WORDS, WORDS, WORDS

1. The enemy of my enemy is my friend

"…am convinced, gentleman, that the way forward is cooperation with the Soviet Union. Only by offering a united front can we hope to make any headway against Thrush, which has already made deep inroads into Russian territory and will be virtually unassailable if we cannot secure Soviet support in the on-going struggle…"

2. Timeo Danaos et dona ferentes

"Not a snowball's chance in hell. Have you seen the guy's file? Why would the Reds want to hand over someone of that calibre? We open the door to an agent like that, and the next thing you know, the Soviets have got their paws all over UNCLE and you can kiss goodbye to the free world."

"You will admit him, Jules. Or you will resign your position."

"Oh, it's like that, is it? Okay, Alex, we'll do it your way. I'll train your Commie for you. But on one condition – no outside interference. No special treatment. The same rules apply to him as any other trainee agent. He gets into UNCLE if he makes it through Survival School. We'll see what the great Mr Kuryakin is made of."

3. There's no art to find the mind's construction in the face

"A fine young man," said Harry Beldon. "Passed my little tests with flying colors. You'll be glad to hear that he's scrupulously honest and quite remarkably loyal. Possibly a little too loyal. I'm not sure I really trust a man who apparently exists only to serve. At any rate, a worthy addition to your fold, Alex. An UNCLE agent after your own heart, in fact."

4. Gewöhnlich glaubt der Mensch, wenn er nur Worte hört,

Es müsse sich dabei doch auch was denken lassen

"…Waverly's knuckled under to the Reds…"

"…will not be dictated to by the Soviet Union, however well qualified…"

"…bound to be concerns about where his loyalties lie…"

"…a defector…"

"…ex-KGB, no one's sure what …"

"…family held hostage…"

"… stinkin' Commie…"

"…wouldn't dream of working with one of them…"

"…exactly what Hoover said…"

"…inch and they'll take…"

"…hell are they going to partner him with…?."

4. Nos amis, les enn'mis

"Actually," said Napoleon Solo, "he seems like a nice guy."

NOTES

Timeo Danaos et dona ferentes – "I fear the Greeks, even when they bring gifts" (Laocoön's prescient comment on the Trojan Horse in Virgil's Aeneid).

Gewöhnlich glaubt der Mensch, wenn er nur Worte hört/ Es müsse sich dabei doch auch was denken lassen - "In general, when a man hears mere words, he believes they must also express some kind of thought". (Mephisto in Goethe's Faust I).

Nos amis, les enn'mis – "Our friends, the enemy". (Pierre-Jean de Béranger, L'Opinion de ces demoiselles.)