Brendan Behan

"A man can be a fool and not know it, but not if he is married."

"I have a left hand that does what it wants."

"Never throw stones at your mother—use bread."

"I respect the military. I'm just not sure they know how to have fun."

"The Bible was written by men, not God."

"A poem is just a love letter written to the world."

"The straight life is not for the likes of us."

"I'm not sure if I'm a success or a failure in this business."

"Democracy is the theory that common people know what they want and deserve to get it."

"I've got every book ever written about Ireland, and half of them are lies."

"The cause of crime is not necessarily evil—it's often just lack of money."

"I wonder if other dogs think poodles are members of a weird religious cult."

"You are not a fool just because you have made a foolish mistake."

"Life has a way of making the important seem unimportant and vice versa."

"I drink to forget, but it doesn't work."

"The truth is like a lion; you don't have to defend it."

"In Ireland the inevitable never happens and the unexpected constantly occurs."

"A man who cannot commit to anything will die a meaningless death."

"We are all travelers in the wilderness of this world."

"Getting out of prison is like leaving a bad marriage."

"The bottle is a very patient friend—it waits for you."

"Literature should be either instructive or entertaining, preferably both."

"I've lived more in forty years than most people do in eighty."

"An actor must commit fully or not at all."

"I don't think anybody has ever been improved by punishment or made better in any way."

"The Irish character is a mixture of great virtues and great flaws."

"You must have many friends if you want to keep them."

"To be poor and to be honest is a very hard combination."

"In the old days, men made the laws. Now laws make men."

"Criticism is easy—creation is difficult."