James Clavell Quotes

Always remember, child,’ her first teacher had impressed on her, ‘that to think bad thoughts is really the easiest thing in the world. If you leave your mind to itself it will spiral you down into ever-increasing unhappiness. To think good thoughts, however, requires effort. This is one of the things that discipline — training — is about.

.., by universal custom, your enemy is never more polite than when he is planning or has planned your destruction.

— No tienes que llorar, O-chan. La vida sólo es un sueño dentro de un sueño — dijo el viejo

Remember that fortune and misfortune should be left to heaven and natural law. They are not to be bough by prayer or any cunning device to be thought of by any man or self-styled saint. p848

Only by living at the edge of death can you understand the indescribable joy of life.

Changi changed everyone, changed values permanently. For instance, it gave you a dullness about death — we saw too much of it to have the same sort of meaning to outsiders, to normal people. We are a generation of dinosaurs, we the few who survived. I suppose anyone who goes to war, any war, sees life with different eyes if they end up in one piece. What did you see? A lot of bull that's worshipped as the be-all and end-all of existence. So much of 'normal, civilized' life is bull that you can't imagine. … What frightens you, doesn't frighten me, what frightens me, you'd laugh at.

The earth’s round, like an orange, but this map is like its skin, cut off in ovals, north to south, laid flat and stretched a bit at the top and bottom. A Dutchman called Mercator invented the way to do this accurately twenty years ago. It’s the first accurate world map.

It's always important to take time to study men — important men. Friends and enemies.

"Why is she afraid?" he asked. "She's not Anjin-san. Just a little nervous. Please excuse her. She's never seen a foreigner close to before." "Tell her when the moon's full, barbarians sprout horns and fire comes out of our mouths like dragons."

Очите им се срещнаха и едно обещание бе дадено, прието и върнато.

his mind docketing the important things for future transcription.

You must learn to control the filth of your tongue, my son. It will send you to hell.

Patience means restraining yourself. There are seven emotions, Joy, anger, anxiety, adoration, grief, fear, and hate. If a man doesn't give way to these, he's patient. I'm not as strong as I might be but I'm patient.

¿Qué son las nubes, si no un pretexto para el cielo?
¿Qué es la vida, si no una huida de la muerte?

Of what real value is a title? The power is the only important thing