Nick Drake Quotes

My old friend. I know you see the reality of the streets, and the miseries of the people, and that is a valuable perspective. But remember the world of the wealthy, the priests and the nobles also suffers from dangerous tribulations. The two are not mutually exclusive.

Fear, that unknowable and all-powerful enemy, has invaded us all, like a secret army of shadows.

It would be another day ruled by this world’s new gods: gold and power.

I don't think he'd ever have made a strong king. He was weak as water. Can you imagine him smiting the enemy? Destroying them in battle? Having the guts to execute the opposition?'
'Perhaps it's time we had a king who didn't do that. Perhaps it's time we had a king who had other values on his mind,' I said, playing nervously with my dagger to calm the growing anxiety inside me.
'Like what?'
'Reform of corruption. Civil order to prevent the abuses of power. Justice.

We need strong, educated women to help us build a better world.

These ambassadors are all the same. They have the eyes of Anubis. And they make me feel like a servant. Like a shabti in a tomb. "Here I am. I will do it!"

There is no such thing as a cheerful poem [...] Happiness writes in water, not ink.

Be careful, Rahotep, I know these writers, they say “borrow” when they mean “steal.” You will soon read your words coming back to you on some privately circulated scroll of new verse.

I dislike talk of the Gods, who taunt us with their promises, and whose disappointments we must always accept.

I see I have shocked you all a little. But to be a poet is to accept the responsibility of speaking the truth! No matter what the cost to my personal safety [...] in matters of men and this world. I'm a poet, not a complete fool…

'Come on, Rahotep. How do you think Royal Envoy Nakht gets his information about events in the north, and in the war? The army has its intelligence, and the palace has its own, too. The days when an invasion or an attack took place and no one heard about it for months are long gone. This war’s all about speed and information, and you can be sure Nakht has a very efficient system. The problem is, each system is always trying to infiltrate the other. And there’s always the danger of spies.’

This world and the Otherworld are full of curiosities and mysteries. It would take many lifetimes to understand them all. And disappointingly, it seems to me we only have one.

Order is the priority of power.

Conflict defines nations. Enemies justify armies. Wars glorify generals. Without his great enemy to give him purpose and meaning, he will be significantly diminished. He will have to come to terms with us.

Even words are not perhaps safe in these times.