David Gemmell Quotes

War. What was it about the prospect of some bloody enterprises that reduced men to the level of animals?

Any good that I may do, let me do it now, for I may not pass this way again.

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.

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

Majon rubbed his tired eyes. 'You mock politics,' he said softly. 'You sneer at diplomacy. But how do you think we hold the world at peace? I'll tell you, Sieben. Men like me travel to places like this, and we're fed those horse-turd cakes of yours. And we smile, and we say how nourishing they are ... We do this not for gain, but for peace and prosperity. ... Druss is a hero; he can enjoy the luxury of living his own life and speaking his own truths. Diplomats cannot. Now will you help me to convince him?'
Sieben rose. 'No, ambassador, I will not. You are wrong in this - though I give you the benefit of the doubt as to your motives.' He walked to the door and turned. 'Perhaps you've been eating those cakes too long. Perhaps you have acquired a taste for them.'

A methodical people," pulsed the voice of Kesa Khan. "They call themselves civilized because they can build tall castles and pitch their tents with geometric precision, but from here you can see the reality. Ants build in the same way. Are they civilized?

War is for men, for honor and glory.

We sit here safe, within a circle of swords held by other men.

For the lion to to prosper the deer must die. All the world is combat.

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

Yes, love [...] can heal the wounds of hatred. Love can eradicate lust and greed. Through love a man of evil can come to find repentance and redemption. For the Source abandons no man.

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

The onset of fear makes the simplest actions complex and difficult.

Constantly at war, the tribesmen fought one another with pitiless ferocity, and only the very strong survived to manhood.

You kol-isha think you know everything. You think the world was created for your pleasure, but you do not understand the land.You sit there and you breathe and you feel the cold earth beneath you,and you notice nothing. And why? Because you live your lives in cities of stone, building walls to keep at bay the spirit of the land. You see nothing. You hear nothing. You feel nothing.