“Sir, I shall not defeat you - I shall transcend you.”

“A member of Parliament to Disraeli: 'Sir, you will either die on the gallows or of some unspeakable disease.'That depends, Sir,' said Disraeli, 'whether I embrace your policies or your mistress.”

“You asked me where I generally lived. In my workshop [i.e. in his study] in the mornings and always in the library in the evening. Books are companions even if you don’t open them.”

“Never apologize for showing feeling. When you do so, you apologize for the truth.”

“I must follow the people. Am I not their leader?”

“When I want to read a novel, I write one.”

“Like all great travellers, I have seen more than I remember and remember more than I have seen.”