Sir Peter Ustinov

The point of living, and of being an optimist, is to be foolish enough to believe the best is yet
to come.
– Sir Peter Ustinov

Parents are the bones on which children cut their teeth.
– Sir Peter Ustinov

Terrorism is the war of the poor, and war is the terrorism of the rich.
– Sir Peter Ustinov

It is our responsibilities, not ourselves, that we should take seriously.
– Sir Peter Ustinov

Politicians only get to the top because they have no qualifications to detain them at the
bottom.
– Sir Peter Ustinov

In America, through pressure of conformity, there is freedom of choice, but nothing to choose
from.
– Sir Peter Ustinov

Comedy is simply a funny way of being serious.
– Sir Peter Ustinov

We used to have lots of questions to which there where no answers. Now, with the
computer, there are lots of answers to which we haven’t thought up the questions.
– Sir Peter Ustinov

Love is an act of endless forgiveness, a tender look which becomes a habit.
– Sir Peter Ustinov

Sex is a conversation carried out by other means.
– Sir Peter Ustinov

I imagine hell like this: Italian punctuality, German humour and English wine.
– Sir Peter Ustinov

The only reason I made a commercial for American Express was to pay for my American
Express bill.
– Sir Peter Ustinov

Did you know that every two hours the nations of this world spend as much on armaments as
they spend on the children of this world every year?
– Sir Peter Ustinov

To be gentle, tolerant, wise and reasonable requires a goodly portion of toughness.
– Sir Peter Ustinov

If history teaches us one thing, than that history teaches us nothing.
– Sir Peter Ustinov

Practically every game played internationally today was invented in Britain, and when
foreigners became good enough to match or even defeat the British, the British quickly
invented a new game.
– Sir Peter Ustinov

The largest turnout at elections is always where there is only one candidate.
– Sir Peter Ustinov

I am an optimist, unrepentant and militant. After all, in order not to be a fool, an optimist
must know what a sad place the world can be. It is only the pessimist who finds this out
anew every day.
– Sir Peter Ustinov

Beliefs are what divide people. Doubt unites them.
– Sir Peter Ustinov

To refuse awards is another way of accepting them with more noise than is normal.
– Sir Peter Ustinov

The recruiting officer asked me, “Why the tank corps?” I replied that I preferred to go into
battle sitting down.
– Sir Peter Ustinov

Since we are destined to live out our lives in the prison of our minds, it is our duty to furnish
it well.
– Sir Peter Ustinov

Pavarotti is not vain, but conscious of being unique.
– Sir Peter Ustinov

Pavarotti is very difficult to pass at the net in tennis with or without a raquet.
– Sir Peter Ustinov

Contrary to general belief, I do not believe that friends are necessarily the people you like
best, they are merely the people who got there first.
– Sir Peter Ustinov

I did not become a politician because I could not stand the strain of having to be right all the
time.
– Sir Peter Ustinov

If the world should blow itself up, the last audible voice would be that of an expert saying it
can’t be done.
– Sir Peter Ustinov

Corruption is nature’s way of restoring our faith in democracy.
– Sir Peter Ustinov

Her virtue was that she said what she thought, her vice that what she thought didn’t amount
to much.
– Sir Peter Ustinov

Generals detest generals on their own side far more than they dislike the enemy.
– Sir Peter Ustinov