyone of his credentials despite the fact that the vast evangelical machine on American television is predicated on His imminent return among us sinners.”
Peter Ustinov (1921–2004) first seen 1993 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in The Columbia Dictionary of Quotations (1993) edited by Robert Andrews, p. 742
“Pavarotti is not vain, but conscious of being unique.”
Peter Ustinov (1921–2004) first seen 1993 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in The Independent (12 September 1993)
“Beliefs are what divide people. Doubt unites them.”
Peter Ustinov (1921–2004) first seen 1996 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: 2000 Years of Disbelief : Famous People with the Courage to Doubt (1996) by James A. Haught
“Sex is a conversation carried out by other means.”
Peter Ustinov (1921–2004) first seen 1997 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in Marriages and Families (1997) by Mary Ann Lamanna, p. 69
“Terrorism is the war of the poor, and war is the terrorism of the rich.”
Peter Ustinov (1921–2004) first seen 2003 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Achtung! Vorurteile (2003); original German: "Der Terrorismus, der im furchtbaren 11. September kulminierte, ist ein Krieg der Armen gegen die Reichen. Der Krieg ist ein Terrorismus der Reichen gegen die Armen." typical…
“I have Russian, German, Spanish, Italian, French and Ethiopian blood in my veins.”
Peter Ustinov (1921–2004) first seen 2004 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in TIME magazine obituary, (5 April 2004), p. 22, which noted that his great-grandfather had married the Princess of Ethiopia.
“The only reason I made a commercial for American Express was to pay for my American Express bill.”
Peter Ustinov (1921–2004) first seen 2004 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in The Mammoth Book of Zingers, Quips, and One-Liners (2004) by Geoff Tibballs
“Corruption is nature's way of restoring our faith in democracy.”
Peter Ustinov (1921–2004) said by 2004 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in Backstabbing for Beginners : My Crash Course in International Diplomacy (2008) by Michael Soussan, p. 316
“Children are the only form of immortality that we can be sure of.”
Peter Ustinov (1921–2004) said by 2004 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in The Complete Idiot's Guide to Great Quotes for All Occasions (2008) by Elaine Bernstein Partnow, p. 12
“I'm Rally of Unionist Separist Extremes, sometimes known as the R.U.S.E. … It's the party at present in power.”
Peter Ustinov (1921–2004) said by 2004 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“2nd Soldier: Do you mean that, as a General, you're not the tiniest bit ambitious for our military future? General: I prefer our military past. The harm's done and there it is. As for being a General, well, at the age of four with paper hats and wooden swords, we're all Generals. Only some of us never grow out of it.”
Peter Ustinov (1921–2004) said by 2004 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Good-bye to you too ol' Rights of Man!”
Peter Ustinov (1921–2004) said by 2004 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It's hot. And there's a lot of it. I like everything about it except the flavor.”
Peter Ustinov (1921–2004) said by 2004 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Flogging. The only solution to every problem. I warrant even the culprit himself doesn't know! It was just — his turn!”
Peter Ustinov (1921–2004) said by 2004 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It's wrong to flog a man. It's against his being a man.”
Peter Ustinov (1921–2004) said by 2004 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The sea is calm you said. Peaceful. Calm above, but below a world of gliding monsters preying on their fellows. Murderers, all of them. Only the strongest teeth survive. And who's to tell me it's any different here on board, or yonder on dry land.”
Peter Ustinov (1921–2004) said by 2004 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“You know Seymour, there are some men who cannot stand too much perfection. They see it as a disease, which must be stamped out at its first rash showing.”
Peter Ustinov (1921–2004) said by 2004 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Lieutenant Seymour: Wyatt, we do not deal with justice here, but with the law. Lieutenant Wyatt: Was not the one conceived to serve the other?”
Peter Ustinov (1921–2004) said by 2004 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I'd rather be buried at sea than on the shore when I come to die. Will you stand by the plank, mates, so I can shake a friendly hand before I sink?”
Peter Ustinov (1921–2004) said by 2004 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Billy Budd: You didn't even hate him. I think that sometimes you hate yourself. I was thinking, sir, the nights are lonely. Perhaps I could talk with you between watches when you've nothing else to do. Claggert: Lonely. What do you know of loneliness? Billy Budd: Them's alone that want to be. Claggert: Nights are long. Conversation helps pass the time. Billy Budd: Can I talk to you again, then? It would mean a lot to me. Claggert: Perhaps to me, too. [His expression suddenly sours] Oh, no. You would charm me too, huh? Get away.”
Peter Ustinov (1921–2004) said by 2004 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I am just a man, not fit to do the work of God... or the Devil.”
Peter Ustinov (1921–2004) said by 2004 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“To all those who by accident or design, have not been included in this book.”
Peter Ustinov (1921–2004) said by 2004 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I was irrevocably betrothed to laughter, the sound of which has always seemed to me the most civilized music in the world.”
Peter Ustinov (1921–2004) said by 2004 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Contrary to general belief, I do not believe that friends are necessarily the people you like best, they are merely the people who got there first.”
Peter Ustinov (1921–2004) said by 2004 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Once we are destined to live out our lives in the prison of our mind, our one duty is to furnish it well.”
Peter Ustinov (1921–2004) said by 2004 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Life was cheap in the Middle Ages. It has become cheaper since. It is only in specific battles for specific lives that our culture is put to the test, and with it our humanity.”
Peter Ustinov (1921–2004) said by 2004 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I am an optimist, unrepentant and militant. After all, in order not to be a fool, an optimist must know what a sad place the world can be. It is only the pessimist who finds this out anew every day.”
Peter Ustinov (1921–2004) said by 2004 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“We have fought two wars to end war. In 1976, the nations of this world set aside the same amount of money for its starving children as the lavished on armaments every two hours. Can any right-minded man afford to be a pessimist? That was a luxury for easier days.”
Peter Ustinov (1921–2004) said by 2004 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The social sciences were for all those who had not yet decided what to do with their lives, and for all those whose premature frustrations led them into the sterile alleys of confrontation.”
Peter Ustinov (1921–2004) said by 2004 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I have said elsewhere that parents are the bones on which children sharpen their teeth.”
Peter Ustinov (1921–2004) said by 2004 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Basically I'm a very serious person, but I think the form it takes with me is comedy. I see the amusing side of all potentially pompous situations.”
Peter Ustinov (1921–2004) said by 2004 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Her virtue was that she said what she thought, her vice that what she thought didn't amount to much.”
Peter Ustinov (1921–2004) said by 2004 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I have four children which is not bad considering I'm not a Catholic.”
Peter Ustinov (1921–2004) said by 2004 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It is our responsibilities, not ourselves, that we should take seriously.”
Peter Ustinov (1921–2004) said by 2004 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“To refuse awards is another way of accepting them with more noise than is normal.”
Peter Ustinov (1921–2004) said by 2004 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Love is an act of endless forgiveness, a tender look which becomes a habit.”
Peter Ustinov (1921–2004) said by 2004 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“If the world should blow itself up, the last audible voice would be that of an expert saying it can't be done.”
Peter Ustinov (1921–2004) said by 2004 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source