Peter Ustinov Quotes
April 16, 1921 – March 18, 2004
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Comedy is simply a funny way of being serious.
As quoted in Morrow's International Dictionary of Contemporary Quotations (1982) by Jonathon Green 
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More Peter Ustinov Quotes
Laughter would be bereaved if snobbery died.
Peter Ustinov— As quoted in The Observer (13 March 1955)
Politicians only get to the top because they have no qualifications to detain them at the bottom.
Peter Ustinov— As quoted in International Celebrity Register (1959) Cleveland Amory
— Variant: People who reach the top of the tree are only those who haven't got the qualifications to detain them at the bottom.
Irrespective of nationality, soldiers are always open to the same discomfort and to the same comradeship the world over. I'll make things easy for you if you make things easy for me. That is, after all the unwritten law of the barracks.
Peter Ustinov— The Loser : A Novel (1960)
To be gentle, tolerant, wise and reasonable requires a goodly portion of toughness.
Peter Ustinov— As quoted in Who Said That? (1984) by Renie Gee.
By increasing the size of the keyhole, today's playwrights are in danger of doing away with the door.
Peter Ustinov— As quoted in Contemporary Quotations (1969) by James Beasley Simpson
I'm convinced there's a small room in the attic of the Foreign Office where future diplomats are taught to stammer.
Peter Ustinov— As quoted in Words and Their Masters (1974) by Israel Shenker, p. 170
Parents are the bones on which children cut their teeth.
Peter Ustinov— As quoted in The Book of Quotes (1979) by Barbara Rowes, p. 164
In America, through pressure of conformity, there is freedom of choice, but nothing to choose from.
Peter Ustinov— As quoted in Morrow's International Dictionary of Contemporary Quotations (1982) by Jonathon Green
Playwrights are like men who have been dining for a month in an Indian restaurant. After eating curry night after night, they deny the existence of asparagus.
Peter Ustinov— As quoted in Contemporary Quotations (1988) by James Beasley Simpson
Unfortunately, the balance of nature decrees that a super-abundance of dreams is paid for by a growing potential for nightmares.
Peter Ustinov— As quoted in The Independent (25 February 1989)
The truth is really an ambition which is beyond us.
Peter Ustinov— As quoted in International Herald Tribune (12 March 1990)
There is no question but that if Jesus Christ, or a great prophet from another religion, were to come back today, he would find it virtually impossible to convince anyone of his credentials despite the fact that the vast evangelical machine on American television is predicated on His imminent return among us sinners.
Peter Ustinov— As quoted in The Columbia Dictionary of Quotations (1993) edited by Robert Andrews, p. 742
Pavarotti is not vain, but conscious of being unique.
Peter Ustinov— As quoted in The Independent (12 September 1993)
Beliefs are what divide people. Doubt unites them.
Peter Ustinov— 2000 Years of Disbelief : Famous People with the Courage to Doubt (1996) by James A. Haught
Sex is a conversation carried out by other means.
Peter Ustinov— As quoted in Marriages and Families (1997) by Mary Ann Lamanna, p. 69
Terrorism is the war of the poor, and war is the terrorism of the rich.
Peter Ustinov— Achtung! Vorurteile (2003); original German: "Der Terrorismus, der im furchtbaren 11. September kulminierte, ist ein Krieg der Armen gegen die Reichen. Der Krieg ist ein Terrorismus der Reichen gegen die Armen." typically cited in short: "Terrorismus ist der Krieg der Armen und der Krieg ist der Terrorismus der Reichen."
Corruption is nature's way of restoring our faith in democracy.
Peter Ustinov— As quoted in Backstabbing for Beginners : My Crash Course in International Diplomacy (2008) by Michael Soussan, p. 316
Children are the only form of immortality that we can be sure of.
Peter Ustinov— As quoted in The Complete Idiot's Guide to Great Quotes for All Occasions (2008) by Elaine Bernstein Partnow, p. 12
It's hot. And there's a lot of it. I like everything about it except the flavor.
Peter Ustinov— Bill Budd, on the ship's gruel.
It's wrong to flog a man. It's against his being a man.
Peter Ustinov— Billy Budd (Billy Budd (1962))
You know Seymour, there are some men who cannot stand too much perfection. They see it as a disease, which must be stamped out at its first rash showing.
Peter Ustinov— Captain Vere
I'd rather be buried at sea than on the shore when I come to die. Will you stand by the plank, mates, so I can shake a friendly hand before I sink?
Peter Ustinov— Billy Budd (Billy Budd (1962))
I am just a man, not fit to do the work of God... or the Devil.
Peter Ustinov— Captain Vere
To all those who by accident or design, have not been included in this book.
Peter Ustinov— Dedication page
Terrorism is the war of the poor, and war is the terrorism of the rich.
Peter Ustinov— Achtung! Vorurteile]] (2003); original German: "Der Terrorismus, der im furchtbaren 11. September kulminierte, ist ein Krieg der **Armen gegen die Reichen. Der Krieg ist ein Terrorismus der Reichen gegen die Armen." typically cited in short: "Terrorismus ist der Krieg der Armen und der Krieg ist der Terrorismus der Reichen."
If Botticelli were alive today he'd be working for Vogue.
Peter Ustinov— As quoted in The Observer (21 October 1968); a punctuation variant occurs in some publications: "If Botticelli were alive today, he'd be working for Vogue."
The only reason I made a commercial for American Express was to pay for my American Express bill.
Peter Ustinov— As quoted in The Mammoth Book of Zingers, Quips, and One-Liners (2004) by Geoff Tibballs
