Deborah Harkness Quotes

Be careful, daughter ... You are a creature of the crossroads, neither here nor there. 'Tis a dangerous place to be.

Be still," he said, voice harsh. "I might not be able to control myself if you step away.

Do you wonder what it would be like for me to taste you?

I saw the logic that they used, and the death of a thousand cuts as experimental scientists slowly chipped away at the belief that the world was an inexplicably powerful, magical place. Ultimately they failed, though. The magic never really went away. It waited, quietly, for people to return to it when they found the science wanting.

We all hunt something,

Daemons are brilliant, but we're not vicious - not like the vampires.

You persist in this romantic vision of what it is to be a vampire, but despite my best efforts to curb it I have a taste for blood.

It is I who mediates the elements, bringing each into agreement ... I make what is moist dry again, and what is dry I make moist. I make what is hard soft again, and harden that which is soft. As I am the end, so my lover is the beginning. I encompass the whole work of creation, and all knowledge is hidden in me ... Who will dare to separate me from my love? No one, for our love is as strong as death.

Oh, yes. I know all about vampires and their crazy ways. Apparently, Fernando didn't have the same reluctance as Matthew and Ysabeau did to tell vampire tales.

Your father says a wise man can see more from the bottom of a well than a fool can from a mountaintop.

Imagine how Nathaniel might drive if he actually was an old lady - a centuries-old old lady, like me. That's how I will drive for the rest of my days, so long as you are in the car.

Come Jack. On the way to Sept-Tours, I will tell you the story about the time Baldwin attempted to banish me from Jerusalem. Many men died.

I'm a professional non-fiction reader, that's what I do. But in my 20s we had our own vampire and witch moment, courtesy of Anne Rice, whose books I read and loved.

That's wonderful news" Clairmont said. "Can you get this lady some tea when you have a chance? She's threatened to kill for it."
"Won't be necessary, dearie," Mary told me with a smile. "We serve tea without bloodshed.

A lot of our assumptions of the world are fairly cynical, fairly negative, and assume the worst. What our reading tastes show - in this rush to fantasy, romance, whatever - is that we actually still want to believe in a world of possibility, in a world of mystery.

Turn to me with all your heart. Do not refuse me because I am dark and shadowed. The fire of the sun has altered me. The seas have encompassed me. The earth has been corrupted because of my work. Night fell over the earth when I sank into the miry deep, and my substance was hidden." The Moon Queen held a star in one outstretched palm. "From the depths of the water I cried out to you, and from the depths of the earth I will call to those who pass by me," I continued. "Watch for me. See me. And if you find another who is like me, I will give him the morning star.

Goddess does not want us to imitate some ideal of perfection, but to be our true selves.

Children needed love, a reliable source of comfort, and an adult willing to take responsibility for them.

Men don't have it. Our resolve is born out of fear. It's merely bravado." His glance

Films are wonderful but they do fix an identity. I can't read 'Pride and Prejudice' anymore, for instance, without imaging Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy.

I just killed a man! This isn't the moment to discuss our marriage."
"Nonsense. Marrying amid bloodshed is a de Clermont family tradition," Philippe said briskly.

It pained Emily to her librarian's soul to see books mistreated like this.

Secrets are unreliable allies. they allow us to believe we are safr, yet all the while they are destroying us.

Some swore he was a maid in man's attire,
For in his looks were all that men desire,
A pleasant smiling cheeke, a speaking eye,
A brow for loveto banquet roiallye,
And such as knew he was a man would say,
Leander, thou art made for amorous play:
Why art thou not in love and lov'd of all?

Mature? Widow? I had just turned thirty-three.

Normal' is a bedtime story-a fable-that humans tell themselves to feel better when faced with overwhelming evidence that most of what's happening around them is not 'normal' at all.

I realised that today we are very much interested in reading about subjects that would have also interested people in the 1500s: ghosts, demons and things that go bump in the night.

We kissed each other, long and deep, while my legs opened like the covers of a book.

Gallowglass returned to Sporrengasse with two vampires and a pretzel.

Sol in Scorpio

When the sun is in signe of Scorpio, expect death, feare, and poison.
During this dangerous time, beware of serpents and all other venomous creatures.
Scorpio rules over conception and childbirth, and children born under this signe are blessed with many gifts.

rashers of bacon.

Magic was nothing more than desire made real,

This is why you have to stop keeping secrets, Matt. They're going to destroy you from the inside.

Sir. My lord. Master Roydon." The young man blurted out most available titles except for "Your Majesty" and "Prince of Darkness." These were implied nonetheless.

Whoever can no longer wonder, no longer marvel, is as good as dead.

For us to be together, we needed to decide which secrets to share and then let the others go.

If you truly love someone, you will cherish what they despise most about themselves.

I have a weakness for smart men.

And happiness is always louder than sadness.

I had been in 1590 for less than twenty-four hours, but I was already heartily sick of Christopher Marlowe.

No wonder Philippe always looked so exhausted," he said ruefully when he was through. "It's very fatiguing pretending you're in charge when your wife actually rules the roost.

For your wedding gift, I wish I had a spell that could make you see yourself as others do.' 'Based

Fear.' My mother had warned me of its power, but I had misunderstood, as children often do. I'd thought it was the fear of others that I needed to guard against, but it was my own terror. Because of that misunderstanding, I'd let the fear take root inside me until it clouded my thoughts and affected how I saw the world. Fear

His full name is Matthew Gabriel Philippe Bertrand Sebastien de Clermont. He was also a very good Sebastien, and a passable Gabriel. He hates Bertrand and will not answer to Philippe.

According to human accounts, Dracula lived on for centuries – he may still be living. Are you sure he's really dead?' I asked. 'I watched Baldwin rip his head off and bury it thirty miles away from the rest of his body. He was really dead then, and he's really dead now.' Gallowglass looked at me reprovingly. 'You should know better than to believe these human stories, Auntie. They've never got more than a speck of truth in them.

We don't lock up books in this house," Philippe said, "only food, ale, and wine. Reading Herodotus or Aquinas seldom leads to bad behavior.

Take care, Gallowglass," Matthew murmured. It was no casual farewell, but an order. His nephew nodded. "As if your wife were my own.

Survival and sexuality were linked in ways I'd never appreciated until now. He

Decide what to do to survive, and do it.

Wordlessly I looked back at him, astonished that a kiss on the palm could be so intimate.

She was like a camera that had been chronically out of focus until someone came by and twisted the lenses into alignment.

Sorry, we've got ghosts.

I really love helping students and helping them empathize with people who lived a really long time ago. That's one of the highlights of working in fiction.

I am capable of opening my own door," I said, getting out of the car. "Why do today's women think it's important to open a door themselves?" he said sharply.

Vote?" Matthew said, incredulous. "Since when did we vote in this family?" "Since Marcus took over the Knights of Lazarus," Gallowglass replied, drawing a silver lighter from his pocket. "We've been choking on democracy since the day you left.

Fear had also choked out any desire to work magic. It had been my crutch and my cloak, keeping me from exercising my power. Fear had sheltered me from the curiosity of others and provided an oubliette where I could forget who I really was: a witch. I'd

One year ago you walked into the Bodleian Library and straight into my heart. As soon as that wicked mouth of yours smiled, the moment your eyes lightened with recognition even though we'd never met before, I knew that my life would never be the same.

Within days they'd formed an unholy alliance with a foppish young French vampire in the Garden District who had implausibly golden hair and a streak of ruthlessness as wide as the Mississippi

All that children need is love, a grown-up to take responsibility for them, and a soft place to land.

English vampires may not be as well behaved around witches as the American ones are.

Sol in Pisces

When the sun is in Pisces, expect weariness and sadness.
Those who can banish feare will experience forgiveness and understanding.
You will be called to work in faraway places.

monsters always look just like ordinary men.

Sol in Aquarius

When the sun passeth through the waterbearer's sign, it betokens great fortune, faithful friends, and the aide of princes.
Therefore, do not feare changes that take place when Aquarius ruleth the earth.

Fess up, Diana. You're not worried about saying the wrong thing if you see Matthew Clairmont at a cocktail party. This is how you behave when you're working on a research problem. What is it about him that's hooked your imagination?"
Sometimes Chris seemed to suspect I was different. But there was no way to tell him the truth.
"I have a weakness for smart men."
He sighed. "Okay, don't tell me. You're a terrible liar, you know. But be careful. If he breaks your heart, I'll have to kick his ass, and this is a busy semester for me.

You travel safely too, Auntie Diana. And bring that uncle of mine with you, Gallowglass said to the sea and the sky before he climbed back onto his bike and headed into a future he could no longer imagine nor postpone.

I watched in silence as the parts of Matthew I knew and loved - the poet and the scientist, the warrior and the spy, the Renaissance prince and the father - fell away until only the darkest, most forbidding part of him remained. He was only the assassin now. But he was still the man I loved.

Change is the only reliable thing in the world.

Think and stay alive. - Phillipe de Clermont

As far as I can tell, there are only two emotions that keep the world spinning, year after year." He hesitated, then continued. "One is fear. The other is desire. That's what I wrote about." Love

There were no vampires of note in Western literature until about the 18th century. But they tell us where we park our anxieties, whether its over-powerful women, death or damnation. We make our own monsters.

I'd studied 16th century science and magic. I thought it was strange that people were interested in the same kinds of things my research was about. The more I thought about it, the more intriguing it became and pretty soon I was writing a novel about a reluctant witch and a 1500-year-old vampire.

Now most in the room accept we're more similar than different and treat one another with courtesy.

Matthew did remember saying something like that once - long before he'd met Diana. He made an involuntary check on the house. It was a combination of instinct and reflex now, this need to

Like a siren who sings to the sailor, asking him to steer his ship into the rocks, the call of your blood could be my undoing - and yours.

That will save me from me breaking the window or picking her lock, he thought.

You have always been a child between, a witch apart. But there is no path forward that does not have him in it. Whichever way you go, you must choose him.

The question of why you're here-how we're all here- really does consume you," I said slowly ...
Matthew studied his wine. "It's the only question worth asking.

A wave of undergraduates arrived to disrupt the city's tranquillity.

Do not refuse me because I am dark and shadowed,' I whispered, remembering

Still, you need him as much as you need the air you breathe, and he wants you as he's wanted nothing and no one since I made him. So it is done, and we will make the best of it.

I cannot shield you from the challenges you will face. You will know great loss and danger, but also great joy. You may doubt your instincts in the years to come, but your feet have been walking this path since the moment you were born.

I would rather have had this moment with you - just this one night - than centuries with someone else ...

Nightmares are like Master Harriot's star glass. They are a trick of the light, one that makes something distant seem closer and larger than it really is." "Oh." Jack considered Matthew's response. "So even if I see a monster in my dreams, it cannot reach me?" Matthew nodded. "But I will tell you a secret. A dream is a nightmare in reverse. If you dream of someone you love, that person will seem closer, even if far away.

I turned to leave, then whirled around and flung my arms around Philippe's massive shoulders. How could such a man ever be broken? "What is it?" Philippe murmured, taken aback. "You will not be alone either, Philippe de Clermont," I whispered fiercely. "I'll find a way to be with you in the darkness, I promise. And when you think the whole world has abandoned you, I'll be there, holding your hand." "How could it be otherwise," Philippe said gently, "when you are in my heart?

Magic provides a way of still having room for possibilities, an unlimited sense of what the world offers. Magic is always there when science is found wanting.

The world of scholarship is much more measured in its appreciation and also its criticism than the world of popular literature.

These days vampires gravitated toward particle accelerators, projects to decode the genome, and molecular biology. Once they had flocked to alchemy, anatomy, and electricity. If it went bang, involved blood, or promised to unlock the secrets of the universe, there was sure to be a vampire around.

I was planning on starting a new file on my computer with the title Phrases That Sound One Way to Witches but Mean Something Else to Vampires.

So that's it?" I asked when I could manage it. "We're going to abide by an ancient, narrow-minded agreement made almost a thousand years ago. Case closed.

Don't consider painful what's good for you.

My ideas about vampires may be romantic, but your attitudes toward women need a major overhaul.

Here's Fernando, Sarah said in a tone suggesting that deliverance had come at last.

Sol in Leo

She who is born when the sun is in Leo shall be naturally subtle and witty, and desirous of learning. Whatsoever the heareth or seeth if it seems to comprise any difficulty of matter immediately will she desire to know it. The magic sciences will do her great stead. She shall be familiar to and well beloved by princes. Her first child shall be a female, and the second a male. During her life she shall sustain many troubles and perils.

I trust my wife's judgement," Matthew said firmly.
"That's what Philippe says about Granny," Gallowglass muttered under his breath. "Just before all hell breaks lose.

Much of what qualified as magic was simply desire in action ... Magic is desire made real.

Scholars do one of two things when they discover information that doesn't fit what they already know. Either they sweep it aside so it doesn't bring their cherished theories into question or they focus on it with laserlike intensity and try to get to the bottom of the mystery.

I trust my wife's judgement ... That's what Philippe says about Granny, just before all hell breaks loose.

I have a master's degree in medieval literature. Wyverns - or firedrakes, if you prefer - were once common in European mythology and legends." "But you . . . you're my accountant," Sarah sputtered. "Do you have any idea how many English majors are accountants?" Vivian asked with raised eyebrows.

Members brought books, precious objects, and records of creature history to the city and purchased an island in the lagoon from the Catholic Church: Isola della Stella (Island of Stars). On it were monastic buildings that were converted to suit the Congregation's purposes. ..the vast, ancient monastery library, filled with books, papers, and papyri;...This council chamber, with its stunning frescoes, mosaics, vaulted ceiling, and gallery where the most precious records are kept, embodies the Congregation's power.

What's the truth in the story about vampires not being allowed inside without an invitation?" Having pressed him on his diet, I focused on the entrance protocols.
"Humans are with us all the time. They just refuse to acknowledge our existence because we don't make sense in their limited world. Once they allow us in - see us for who we really are - then we're in to stay, just as someone you've invited into your home can be hard to get rid of. They can't ignore us anymore."
"So it's like the stories of sunlight," I said slowly. "It's not that you can't be in sunlight, but when you are, it's harder for humans to ignore you. Rather than admit that you're walking among them, humans tell themselves you can't survive the light.