Famous Freemason Quotes – Sir Winston Churchill

Sir Winston Churchill was a shining example of what stability during a crisis and within a functioning democracy should look like. He was a celebrated author, a Freemason, and the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during World War II. His leadership and his use of the English vocabulary inspired many millions of people during the second world war.

” For my part, I consider that it will be found much better by all Parties to leave the past to history, especially as I propose to write that history of myself.”
“When you’re 20 you care what everyone thinks, when you’re 40 you stop caring what everyone thinks, when you’re 60 you realize no one was ever thinking about you in the first place. You have enemies? Good. That means you’ve stood up for something, sometime in your life.”Winston Churchill
“You will never reach your destination if you stop and throw stones at every dog that barks.”
“Fear is a reaction. Courage is a decision.” – Winston Churchill
“To every man there comes in his lifetime that special moment when he is figuratively tapped on the shoulder and offered a chance to do a very special thing, unique to him and fitted to his talents. What a tragedy if that moment finds him unprepared or unqualified for that which would be his finest hour.”
“The positive thinker sees the invisible, feels the intangible, and achieves the impossible.”
“A good speech should be like a woman’s skirt: long enough to cover the subject and short enough to create interest.”
“The optimist was the man who did not mind what happened so long as it did not happen to him. The pessimist was the man who lived with the optimist.”
“One man with conviction will overwhelm a hundred who have only opinions.” – Winston Churchill
“Life can either be accepted or changed. If it is not accepted, it must be changed. If it cannot be changed, then it must be accepted.”
“I’d rather argue against a hundred idiots, than have one agree with me.”
“In the course of my life, I have often had to eat my words, and I must confess that I have always found it a wholesome diet.” – Winston Churchill
“Life is fraught with opportunities to keep your mouth shut.”
“An appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last.”
“Diplomacy is the art of telling people to go to hell in such a way that they ask for directions.”
“Everyone is in favor of free speech. Hardly a day passes without its being extolled, but some people’s idea of it is that they are free to say what they like, but if anyone else says anything back, that is an outrage.”
“A nation that forgets its past has no future.”
“Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy.”
“The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter.”
“If Britain must choose between Europe and the open sea, she must always choose the open sea.”
“Many forms of government have been tried, and will be tried in this world of sin and woe. No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed, it has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all those others that have been.”
“The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of blessings. The inherent virtue of Socialism is the equal sharing of miseries.”
“You don’t make the poor richer by making the rich poorer.”
“A country which tries to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and endeavouring to lift himself up by the handle.”
“Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of them pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing had happened.”

Who was Sir Winston Churchill?

Winston Churchill is considered one of the most sublime British statesmen of all time by many British Scholars.

His full name was Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill. His words provided strength for a nation. Sir Churchill faced adversity even at the very beginning of his life – born two months premature in Oxfordshire on November 30, 1874.

By his own admission, Churchill struggled in school, particularly in mathematics. Although far from the top of his class, he excelled in grammar, rhetoric, and logic – skills that served him substantially in his political career. His strategy helped create an atmosphere of stability in his country as well as during the dark days of World War II most likely had its origin during his youth.

He was an author and wrote numerous books on a variety of topics. He is best known for his six-volume anthology on World War II, particularly the first book titled The Gathering Storm is masterful historical prose. With eloquence, Churchill narrates his experience during the war with sharp imagery and poetic grace: “It is where the balance quivers and the proportions are veiled in mist, that the opportunity for world-saving decisions presents itself.” Sir Winston Churchill received the Nobel Prize for his writing in literature later in his life.

As a Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, his tenacity and commitment to winning were showcased on the world stage during the second world war. He served his country with distinction from 1940 – 1945 and then again from 1951 – 1955. Following the end of the second world war, he received his investiture as a Knight of the Garter from the Royal Family of England.

Here are a few more memorable quotes by Winston Churchill – enjoy…

“You have enemies? Good. That means you’ve stood up for something, sometime in your life.”
“Never give in. Never give in. Never, never, never, never—in nothing, great or small, large or petty—never give in, except to convictions of honor and good sense. Never yield to force. Never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy.”
“Everyone is in favor of free speech. Hardly a day passes without its being extolled, but some people’s idea of it is that they are free to say what they like, but if anyone else says anything back, that is an outrage.”
“Masonic labor is purely a labor of love. He who seeks to draw Masonic wages in gold and silver will be disappointed. The wages of a Mason are in the dealings with one another; sympathy begets sympathy, kindness begets kindness, helpfulness begets helpfulness, and these are the wages of a Mason.”
“Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.”
“Continuous effort – not strength or intelligence – is the key to unlocking our potential.”

Sir Winston Churchill – the Freemason.

Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill was ‘made’ a Freemason at his initiation into Studholme Lodge 1591 on May 24th, 1901. During the time Churchill was considering joining, Freemasonry was viewed as a fashionable and very popular social pursuit. Receiving a lot of positive publicity, Freemasons were recognized and revered in their local communities.

This was mainly due to the election of the Prince of Wales (later Edward VII) as Grand Master in 1875 gave a huge boost to Freemasonry’s popularity. As the Prince of Wales, he had been an exceedingly popular Grand Master in England at that time. The membership of the Prince of Wales / Most Worshipful Edward VII had brought with it the benefit of introducing and making other Royals and aristocrats into becoming Freemasons.

Just one year later, John Studholme Brownrigg, Provincial Grand Master for Surrey, whose prominent family gave its name to the new Lodge, consecrated the Studholme Lodge No. 1591 on 31 January 1876. Just 5 years later in 1881, the lodge relocated to London, thus the Craft of this lodge membership roster read like a Who’s Who of the aristocracy and social elite

Therefore, it is clear to see that Brother Winston Churchill’s home lodge benefitted greatly from this as well as numerous other Masonic Lodges around the United Kingdom at the time. The guest list for the Lodge’s 21st Installation Banquet in 1897 includes 17 Members of Parliament, including the Lord Chancellor, and numerous Lords, Earls, Knights and high-ranking members of the armed forces dispersed throughout the dining room.

It was not by accident that the promising young Winston was introduced to Studholme Lodge in London to understand then. The Lodge records give the date of Churchill’s initiation as 24 May 1901 with his address as 105 Mount Street, his age as 26, and his occupation as a Member of Parliament.

Within two months, on July 19th, 1901 Winston was ‘passed’ to Fellowcraft (or the second degree in Freemasonry). Finally, on March 5th, 1902, Brother Winston Churchill was ‘raised’ to the Sublime Degree of a Master Mason. Not every Freemason goes thru all three degrees at their home lodge but, for Brother Winston Churchill all three degrees were conducted in Studholme Lodge.

Later, Brother Churchill’s home lodge (Studholme Lodge) merged in 1959 with United Lodge No. 1629 to form United Studholme Lodge and merged again in 1976 with Alliance Lodge No. 1827 to attain its present status as Studholme Alliance Lodge, retaining its original number 1591.

Although he did not hold Masonic office, Brother Churchill was of a faithful brother Master Mason and his regular attendance was recorded when attending a Stated or Called Communication of his lodge.

In 1912, Brother Winston Churchill resigned from his home lodge. Brother Churchill endeavored with a group of Freemasons to form a new lodge in 1918 – the Ministry of Munitions Lodge. Unfortunately, his petition to demit was rejected by the new lodge. Therefore his masonic participation dwindled to the rare visit to the Royal Naval Lodge No. 59. Clearly Winston, in becoming a freemason, complied with the fashion of the time and his friends and colleague’s sociable activities and wishes.

Brother Churchill followed in a long-standing and distinguished Churchill family tradition of freemasons. His respect, affection and the
influence exerted on him by his father Lord Randolph, will have played a part in his joining the craft. No doubt, it also fulfilled Winston’s own curios interest in the fraternity.

It is fair to say that Brother Churchill was a ‘joiner’ by nature. It is known by Historians that Freemasonry was only one area of his interest in similar
organizations. In November 1904 he accepted honorary membership in the Hawthorn Lodge of the British Order of Ancient Free Gardeners, he is recorded as a member of the Loyal Waterloo Lodge of the National Independent Order of Odd Fellows in, Manchester in April of 1907 and of the Albion Lodge, Oxford of the Ancient Order of Druids in September 1908. (his father, was also a member of the Woodstock Lodge of Independent Order of Foresters).

Therefore it is important to note, that Brother Winston Churchill’s association with the fraternity of Freemasonry must be placed within this context of his membership in numerous fraternal based organizations, thus due to his career there is a clear record of a period(s) of equal inactivity in many
of these fraternal groups in England at the time.

Here are a few more amazing quotes from Sir Winston Churchill…

We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.
If you’re going through hell, keep going.
You have enemies? Good. That means you’ve stood up for something, sometime in your life.
To improve is to change, so to be perfect is to have changed often.
I never ‘worry’ about action, but only about inaction.
Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.
You will never get to the end of the journey if you stop to shy a stone at every dog that barks.
One always measures friendships by how they show up in bad weather.
Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.
For myself I am an optimist — it does not seem to be much use being anything else.
Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak. Courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.
The empires of the future are the empires of the mind.
To be really happy and really safe, one ought to have at least two or three hobbies, and they must all be real.
Nourish your hopes, but do not overlook realities.
You must look at facts, because they look at you.
It is better to be making the news than taking it; to be an actor rather than a critic.
A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.
I have in my life concentrated more on self-expression than self-denial.
You never can tell whether bad luck may not after all turn out to be good luck.
The true guide of life is to do what is right.
Things are not always right because they are hard, but if they are right one must not mind if they are also hard.
I like things to happen, and if they don’t happen I like to make them happen.
You must put your head into the lion’s mouth if the performance is to be a success.

Thank you for reading this brief Masonic documented history of Brother Winston Churchill. I hope you have enjoyed it as much as the Freemasonry Report has researched it.

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