David Gemmell Quotes

No need for confusion, my dear Mulgrave [ ... ] Beautiful wine and sour vinegar come from exactly the same source. Curiously if one leaves a bottle of wine open for long enough it will become vinegar. Happily in this house wine never survives long enough to go bad.

But men don't come in just two groups, one of gold and the other of lead. They are a mix of both." "And what about women?" "Pure gold, my girl," Rayvan answered with a chuckle.

True. The one certainty about riding, Braygan, is that - at some time - you will fall off. It is a fact. Another fact you might like to consider, in your life of perpetual terror, is that you will die. We are all going to die, some of us young, some of us old, some of us in our sleep, some of us screaming in agony. We cannot stop it, we can only delay it.

You know how it is. Boy meets girl, girl wants boy dead. An everyday story, really.

Love is a mystery. We embrace it where we can. Mostly we do not choose whom we love. It just happens. A voice speaks to us, in ways the ears cannot hear. We recognize a beauty the eye does not see. We experience a change in our hearts that no voice can describe.

May all your dreams but one come true, for what is life without a dream?

Get rid of your doubts. Yesterday is dead. Past mistakes are like smoke in the breeze.

Miracles are merely events that happen just when they are needed.

Beware the wooden horse, Agamemnon King, Conqueror, for it will roar to the skies on wings of thunder and herald the death of nations.

Nadir we, youth born, axe wielders, blood letters, victors still.

No one can take away the freedom of a man's soul.

If you look at any ancient civilization, they've all used fantasy stories to train the young.

There are times, Sember, when I could believe your mother had a secret lover. Looking at you makes me wonder if it was one of my goats.

What will you do now?'
I think I will become a monk and devote my entire life to prayer and good works.'
No,' said Rek. 'I mean, what will you do today?'
Ah! Today I'll get drunk and go whoring,' said Bowman.

Listen ... You could spend a lifetime trying to understand the works of evil men. Their joys are not ours. They love to inflict pain, create suffering, cause harm and death. It empowers them, for beneath the skin they are empty and worthless.

Less of a Galahad than a Lancelot, thought Archer. A flawed knight in a flawed world, unstable yet unyielding.

Blood always aids blood, my friend.

I caught a pebble in the moonlight.

When healers yearn to kill then hope begins to die ... Evil cannot be overcome by evil.

Jon Shannow, the King of Kings has spoken the words of your death. I am Rhodaeul the Hunter. Do you have anything to say before you die?' 'No,' said Shannow, palming his gun and blasting Rhodaeul from the saddle. The Atlantean hit the ground hard, a hammering pain in his chest; he tried to draw his pistol, but Shannow rode forward and fired a second shot that smashed his skull.

The night has a capacity for terror that the day can never match.

The nature of a coward is to avoid death. If such a man courts peril there can be only two reasons. Either he is not a coward at all or there is no danger.

The abbot had called her a sweet soul. This was true, but she was also massively irritating. She fussed over Rabalyn as if he was still three years old, and her conversation was absurdly repetitive. Every time he left the little cottage she would ask: 'Are you going to be warm enough?' If he voiced any concerns about life, schooling or future plans, she would say: 'I don't know about that. It's enough to have food on the table today.' Her days were spent cleaning other people's sheets and clothes. In the evenings she would unravel discarded woollen garments and create balls of faded wool. Then she would knit scores of squares, which would later be fashioned into blankets. Some she sold. Others she gave away to the poorhouse. Aunt Athyla was never idle.

Danger lies in the extreme. A man who is always cruel is evil, a man who is always compassionate will be taken advantage of. It is more a question of balance, or harmony, if you will.

How simple love would be, Younger Brother, if we only had to bestow it on those who deserved it. Yet what would it be worth? If you gave a poor man a silver coin then that would be a gift. If you expected him to pay you back, then that would make it a loan. We do not loan our love, Lantern. We give it freely.

Do not speak badly of yourself, for the warrior that is inside you hears your words and is lessened by them.

Love is for fools. It is a surging of blood in the loins ... there is no mystery, and no magic. Find someone else, my boy.

Your men are brave men, And you have won. I can live with that, Earl of Bronze a poor man would I be if I could not.

A man cannot spend his life worrying about the unexpected.

It is said that the gates of paradise can only be opened by the tears of those left behind. I do not know whether that be true. It should be, I think.

Your face may be gone, but you know who you are.

An enemy is like a man's most prized flower. It brings him joy to see it buried in the ground.

Makes no sense to me,' said Huntsekker. 'You don't know who is at your door, but you know the thoughts of a man twenty miles away.' 'Life is a mystery,' said Powdermill, with a gold-toothed grin. 'It is that, right enough,' agreed Huntsekker.

A man must know his limitations.

Never be glad that another man has died. Not ever . [ ... ] It never ends. Never ... ever ... be glad to kill.

Odysseus draped the towel over his shoulders and stretched his back. "You remember practicing with wooden swords? All the moves, the blocks, the counters, getting your footwork right, learning how to be in balance always?"
"Of course you were a hard master."
"And you recall the first time you went into a real fight, with blood being shed and the fear of death in the air?"
"I do"
"The moves are the same, but the difference is wider than the Great Green. Love is like that, Helikaon. You can spend time with a whore and laugh and know great pleasure. But when love strikes
ah, the difference is awesome. You will find more joy in the touch of a hand or the sight of a smile than you could ever experience in a hundred nights of passion with anyone else. The sky will be more blue, the sun more bright. Ah, I am missing my Penelope tonight

Our souls are but leaves in a storm, and only the gods know where we will come to rest.

And what is a man? He is someone who rises when life has knocked him down. He is someone who raises his fist to heaven when a storm has ruined his crop
and then plants again. And again. A man remains unbroken by the savage twists of fate.
That man may never win. But when he sees himself reflected, he can be proud of what he sees. For low he may be in the present scheme of things: peasant, serf, or dispossessed. But he is unconquerable

This is the real magic of fantasy fiction: it can feed souls and change lives.

I shall die soon ... Here at this Dros. And what will I have achieved in my life? I have no sons nor daughters. No living kin ... Few friends. They will say, 'Here lies Druss. He killed many and birthed none'."
"They will say more than that," said Virae suddenly. "They'll say, 'Here lies Druss the Legend, who was never mean, petty nor needlessly cruel. Here was a man who never gave in, never compromised his ideals, never betrayed a friend, never despoiled a woman and never used his strength against the weak.' They'll say 'He had no sons, but many a woman asleep with her babes slept more soundly for knowing Druss stood with the Drenai.' They'll say many things, whitebeard. Through many generations they will say them, and men with no strength will find strength when they hear them."
"That would be pleasant," said the old man, smiling.

The world would be a sadder place without stories.

So you will not kneel to me?" He said.
I will kneel to no man, "She answered, preparing herself for the push that would send her toppling to her death and ready to haul him with her.
You interest me, girl. There is no fear in you."
Nor in you, apparently, King Priam."
He looked surprised. "Fear if for weaklings. Look around you. This is Troy. My Troy. The richest and most powerful city in the world. It was not built by fearful men, but my men with imagination and courage. It's wealth grows Daily, and with it the influence that wealth brings.

Not one of the creatures of blood can escape death. We all face it, and succumb to it. It follows us like a dark shadow. Yet if we live in terror of it, then we do not live at all. Yes we are born alone, and yes we will die alone. But in between, Tae, we live. We know joy.

By nature of definition only the coward is capable of the highest
heroism

I was a man before I was a king, and no true man walks away when a friend needs him.

We cannot hide behind high walls, our hearts trembling. For that is not life. We must accept the needs and the duties of each day, and face them one at a time.

But war makes heroes. Herakles and Ormenion were warriors, and tey have been made immortal. Father Zeus turned them into stars in the night sky.

Oniacus scowled. 'In a drunken rage Herakles clubbed his wife to death, and Ormenion sacrificed his youngest daughter in order that Poseidon might grant fair winds for his attack on Kretos.

Too many people go through life without pausing to enjoy what they have.

I remember an old teacher of mine once saying that behind every dark cloud the sun was just waiting to boil you to death.

Life can be savored only if you look to the future and leave vengeance to the gods

Nothing of real worth can ever be bought. Love, friendship, honour, valour, respect. All these things have to be earned.

I tell you, one more insult and I'll take his curling tongs and ram them so far up his arse he'll be able to curl the damned thing from the inside.

Boy," said Druss, his eyes cold, "think well about this venture. For make no mistake, you cannot
stand before me and live. No man ever has." The words were spoken softly, yet no one disbelieved the
old man.

Foolish: It's all foolish. Life is a farce a stupid, sickening farce played out by fools.

Everyone makes mistakes. Everyone fails at something.

Trust your instincts, and make judgements on what your heart tells you. The heart will not betray you.

To be truthful i am not entirely sure what people mean when they talk of happiness. There are moments of joy and laughter, the comfort of friendship, but enduring happiness? If it exists i have not found it

You are getting too old for this." "A man is as old as he feels, woman!" "And how old do you feel?" "About ninety.

I would have offered you a forest of truth, but you wish to speak of a single leaf

You do not convince me. You rationalize your actions and because the result is favorable you become right.

While men compete in war, there will be warriors. While there are warriors, there will be princes among warriors. Among the princes will be kings, and among the kings an emperor.

We ought to call it something,' said Banokles thoughtfully. 'We can't just keep calling it "that big bastard horse". It ought to have a name.' 'What do you suggest?' - 'Arse Face.

We make choices everyday, some of them good, some of them bad. And - if we are strong enough - we live with the consequences.

We are tiny flames, Helikaon, and we flicker alone in the great dark for no more than a heartbeat. When we strive for wealth, glory and fame, it is meaningless. The nations we fight for will one day cease to be. Even the mountains we gaze upon will crumble to dust. To truly live we must yearn for that which does not die.

What is life if a man cannot count on his friends when he has gone mad?

Steal a loaf of bread and they hang you, steal a land and they'll make you king.

The truth? What the Hell is the truth? We're born, we live and we die. Everything else is just shades of opinion.

I think that for the coward every day carries a kind of death.

Fear is good, for it makes us cautious and aids survival. Not so with terror. It is like slow poison, paralyzing the limbs and blurring the mind ... Never, when in danger, ask yourself, What will they do to me? Instead think, What can I do to prevent them?

For each man there are different perspectives, but at the core they are the same. Never violate a woman, nor harm a child. Do not lie, cheat or steal. These things are for lesser men. Protect the weak against the evil strong. And never allow thoughts of gain to lead you into pursuit of evil.

Drawing his sword, he gazed down at the gleaming blade. 'I pledge you to the destruction of Sparta,' he whispered. Raising the weapon high he pointed it to the south-east and, though the city was far beyond his range of vision, he pictured the sword poised above it with the sun's harsh light turning it to fire.

Societies need heroes. So we travel to places where the revisionists cannot dismantle the great.

Heroes are people who face down their fears. It is that simple. A child afraid of the dark who one day blows out the candle; a women terrified of the pain of childbirth who says, 'It is time to become a mother'. Heroism does not always live on the battlefield.

War.
Such a little word, such a depth of agony. Blood, death, conquest, starvation, plague, and horror.

Hold on to your dreams, Kiall. They are more important than you realise.

Life is nothing unless death has been faced down.

Only a fool loves war," said Calvar, "or a man who has never seen it. The trouble is that the survivors forget about the horrors and remember only the battle lust. They pass on that memory, and other men hunger for it.

A man is only as strong as that which makes him angry.

Evil lives in a pit. If you want to fight it, you must climb down into the slime to do so. White cloaks show the dirt more thank black, and silver tarnishes.

Kings are chosen by the Source, so it is said ... Therefore those who fight for the king can be said to be godly. Is that not cause enough?

A man with wife and daughters has no place losing his temper.

Fear is an aid to the warrior. It is a small fire burning. It heats the muscles, making us stronger. Panic comes when the fire is out of control, consuming all courage and pride.

[ ... ] In real war an officer may have only one chance at succeeding. Consider each problem.

Never liked Kolanos. Was at a feast with him one time. Never heard him fart at all. Can't trust a man who doesn't fart at a feast.

Be at peace, my friend. One thing I have learnt about Death is that his bark is worse than his bite.

Now the screams were awful to hear as men burned like candles all along the deck. Black smoke billowed over the sea. Argurios could not believe what he was watching. At least fifty helpless men were dying in agony. One man managed to free himself and leap into the sea. Amazingly, when he surfaced the flames were still consuming him.
All along the beach there was silence as the stunned crowd watched the magical fires burning the galley and it's crew.

It is a merchant's nature to quibble over coins. It is how we become rich and buy satin shirts. The problems of who governs this area is one for another day.

Life without heroic deed is no life at all.

This world has few redeeming features, and one is the capacity for people to love one another with great, enduring passion.

I have discovered in my long life that there are many words and phrases which have more power than any spell of magick. The most well-known of these is, of course, I love you. But by far the most deadly is, if only. For these two words can strip a man's strength, his courage and his confidence. They become the father of regret and anguish and pain.

I feel that way about heaven; it's far more important that Heaven should exist than that I should ever see it.

Men don't change. They just learn to disguise the lack of change.

I don't know yet whether I fully believe in fate, but certain things do happen in a man's life that he cannot explain.

A warrior feeds his body well; he trains it; works on it. Where he lacks knowledge, he studies. But above all he must believe. He must believe in his strength of will, of purpose, of heart and soul.

Bow to nothing, son. I make mistakes as well as any man. If you think me wrong, be so good as to damn well say so.

In every one of us is the total of all we have ever been, the sullen child, the arrogant youth, the suckling babe. Every fear endured in childhood is lodged somewhere in here.' He tapped his temple. 'And every act of heroism or cowardice, generosity or meanness of spirit.

Would ride into fire. For Odysseus that whip was pride.

It's a funny thing about weaknesses ... Most people will tell you they know their weaknesses. When asked, they'll tell you, 'Well for one thing, I'm overgenerous.' ... that's what innkeepers are for.

Be lucky, Xander, and be brave. You will find that bravery and luck are often bedfellows.

I don't want eternal life. I want a little joy, a large amount of pleasure, and a swift death once I lose the appetite for either.