Colleen McCullough Quotes

Maybe no great man is virtuous. Or good. Perhaps a man rich in those qualities by definition is barred from greatness.

" И ето пак: посреща лошото с вдигната глава, поема новия удар- без вик, без сълзи, без протест. Само леко трепва, сякаш да намести товар, за да може по- добре да го носи. И затаи дъх, без дори да въздъхне. "-
Колийн Маккълоу, Птиците умират сами

What was sleep? A blessing, a respite from life, an echo of death, a demanding nuisance?

Her tears were blinding her, the grief in her heart new, for until now she had never owned anything worth grieving for.

Each of us has something within us which won't be denied, even if it makes us scream aloud to die. We are what we are, that's all. Like the old Celtic legend of the bird with the thorn in its breast, singing its heart out and dying. Because it has to, its self-knowledge can't affect or change the outcome, can it? Everyone singing his own little song, convinced it's the most wonderful song the world has ever heard. Don't you see? We create our own thorns, and never stop to count the cost. All we can do is suffer the pain, and tell ourselves it was well worth it.

Something in her little soul was old enough and woman enough to feel the irresistible, stinging joy of being needed; she sat rocking his head back and forth, until his grief expended itself in emptiness.

"You still think love can save us. It's more killing than hate. Hate is so clean, so simple. Like being in the ring. With hate, you just keep hitting back. You hit until they stop hitting back. With love... they never stop." ~ (Frank)

What could death be for him but the entrance into everlasting life? For the rest of us, the passage is not so easy.

Never forget, Caelius, that a great man makes his luck. Luck is there for everyone to seize. Most of us miss our chances; we're blind to our luck. He never misses a chance because he's never blind to the opportunity of the moment.

"... Your questions, Captain Delmonico, go beyond the limits of acceptable behavior! I intend to report you to everyone in a position to discipline you, is that understood?" He was beginning to splutter. "You're a-a-Gestapo inquisitor!"

"Mr. Smith," Carmine said gently, "a policeman investigating murder uses many techniques to obtain information, but more than that, he also uses them to learn in the small amount of time at his disposal what kind of person he's questioning. During our first interview you were rude and overbearing, which leaves me free to tread heavily on your toes, even though your toes are sheathed in handmade shoes. You imply that you have the power to see me - er - 'disciplined', but I must tell you that no one in authority will take any notice of your complaints, because those in authority all know me. I have earned my status, not bought it. Murder means that everything in your life is my business until I remove you from my list of suspects. Is that clear?"

Но да разбереш грешката си, не значи още, че можеш да я поправиш.

For the best is only bought at the cost of great pain.

loved, and indulged to the full extent of her father

Was war eigentlich Besonderes mit dem nächtlichen Himmel? Dass, wie von einer sonst verschlossenen Truhe, der blaue Deckel des Tages hochgeklappt worden war und der Mensch nun gleichsam einen Blick werfen konnte in die Ewigkeit?

He said, “No one else can ever feel your pain.”
One corner of her mouth lifted in a stern smile. “Yes. That’s a
comfort, isn’t it? It may not be enviable, but my pain is mine.