David Gemmell Quotes

Self-preservation is a paramount desire in all of us. Good and evil are interchangeable. When the wolves pull down a fawn I don't doubt the doe would consider it an evil act. For the wolves it is a necessity, and they would see the arrival of fresh meat as good.

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.

Everyone makes mistakes. Everyone fails at something.

I thought you were the best," she chided. "Fathers always seem that way," he said dryly. "But no. With bow or knife I am superb. But with the sword? only excellent." "And so modest. Is there anything at which you do not excel?

Liberty is only valued when it is threatened, therefore it is the threat that highlights the value. We should be grateful to the Nadir, since they heighten the value of our liberty.

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?

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.

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.

You have suffered many wounds." [...] "It shows how many skilled swordsmen there are.

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

In my experience all women deserve someone better.

Look around you - this [land] is cold, inhospitable. Only the strong survive. Here there are no green fields, no verdant pastures. A warrior is old by the time he is thirty. We have no energy to spend on pretty words.

Some people are born ugly. It's not their fault, and I for one have never held it against a man that he is ugly. but others — and I count myself among them — are born with handsome features. That's a gift that should not be lightly taken away.

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

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