Devoid of principles

      They tell me he was a man quite devoid of principles, whatever they are, but I’d put it another way and say he was a consummate politician.


Flashman and the Angel of the Lord, p.184, Harper Collins, 1995.


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Ready-made from Cincinnati

‘No,’ says Lincoln. ‘He was a man of principle and conscience. His only mistake lay in his inability to perceive that I have both commodities also, but I didn’t buy mine ready-made from Cincinnati, and I don’t permit either to blind me to reality, I hope.

Flash For Freedom!, p.130, Pan edition, 8th printing, 1980.

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Give me the shadow

All I could see was that somehow appearances were heavily on my side – and who needs more than that? Give me the shadow every time, and you can keep the substance – it’s a principle I’ve followed all my life, and it works, if you know how to act on it.

Flashman, p.244, Pan edition, 12th printing, 1979.

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