“Nothing quite brings out the zest for life in a person like the thought of their impending death”

“Nobody's death is impending." ..."Well technically everyone's death is impending.”

“Nothing gives life more zest that running for your life.”

“There is nothing quite like the cold taste of gun oil on a stainless steel barrel to bring your life into focus. ”

“Or rather, it made him into two people. He was by nature a cheerful almost irrepressible person with a great zest for life. He loved good talk and physical activity. He had a deep sense of humour and a great capacity for making friends. But from now onwards there was to be a second side, more private but predominant in his diaries and letters. This side of him was capable of bouts of profound despair. More precisely, and more closely related to his mother's death, when he was in this mood he had a deep sense of impending loss. Nothing was safe. Nothing would last. No battle would be won for ever.”

“There is nothing like a challenge to bring out the best in man.”