All things in the world are created for man, yet all have two purposes. The waters run that we might drink of them, but they are also symbols of the … - David Gemmell

Win or lose, we achieve nothing in the world that we understand [...]"
'But then the world does not matter.'
'Indeed it does not [...] It is good to understand that.

[A]ll men die. ... A man needs many things in his life to make it bearable. A good woman. Sons and daughters. Comradeship. Warmth. Food and shelter. but above all these things, he needs to be able to know that he is a man. And what is a man? He is someone who rises when life has knocked him down. Someone who raises his fist to heaven when a storm has ruined his crop — and then plants again. And again. A man remains unbroken by the savage twists of fate. That man may never win. But when he sees himself reflected, he can be proud of what he sees. For low he may be in the scheme of things: peasant, serf, or dispossessed. But he is unconquerable. And what is death? an end to trouble. An end to strife and fear. ... Bear this in mind when you decide your future.

I underestimated you, woman." ... "The cry of men down the ages.