David Gemmell Quotes

"... But men don't come in just two groups, one of gold and the other of lead. They are a mix of both." "And what about women?" "Pure gold, my girl," Rayvan answered with a chuckle.

This bow I held had killed many men, and it had power, dread power, in its ebony stock.

How do you decide a battle is lost? Numbers, strategic advantage, positioning? It's all worth a sparrow's fart. It comes down to men who are willing. The largest army will founder if its men are less willing to die than to win.

Well, who decides who has won or lost? It's not like Avondale any more. That was easy. We charged. They ran. We captured their cannon. Now, that was a victory. Now, we just charge each other, kill each other, and argue about who won.

Love is for fools. It is a surging of blood in the loins ... there is no mystery, and no magic. Find someone else, my boy.

Everyone makes mistakes. Everyone fails at something.

When healers yearn to kill then hope begins to die ... Evil cannot be overcome by evil.

Rubbish! ... No man fights for dirt and grass. No, nor mountains. Those mountains were here before the fall and they will be here when the world topples again.

It is a rare man who notices a handsome woman.

By my lights, my son, you are a young man. [...] there should be love in your life. Am I at fault in my thinking?'
'Not at fault, Senior Brother. I loved once, and in truth I could love again. But the pain of loss was too much for me. I would rather live alone than suffer for it.'
'Then you are here to hide, Charreos, and it is not a good reason. The gift of life is too great to waste in such a fashion...

A man must know his limitations.

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.

Bow to nothing, son. I make mistakes as well as any man. If you think me wrong, be so good as to damn well say so.

A fighting force is like a sword-blade. You can't test it until it has passed through fire.

Evil is never truly strong, for it is born of fear. Why did he fall so easily? Because he tested your strength and saw the possibility of death [...] had he possessed true courage, he would have fought back. Instead he froze — and died.