Some Favourite Quotes... Part 3

Winston Churchill
(1874 - 1965)

Where to even start?
For students of history and rhetoric, Churchill is a true giant. The  very act of writing about him invokes qualms of apprehension: we are in the presence of a master. It is only natural to fear that the subject far outweighs the scribe.  Nevertheless, (as he would have advocated) we must push on, and so we shall.
I am well aware that there are legitimate criticisms directed toward some of the content of both his speeches and his writing. Churchill was by no means perfect. He was a complex and multi-faceted character. But his speaking and writing skills were truly in the league of the all-time greats, and that is what I am after here.
I invite those interested in some of the less kind allegations directed at him to begin with the following reading: The 10 greatest controversies of Winston Churchill's career (BBC article).

Okay. With that behind us, let's move on to some of the man's quotes:

1. ''Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak. Courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.''

I wish someone had told me this when I was a teenager.  I was good at the speaking part, but the listening....
Not only is this good advice, it also employs solid rhetorical technique: simple repetition. It makes the idea easy to follow, and also makes it memorable.
Simple repetition: Churchill was a true master of this deceptively easy method of making a powerful point. He used repetition repeatedly.

Take a look at his repetition in the following famous speech:

       ''You ask, what is our aim? I can answer in one word:

            Victory. Victory at all costs.

            Victory in spite of all terror.

            Victory, however long and hard the road may be;

            for without victory there is no survival,

            let that be realised;

            no survival for the British Empire,

            no survival for all that the British Empire has stood for,

            no survival for the urge and the impulse of the ages:
            that mankind will move forward towards his goals...''
(first speech as new Prime Minister, delivered to the House of Commons, May 13, 1940). You can listen to this speech, and others by him, on YouTube. This one is called: Winston Churchill ''Blood, Toil, Tears and Sweat''. The interesting part begins at 3:20.

Repetition is attention grabbing, easy to follow, and easy to do. (Another post will look at various types of repetition techniques.)

Churchill used repetition, in various ways, in many of his quotes. Here are a few examples:

      ''The inherent vice of capitalism is
        the unequal sharing of blessings; 
        the inherent virtue of socialism is
        the equal sharing of miseries.''

And one of his most well known:

''We shall fight in France.
  We shall fight on the seas and oceans.
  We shall fight with growing confidence and
         growing strength in the air.
  We shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be.
  We shall fight on the beaches.
  We shall fight on the landing grounds.
  We shall fight in the fields, and in the streets.
  We shall fight in the hills.
  We shall never surrender.''

How's that for an example of a lot of repetition?
Interestingly, the spoken version of this speech varies quite widely from the written version Churchill had prepared, a quite common occurrence with experienced speakers.

2. ''A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity;                      
an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.''

 

This is an interesting - and interestingly worded - quote. Churchill accomplished a remarkable amount in his lifetime, even though he claimed to take an afternoon nap every day, and bragged about his prodigious alcohol consumption. He was a writer, painter, statesman, and even (believe it or not) an accomplished bricklayer. He also suffered from what he called ''the black dog'': bouts of severe depression. Perhaps that contributed to this quote:

 

''If you are going through hell, keep going.''

 

His humour and arrogance is illustrated well in this one:

 

''History will be kind to me, for I intend to write it.''

And write it he did. He was a prolific writer with a huge output. It eventually won him the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1953.

 

3. ''Personally, I'm always ready to learn, although I do not always like being taught.''

 

I like this one because I often feel the same way. 

 

Churchill is loved, admired and respected by millions. His writing and quotations will remain famous for decades to come. His personality and leadership style during the war made him the most famous British Bulldog.

 

All the best, and happy trails,

Rob