David Gemmell

“Today I could like anybody," said Rek, smiling. "The sky is clear, the wind is fresh, and life tastes very fine. What will you do now?""I think I will become a monk and devote my entire life to prayer and good works.""No," said Rek. "I mean, what will you do today?""Ah! Today I'll get drunk and go whoring," said Bowman.”

“We are fighting the greatest war the world has ever seen, and our likely future is death and ruins, and you are thinking about a women you love, instead of making battle plans. If this is what love can do to a man, perhaps you were better off without it. He smiled to himself. I do not believe that, he thought.”

“She was his north star, the fixed point round which his world turned. For as long as his heart beat, or hers, he believed they would always share a destiny.”

“Life is not so simple. There are many futures. The life of a single person is like a great tree: every branch, every twig, every leaf is a possible future.”

“Hate is the father of all evil.”

“I was a man before I was a king, and no true man walks away when a friend needs him.”

“Trust your instincts, and make judgements on what your heart tells you. The heart will not betray you.”

“There are times, Sember, when I could believe your mother had a secret lover. Looking at you makes me wonder if it was one of my goats.”

“Never violate a woman, nor harm a child. Do not lie, cheat or steal. These things are for lesser men. Protect the weak against the evil strong. And never allow thoughts of gain to lead you into the persuit of evil.”

“If we are still discussing its merits tomorrow, I will agree with you," said Diagoras."Cheer up, laddie. Nobody lives forever.""Oh I expect you will, Druss, Old Horse. It's the mortals around you who always seem to kiss the granite.”

“Man is capable of greatness, love, nobility, compassion. Yet never forget that his capacity for evil is infinite. It is a sad truth, boy, that if you sit now and think of the worst tortures that could ever be inflicted on another human being, they will already have been practiced somewhere. If there is one sound that follows the march of humanity, it is the scream.”

“True. The one certainty about riding, Braygan, is that - at some time - you will fall off. It is a fact. Another fact you might like to consider, in your life of perpetual terror, is that you will die. We are all going to die, some of us young, some of us old, some of us in our sleep, some of us screaming in agony. We cannot stop it, we can only delay it.”

“You do not convince me. You rationalize your actions and because the result is favorable you become right.”

“I have discovered in my long life that there are many words and phrases which have more power than any spell of magick. The most well-known of these is, of course, I love you. But by far the most deadly is, if only. For these two words can strip a man's strength, his courage and his confidence. They become the father of regret and anguish and pain.”

“I would have offered you a forest of truth, but you wish to speak of a single leaf”

“Old age is not as honorable as death, but most people seek it.”

“The night has a capacity for terror that the day can never match.”

“-Si elle partage vos sentiments? Quelle différence cela fait-il? Achetez-la, quoi qu'il en soit!Hélicon secoua la tête.-On peut acheter de l'or brilliant comme le soleil, et des diamants à l'éclat lunaire. Mais on ne peut pas acheter le soleil, ni posséder la lune.”

“Now the screams were awful to hear as men burned like candles all along the deck. Black smoke billowed over the sea. Argurios could not believe what he was watching. At least fifty helpless men were dying in agony. One man managed to free himself and leap into the sea. Amazingly, when he surfaced the flames were still consuming him.All along the beach there was silence as the stunned crowd watched the magical fires burning the galley and it's crew.”

“So you will not kneel to me?" He said.I will kneel to no man, "She answered, preparing herself for the push that would send her toppling to her death and ready to haul him with her.You interest me, girl. There is no fear in you." Nor in you, apparently, King Priam."He looked surprised. "Fear if for weaklings. Look around you. This is Troy. My Troy. The richest and most powerful city in the world. It was not built by fearful men, but my men with imagination and courage. It's wealth grows Daily, and with it the influence that wealth brings.”

“What is your name?"Why?"So I can mark your grave...”

“What will you do now?'I think I will become a monk and devote my entire life to prayer and good works.'No,' said Rek. 'I mean, what will you do today?'Ah! Today I'll get drunk and go whoring,' said Bowman.”

“It is hard to be angry when one has seen the sun rise,' she said.It seems to be true,' he admitted. 'I wonder why.'Because it makes one feel so small and insignificant. It has been rising forever and will rise forever no matter what we do or do not do. All our problems are as nothing to the sun.”

“Fear is good, for it makes us cautious and aids survival. Not so with terror. It is like slow poison, paralyzing the limbs and blurring the mind. . . Never, when in danger, ask yourself, What will they do to me? Instead think, What can I do to prevent them?”

“What do all men seek? I want to be happy. I would like a wife and sons one day. But I want them to grow in a land where there is hope for the future, where men do not take to the road. If that is a hopeless dream - and maybe it is - then I will sire no sons. I will wander, and play my harp, and weave my magick until the end.”

“If you want to fight evil, you have to climb down in the slime to do so.”

“If there is one sound the follows the march of humanity, it is the scream.”

“To be truthful i am not entirely sure what people mean when they talk of happiness. There are moments of joy and laughter, the comfort of friendship, but enduring happiness? If it exists i have not found it”

“We make choices everyday, some of them good, some of them bad. And - if we are strong enough - we live with the consequences.”

“Warriors fear surrender. They are proud and defiant. They will fight to the death for what they believe in. They will struggle to conquer. Love is not about conquest. The truth is a man can only find true love when he surrenders to it. When he opens his heart to the partner of his soul and says: 'here it is! the very essence of me! It is yours to nurture or destroy.”

“They dont understand what real treasure is. They see it in gold and copper, and tin. They see in herds of horses or cattle. They gather treasures to themselves, building great storehouses, which they guard ferociously. Then they die. What good is it then?”