"I'd begun to grasp the principle that the less anybody knows, the less any squealer can give away. And it was easy to see that in a place where questioning was liable to assume the aspect of a blood-sport, the less one did know about other people's business, the better."

John Wyndham Literature See all quotes by John Wyndham →

React to this quote

More by John Wyndham

“I don't understand women. Nobody does. Least of all themselves.”

“'The wise lamb does not enrage the lion,' he said. 'It placates him, plays for time, and hopes for the best.'”

“'We've got it all there in the books if we take the trouble to find out about it.'”

“'In spite of what they say, two can't live as cheap as one. And wives hanker after certain standards, and ought to have them - within reason, of course.'”

“It takes civilised people quite a while to appreciate 'the big lie' technique.”

“Darling, you're talking as if all normal-length lives were planned. They aren't, you know. People have to learn how to live them—and by the time they find out, they're nearly gone. No time to remedy mistakes.”

Resonant Thoughts

"The lifestyle that I have is probably neither desirable nor useful to most people. Most people are probably better off getting the certification they desire and spindling their lives away the way they…"

— Frank Zappa

Music1940–1993

#life

"The sport is more important than anything. More important than any of the people in it. Of course I say what I think. I always have, even if it upsets people like Ecclestone and Balestre. Why should I…"

— Gilles Villeneuve

1950–1982

#love

"Literally, lhag thong, means to see more, to see beyond, to see extremely, supremely. Thus, not only to see more than that which is seen by the mass of mankind who are crassly ignorant, but to see bey…"

— Alexandra David-Néel

Tibetology1868–1969

#knowledge

"A fight back against this Government's policies will inevitably take place outside rather than inside Parliament. When I talk about 'extra-parliamentary action' there is a great outcry in the press an…"

— Arthur Scargill

Politics1938

#Human Nature