James Aldridge Quotes & Sayings

He simply wanted more money without additional responsibility. A sound investment. That is the sort of fellow that makes other people's Empire possible. Sells his birthright to a foreigner. — James Aldridge

America is really the only country strong enough to cope with the Russians these days, and we depend upon her support for much of our policy in Europe and the Middle East. They have just bought a monopoly oil concession in Saudi Arabia, and now they actually have more oil holdings in the Middle East than ourselves. That makes our role in Iran doubly important, because the Americans will try to pick up Middle East influence where we drop it. However, it is in our mutual interests to see that Russia is checked in the Middle East. We can always depend on American support for our case.' Essex laughed softly. 'In fact the Americans are more vigorous about the Russians than we are, because they are between the devil and our deep blue sea. — James Aldridge

This solid permanence in Foreign Office affairs had always antagonized MacGregor: there was something threatening and deadly and over-sure in it. The building itself was far more flexible and animate than its regular and eternal inhabitants who demanded such rigid conformity of anyone entering the kingdom. No one could enter the Foreign Office with a contradiction to it and have his conviction untouched and unshaken. This was a n atmosphere of such self-conviction and God-like authority that any rival opinion was shattered in the contact. — James Aldridge

Religious fanaticism is simply good politics in the middle-eastern countries. — James Aldridge

It's easy these days to buy a nation, but it's quite difficult to take it by force. — James Aldridge

...at times you can be more self-righteous than a cart-load of parsons. — James Aldridge

Nothing that was said in here would decide MacGregor's fate. That decision was being made elsewhere. This was not the highest Court in the land. The highest Court in the land was somewhere else in some unknown building; in a room with locked doors, a room which MacGregor would never enter and never see. This was a great camouflage for the authority that stemmed from another unknown source. — James Aldridge

I have betrayed no confidence and no trust. I simply wrote a letter in which I stated the truth--for the Government or anybody else.'
'A letter in which you accuse the Government...'
'Of course I accuse. If the Government uses falsehoods and the blind eye to conduct its affairs, then shouldn't I accuse? If I am betraying a trust to reveal it, then I am still right and you cannot make me wrong. — James Aldridge

How do you English Socialists believe in Empire like that?' Steele said to Holmes. 'Empire is inimical to Democracy and it has no right to exist in a free world. — James Aldridge

Unfortunately we did not attend Voltaire's dictum to define our terms before we began. The result was disagreement on all issues. — James Aldridge

A man may have the right to criticize the Government, but I'm hanged if he has a right to brazenly use his free speech to attack our way of life. More and more we see men in science and profession and academy abusing their privileges of expression by crying that their real liberties are threatened by patriotism. Is patriotism above these men? Do they have a right to express their views, to carry on their work, to be free men unless they are patriotic to our society? I say no sir! Loyalty is one of the prerogatives of freedom — James Aldridge

The Americans love to play diplomacy by making scares. It's a crude method. — James Aldridge