10 quotes
He possessed, however, that persistent inquisitiveness which for journalists and lawyers is an end in itself.
The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1963)
If they do not know what they want, how can they be so certain they are right?
The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1963)
Intelligence work has one moral law—it is justified by results.
The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1963)
The English! The rich have eaten your future and your poor have given them the food—that’s what’s happened to the English.
The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1963)
Sometimes she thought Alec was right—you believed in things because you needed to; what you believed in had no value of its own, no function.
The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1963)
I am afraid that as a nation we tend to over-organise. Abroad that passes for efficiency.
The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1963)
“Alec, what do you believe in? Don’t laugh—tell me.” She waited and at last he said:
“I believe an eleven bus will take me to Hammersmith. I don’t believe it’s driven by Father Christmas.”
The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1963)
A man who lives apart, not to others but alone, is exposed to obvious psychological dangers. In itself, the practice of deception is not particularly exacting; it is a matter of experience, of professional expertise, it is a facility most of us can acquire.
The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1963)
I would say that since the war, our methods—ours and those of the opposition—have become much the same. I mean you can’t be less ruthless than the opposition simply because your government’s policy is benevolent, can you now?
The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1963)
I should have guessed you’d never have the guts to do your own dirty work, Fiedler. It’s typical of your rotten little half-country and your squalid little Service that you get big uncle to do your pimping for you. You are not a country at all, you’re not a government, you’re a fifth-rate dictatorship of political neurotics.
The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1963)