Graham Greene Quotes & Sayings

“There is always one moment in childhood when the door opens and lets the future in.”

“Human nature is not black and white but black and grey.”

“Writing is a form of therapy; sometimes I wonder how all those who do not write, compose or paint can manage to escape the madness, melancholia, the panic and fear which is inherent in a human situation.”

“My two fingers on a typewriter have never connected with my brain. My hand on a pen does. A fountain pen, of course. Ball-point pens are only good for filling out forms on a plane.”

“It is impossible to go through life without trust: that is to be imprisoned in the worst cell of all, oneself.”

“In human relationships, kindness and lies are worth a thousand truths.”

“The great advantage of being a writer is that you can spy on people. You're there, listening to every word, but part of you is observing. Everything is useful to a writer, you see - every scrap, even the longest and most boring of luncheon parties.”

“A petty reason perhaps why novelists more and more try to keep a distance from journalists is that novelists are trying to write the truth and journalists are trying to write fiction.”

“Point me out the happy man and I will point you out either egotism, selfishness, evil - or else an absolute ignorance.”

“Champagne, if you are seeking the truth, is better than a lie detector. It encourages a man to be expansive, even reckless, while lie detectors are only a challenge to tell lies successfully.”