“Shakespeare was the Homer, or father of our dramatic poets;Jonson was theVirgil, the pattern of elaborate writing; I admire him, but I love Shakespeare.”

The winds are out of breath.

The secret pleasure of a generous act Is the great mind’s great bribe.

Politicians neither love nor hate.

Shame on the body for breaking down while the spirit perseveres.

As one that neither seeks, nor shuns his foe.

Railing and praising were his usual themes; and both showed his judgment in extremes. Either over violent or over civil, so everyone to him was either god or devil.

Freedom which in no other land will thrive, Freedom an English subject’s sole prerogative.

More liberty begets desire of more; The hunger still increases with the store.

Let grace and goodness be the principal loadstone of thy affections.

God never made his work for man to mend.

Luxurious kings are to their people lost, They live like drones, upon the public cost.

There’s a proud modesty in merit; averse from asking, and resolved to pay ten times the gifts it asks.

Dreams are but interludes that fancy makes… Sometimes forgotten things, long cast behind Rush forward in the brain, and come to mind.

Repentance is but want of power to sin.

The love of liberty with life is given, And life itself the inferior gift of Heaven.

Virtue in distress, and vice in triumph make atheists of mankind.

The ultimate secret of success is this: If you tidy up in one shot, rather than little by little, you can dramatically change your mindset.

If we’re not going to take full advantage of digital, then 35mm is a better medium. Especially for shooting dramas – I have no problem with 35mm.

There’s nothing like a good conservatory drama school to really get you ready for the work force.

I don’t remember a drama on TV that had shown a couple could be married but still love each other very much, spend every day as if they were still on their honeymoon, be sensuous, and have fun together.

I grew up in the theatre. It’s where I got my start. Writing a television drama with theatrical dialogue about the theatre is beyond perfection.

Film music should have the same relationship to the film drama that somebody’s piano playing in my living room has on the book I am reading.

I’d like to do more family dramas.

The worst hatred is that of relatives.