Dowager Countess of Grantham

— You can not be so contrary.
— I'm a woman, Mary. I can be as contrary as I choose.

— Are we to be friends, then?
— We are allies, my dear, which can be a good deal more effective.

— I suspect she's quite a tough nut.
— And I'm quite a tough nutcracker.

— Other men have normal families with sons-in-law who farm or preach or serve their country in the army.
— Maybe they do, but no family is ever what it seems from the outside.

Well, if we only had moral thoughts, what would the poor churchmen find to do?

— Hello, Edith, dear.
— Hello, Granny. Isn't it exciting?
— At my age one must ration one's excitement.

No Englishman would dream of dying in someone else's house, especially someone they didn't even know.

— Hope is a tease designed to prevent us accepting reality.
— Oh, you only say that to sound clever.
— I know. You should try it.

Being tested only makes you stronger.

Grief makes one so terribly tired.

One can't go to pieces at the death of every foreigner. We'd all be in a state of collapse whenever we opened a newspaper.

— I'm sorry, Mama, but you know me. I have to say what I think.
— Why? Nobody else does.

— They do say there's a wild man inside all of us.
— If only he would stay inside.

It's good to be in love, whatever age.