Ragnar Quotes

It is not difficult to be a lord, a jarl, or even a king, but it is difficult to be a leader.
Most men want to follow, and what they demand of their leader is prosperity. We are the ring-givers, the gold-givers. We give land, we give silver, we give slaves, but that alone is not enough. They must be led. Leave men standing or sitting for days at a time and they get bored, and bored men make trouble. They must be surprised and challenged, given tasks they think beyond their abilities. And they must fear. A leader who is not feared will cease to rule, but fear is not enough. They must love too. When a man has been led into the shield wall, when an enemy is roaring defiance, when the blades are clashing on shields, when the soil is about to be soaked in blood, when the ravens circle in wait for the offal of men, then a man who loves his leader will fight better than a man who merely fears him. At that moment we are brothers, we fight for each other, and a man must know that his leader will sacrifice his own life to save any one of his men.
I learned all that from Ragnar, a man who led with joy in his soul, though he was feared too. His great enemy, Kjartan, knew only how to lead by fear, and Ragnall was the same. Men who lead by fear might become great kings and might rule lands so great that no man knows their boundaries, but they can be beaten too, beaten by men who fight as brothers. ~ Bernard Cornwell

Any econometrician who wants to see practical application of his science will be highly concerned with applications to economic planning at the national level. ~ Ragnar Frisch

I am a child of the universe, I am
safe. ~ Peter Ragnar

Friendship is necessary and ennobling; but impersonal despotism is destructive of all dignity and manly virtue. ~ Ragnar Redbeard

My chair rolls to a stop. his voice cut short, followed by a thump and sliding sound. My wheelchair rolls forward again. I look back and see Ragnar pushing it innocently along. Sevro isn't in the hallway behind us. I frown, wondering where he went, till he bursts out of a side passage.
"You! Troll!" Sevro shouts. "I'm a terrorist warlord! Stop throwing me. You made me drop my candy!" Sevro looks at the floor of the hallway. "Wait. Where is it? Dammit, Ragnar. Where is my peanut bar? You know how many people I had to kill to get that? Six! Six!"
Ragnar chews quietly above me, and though I'm probably mistaken, I think I see him smile. ~ Pierce Brown

Odin gave his eye to acquire knowledge...but I would give far more. ~ Ragnar Lothbrok

I had a total revelation with the feminist moment, with Carolee Scheeman and Marina Abromovic and of course Joan Jonas; that was a big breakthrough with me. And through them, [I was introduced to] Chris Burden and Bruce Nauman and Vito Acconci. You can almost call it a gang, because the works are always talking together. That stuff had a huge impact on me, but other than that, my interest had always been old paintings. ~ Ragnar Kjartansson

I've been in contact with her. She approached me months ago. I know the terms of her deal. She's going to tell Ragnar that Ondalina's attack on Miromara was an act of war and that he must surrender. Either he accepts Lucia ~ Jennifer Donnelly

Equality can only exist between equals.
Civilization implies division of labor, division of labor implies subordination and subordination implies injustice and inequality. ~ Ragnar Redbeard

Death and destruction are necessary to the health of the world, and therefore as natural, and lovable, as birth and life. Only priests and born cowards moan and weep over dying. Brave men face it with approving nonchalance. ~ Ragnar Redbeard

And you can use that sword, Weland Godfredson?"
"As a woman can use her tongue, lord."
"You're that good, eh?" Ragnar asked, as ever unable to resist a jest. ~ Bernard Cornwell

How the little piglets would grunt if they knew how the old boar suffered. ~ Ragnar Lodbrok

Govenment is founded on property
Property is founded on conquest
Conquest is founded on power
All power is founded on brain and brawn. ~ Ragnar Redbeard

Living through art is a better way to live - not necessarily making art, but being surrounded by art. I think it's just as banal as trying to show my version of the beauty in the world. It's about beauty at the end of the day. ~ Ragnar Kjartansson

The bubbleGarden," I say to Dan, voice filling the metal common room. "Take me there." I've already turned on a heel. Ragnar pats his thigh. "Come, dog." It ~ Pierce Brown

I often really like to play with documenting my performances cinematically. Cinematic documentation is much more interesting than the performance itself. ~ Ragnar Kjartansson

There are only two things worse then an empty canvas: death and taxes. ~ Ragnar Tornquist

Sometimes, when I tell folk my story, they ask why I did not run away from the pagans, why I did not escape southward into the lands where the Danes did not yet rule, but it never occurred to me to try. I was happy, I was alive, I was with Ragnar, and it was enough. ~ Bernard Cornwell

HATE FOR HATE - AND RUTH FOR RUTH,
EYE FOR EYE - AND TOOTH FOR TOOTH,
SCORN FOR SCORN - AND SMILE FOR SMILE,
LOVE FOR LOVE - AND GUILE FOR GUILE,
WAR FOR WAR, - AND WOE FOR WOE,
BLOOD FOR BLOOD - AND BLOW FOR BLOW. ~ Ragnar Redbeard

Laughter in battle. That was what Ragnar had taught me, to take joy from the fight. ~ Bernard Cornwell

Gods fight, Ragnar went on earnestly, and some win, some lose. The Christian god is losing. Otherwise why would we be here? Why would we be winning? The gods reward us if we give them respect, but the Christian god doesn't help his people, does he? They weep rivers of tears for him, they pray to him, they give him their silver, & we come along & slaughter them! Their god is pathetic. If he had any real power then we wouldn't be here, would we? ~ Bernard Cornwell

In short: developers do not give players enough credit. And maybe even players don't give players enough credit. ~ Ragnar Tornquist

It is no great thing to die. Not when one has lived." -Ragnar Volarus ~ Pierce Brown

The monks had murdered Danes and Ragnar had punished them, though these days the story is always told that the monks were innocently at prayer and died as spotless martyrs. In truth they were malevolent killers of women and children, but what chance does truth have when priests tell tales? ~ Bernard Cornwell

What draws me to theater and religion are these rituals made to make you feel emotion. It's so banal in an interesting way. In visual art it's about making you feel emotional, but it's more subtle. ~ Ragnar Kjartansson

A lot of the stuff I've done is inspired by the location. Usually my works are pretty site-specific. There are a lot of shows that are older works, but often when I do new work for a show, it tends to talk to the space or the idea of the museum. ~ Ragnar Kjartansson

Volnero as the new ruler of Ondalina or Miromara obliterates our entire realm. I will advise Ragnar to accept her terms. ~ Jennifer Donnelly

And Eoferwic, I thought, was where my story had all begun. Where my father had died. Where I had become the Lord of Bebbanburg. Where I had met Ragnar and learned of the ancient gods. ~ Bernard Cornwell

He was succeeded on the throne by RAGNAR. At this time Fro (Frey?), the King of Sweden, after slaying Siward, the King of the Norwegians, put the wives of Siward's kinsfolk in bonds in a brothel, and delivered them to public outrage. When Ragnar heard of this, he went to Norway to avenge his grandfather. As he came, many of the matrons, who had either suffered insult to their persons or feared imminent peril to their chastity, hastened eagerly to his camp in male attire, declaring that they would prefer death to outrage. Nor did Ragnar, who was to punish this reproach upon the women, scorn to use against the author of the infamy the help of those whose shame he had come to avenge. Among them was Ladgerda, a skilled amazon, who, though a maiden, had the courage of a man, and fought in front among the bravest with her hair loose over her shoulders. All-marvelled at her matchless deeds, for her locks flying down her back betrayed that she was a woman. ~ Saxo Grammaticus

When a man cannot choose, he ceases to be a man. ~ Ragnar Galt

Deep in the human nature, there is an almost irresistible tendency to concentrate physical and mental energy on attempts at solving problems that seem to be unsolvable. Indeed, for some kinds of active people, only the seemingly unsolvable problems can arouse their interest. ~ Ragnar Frisch

The joy of it. The sword joy. I was dancing with joy, joy seething in me, the battle joy that Ragnar had so often spoken of, the warrior joy. If a man has not known it, then he is no man. It was no battle, that, no proper slaughter, just a thief-killing, but it was my first fight and the gods had moved in me, had given my arm speed and my shield strength, and when it was done, and when I danced in the blood of the dead, I knew I was good. Knew I was more than good. I could have conquered the world at that moment and my only regret was that Ragnar had not seen me, but then I thought he might be watching from Valhalla and I raised Serpent-Breath to the clouds and shouted his name. I have seen other young men come from their first fights with that same joy, and I have buried them after their next battle. The young are fools and I was young. But I was good. ~ Bernard Cornwell

They're frightened that we'll make a sally and kill them all," Ragnar said, "so they're going to sit there and try to starve us out. ~ Bernard Cornwell

The natural world is a world of war; the natural man is a warrior; the natural law is tooth and claw. All else is error. A condition of combat everywhere exists. We are born into perpetual conflict. It is our inheritance, even as it was the heritage of previous generations. ~ Ragnar Redbeard

He who turns the other cheek is a cowardly dog
a Christian dog. ~ Ragnar Redbeard

And I was so tempted that night in Cippanhamm's royal church. There is such joy in chaos. Stow all the world's evils behind a door and tell men that they must never, ever, open the door, and it will be opened because there is pure joy in destruction. At one moment, when Ragnar was bellowing with laughter and slapping my shoulder so hard that it hurt, I felt the words form on my tongue. That is Alfred, I would have said, pointing at him, and all my world would have changed and there would have been no more England. Yet, at the last moment, when the first word was on my tongue, I choked it back. Brida was watching me, her shrewd eyes calm, and I caught her gaze and I thought of Iseult. In a year or two, I thought, Iseult would look like Brida. They ~ Bernard Cornwell

The rules of life are not to be found in Korans, Bibles, Decalogues and Constitutions, but rather the rules of decadence and death. The "law of laws" is not written in Hebrew consonants or upon tables of brass and stone, but in every man's own heart. He who obeys any standard of right and wrong, but the one set up by his own conscience, betrays himself into the hands of his enemies, who are ever laying in wait to bind him to their millstones. And generally a man's most dangerous enemies are his neighbors. ~ Ragnar Redbeard

I think my favorite Rolling Stones song is "No Expectations." I always think and talk through songs. ~ Ragnar Kjartansson

In actual operation Nature is cruel and merciless to men, as to all other beings. Let a tribe
of human animals live a rational life, Nature will smile upon them and their posterity; but
let them attempt to organize an unnatural mode of existence an equality elysium, and they
will be punished even to the point of extermination. ~ Ragnar Redbeard

I'm so used to being in a theater where there is always a narrative, but I'm more about the still moment, the painter inside me. ~ Ragnar Kjartansson

I was very prejudiced when I started arts school. I, like all of those kids, was like, "I don't like this modern stuff." I came to arts school with a very stupid, conservative set of ideas about art. ~ Ragnar Kjartansson

If a man can't remember the laws," Ragnar said, "then he's got too many of them. ~ Bernard Cornwell

A leader leads," Ragnar said, "and you can't ask men to risk death if you're not willing to risk it yourself. ~ Bernard Cornwell

Behind all Kings and Presidents
all Government and Law,
Are army-corps and cannoneers
to hold the world in awe

And sword-strong races own the earth
and ride the Conqueror's Car
And Liberty has ne'er been won,
Except by deeds of war. ~ Ragnar Redbeard

Alia glares down at us. She is as colossal as Ragnar, but ancient and wicked, like the oldest tree of some primeval forest. The kind that drinks the soil and blocks the sun for lesser trees and watches them wither and yellow and die and does nothing but reach her branches higher and dig her roots deeper. ~ Pierce Brown

There is a thing called the blood feud. All societies have them, even the West Saxons have them, despite their vaunted piety. Kill a member of my family and I shall kill one of yours, and so it goes on, generation after generation or until one family is all dead, and Kjartan had just wished a blood feud on himself. I did not know how, I did not know where, I could not know when, but I would revenge Ragnar. I swore it that night. ~ Bernard Cornwell

A spy novel?" Dagmar asked. "You two are talking about a spy novel?"
Annwyl threw her hands up in the air. "Not just a spy novel!"
"It's much more than that," Ragnar argued, and when Dagmar gawked at him in disgust, he added, "I can't read deep, meaningful, thought-provoking philosophy all the time."
"Exactly. Sometimes you have to read about a completely amoral hero whoring and killing his way across an unnamed land in the name of the queen that he'll always love - "
" - but never have." Then both Ragnar and Annwyl sighed a little. ~ G.A. Aiken

Annwyl?" Ragnar repeated, suddenly remembering that Keita had said the same name before they'd
burst out of the woods. "This is Annwyl?" Ragnar looked the woman over, from her absurdly large feet
to the top of her unkempt head. "This?"
This human who had more muscles than seemed necessary for any royal and watched him and his kin
with what he could only term as the mad eyes of a diseased animal. ~ G.A. Aiken

In 869 we have an event which rapidly achieved almost mythic status in English Christian folklore: the horrible martyrdom of King Edmund of East Anglia by the appalling Ivar the Boneless, who according to some traditions brought a great Viking army to England in pursuit of revenge for the killing of his father, the semi-legendary Ragnar Lothbrok, executed by the king of Northumbria. ~ Heather O'Donoghue

KRÁKUMÁL

[...]

25. We struck with our swords!
My soul is glad, for I know
that Balder's father's benches
for a banquet are made ready.
We'll toss back toasts of ale
from bent trees of the skulls;
no warrior bewails his death
in the wondrous house of Fjolnir.
Not one word of weakness
will I speak in Vidrir's hall.

26. We struck with our swords!
The sons of Aslaug all would
rouse the wrath of Hild here
with their ruthless sword-blades,
if they fathomed fully
how far I have traveled,
how so many serpents
stab me with their poison.
My son's hearts will help them:
they have their mother's lineage.

27. We struck with our swords!
Soon my life is ended;
Goinn scathes me sorely,
settles in my heart's hall;
I wish the wand of Vidrir
would wound Aeelle, one day.
My sons must feel great fury
that their father is put to death;
my daring swains won't suffer
in silence when they hear this.

28. We struck with our swords!
I have stood in the ranks
at fifty-one folk-battles,
foremost in the lance-meet.
Never did I dream that
a different king should ever
be found braver than me -
I bloodied spears when young.
Aesir will ask us to feast;
no anguish for my death.

29. I desire my death now.
The disir call me home,
whom Herjan hastens onward
Ben Waggoner