I'm a bit of a coward, and lazy, oddly enough.
Interpretation
The quote reflects a humorous acknowledgment of one's own flaws.
In this quote, Stephen Fry humorously admits to being cowardly and lazy, showcasing a self-deprecating view of his character. It highlights the ironic nature of human behavior, where we often grapple with our shortcomings and yet can approach these flaws with a sense of humor, making them relatable and lighthearted.
In practice
During a speech about personal growth, one might say, 'Like Stephen Fry once said, I'm a bit of a coward, and lazy, oddly enough.'
I used many times to touch my own chest and feel, under its asthmatic quiver, the engine of the heart and lungs and blood and feel amazed at what I sensed was the enormity of the power I possessed. Not magical power, but real power. The power simply to go on, the power to endure, that is power enough, but I felt I had also the power to create, to add, to delight, to amaze and to transform.
To be human and to be adult means constantly to be in the grip of opposing emotions, to have daily to reconcile apparently conflicting tensions. I want this, but need that. I cherish this, but I adore its opposite too.
There comes a time when the blankness of the future is just so extreme, it's like such a black wall of nothingness. Not of bad things like a cave full of monsters and so, you're afraid of entering it. It's just nothingness, the void, emptiness and it is just horrible. It's like contemplating a future-less future and so you just want to step out of it. The monstrosity of being alive overwhelms you.
As someone who worked hard for a Labour victory in the 90s, do I regret it? Not really. It was bound to happen. And it'll happen with the next government, and the one after it. Because all governments serve us. They serve the filth.
It's now very common to hear people say 'I'm rather offended by that'.
You can't just say there is a God because well, the world is beautiful. You have to account for bone cancer in children. You have to account for the fact that almost all animals in the wild live under stress with not enough to eat and will die violent and bloody deaths. There is not any way that you can just choose the nice bits and say that means there is a God and ignore the true fact of what nature is.
In this desperate way, I started many a comedy.
You're one of those guys who can make a party just by leaving it. It's a great gift.
Somebody once asked me how I found Peter Jackson, and I said: 'Well, I parted his hair, and there he was.'
My favourite kind of comedy comes from the awkwardness of living, the stuff that makes you cringe but borders on tragic - that is more interesting to me. It resonates; it comes from emotional truth.
You can't trample infidels when you're a tortoise. I mean, all you could do is give them a meaningful look.
When you're going for a joke, you're stuck out there if it doesn't work. There's nowhere to go. You've done the drum role and the cymbal clash and you're out on the end of the plank.
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