Leon Trotsky

There are no absolute rules of conduct, either in peace or war. Everything depends on circumstances.

When one runs with the wolves, one must howl with the pack.

The concrete is a combination of abstractions not an arbitrary or subjective combination but one that corresponds to the laws of the movement of a given phenomenon.

Ideas that enter the mind under fire remain there securely and for ever.

Art is not a mirror to hold up to society, but a hammer with which to shape it.

Life is not an easy matter... You cannot live through it without falling into frustration and cynicism unless you have before you a great idea which raises you above personal misery, above weakness, above all kinds of perfidy and baseness.

From being a patriotic myth, the Russian people have become an awful reality.

In a serious struggle there is no worse cruelty than to be magnanimous at an inopportune time.

If we had had more time for discussion we should probably have made a great many more mistakes.

Let a man find himself, in distinction from others, on top of two wheels with a chain - at least in a poor country like Russia - and his vanity begins to swell out like his tires. In America it takes an automobile to produce this effect.

The end may justify the means as long as there is something that justifies the end.

There is a limit to the application of democratic methods. You can inquire of all the passengers as to what type of car they like to ride in, but it is impossible to question them as to whether to apply the brakes when the train is at full speed and accident threatens.

Technique is noticed most markedly in the case of those who have not mastered it.

Abusive language and swearing are a legacy of slavery humiliation and disrespect for human dignity ones own and that of other people.

Where force is necessary, there it must be applied boldly, decisively and completely. But one must know the limitations of force; one must know when to blend force with a maneuver, a blow with an agreement.

The fundamental flaw of vulgar thought lies in the fact that it wishes to content itself with motionless imprints of a reality which consists of eternal motion.

You may not be interested in strategy, but strategy is interested in you.

Learning carries within itself certain dangers because out of necessity one has to learn from one's enemies.

England is nothing but the last ward of the European madhouse, and quite possibly it will prove to be the ward for particularly violent cases.

Old age is the most unexpected of all things that happen to a man.

The creative union of the conscious with the unconscious is what one usually calls 'inspiration.'

Insurrection is an art, and like all arts has its own laws.

Revolutions are always verbose.

Fascism is nothing but capitalist reaction.

If we had more time for discussion we should probably have made a great many more mistakes.

Abusive language and swearing are a legacy of slavery, humiliation, and disrespect for human dignity, one's own and that of other people.

The depth and strength of a human character are defined by its moral reserves. People reveal themselves completely only when they are thrown out of the customary conditions of their life, for only then do they have to fall back on their reserves.

The end may justify the means as long as there is something that justifies the end

Everyone has the right to be stupid on occasion, but Comrade Macdonald abuses the privilege.

Communism needs democracy like the human body needs oxygen.

Not believing in force is the same as not believing in gravity.

The historic ascent of humanity, taken as a whole, may be summarized as a succession of victories of consciousness over blind forces - in nature, in society, in man himself.