David Gemmell Quotes

Why must I have the Piglet?' 'Because you are the best.' 'I do not understand.' 'Teach him.' 'And who teaches me?' ' As an officer, my lord, you will have many men under your command and not all will be gifted. You must learn to use each man to his best advantage ...

You think evil corrupts men by saying come with me and I will turn you into a merciless killer, and damn your soul for eternity? Who would agree to such a bargain? Evil corrupts, Bael, by promising us what we want, and telling us that it is good. Evil talks of the end justifying the means. It speaks of distant goals — aye, and of golden ages. It seduces, Bael. It does not threaten. Not at first.

A man must know his limitations.

Nothing in life is sure, my son. Except the promise of death.

One hundred only, Lord Earl. But judge us not by our number. Rather, watch the numbers of dead we leave behind.

Evil will never be countered while good men do nothing.

"Well lad, this is what you have chosen. Are you pleased with yourself?"
“I am alive," said Bane.
“And eight men are dead," said Landis. “Eight souls cast out of the world. More mothers to grieve, more children to know sorrow. Is this a life you want for yourself?”
“No it is not," Bane told him. “But we do what we must.”
“Not true! We do what we choose. And we face the consequences."

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

All beauty is sad. For it fades.

Winning and losing is entirely dependent on what you are fighting for,' answered Shaoshad. 'All men here could die, yet you could still win. Or all men could live, and you could lose.

Man alone, it seems, lives all his life in the knowledge of death. And yet there is more to life than merely waiting for death. For life to have meaning, there must be a purpose. A man must pass something on — otherwise he is useless.

No matter how impossible this war, I shall fight to win. Whatever I have to do, I will do.

What do you mean, why? Is it not obvious? What is life but a betrayal? We start out young, full of hope. The sun is good; the world awaits us. But every passing year shows how small you are, how insignificant against the power of the seasons. Then you age. Your strength fails, and the world laughs at you through the jeers of younger men. And you die. Alone. Unfulfilled. But sometimes ... sometimes there will come a man who is not insignificant. He can change the world, rob the seasons of their power. He is the sun.

When your life has been spent in one war after another for forty-five years, you have to be pretty handy to survive.

The very odd thing about sagas [...] is that they very rarely mention dry mouths and full bladders.